Posted on 06/27/2009 4:04:35 AM PDT by Kaslin
It seems every day there is another example of media deception in America. With the Fourth of July approaching, it is well worth remembering why the Founding Fathers gave the press special privileges. They wanted journalists to report honestly, to give the folks accurate, unbiased information so they could make informed decisions about who should hold power. Many of the Founders, like Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, didn't much like the press, but they understood that, for a democratic Republic to work, voters need honest information.
Unfortunately, the vision of a free and honest press is fast disappearing in America. Let me give you yet another vivid example. This week a poll by The New York Times asked: "Would you be willing to pay higher taxes so that all Americans have health insurance?"
Fifty-seven percent said they were willing, 37 percent were not willing, and 6 percent had no opinion.
So, according to the Times, Americans overwhelmingly want government financed health care. That's what the poll says, right?
But if you read all the way down to the bottom of the poll, you see another question. "Who did you vote for (in the presidential election)?"
Forty-eight percent said Barack Obama, and just 25 percent answered John McCain. The rest, 19 percent, did not vote. Wow, that's almost two to one for Obama.
But the popular vote tally in the election last November was 53 percent for Obama and 46 percent for McCain. Wait a minute. That's a lot closer than two to one. Apparently The New York Times skewed the polling by offering the questions to mostly Obama voters. I'm shocked they supported higher taxes for federal health care, aren't you?
This kind of dishonesty is not uncommon in the media. The Times says its poll is "scientific." Sure it is. Scientifically stacking the deck.
I believe very few people read the entire poll before digesting the health care headline. The result is a flawed perception of what the American public really wants. The folks may indeed support Uncle Sam paying some heavy medical bills, but this poll is not a reflection of anything other than a New York Times deception.
By the way, CBS News also had its name on that poll.
As a media guy who wants accurate information, that kind of stuff tees me off. As soon as the pollsters learned that most of the respondents were Obama people, they should have thrown the results out. But the Times ardently favors national health care and a huge federal government. So the con played out.
The most frustrating part about this is that nothing can be done. The Times has an ombudsman, but he's a joke, and no outside agency has any power over the paper. It can pretty much do what it wants, and does.
It is true that the Times and some other media outlets, most committed left, are on the brink of bankruptcy. The liberal papers say the Internet is to blame, and that's partly true.
But the folks are beginning to understand that the informational fix is in. What good is "all the news that's fit to print" if the news is bogus?
The Times might want to poll that question.
Says the dude who cherry picks FReeper comments to paint FR in a bad light when it suits him.
The press isn’t fair.
Often it’s corrupt and dishonest.
Haven’t conservatives been beating this dead horse for the last 20 years?
You know what? Get off you BORD and read the article. he’s right
So we should just shut up about it?
He’s also guilty of media deception through dishonesty and inaccurate information.
He’s hardly a paragon of journalistic integrity and should practice what he preaches.
P.S. What’s a BORD?
I don’t care what he does, he is right on this one.
I should have said BORDS (Ill O'Reilly Derangement Syndrome)
“A people ignorant and Free, never was and never will be.”
Thomas Jefferson
—
AP = Always Propaganda
This will be the death knell of most of the newspapers, and is a real threat to the nation.
I agree that when he’s right, he’s right.
I’ll also take the opportunity to rub his nose in his own hypocrisy when he whines about dishonesty in the media.
I’m referring to his attempt to misrepresent FR as a bunch of loons and haters.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1874548/posts?page=1
Here’s a more recent example of BOR practicing what he preaches the MSM shouldn’t do:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2260234/posts
Fifty-seven percent said they were willing/But the popular vote tally in the election last November was 53 percent for Obama.Something is very wrong with the numbers here.
-- snip --
But the popular vote tally in the election last November was 53 percent for Obama and 46 percent for McCain. Wait a minute. That's a lot closer than two to one. Apparently The New York Times skewed the polling by offering the questions to mostly Obama voters. I'm shocked they supported higher taxes for federal health care, aren't you?
-- snip --
Of course the media is corrupt and thoroughly biased. But it won’t change. Why don’t several conservative billionaires—and there are several—get together and start a truly conservative news network? It would be #1 in ratings within a year! Look at FOX, which is far from conservative, yet which wins the ratings battle consistently simply because it is not utterly dedicated to the left!
I visited my daughter and her family recently in Amarillo, TX. She told me that Fox News was right wing. Needlessly she doesn’t watch Fox News. she doesn’t watch any news at all, but she believes what she reads online. Fox News is not nor has it ever been conservative, neither has it ever been liberal. But it is truly fair and balanced. Look how many liberal and conservative pundits work there
That was once, or actually twice. He did it once before. But he also goes after Kos all the time and calls it the lunatic left wing website. he also goes after the Huffington Post, ABC, CBS, CNN, especially Ted Turner, NBC and MCNBC especially Chris Matthews
I see plenty of Left Wing viewpoints expressed on Fox. What I don’t see on Fox are the outright lies and distortions that are killing the LAT, NYT, CBS, ABC etc. They would prefer to go down spewing Left Wing lies, distortions and propaganda than survive as reputable news organizations.
Exactly, and I have nothing against the left wing viewpoints expressed on Fox. It shows that Fox is fair and balanced which the 0bama media can not claim
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