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To: conservatism_IS_compassion
The opinion of the press corps tends toward consensus because of an astonishing uniformity of viewpoint. Certain types of people want to become journalists, and they carry certain political and cultural opinions. This self-selection is hardened by peer group pressure. No conspiracy is necessary; journalists quite spontaneously think alike. The problem comes because this group-think is by now divorced from the thoughts and attitudes of readers. To take politics as a test, in 1992, a sample of top Washington reporters and editors voted 89% to 7% for Bill Clinton over George H.W. Bush.
This is a Deux ex Machina argument--all journalists have the same politics, because they were born that way. Sorry, but more explanation is needed. And forthcoming from your interpid commentator, as follows:
The businesses which make money in journalism do so by following the rules of the business. People who don't want to follow those rules don't decide to become journalists--or go to work for newspapers which fail because they do not attract enough attention. The ones that attract enough attention to be able to charge enough advertising rate to be able to survive, do so by following the rules.

The joker is that the rules:

No news is good news, because good news isn't news, and

Man Bites Dog makes a better story than Dog Bites Man

mean that the news is atypical of reality in general, and is predominantly about things which call into question the institutions upon which we depend. The news as defined by commercial viability is inherently slanted to the idea of the need for change. People who like the job of writing such stories are--surprise!--opposed to conservatism.

The Press: Time for a New Era?


235 posted on 07/28/2003 7:05:35 PM PDT by conservatism_IS_compassion (The everyday blessings of God are great--they just don't make "good copy.")
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To: conservatism_IS_compassion
Journalists vaunt their objectivity, but the dirty little secret is that

A certain perspective is embedded

in journalism's very definition.

Commercial, free, competitive journalism is in fact one of the complaining professions, just as much as plaintiff lawyering or liberal politicing is.

"Any fool can criticize, and most fools do."

The conceit that "it's (always) patriotic to criticize the government" can only seem sensible to someone who presumes that he is wise, and the status quo was created by a fool. In fact of course the status quo was created by many people, most of them far wiser than those who blythely accept the job of criticizing their betters--and on short deadline, at that.


236 posted on 07/30/2003 5:26:33 AM PDT by conservatism_IS_compassion (The everyday blessings of God are great--they just don't make "good copy.")
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