[Whiney] Review of Alterman's What Liberal Media? [and those pesky embedded war correspondents]

Findlaw.com ^ | June 20, 2003 | Neil H. Buchanan

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

The Lies and Repetition come from the LEFT!!!!!!!!!!!

[My2Cents]

The problem with leftist bias is that they (including Alterman) are too biased to see it. The bias is often not overt; it is subtle. But the little remarks, spin, and characterizations that are lightly sprinkled in, say, any evening broadcast of ABC World News Tonight that make my blood pressure rise, are viewed as "objective statements of fact" by anyone on the left. No one on the left has the capability to see the bias. It takes one immune from the leftist worldview to see the bias.

[wideawake]

Read the subtext.

The embedded reporting is criticized by Alterman and friends as being "right-wing" precisely because the reporters were sympathetic toward US troops.

If sympathy towards the US armed forces is "right-wing" and shows "conservative bias" then by the logic of their argument the liberal position is antipathy toward the US armed forces.

This position is quite simply treasonous: which means that Ann Coulter's thesis is proven correct - leftists are unpatriotic and hate their country.

[MEG33]

That review was right out of the propaganda manual for the USSR!

[El Laton Caliente]

I guess a truely liberal bias would require a daily reading of Mao's book?

This guy thinks O'Reily is conservitive. NOT.

This is the same problem the lib's have with "not getting their message out". They mistake the lack of responce as not being heard and understood instead of the public rejecting the message.

[HHFi]

"That so many people believe that (liberal media) myth is a testament to nothing more than..."

...the fact that I've spent over 30 years of my life watching it.

Since I write a topical humor service for radio stations, I spend hours every day doing nothing but reading and watching news from all around the world before sitting down to write jokes about it. I see the stories in their raw feed form, their right-spun form, and their left-spun form. I guarantee you I've watched far more hours of news over the years than Alterman did for this book. And as an expert on the subject, I can tell you you'd have to be a deaf, blind idiot not to see the liberal bias on, say, ABC World News Tonight. I've watched it so many times, I can spot which formula they're going to use before they even use it. There's the "selective information" tactic, where they only report that part of the story that makes the Democrat look best or the Republican look worst; there's giving the conservative opinion in one sentence after spending two minutes giving the liberal side; there's following a presidential speech by a Republican with some dour economic news they try to pin on him, usually via a backhanded intro along the lines of "Today, President Bush attempted to jumpstart his struggling campaign by putting a positive spin on the latest economic numbers..."

(That was Peter Jennings' everyday intro to Bush speeches during the 1992 campaign, including such negative terms as "attempted to" and "struggling." This was always followed by colorful video of Clinton and Gore on their bus tour, smiling and basking in the adoration of cheering throngs. The whole thing could've been a paid commercial by the Clinton for President committee.)

I write a comedy service, but I guarantee the capsule news setups for our jokes are more objective than ABC or CNN News. I watch their "news" broadcasts and wish I could go through their scripts with a blue pencil, crossing out and circling all the bias, both subtle and overt. It would take me about 15 minutes to teach them how to write news that was far more objective, and frankly, far more accurate, a skill that I guess is no longer taught at Columbia Journalism School. I'd also like to suggest that anyone who'd seriously argue that there is no liberal bias in the mainstream media should pull his head out of his rectum and try watching it for awhile.

[fightinJAG]

Well said.

When the embedded reporters saw the truth about our military---truth that completely confounds the Left/Rat image of our armed forces, the use of military force, and the men and women who fight for us---they reported it, much to the chagrin of those who hold desperately to the Rat line about the military.

Anyone who reports a truth that contradicts or confounds the Rat line suddenly is reviled as "co-opted" or brainwashed.

MEMO TO ERIC: Get a life.

[PianoMan]

I just still can't get over the fact that the supposed Right Wing Media Machine's entire apparatus is easily summed up in one sentence even by those critiquing it, and still cited as if it were evidence of some vast operation. It would take several paragraphs to catalog all the sources of liberal bias, and that's all one needs to know.

[fightinJAG]

Thank you very much, HHFi, for a very interesting account of the insights you have gained from so much experience. Makes me proud to be your fellow freeper.

Hey, you should be the guy writing the book, not Alterman.

[Sir Gawain]

The liberals in the media think they're all middle of the road. So anyone to the right of them is an extremist.

[fightinJAG]

I used to t hink it was kind of lame to cite NPR as a big liberal media outlet---NOT because NPR is not liberal, mind you (PUH-LEEZE), but I thought, seriously, does anyone listen to NPR for their news and political discussion?

I had always thought of it as a place mainly to get some classical tunes if nothing else was going on.

Well, now I work with two people who truly do get ALL their news from . . . NPR. THAT BLOWS MY MIND. They don't watch cable or read much in the newspaper. They will start a discussion with, "On 'All Things Considered'" they said this and that about Iraq.

((speechless))

[MEG33]

Bravo!

[tiamat]

I sometimes listen to NPR for the news, but it's to see what the propaganda is like on the other side. Get most of my news off the Net

Tia

[Bob]

...the fact that I've spent over 30 years of my life watching it.

So who are you going to believe: him or your lyin' eyes? :=)

[knews_hound]

Well, now I work with two people who truly do get ALL their news from . . . NPR. THAT BLOWS MY MIND. They don't watch cable or read much in the newspaper. They will start a discussion with, "On 'All Things Considered'" they said this and that about Iraq.

So how is my brother? Is he well? Say hi for me will ya?

Cheers,

knews hound

[StriperSniper]

are viewed as "objective statements of fact"

Often phased "As we all know" or "Experts say", so none of them even think to question it. Why should they, that is "The Collective" and "The Elite", who they look to for answers. The average leftist just doesn't want to think for themselves.

[MadMoo]

Like to see the results of your taking your blue pencil on a truth-edit of Hillary's tome. You'd need a boxcar of pencils and 6 months. The result would really be a best seller (but a quick read)! Glad you're a Freeper.

[Osage Orange]

You wrote:

"Well, now I work with two people who truly do get ALL their news from . . . NPR."

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

I've run across many, many....way too many people that get ALL their news from ABC, or NBC, or CBS, or CNN. May as well get it directly from the DNC...as far as I'm concerned.

FRegards,

[Susannah]

"But the big news stories recently have focused, instead, on conservative media influence, from Rupert Murdoch and his Fox News Channel, to Ann Coulter, to Matt Drudge, to military-influenced embedded reporting, to the Washington Times."

In this statement the author identifies the "conservative" news options! LOL, and with these few media sources we should believe the remainder are unbiased?


Repetitions works! - - How many more times do I have to hear "tax cuts for the rich" and the constant excerpted replay of Bush stating his pre-war case on WMD.