Posted on 11/08/2004 3:38:21 AM PST by pjsbro
Mainstream journalists did a poor job of addressing issues that the electorate really cared about, like Social Security, and instead allowed President Bush's focus on "values" dominate their coverage, CNN anchor Lou Dobbs said at a journalism conference at the Kimmel Center Saturday.
"Most of us thought the campaign was about moral issues, but as journalists we failed to understand that it wasn't," he said, adding, "I've never seen the national media be more accepting of the word of politicians and the government. We allowed candidates and parties to set the agenda ... and failed to cover important issues."
Dobbs' critical tone reflected the general mood at the 12th-annual New York Press Club's Conference on Journalism, at which the "Lou Dobbs Tonight" host was the featured speaker. While the media luminaries who gathered in the Rosenthal Pavilion Saturday morning were supposed to discuss the overall state of the U.S. media, most couldn't help but dissect coverage of the 2004 campaign.
Newsweek's Jonathan Alter contended that "a fact-based media is in retreat from coverage that shows a distinct sense of right and wrong."
"You have to address media that puts political partisanship in front of facts," he said during a discussion titled "Assessing Presidential Election Coverage."
Yet James Pinkerton, a Newsday writer and contributor to the Fox News Channel, argued that the quality of news reporting is not always as important as the quantity. Addressing the role of blogs in covering the campaign, Pinkerton and Fox News Channel's Eric Burns argued that blogs served a "fact-checking function" for the mainstream media, whether or not they always posted accurate information.
The panel discussion was one of four at the conference, which began with a speech by NYU President John Sexton about the struggles of the modern-day media.
"The press will be a determining factor in the workability of civil society in a democratic system," Sexton said. "It is necessary for the media to work against the shrinking attention span of the American public."
During a discussion titled "Terror Threat: Preparedness and Intelligence in New York City," the New York Post's Murray Weiss questioned how Bush was able to rally citizens from relatively "safe" states like Ohio around the issue of terrorism.
"It may be that the result of media coverage makes people in Ohio more nervous," New York Times reporter Ben Weiser said.
Myron Kandel of CNN and Burns joined Daniel Okrent, public editor of The New York Times, for a discussion of media conglomeration just before Dobbs' speech.
Burns said he found the increasing corporate monopolization of the major media outlets troubling, but suggested that new technologies added new voices to the news.
"There are more independent voices than ever, in part due to the Internet," he said. "They do not have the power of established media, but they serve as checks and balances."
Okrent also praised smaller-scale media outlets.
"As you reach a larger audience," he said, "the refinement goes down."
The mainstream media was 100% partisan - for the Democrats.
Another circular firing squad.
The election focus *can't* be about morals and values, according to this author.
'Cause if it is, then the majority of the electorate voted *aganist* abortion, same-sex marriage and judges who decide what is best for us.
These guys are fiddling while their media empires burn.
In other words - by letting the candidates and the electorate shape the campaign, Dobbs and his cohorts allowed the wrong guy to win. Bravo-Sierra!
Was Social Security cited as an issue that the electorate really cared about?
Or was it an issue that the Media really cared about?
They never questioned a single thing Kerry said. When He was interviewed it was just a love in. All they did with bush was produce hit pieces. People don't trust MSM because they are not even handed.
What an idiot. The American public is paying attention and sees a media dominated by leftwing partisans.
You tards are so biased and clueless, the American people don't give a FF what you think!
This election should at least convince the MSM that the last thing they do is "Understand!"
Lou Dobbs has devolved into a demogogue. He has failed to incite the few people still watching CNN to riot and insurrection.
Oh, that's right. I do. Whenever I am trapped in the living hell of waiting in an airport surrounded by those damn CNN monitors. I have actually unplugged the damn things when no one is looking.
Is there anything more repugnant than a profession that won't admit error? Journalist munchkins with Kerry were never able, or simply did not want to ask pointed questions: and whose fault was that? They could have raked him over the coals until he was more forthcoming. George Bush was equally chary in talking with the press: and whose fault was that? Confronted by a nasty press corps that had no love for himself, his family, his cabinet or for conservatives, was there any reason to speak frankly with the press? Journalists, you reap what you sow!
That is laughable.
It's very interesting to see what people in DU think. They also view the media is bias... toward Bush. What they said do not cover objectively is... CNN. They have written off Fox News as a media. Meanwhile, CBS got a mix result, althought mostly positive.
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