[Einigkeit_Recht_Freiheit]

I am not able to actually listen to Rush, but I am trying to understand whether the hypothesis of this book is that the media is genuinely falsely reporting or whether it is the job of the media to act as a megaphone for the President.

The former is bad, the latter is a false premise.

I certainly am no fan of the MSM, but it just plain isn't their job to echo the President. On the other hand, no news organization in the US seems capable of actually reporting facts without interjecting opinion.

Turn on CNN international and you would be surprised how different the reporting is from the US version.

[MNJohnnie]

The job of the press is to accurately report the facts. It is not interject the journalists or the editors own opinions on what the President says. It is this arrogant disregard of facts that do NOT validate their own arrogant self regard that makes modern Journalist figurers of mockery for any thinking individual. The point of this book is to point out to the arrogant fools how far reality is from even a nodding acquaintance with journalistic ethics.

What the "News Media" has been doing more and more the last decade is openly distorting, misleading and at time knowingly lying to present their own personal opinions on the issue as news. For example, the Xing out of Cheney's face by CNN during a speech, using only 6 words out of a 3 sentence explanation by a National Guard General during Hurricane Katerina, dropping all context and publishing only one sentence in the initial reporting on the Iraq NIE etc etc etc etc etc etc etc.

The "News" media is acting as a propaganda front NOT as an honest broker of information. It selectively picks and chooses which sentence to report. At time it selectively edits things to present a wholly fraudulent image of what was said. There are hundreds of examples of out right fraudulent news reports during the last 6 years. The point is the Media hypes it "Fair and objective" reputation when it is neither fair nor objective nor even particularly honest. The point of the story is to destroy this mindless faith some people have that what the Junk Media is telling them is "Truth". It isn't.

All Modern Journalism is is marketing. It has next to nothing at all with the open, honest communication of ideas. Now days "Journalists" are nothing more then PR flacks. They do not communicate in an objective, open, honest way. They merely market their own emotion based agenda.

[MNJohnnie]

That the point. You Europeans have almost NO real media. You have an almost exclusively State Run media. From BBC on down your Govt largely dictate what is reported. Yet you arrogantly lecture US on Journalism? Clean up your own house first.

When you have even a fraction of the huge variety of sources of information commonly available to any Americans we will take you seriously. Your "News" is almost and exclusive product of your ruling elites with virtually NO alternative voices. There is a reason weblogs like Free Republic are an American invention. Your mistake is you confuse your "news" for reality. It isn't. It is merely the reality your ruling elites want you to believe.

[Eagle of Liberty]

I am not able to actually listen to Rush, but I am trying to understand whether the hypothesis of this book is that the media is genuinely falsely reporting or whether it is the job of the media to act as a megaphone for the President.

The hypothesis is that the MSM doesn't report news, it produces the information it wants the American people to see, hear and read.

What I don't get is why do people like you seem to think that if a NEWS company reports GOOD news about the President that it becomes a megaphone for the President? Is it not possible that by simply reporting the news, the person reading, seeing or hearing the broacast can distinguish good news from bad news?

The media should not belong to ANY political party or agenda. The job of the media is to simply REPORT. By doing their job, the American people will have a GOOD feeling of their President if he is doing a GOOD job and they will have a BAD feeling if he is doing a BAD job. The problem is that the sheeple that the Dems love to target for mind control through the MSM have a BAD feeling about a President that is doing a GOOD job.

[NeoCaveman]

Turn on CNN international and you would be surprised how different the reporting is from the US version.

News is just an avenue to sell things. CNN International knows what it's audience wants and gives it to them. There is little difference between them and Al Jazerra.

[driftless2]

Good post. The worst problem that Big Media has is not outright lying but ignoring the other side of the story. That holds true for not just about Bush and Republicans but also for many other issues not involving politics. The half-truth is in many cases worse than the outright lie.