Assignment America:Tales from the newsroom

UPI ^ | July 8, 2002 | John Bloom

[eureka!]

Bump for a great find...

[Wright is right!]

The author of this review doesn't get into some of the OTHER things that contribute to the coloration and bias of the news reporting - and, as Bernie Goldberg points out in HIS book, it's not that the various newspapers/radio/TV organizations "conspire daily" to slant the news...but that these organizations are composed of people who are hired because of their similar worldview. They are, to each other, "normal."

What other factors are there? We could start with elitism. Reporters and editors are assiduously courted by politicians, and the Democrats have historically been better at it than Republicans. The GOP thinks it should prevail on the strength of its ideas. The Democrats need a cozy press in order to win and preserve their fragile coalition of society's "takers." So the Democrats have cultivated the notion that the press is ELITE - a fourth branch of government, a group to be lavished with food and wine and as many favors as possible...the so-called "A-List Cocktail Party Circuit." To write a story that would anger this coterie of society is unthinkable. And it would endanger all the perks and privileges that newsers think they're entitled to.

Add to this group The Do-Gooders and Activists. Colleges and universities have largely created this subgroup of reporters in the last 30 years or so. Some start out with the idealism of youth and a bent to "change the world." Others are molded by disaffected communists or other left-wingers who, excluded from mainstream thought, find their way into the classroom and somehow gain tenure. If you take a Do-Gooder or an Activist reporter and give him/her Elitism, then you've got one very powerful propogandist - one that will ignore all inconvenient truth in order to press a viewpoint.

A third subgroup are those with the Politics Of Convenience. A loose-moraled lothario likes abortion as a convenient way out of an unwanted pregnancy. The Democrats like abortion, so this reporter leans Democrat. There is a huge number of "if-it-feels-good-do-it" generational members in the press corps today - and Democratic policies appeal to them more than personal responsibility. At that age, I fell for it, too. Then I grew up. And although a great many of the feel-good-do-it generation HAVE, in fact, grown up to a degree, the fact is that they still like permissive societal attitudes, and that makes them Convenient Democrats. Not to mention the fact that if they ever somehow commit some infraction against the law, it's a lot easier to get away with it (in most cases) if you're a Democrat.

And then, to top it all off, you have the ignorant and intellectually lazy. These are people who are only curious about PEOPLE and EMOTIONS - and feel that FACTS often get in the way of a good story. They do not wish to learn how things work. They, instead, prefer to concentrate on how PEOPLE FEEL about things. You'll find them committing grievous errors in their reporting on aviation, electronics, monetary matters(and anything to do even remotely with math), the sciences, history - to bluntly lump it, anything technical or anything requiring a degree of factual precision. Add to this a propensity this group has for a startling lack of attention to perspective - i.e., what a story MEANS - and you've got the recipe for journalistic disaster. Oh, they've been taught that this approach "makes good TV," but if it does, it only succeeds on the Jerry-Springer level.

Not even touched is the business angle news organizations must face. They are, after all, businesses that are expected to make a profit. To make a profit, you must take in more revenue than you spend, and that revenue is solely in the form of cash paid by advertisers. To attract advertisers, you need readers and viewers. The more of each you have, the more you can charge for your advertisements. So the economic pressure is severe to make as many people watch and read as possible. This pressure then invades the realm of news judgement - and stories selected for air (and their treatment, often) are functions of what the management feels will attract the most desireable audience.

This inevitably leads to the lurid and sensationalistic, an emphasis on crime stories (even though all stats say crime in this country is DOWN), and pieces designed to evince a visceral reaction. In so doing, many times only part of a story is told - that part which the editors feel will get the most attention.

I'm hoping that the book this author has reviewed will have touched more upon these other pressures, as they all influence what is covered and how it's covered. I'll buy a copy and find out. If it is as comprehensive as I hope it is, I'll forward it to a particular TV news director who is sorely in need of a little awakening.

Michael

[wardaddy]

It's not an easy book to find. It's often sold-out because most bookstores are run by these same types of folks who loathe stocking large numbers of "conservative" books. I've had more than one argument with the staff at Davis-Kidd Booksellers here in Nashville when trying to buy a copy of one of Horowitz's books. Bookstores seem to be run primarily by "Pat" looking Lesbians or Pasty looking Vegans. I've found Barnes and Noble to be relatively ok in this light around here.

[ventana]

So, Michael, liberalism is a substitute religion, in essence. V's wife.

[RAT Patrol]

Thomas Sowell gave Coloring the News high marks. I am going to read it this week. I think it focuses more on print than broadcast news but I am not 100% sure. I've read Bias, which is more about broadcast news, and I've read Slander, what can I say, Ann Coulter is the BEST!

[flamefront]

Bump -
mentioned on Rush Limbaugh today (again).

newsrooms full of little Bolsheviks-in-training, who have party lines on all sorts of issues, from affirmative action to crime to AIDS, and who consciously manipulate stories, fail to cover stories, and belittle stories that run counter to their political views

!!!

Bush: "they are either with us or with the enemy" -- applies here, especially.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

Another look at the media sociopaths. No top-down journalism conspiracy, eh? Perhaps a look at the DNC would clear that question up, hmmm?

[KansasGirl]

Excellent!

[maica]

j-school grads who ... truly believe their job is to shape the readers' beliefs and opinions, rather than report the who, what, when, where, why and how of a story.

This is evident at any Presidential press conference. The foreign reporters usually ask a who, what, when, where or why and how question. It is refreshingly noticed because of its rarity.

[gcruse]

 I've found Barnes and Noble to be relatively ok in this light around here.

I deliberately buy books over the internet.  I want the
internet to stay around and it won't if we don't support
it.  Also, we are much less at the mercy of the leftists
buyers on chain stores.

[browardchad]

run by these same types of folks who loathe stocking large numbers of "conservative" books

I have a friend who regularly visits bookstores on her lunch hour and surreptitiously rearranges the conservative books from the bottom to the top shelves of the display. If a current book is not on the shelves, she asks the particular "Pat" about it -- hey, we all do what we can!

I just checked the reviews of McGowan's book on Amazon, and out of 22 reader reviews, there were only 2 negatives -- and those were the obligatory liberal trashers. Of the 20 positive reviews, all gave it four or five stars. Impressive. (I just ordered it).

[FreedomFarmer]

... friends in the Propaganda Ministry.

Doubleplus ungood.

Ministry of Truth is important to Oceania, Winston Smith.

[wardaddy]

Bless your friend. I am going to make it a point to get this book. I don't read as much as I used to. I do a lot of reference scanning on the net and obviously FR is a wonderful amalgamation of news and links. The last book I read was Hackworth's Nam book I bought at a signing a few weeks ago. I keep telling myself to buy at least one book per week.

Regards

[wardaddy]

I will try. I hate credit and debit cards. I use them almost exclusively for reservations and cigars.

[ForGod'sSake]

You have made many thought provoking points; some of which I would like to elaborate on and solicit additional comment.

...these organizations are composed of people who are hired because of their similar worldview.

Taking it a step further, the ones that are best at expressing this worldview thrive in this environment and end up in the anchor and editor desks of their respective organizations. It doesn't take a PHD for the underlings to figure out what it takes to rise to the top.

Reporters and editors are assiduously courted by politicians, and the Democrats have historically been better at it than Republicans.

Well, IMO, primarily because they just happen to be reading from the same playbook. I would submit that the media "elite"; not the politicos, are in a position to set the political and social agenda because of their unique ability to reach the masses. Politicians that don't follow the game plan set by the media are offered up as lepers to the unwashed by various and sundry methods. Hence, pols that want the good face time follow the media's lead. i.e., the pols need the media more than the media need the pols. Our constitution all but guarantees the survival of the "free press" regardless of their politics or social agenda.

...it would endanger all the perks and privileges that newsers think they're entitled to.

They ARE entitled. The Dims owe their very existence to the media. So, just who is running the show here anyway??????

Democratic policies appeal to them more than personal responsibility. At that age, I fell for it, too. Then I grew up.

Sounds like you nailed 'em here bub. "Teenagers In Suits" one and all. At some point in the growth process, idealism gets tempered with reality and, you're right, some never make it. And, these people are driving the pace car. God help us.

So the economic pressure is severe to make as many people watch and read as possible.

...stories selected for air (and their treatment, often) are functions of what the management feels will attract the most desireable audience.

Two very different statements. If the first one is true, why do they constantly risk alienation of over half their potential audience by playing to, well, socialism? I suspect that, in fact, many conservatives watch and read this drivel for their own reasons; not suspecting they are really supporting something diametrically opposed to their basic values. Too many conservatives don't have a clue. Their guts tell them something is wrong, but they can't quite put their finger on it. They need to be checked for nose rings.

I'm more inclined to believe, based on a study by some foundation whose name I can't recall, that the (broadcast)media actually targets a particular demographic; that is the 18 - 40ish female; the "buyer" in the houselold. A demographic that is "predominately" liberal and given to emotionalism and impulsiveness(I would actually like to see someone refute this). What kind of "news" would you design for this group, assuming you had no other agenda?

This inevitably leads to the lurid and sensationalistic, an emphasis on crime stories...

SOME crime stories. You and I both know there are many sensational crime stories that hardly see the light of day; buried below the fold or given short shrift on the evening news. What's with that??????? Rhetorical; don't bother ; )

All in all, it seems we're stuck with this bunch of closet(?) socialists for the time being. Would that I could wave a magic wand and be rid of 'em, but there's that reality once again. Given that these organizations surreptitiously,(or NOT so surreptitiously) are inadvertantly(?) advocating actual change in our system of government, why can't we bring enough pressure to bear to call them on the carpet?

Cheers,

FGS

[ForGod'sSake]

Ministry of Truth is important to Oceania, Winston Smith.

Yes indeedy. I would say it's a critical "Ministry" for the socialist wannabes... How long before they get their hands on the internet? Or have they already???????

FGS

[Behind Liberal Lines]

To see how this is applied at the local level, check out Ithaca Journal reporter Kandea Mosley. The Ithaca Journal is a Gannett newspaper Ms. Mosley recently (mis)quoted an actual U.S. soldier as saying war crimes were committed; that US soldiers were told to kill women and children in Afghanistan. As noted by another poster on another thread:

To save you the googlification: Kandea Mosley graduated from the Bronx High School of Science in 1993, making her, I'd guess, about 27 now. She then went to UCLA, where she became the chairwoman of the African Student Union in 1996-7, and then ran for student president as the Students First! candidate, which opposed Nike on campus and the ending of affirmative action in California (Proposition 209), and won. The protests in her year as president took various forms: she was quoted as saying:

Our opposition to Prop. 209 ... is not a result of a skewed perception of affirmative action as a cure-all for all of our communities and the racist, classist violence perpetuated on our people daily. Rather, the reasons behind raising a political struggle in this university is created out of our understanding that organized struggle ... is necessary on every level.

At the inauguration of the new UCLA chancellor that spring, a web report notes:

Inside USA president Kandea Mosley delivered a speech decrying the end of affirmative action and then sat down on the stage for several minutes, her fist raised in protest.

Graduating in 1998, Mosley then returned to New York, covering the Green Party for the Village Voice (!!) during the 2000 elections. And now for the last few months, she's been upstate, working as a beat reporter at the Ithaca Journal.

I'm sorry, but I just can't believe someone with those credentials is going to come to [any political issue] capable of clear-headed judgment.

(To order "Ithaca is the City of Evil" merchandise, courtesy of FREEPER "the," Click Here).

(And to order "Ithaca is the City of Evil" bumper stickers [and support Free Republic],Click Here and enter "Evil" as a your keyword.)

[Fixit]

[WaterDragon]

Bloom's article is wonderful. His statement that many Southerners supported Civil Rights just because it was the right thing to do, not for any ideological reasons, is so very, very true!

For more on "Coloring the News", check HERE

[TiaS]

Thanks for posting the article and thanks to Mr. Bloom for the caring and the courage to tell it like it is.