Media to blame for lack of voter interest

LOS ANGELES -- The voters blame the politicians. The politicians blame the voters. Nobody takes responsibility for the uninformed, uninterested population. And nobody blames what may be the largest source of voter ignorance yet: the media.

A joint study completed this fall by USC and the University of Washington analyzed 2,454 local news broadcasts to find out how much election coverage they provided. The astonishing results were that in an election year, with both the House and the Senate up for grabs, over half of the broadcasts carried no election news.

During the broadcasts that did cover campaigns, the average story was 80.5 seconds long. Less than 20 percent of those stories contained any sound bites, and the average sound bite was only 9.5 seconds long.

That's about long enough for someone to say: "I support (insert issue here) because it is important to the (insert interest group here) and to Americans that (said issue) is passed on a bipartisan basis."

No wonder politicians run more and more campaign ads; it's the only way they can get their message across. They have learned how to use -- and abuse -- the media through advertisements. They pour precious money into running thousands of campaign commercials, which are then repeated to instill the message in the viewer's mind.

It doesn't matter whether or not they're factual or truth-stretching, whether they're attack ads or issue-oriented. To the voter, it's all the same. And to the politician, it is propaganda at its best: "if people see something enough times, they'll believe it."

It's appalling that the news has paid such scant attention to the upcoming pivotal election. But the twisted process that finds politicians grasping for airtime in a television-oriented world that doesn't pay enough attention to them is what's really wrong. It's not that voters don't want to discuss the issues, it's that they aren't able to find a forum for them. Yet.

Campaign finance gurus Sens. John McCain and Russell Feingold have teamed up with Sen. Richard Durbin to begin the next phase of their uphill struggle to reform the political process in America.

Their new bill, known as the Political Campaign Broadcast Activity Improvements Act, would require television and radio stations to air at least two hours a week of candidate- or issue-centered programming in the time period before an election.

This programming would have to be in the form of debates, interviews or something similar. In other words, something substantial that would give viewers (and hopefully voters) a real chance to learn about the candidates.

Some people would of course take issue with the fact that this bill attempts to regulate the media's ability to choose its own programming -- limiting the cherished First Amendment's guarantee of freedom of the press. But this bill would not inhibit that freedom; it would help the media exercise it in ways that would also facilitate another freedom -- the right to vote.

Instead of arguing over the lack of separation between politics and the media, the focus should be put on why politicians are reduced to running their mindless ads in the first place.

McCain said it best, "By increasing the flow of political information, free air time can better inform the public about candidates and invite viewers to become more engaged in their government by learning more about the individuals seeking to represent them."

It's too bad McCain's argument won't show up on any local news broadcasts -- it's too long for them to bother.

Neighbors, this election is so important I cannot overemphasize it...

...at the very least, commit yourself to voting, and get everyone you know to vote, too.
Now is the time to support people you like, and hammer the ones you don't... write letters, call talk shows, generally make a nuisance of yourself.

If you don't, you have no grounds to complain if things don't go your way.
The only things that will keep me from the polls are death or a major family catastrophe.

For further inspiration, may I refer you to this:

-Activate Yourself! --

Godspeed, and may God bless...

require television and radio stations to air at least two hours a week of candidate- or issue-centered programming in the time period before an election.

. . . Some people would of course take issue with the fact that this bill attempts to regulate the media's ability to choose its own programming -- limiting the cherished First Amendment's guarantee of freedom of the press.

Patently the FCC exists to regulate radio transmission, primarily by censoring most such transmission to create the clear channels without which "broadcasting" by the favored few licensees could not readily be received by a wide audience.
That turns the First Amendment on its head by creating a "right to listen" to a government-favored few, and a duty not to speak. Thus journalism is not all of the press, and broadcast journalism is not even part of it. It is fatuous to ascribe First Amendment protection to government licensees.

But this bill would not inhibit that freedom; it would help the media exercise it in ways that would also facilitate another freedom -- the right to vote.

Instead of arguing over the lack of separation between politics and the media, the focus should be put on why politicians are reduced to running their mindless ads in the first place.

Instead of fatuous discussion of the citizen's "right to know" what journalists choose to say, the focus should be put on how the poor man's soap box can compete with the rich man's broadcast station.
Journalists make money by attracting eyeballs to advertisements, and they do that by entertaining. That is the reason for the "the show must go on" deadlines which define the nonfiction genre known as journalism. And for journalism's "Man Bites Dog" emphasis as well.
Man Bites Dog plays out in real life as "Christian Commits Egregious Sin" or "Drinking Water Contains (trace ammounts of) Arsenic." Liberalism is merely the difference between good public policy and what constitutes a "great story."
Journalism is negative and superficial, and cynicism is superficial negativity. The only reason Democrats ever lose is that those most convinced by journalism are too cynical to turn out to vote.

Americans who don't vote are just plain stupid! It's not the media's fault. The fault lies with Americans who live in this country and are outstanding for thier lack of brains. And they are legion. Stupid folks are cannot be directed, I don't think. Education might elicit some thought process, but public school education these days only teaches how to use a condom. No help there. What to do? Get rid of public schools and teach kids about their great American heritage, their right and duty to vote, in addition to learning to read and write.

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