[ForGod'sSake]

The media claims to be our self-appointed watchdogs when, in reality, they are nothing more than a bunch of sales people pitching superficial tales.

Just so. As you can likely tell from my tag, I'm not a fan of our "free press". Truth be known, were it not for the air head dreamers in the media, the socialisms so readily embraced by so many, wouldn't stand a chance in the ideas market. Their influence is formidable; not only on the electorate, but the elected as well. No politician, including(especially?) our own conservatives, wants to run afoul of the media machine. Conservative ideals have to be couched in smarmy language and diluted to the point of near ineffectiveness to even rise to the level of "marginal" by our "free press". So, who's minding the store?

A bit off subject; hope you don't mind the brief rant...

FGS

[Wolfstar]

I most certainly do not mind your "rant." In fact, I agree with it. Like several elements of the Bill of Rights, over the course of the last half-century or so, freedom of the press has been so broadly interpreted by our courts that they now have virtually unlimted, unchecked power. They can lie, steal, cheat, destroy the lives of innocent people, and it's almost impossible to win any kind of legal action against them. The media's product is news, information and opinion. They are the only business that can market defective or even fraudulent product and have no fear of criminal or civil legal action against them. That such breathtaking power leads to some degree of corruption should be no surprise to anyone. Unfortunately, our only defense as consumers of news is to develop a healthy skepticism and the patience to let stories play themselves out before making judgements.