Thursday, October 2, 2008

Media Bias


I suppose I’m getting old enough to remember too many things. I remember the 1950s very distinctly and the things going on, with the attendant activities of normal people. The 1940s aren’t too clear and some of what I know may influence what I think is really memory. In the elections of 1947, the newspapers had headlines already printed proclaiming Thomas Dewey’s victory over Harry Truman. The Chicago Tribune’s November 3, 1947 first edition is what is pictured and should stand out as a stark reminder to the media. “The headline is a cautionary tale for journalists about the dangers of being first to break a story without being certain of its accuracy.”

It isn’t quite that way today, but there is still the insistence by the media to pick winners and to try to ensure their pick is the actual winner. Quite frankly, I’m getting fed up with it! The media is supposed to be news outlets, not social engineers. They are supposed to present an unbiased account of the news, or as Joe Friday on Dragnet would have said, “Just the facts, Ma’am, just the facts.”

Instead, we are getting the active promotion of one set of candidates to almost the exclusion of the other set. We are getting reports that agree with their political position and the other side is neglected, ridiculed or lied about. As the Eddie Chiles stickers used to proclaim, “I’m mad too, Eddie!” and it stems from an out of control media!

The only alternative to the news media is the blogosphere, where the truth has to be distilled, but is available. By distilled, I mean it has to be weighed against the reputation the blog has for accuracy and truthfulness. Then it has to be checked with other blogs to see if they have the same sources and if the sources are reputable. MoveOn.org isn’t a reliable source for anything that isn’t Democrat and neither is Daily Kos. It isn’t a whole lot different than checking on the veracity of the many emails we get that may, or may not, be urban legends.

The recent attempts to defame Sarah Palin are typical examples of lies being promulgated, with an intent to sway votes in the opposite direction. However, it isn’t just MoveOn.org that is doing it. It’s the national news media that have also joined in and it’s to their discredit, since it certainly doesn’t fit with Joe Friday’s modus operandi.

Grave diggers are a needed vocation, but the “dirt diggers” in the media and other places are less than honorable and obscure the issues at hand in their quest for having their way.

I’m mad too, Eddie!

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