Yes, it IS media's fault. Morning shows solemnly air Koch ads then discuss dire effect on Dems
without one word about the lies contained in the ads.
It's the MORNING SHOWS that set the tone for the day in politics. They want the public to see it as a foregone conclusion that Republicans will win the Senate and are already CREDITING the ads from the Kochs, and without informing the public that the attack ads are wall to wall lies.
http://www.fair.org/blog/2013/09/18/inform-the-public-not-my-job-says-chuck-todd/
Inform the Public? Not My Job, Says Chuck Todd
NBC White House correspondent Chuck Todd's declaration that it's not his job to inform viewers when politicians spread misinformation was noted by several progressive blogs today, including Talking Points Memo.
Appearing on MSNBC's Morning Joe today (9/18/13), Todd responded to Ed Rendell's claim that Obamacare opponents are full of misinformation about the program by explaining that this was because Republicans "have successfully messaged against it." But wasn't journalism's job to expose misinformation? No, Todd insisted; if the public was misinformed about the Affordable Care Act, it was the president's fault for not pushing back:
What I always love is people say, "Well, it's you folks' fault in the media." No, it's the president of the United States' fault for not selling it.
It's sad that NBC's White House correspondent thinks his job is merely to convey politicians pronouncements, with no care about whether they are true or false. In fact, scrutinizing claims, particularly those from powerful officials, is an essential part of journalism. It's embarrassing to have to cite elementary principles to one the nation's most influential reporters, but Todd should consider reviewing the Society of Professional Journalists' Code of Ethics, where, under the heading "Seek Truth and Report It," the very first tenet implores journalists to "test the accuracy of information from all sources."
Todd isn't alone among influential journalists claiming that factchecking sources is outside their job purview. In 2004, NPR's Ron Elving declared that journalism was incapable of calling out the lies about John Kerry's military record spread by the Swift Boat Veteran's for Truth, claiming: "There is no way that journalism can satisfy those who think that Kerry is a liar or that Swift Boat Veterans for Truth are liars." Journalists' throwing up their hands when it came to the distortion of Kerry's military record may have determined the outcome of the 2004 election.
The stenography model of journalism was so strong in 2002 that it prompted New York Times columnist Paul Krugman (9/6/02) to quip sarcastically about journalists failure to challenge Bush White House lies:
The next time the administration insists that chocolate is vanilla, much of the media–fearing accusations of liberal bias, trying to create the appearance of "balance"–won't report that the stuff is actually brown; at best they'll report that some Democrats claim that it's brown.
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http://mediamatters.org/blog/2014/02/05/difference-between-real-news-and-spin-brought-t/197936
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