U.S. media losing credibility

[unhappycamper]

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2014/02/21/commentary/u-s-media-losing-credibility/#.UwrH1eOSzl8

U.S. media losing credibility
by Ramesh Thakur
Feb 21, 2014

New NHK boss Katsuto Momii got into trouble in Japan last month for comments on comfort women for Japanese soldiers during World War II and for suggesting that the state broadcaster should support the Japanese government in the territorial dispute with China.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott was similarly criticized for asking the state-funded Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) to support government policy. The ABC has long been criticized for left-wing bias in the opinion pages of the Murdoch press which, given its own well-known biases, is especially ironical.

In the United Kingdom, former top executives of papers in Murdoch’s News Corp stable are currently on trial for their roles in the phone hacking scandal that engulfed British media.

What of U.S. media? The relative decline in U.S. global dominance will inevitably lead to a retreat of the U.S. media footprint around the world as well and translate into a corresponding erosion of U.S. soft power. The trend will accelerate if outsiders lose faith in the objectivity of U.S. media analysis. An important explanation for the surprisingly rapid inroads of Al Jazeera in the Middle East market was the dissatisfaction with the biased coverage of regional affairs by the once-dominant Western media.

[cprise]

1. As long as Hollywood shows remain very popular

...around the world, people will continue to internalize US foreign and public policy themes in large numbers.