Has The MSM Gotten Even More Biased? Is Corporate Media Control Worse Than Ever Before?

[TomCADem]

The reason I say this because it is actually quite difficult to get news with actual quotes and references to facts. Instead, the bulk of stories out there are filled with unsupported characterizations. The most recent example is the media characterization of Gibb's statement that the public option is a "valuable tool," constitutes a shift by the Obama administration. Of course, back in June, President Obama was calling the public option a, you guessed it, an "important tool." In other words, it is actually very difficult to get real facts, rather than commentary. Worse, most of the news coverage is devoted to those folks who shout the loudest or say the most outrageous things.

The irony is that the news media ignores the facts of the debate, then blames its incompetence on, you guessed it, President Obama. As though if President Obama had some magical PR strategy, the media would stop paying attention to pastors who pray for the death of President Obama, or town hall extremists who display posters of President Obama as Hitler. Blaming President Obama for the media's own shortcomings and bias is a nice way to distract people from the fact that the corporate owned media has its own agenda, and that is protecting its corporate sponsors and owners. In the case of Fox News, it is the agenda of getting more and more Americans to buy into Rupert Murdoch's right wing views.

Sadly, we are now paying more than ever for the death of a diverse media. Rupert Murdoch alone can now dictate the story lines that other media outlets, even the "liberal" ones, follow. I am sure that Fox News will come out with some distraction to focus on, while ignoring President Obama's education speech or the Wednesday health care speech. Perhaps someone will claim that President Obama is the anti-christ, and Fox News will run this 24/7 on Wednesday. Then, Maddow and Olbermann will devote their slots to dispute this characterization. While this happens, the substance and need for health care reform is ignored.

The fact of the matter is that the right wing media is not concerned about the truth, and this gives it tremendous freedom in trying to sow discord among those who are tying to reform health care, who are constrained by the facts. Reformers cannot really rely on lies, because when exposed, this weakens the cause for reform. In contrast, when a right wing lie is exposed, the right wing simply invents a new lie to replace it whether its birthers, death panels, or brain washing of children. The right wing has an infinite supply of lies, while reformers are stuck with the one truth of an ailing health care system in need for reform.

It is not a fair fight. But, if it was, then we would have reformed health care long ago with Harry Truman, and it has become tougher since then.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

1. The M$M actually "roped-a-doped" us, leading Americans to believe that it was biased in favor of

Obama during the election, such that when it turned against him (it was *always* against him), we could not charge bias. In other words, the wingnuts kept repeating how the M$M loved Barack Obama to the point that everyone believed it. So now that the M$M is clearly against him, it's harder for us to make that claim because the detractors can just point back to the campaign, claiming that the media was always fawning over Obama. I even gagged when Saturday Night Live did that skit about it; the M$M was never in love with Obama.

[TomCADem]

2. The 24/7 Coverage Of Beck and Teabaggers Shows Me How Much Liberals Were Ignored

The anti-war protests dwarfed anything put together by the corporate assisted tea baggers, but you never heard about it.

Los Angeles:

<>

New York:

<>

The tea baggers have not held anything that comes close to these demonstrations. Yet, they have received far more coverage by virtue of the megaphone that is the Rupert Murdoch media empire. Rupert Murdoch is a force multiplier for the right wing where one right wing activist equals one hundred liberal activists in terms of getting their message heard. Thus, we can either give up, or deal with it and fight back.

[Dinger]

3. Bring Back The Fairness Doctrine

That is all.

[FrenchieCat]

4. Truth!

and nothing but, in this post.

[WeDidIt]

5. Reality journalism depends upon drama

wild eyed birthers screaming about an illegitimate president building death camps for conservatives and grandmas is dramatic enough to get on reality journalism even if there are only a couple dozen or so of the insane Beckerwood Beckerheads.

Reasonable non-violent protests against a war doesn't constitute enough drama for reality journalism.