Truthiness and lies... (from Online Journal...a very good read)

[SoCalDem]

Truthiness and lies
By Lacey Benns-Owens
Online Journal Guest Writer
http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_1334.shtml

Oct 20, 2006, 01:07

It’s no wonder that “truthiness” was chosen as Word of the Year for 2005. This term, created by fake journalist Stephen Colbert, seems more and more appropriate these days. Colbert states, “we are divided between those who think with their head, and those who know with their heart.” Truth no longer seems to exist. Replacing logic and facts with feelings and heart has become all too common. Part of this shift may stem from the very genre spoofed by Colbert. Cable news media has taken a dramatic shift away from the original concepts and ethics surrounding journalism.

This change became even more prominent in the months, or even years, after 9/11. Suddenly, no one was allowed to say anything negative about the president, the war or the countries’ policies. To do so was unpatriotic or un-American. It seemed as though cable news was so fearful of accusations of liberal bias they tended to lean the other way. Questions were never put forward, either to the president or to Republican or Democrat congressmen, about the reasons for going to war. Antiwar demonstrations were held by the hundreds, with hundreds of thousands of participants. And yet all we ever saw were short clips in the news roundup, if we saw anything at all. This isn’t to say that the news media should have been attacking the president or the war, but they should have been more focused on analysis and viewing the issue from all sides. Instead, they failed. The trivialization of the news seemed to grow.

While not a full-fledged news junkie, I do find myself spending a lot more time watching Wolf Blitzer, Chris Matthews and Bill O’Reilly than does the average American. While others watch in anticipation to see who will be kicked off Dancing with the Stars or Survivor, I watch to see what the weekly Democrat and Republican talking points will be. I’d like to think that tuning in to cable news is a higher level of mental stimulation than are sitcoms or reality TV shows. But the more I watch CNN, Fox, and MSNBC, the more I realize the world of cable news may not be so different from Cops or The West Wing.

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