How conservatives think the media should be reporting current events

[alp227]

I took a visit over to the Media Research Center website to see how conservatives are currently dissatisfied by the media. The front page of the website posted these headlines:

Study: "Elitist Networks Pile On Against Arizona Immigration Law " by Tim Graham: "37 stories (or 74 percent) were negative, 10 were neutral, and only three were positive toward the Arizona law's passage -- 12 negative stories for every one that leaned positive. Stories were much kinder and sympathetic to illegal aliens than they were to police officers. Cops were potential abusers of power. Entering the country illegally was not an abuse of power. It was portrayed as an honorable step by the powerless." But too bad that reality is actually biased against SB1070:
- "Arizona's law enforcement groups have been split on the bill, with statewide rank-and-file police officer groups generally supporting it and police chief associations opposing it." (Source: "Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act", Local law enforcement section, sources cited in article)
- These prominent Republicans have opposed this bill: Gov. Charlie Crist of Florida, former George W. Bush strategist Karl Rove, and US Senate candidate Marco Rubio of Florida. (Same Wikipedia article)
- A Rasmussen Reports poll showed that although 60% of Americans support a law like SB1070, 58% are concerned that “efforts to identify and deport illegal immigrants will also end up violating the civil rights of some U.S. citizens.” So I guess that the "liberal media" shares the American people's concerns albeit slightly higher, based on Graham's analysis that 74% of stories were anti-SB1070.
- Oh yeah, don't forget that most of the protesters were anti-SB1070 too!

"MSNBC's Contessa Brewer Lauds 'Pivotal' Illegal Aliens for 'Making Our Country Work'" by Scott Whitlock: "MSNBC's Contessa Brewer on Thursday didn't try and hide her opinion on illegal immigration, spinning such lawbreakers as having a 'pivotal role in making our country work.' The News Live host interviewed Antonio Villaraigosa, the mayor of Los Angeles and opined, 'They do all kinds of jobs that keep our economy going, that keep us fed, our houses clean, our gardens tended and the like.'" That "lawbreakers" insult aside, Brewer's statement was far from opinion. It's frickin' reality...which I've heard has a liberal bias according to a certain comedian (Stephen Colbert in case you don't know). Articles like Whitlock's are probably why MSNBC has a reputation for being liberal besides having Rachel Maddow and Keith Olbermann in primetime. MSNBC's news anchors tell the damn truth no matter how left-leaning it may seem. Fox News anchors don't...but they do satisfy the MRC though.

"MSNBC's Tamron Hall Floats Conspiracy Theory That Arizona Deputy Shooting Was 'Staged' to Gain Support for Immigration Law" by Kyle Drennen: "On Thursday's 11AM hour on MSNBC, anchor Tamron Hall described "growing controversy" surrounding the recent shooting of an Arizona sheriff's deputy by illegal immigrant drug smugglers and noted how: "The Pinal County sheriff released the 911 tapes the injured deputy made, in response to what he called 'growing speculation' that the shooting was staged."" Apparently, Hall asked a question based on a blog from the Phoenix New Times, one of those independent news sites that piss off conservatives for being, y'know, independent (and "left-leaning" as Drennen pointed out). Hmm, I'm not very comfortable defending Hall, but I wonder when Drennen's ever equally attacked Megyn Kelly of Fox News for rolling out right-wing nonsense every single frickin' day.

"WaPo Lists 'Virginity' as Something 'the World Should Toss Out'" by Sarah Knoploh (at the Culture and Media Institute) "Most people do spring cleaning to get rid of unwanted items and to perhaps start fresh. The Washington Post recently compiled a spring cleaning list of “Twelve Things the World Should Toss Out.” But instead of suggesting getting rid of old clothes or unused exercise equipment, blogger Jessica Valenti actually advocated that virginity should be headed for the dump.

Valenti, who is the author of “The Purity Myth: How America’s Obsession with Virginity is Hurting Young Women,” first complained that there is no set definition of “virginity.” She went on to criticize efforts to remain abstinent until marriage, writing, “Promise rings, virginity pledges and other efforts to enforce chastity aren't just backward -- they're a failure, and they may even endanger teenagers.” "

Erhm, Knoploh might want to consider that daughter of Sarah Palin. Although Knoploh cites a pro-abstinence org's status that virginity pledges are effective (33% of young adults who makes such pledges have sex before marriage compared to 42% who don't pledge), a federal study showed the opposite for teens who made such pledges. And need I say that many studies repeatedly showed that abstinence education and the like simply don't work? And what about the enforced virginity in Islamic nations? I'd like Knoploh to try and defend THAT.

"CBS's Bob Orr Despairs Shahzad 'Lived a Spartan and Seemingly Lonely Existence' " by Brent Baker: "A night after CBS's Bob Orr insisted botched terrorist bomber Faisal Shahzad's “motive also remains unclear” and fretted “he has not realized any American dream,” Orr on Thursday night asserted “investigators say financial pressures may have helped fuel his rage” because “he defaulted on both his mortgage and another $65,000 equity loan.” " Well how else could they have described Shahzad?

There you have it, conservatives hardly have much constructive criticism about the media, just random attacks and frustration that their own archaic, utopian worldview doesn't hold up to reality.

The website Conwebwatch has lots of criticism of the MRC:
Professional Prudes (regarding the Culture and Media Institute)
Not-So-Special Reports, CMI Division
Conwebblog: MRC, Newsbusters (MRC's blog)
and much more