Confessions of a liberal media whore
If journalists are sucking up to power, why did we eviscerate Clinton and Congress when Dems were in control? If we're only after money, why, did Disney refuse to distribute the biggest grossing documentary of all time (F911) in favor of a flag-waving Hallmark ad no one's heard of? If it's ratings, why did MSNBC cancel their top rated show (Donahue) because it wasn't appropriately pro-war?
No matter what explanation liberals come up with to justify the media's behavior, none of them explain why these scenarios are only in force when they screw liberals and/or forward the Republican agenda. It seems as though the left has fallen victim to the spin, too, and deep down wants to believe the media is one of them.
I could tell you plenty of reasons why this isn't true. I could tell you about the AP reporter I sat next to when we were covering an event for Lloyd Bentson who wouldn't shut up about what a great President Tom DeLay would be. I could tell you about the marketing folks I overheard talking about how great the local daily's new editor was for "purging the paper of all the liberals". Or I could tell you about the PBS station where I worked where they hired a recent graduate from one of the conservative Gannon/Guckert schools of journalism and how he explained to me without shame about how they trained promising young evangelicals like himself to get jobs at various media outlets around the country so they could undermine the "pro-gay anti-Christian agenda from the inside."
Then again it might be more illustrative to talk about the editors who love to hire these shills because their propoganda will balance out the timid reporting of the remaining left-of-center folks who do their best to emulate their right wing counterparts, partly to demonstrate their objectivity but mostly because they correctly assume it's part of the job description.
I've seen the surveys where reporters proclaim to be independents or Democrats. There are still some around, but unlike their evangelical counterparts who are benefiting from ideological affirmative action, these reporters are a closeted, frightened bunch who have to defend every deviation from the White House script because it will play into their liberal image.
The area where I live now has only one source of regional news, a Knight-Ridder newspaper that is distinguished by its lapses into total incompetence. Over the years the region lost a television news department, three radio news departments, and some sporadic competition from larger newspapers. Consolidation of the media and domination of cable and radio satellites has made regional news coverage irrelevant to the media.
I am a columnist with progressive leadings for the local newspaper, but the newspaper editors have problems with anything that reflects a liberal stance. It does not have editorial problems with utter scurrility from its stable of rightwingnut locals who rail against baby-killers, big government leeches, and on and on. My inclination is to disassociate myself from journalism that erects barriers against one point of view . So, the only voice that purports to relay news is a newspaper whose editorial purging sometimes makes Pravda look like the Weekly Reader. But, as you suggest, it is often difficult to distinguish conservative bias from stupidity and incompetence. I admit I tend to believe they are one and the same.
Ultimately, the issue is not whether the newspaper is serving a political camp, but that it is serving its advertisers, who are conservative because that is a requisite for being a full-fledged member of the Chamber and the Management Class. As a journalist, including being editior of a business section, who goes way back, I recall the constant battle against puffery in behalf of the business community. I recall massive labor strikes when the corporate public relations personnel came to the city room and dictated the strike stories. I recall when a delegation from the Chamber visited the editor and demanded that the editorial page editor be fired because he printed a letter critical of some local business operations. And I recall how absolutely close-minded these people were to any arguments about journalistic fairness and integrity. News media are not that far removed from the community weekly that grovels and fawns to get enough advertising to pay the bills.
If it weren't for the Internet, people in my region would not have access to much news of national significance. Regional happenings seldom get full reports. The asses from Sinclair Lewis "Main Stree" are still controlling the cultural agenda, and it is still difficult to determine if they are conservative or just fence-post stupid. And so it goes.
June 8, 2005 9:54 AM | Reply | Permalink