Cuddly bunny
31-10-2005, 10:20
A friend of mine posted this on Gaia http://www.gaiaonline.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=10742288. She requested I post this here since she has no NationState account and the Gaia seem to be preoccupied with it's Halloween events.
Note: I've no doubt this might be an oft repeated topic, but I'm new to the Political subforum of ED and to politics in general, and I've been trying to learn more. That said, I'm interested in other threads like this, so if people can recommend them to me by posting their links here, I'd appreciate it!)
Introduction: Recently, a professor of my Media Criticism class asked us to choose *one* work from the list that he provided us, and to critique its political ideology. But since I don't know much of political liberalism and conservatism, I decided I'd get a more rounded view if I read *two* books, so I borrowed:
* one liberal: Eric Alterman's What Liberal Media? 2003 (Amazon.com).
* one conservative: Bernard Goldberg's Arrogance: Rescuing America From the Media Elite 2003 (Amazon.com).
After alot of reading and research (which mainly include Amazon.com book reviews), I learned that these authors and many of their readers throw out opinions more than facts, fail to clarify the context in which they argue their points, and write mainly for the people already "in-the-know"... such of these are usually people that already agree with them, or are the people that they're trying to bash into submission or simply make angry like Hell.
Liberals argue that there's a conservative bias in the media because: the media is a business, that conservatives support the rich and powerful, so that even though most journalists are liberals, these journalists are censored by the powerful corperations that they work for. A popular example is FOX News, which is owned by self-proclaimed conservative, Rupert Murdoch.
Liberals also argue that just because a journalist's personal beliefs are liberal or conservative doesn't mean that a journalist will report the news with his or her own bias in place, because there's a professional code of objectivity that must be followed.
Liberals acknowledge that most of the conservatives to be found in the media aren't in mainstream media, but are broadcasted on places like TV (e.g. - The O'Reilly Factor) and radio talk shows (e.g. - Rush Limbaugh), and that the danger is that people are getting their news from these sources, instead of legitimate news services.
Conservatives argue that there's a liberal bias in the media because: the liberals control the media, so liberals can only see themselves as "mainstream". Conservatives say that the reason conservative talk shows are so plentiful is *because* the mainstream liberal media prevents them from broadcasting a conservative point of view, and that FOX News is the only conservative news service to be found on television compared to all the other TV networks.
Conservatives think it's unlikely that self-respecting reporters can keep their own biases in balance with their journalistic duties. Conservatives say that what they've a problem with is that too many liberal journalists claim to be "objective" when they're really speaking as liberals. Conservatives say they speak as conservatives, but liberals won't admit that they're liberals.
Conservatives think that liberal progressives use the media to popularize liberal values. Conservatives cite the Jayson Blair incident at NY Times, as an example of how affirmative action (hiring based for racial/ethnic diversity) failed, when Blair was discovered to be lying and reporting fake news. Conservatives believe political correctness is geared for the liberal media, and that liberals live in the closed-mindedness of their ideals in places like NYC.
Note: I've no doubt this might be an oft repeated topic, but I'm new to the Political subforum of ED and to politics in general, and I've been trying to learn more. That said, I'm interested in other threads like this, so if people can recommend them to me by posting their links here, I'd appreciate it!)
Introduction: Recently, a professor of my Media Criticism class asked us to choose *one* work from the list that he provided us, and to critique its political ideology. But since I don't know much of political liberalism and conservatism, I decided I'd get a more rounded view if I read *two* books, so I borrowed:
* one liberal: Eric Alterman's What Liberal Media? 2003 (Amazon.com).
* one conservative: Bernard Goldberg's Arrogance: Rescuing America From the Media Elite 2003 (Amazon.com).
After alot of reading and research (which mainly include Amazon.com book reviews), I learned that these authors and many of their readers throw out opinions more than facts, fail to clarify the context in which they argue their points, and write mainly for the people already "in-the-know"... such of these are usually people that already agree with them, or are the people that they're trying to bash into submission or simply make angry like Hell.
Liberals argue that there's a conservative bias in the media because: the media is a business, that conservatives support the rich and powerful, so that even though most journalists are liberals, these journalists are censored by the powerful corperations that they work for. A popular example is FOX News, which is owned by self-proclaimed conservative, Rupert Murdoch.
Liberals also argue that just because a journalist's personal beliefs are liberal or conservative doesn't mean that a journalist will report the news with his or her own bias in place, because there's a professional code of objectivity that must be followed.
Liberals acknowledge that most of the conservatives to be found in the media aren't in mainstream media, but are broadcasted on places like TV (e.g. - The O'Reilly Factor) and radio talk shows (e.g. - Rush Limbaugh), and that the danger is that people are getting their news from these sources, instead of legitimate news services.
Conservatives argue that there's a liberal bias in the media because: the liberals control the media, so liberals can only see themselves as "mainstream". Conservatives say that the reason conservative talk shows are so plentiful is *because* the mainstream liberal media prevents them from broadcasting a conservative point of view, and that FOX News is the only conservative news service to be found on television compared to all the other TV networks.
Conservatives think it's unlikely that self-respecting reporters can keep their own biases in balance with their journalistic duties. Conservatives say that what they've a problem with is that too many liberal journalists claim to be "objective" when they're really speaking as liberals. Conservatives say they speak as conservatives, but liberals won't admit that they're liberals.
Conservatives think that liberal progressives use the media to popularize liberal values. Conservatives cite the Jayson Blair incident at NY Times, as an example of how affirmative action (hiring based for racial/ethnic diversity) failed, when Blair was discovered to be lying and reporting fake news. Conservatives believe political correctness is geared for the liberal media, and that liberals live in the closed-mindedness of their ideals in places like NYC.