From: "Saved by Windows Internet Explorer 8" Subject: =?Windows-1252?Q?Media_in_the_United_States_=97_Global_Issues?= Date: Wed, 28 Mar 2012 13:40:05 -0400 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/related; type="text/html"; boundary="----=_NextPart_000_0000_01CD0CE8.48BD1670" X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.1.7601.17609 This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_0000_01CD0CE8.48BD1670 Content-Type: text/html; charset="utf-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Location: http://www.globalissues.org/article/163/media-in-the-united-states =EF=BB=BF
Social, Political, Economic and Environmental = Issues That=20 Affect Us All
=E2=80=9CI challenge anybody to show me an example of bias in Fox = News Channel.=E2=80=9D =E2=80=94=20 Rupert Murdoch (Salon, 3/1/01)
=E2=80=94 Quoted by Seth Ackerman, The Most Biased = Name in=20 News; Fox News Channel=E2=80=99s extraordinary right-wing tilt, = Extra! A Fairness=20 and Accuracy In Reporting Special Report, August 2001
In recent years, the American media has been plagued with all sorts = of=20 problems including, sliding profits, scandals about manipulation, = plagiarism,=20 propaganda, lower audiences, =E2=80=9Cdumbing down=E2=80=9D, and so = on.
Media omissions, distortion, inaccuracy and bias in the US is = something=20 acknowledged by many outside the USA, and is slowly realized more and = more=20 inside the US. However, those problems have made it very difficult for = the=20 average American citizen to obtain an open, objective view of many of = the issues=20 that involve the United States (and since the United States is so = influential=20 culturally, economically, politically and militarily around the world, = they are=20 naturally involved in many issues).
Those with power and influence know that media control or influence = is=20 crucial. A free press is crucial for a functioning democracy, but if not = truly=20 free, paves the way for manipulation and concentration of views, thus=20 undermining democracy itself.
This web page has the following sub-sections:
An essay from the prestigious journal, Columbia Journalism=20 Review, notes the crucial role of free media and the need for = public=20 education in society to maintain democracy:
In recognition of the role that the press played in the = nation=E2=80=99s founding,=20 and in appreciation of the crucial role it plays in maintaining a free = society, the press was granted special protections under the First=20 Amendment.
But the founders knew that a free press would be worth little if = the people=20 could not read it, so public education became one of the great = obsessions of=20 the leaders of the early republic. [The problem in Europe at that = time] was=20 restricting education to the wealthy, in the mistaken belief that = =E2=80=9Cknowledge=20 is the parent of sedition and insurrection.=E2=80=9D Instead, he = wrote, education was=20 vital to the maintenance of a free society. This concern with = education was=20 widespread in the founding generation, and Thomas Jefferson famously = listed=20 the establishment of the University of Virginia as one of the three = great=20 accomplishments of his life (he omitted his presidency from the=20 list).
=E2=80=94 Evan Cornog, Let=E2=80=99= s Blame the=20 Readers, Columbia Journalism Review, Issue 1, January/February=20 2005
The idea of =E2=80=9Ccitizenship education=E2=80=9D grew from these = ideals stressing the=20 education of the American institutions, the value of democracy, thinking = critically about their society and their roles in that society etc. But = =E2=80=9Cwith=20 business groups looking to schools essentially to educate workers for a = complex=20 industrial society=E2=80=9D an inherent conflict was brewing.
Thus, =E2=80=9Cthe traditional and primary collective goal of public = schools building=20 literate citizens able to engage in democratic practices=E2=80=9D [also = the goal of=20 American=E2=80=99s founders] was =E2=80=9Creplaced by the goal of social = efficiency, that is,=20 preparing students for a competitive labor market anchored in a swiftly = changing=20 economy.=E2=80=9D In addition:
This redefinition of citizenship has been part of a larger push = toward=20 privatizing much that used to be public =E2=80=94 and, in particular, = governmental =E2=80=94=20 in American society. For decades the Republican Party and allies in = the=20 business community have worked to reduce government=E2=80=99s role in = American life.=20 It is a measure of their success that faith in democratic government = has=20 largely been replaced by faith in the market. It was the senior = President Bush=20 who urged upon the nation a less expansive model of civic = engagement=E2=80=A6 Implicit=20 in this was the notion =E2=80=A6 isolated individuals should try to do = good =E2=80=94 in=20 isolation. Earlier generations had expressed different ideals. In his=20 inaugural address in 1941, as the threat of world war drew ever closer = to the=20 United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt said that American democracy was = strong=20 =E2=80=9Cbecause it is built on the unhampered initiative of = individual men and women=20 joined together in a common enterprise.=E2=80=9D Sixty years later, = after the=20 September 11 attacks had shaken the nation, President George W. Bush = urged=20 Americans to pull together by going out and spending money, or taking = a trip=20 to Disney World. Consumerism had become the common = cause.
=E2=80=94 Evan Cornog, Let=E2=80=99= s Blame the=20 Readers, Columbia Journalism Review, Issue 1, January/February=20 2005
(See also this site=E2=80=99s section on the ri= se in=20 consumerism detailing how politically active citizens in the 1960s = were=20 dumbed down and diverted to consumerism.)
The mainstream media too have seen similar transformations. Pressures = to make=20 profit require more and more avoidance of controversial and sensitive = issues=20 that could criticize aspects of corporate America or reduce the buying = moods of=20 readers.
In doing so, much of the agendas are driven by government and = business=20 interests, with less criticism. Over time, as people unwittingly get = accustomed=20 to a lower quality media, propaganda becomes easier to = disseminate.
=E2=80=9Ca principle familiar to propagandists is that the doctrine = to be instilled=20 in the target audience should not be articulated: that would only = expose them=20 to reflection, inquiry, and, very likely, ridicule. The proper = procedure is to=20 drill them home by constantly presupposing them, so that they become = the very=20 condition for discourse.=E2=80=9D=E2=80=94Noam = Chomsky
=E2=80=94 Quoted by Scott Burchill, Th= e Limits=20 of Thinkable Thought, February 4, 2000
The media is therefore one avenue by which such support and, if = needed,=20 manipulation, can be obtained. The US is no exception to this. As the = following=20 quote summarizes, the role of the media from the view of politics is = often less=20 discussed:
George Seldes, a reporter for over seventy years, points out that = there are=20 three sacred cows still with us today: religion, patriotism, and the = media=20 itself=E2=80=A6 Patriotism, defined as taking pride in one=E2=80=99s = country, allies the=20 masses with the ruling powers. The media refuses to discuss its = consistent=20 failure to inform the masses of this ongoing control. It has been in = place for=20 so long that few are aware of how it came about or that it is even = still=20 there. But many people are intelligent, moral, and idealistic; if the = media=20 would discuss the true history of these three sacred cows, that = control would=20 quickly disappear.
=E2=80=94 J.W. Smith, The=20 World=E2=80=99s Wasted Wealth 2, (Institute for Economic Democracy, = 1994), p.=20 11.
There are many ways in which the media is used to obtain such support = and=20 conformity. The U.S., often regarded as one of the more freer countries = with=20 regards to its media, is therefore worth looking at in more detail. This = is a=20 large topic so this section will be updated from time to time.
As detailed further on this web site=E2=80=99s mainstream=20 media introduction, the US=E2=80=99s rankings in the Press Freedom = Index from=20 Reporters Without Borders is a lot lower than it is often assumed.
It is normally thought =E2=80=94 and expected =E2=80=94 that US press = freedom would rank top=20 in the world. Yet, for many years, it has been a lot lower than the high = expectation. For 2011, the US = ranked just=20 47th. It has been around these low numbers for a number = of years,=20 especially during the Bush Administration=E2=80=99s =E2=80=9CWar on = Terror=E2=80=9D.
For a while, under the Obama Administration it was looking better, = but recent=20 events such as the various Occupy protest movements and how journalists = have=20 been treated has resulted in the recent drops in the rankings. As Josh = Stearns=20 from Free Press and the Free Press Action Fund worries, the cherished US=20 First Amendment is being taken for granted.
Many US policies, especially foreign policies, have come under much = sharp=20 criticism from around the world as well as from various segments within = American=20 society. As a result, some fear that they are running the risk of = alienating=20 themselves from the rest of the world. A revealing quote hints that = media=20 portrayal of issues can affect the constructive criticism of American = foreign=20 policy:
=E2=80=9COne reads about the world=E2=80=99s desire for American = leadership only in the=20 United States=E2=80=9D, one anonymous well-placed British diplomat = recently observed,=20 =E2=80=9CEverywhere else one reads about American arrogance and=20 unilateralism.=E2=80=9D
=E2=80=94 Jonathan Power, Am= erica is=20 in Danger of Alienating the World, March 3, 1999
The quote above also summarizes how America is viewed in the = international=20 community and how some of their actions are portrayed in the United = States. Yet,=20 the international community, often for very valid reasons, sees = America=E2=80=99s=20 actions differently.
International=20 news coverage from US media is very poor. As noted by the Media = Channel and=20 Huffington Post, =E2=80=9CAccording to the Pew Research Center=E2=80=99s = recent study of=20 American journalism, coverage of international events is declining more = than any=20 other subject. In the study of 2007, 64% of participating newspaper = editors said=20 their papers had reduced the space for international news. =E2=80=98In a = strict sense,=20 the American media did not in 2007 cover the world,=E2=80=99 says the = Pew report. Beyond=20 Iraq, only two countries received notable coverage last year =E2=80=94 = Iran and=20 Pakistan.=E2=80=9D
This non-coverage of global issues is worrying because so many = American=20 citizens end up getting a narrow view of many important world issues. In = such a=20 situation, it is easier for propagandists to say things that are harder = to=20 question and seem real.
The majority of US citizens still get their news from television, = where=20 limited headlines and sound-bites reduce the breadth, depth and context=20 available. And while the=20 Internet has surpassed traditional newspapers as a prime source of = news, the=20 diversity of news is still small; a lot of = content for=20 Internet sites come from a few traditional sources, usually those = working in=20 struggling newspaper companies and media outlets.
As a side note, although the Internet may be surpassing traditional=20 newspapers as information sources, television news still dominates; some = 2/3rds=20 of Americans get their news from TV:
Surveys by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press = among=20 other polling and research groups show that about two-thirds of the = general=20 public cite television as their main source for national and = international=20 news, more than twice the number of people who rely on newspapers, and = about=20 50 percent more than the growing number of U.S. residents who rely on = the=20 Internet (43 percent).
=E2=80=94 Jim Lobe, =E2=80=9CArab = Spring=E2=80=9D Dominated TV=20 Foreign News in 2011, Inter Press Service, January 2,=20 2012
A year after the war on Iraq had started, March 2004 saw a large poll = released by the Pew Global Attitudes Project (GAP) from the Pew Research = Centre=20 for the People & the Press. It looked at views in a number of = countries,=20 including some in western Europe, and some in Muslim countries, and = found in all=20 of them a growing = mistrust of the=20 United States, particularly President George Bush.
On many issues there was a wide gap between respondents in the U.S. = versus=20 respondents elsewhere, including key ally, Britain. And as the diplomat = noted=20 above in 1999, this poll also noted that 61 to 84% of respondents in = other=20 countries found the U.S. motives in foreign policy to be = self-interested, while=20 70% of respondents in the United States thought their country did take = other=E2=80=99s=20 views into account. This divide in perceptions is large to say the = least. But=20 why is there such a gap?
Dr. Nancy Snow, an assistant professor of political science describes = one of=20 her previous jobs as being a =E2=80=9Cpropagandist=E2=80=9D for the U.S. = Information Agency. In=20 an interview, she also describes how Americans and the rest of the world = often=20 view the American media:
[P]ublic diplomacy is a euphemism for propaganda. In the United = States, we=20 don=E2=80=99t think of ourselves as a country that propagandizes, even = though to the=20 rest of the world we are seen as really the most propagandistic nation = in=20 terms of our advertising, in terms of our global reach, our public = relations=20 industry=E2=80=94we have more public relations professionals and = consultants in the=20 United States than we do news reporters. So there=E2=80=99s an entire = history of=20 advertising, promoting, and getting across the message of America both = within=20 and also outside of the United States.
=E2=80=94 Dr. Nancy Snow, Propaganda=20 Inc.: Behind the curtain at the U.S.I.A., an Interview with Guerilla = News=20 Network
Australian journalist John Pilger also captures this very well:
Long before the Soviet Union broke up, a group of Russian writers = touring=20 the United States were astonished to find, after reading the = newspapers and=20 watching television, that almost all the opinions on all the vital = issues were=20 the same. =E2=80=9CIn our country,=E2=80=9D said one of them, = =E2=80=9Cto get that result we have a=20 dictatorship. We imprison people. We tear out their fingernails. Here = you have=20 none of that. How do you do it? What=E2=80=99s the = secret?=E2=80=9D
=E2=80=94 John Pilger, In the freest press on = earth,=20 humanity is reported in terms of its usefulness to US power, New = Statesman,=20 20 February, 2001
While many = countries=E2=80=94if not=20 all=E2=80=94in some way suppress/distort information to some degree, the = fact that a=20 country as influential in the international arena such as the United = States is=20 also doing it is very disturbing. The people of this nation are the ones = that=20 can help shape the policies of the most powerful nation, thereby = affecting many=20 events around the world. For that to happen, they need to be able to = receive=20 objective reporting.
An integral part of a functioning democracy is that people are able = to make=20 informed choices and decisions. However, as the 2000 Election testified, = there=20 has been much amiss with the media coverage and discourse in = general.
The inappropriate fit between the country=E2=80=99s major media and = the country=E2=80=99s=20 political system has starved voters of relevant information, leaving = them at=20 the mercy of paid political propaganda that is close to meaningless = and often=20 worse. It has eroded the central requirement of a democracy that those = who are=20 governed give not only their consent but their informed=20 consent.
=E2=80=94 Ben H. Bagdikian, The Media Monopoly, = Sixth Edition,=20 (Beacon Press, 2000), p. 192.
(Note that in the above quote, the book was originally published in = 1983, but=20 is still relevant to today and applicable to the 2000 Elections in the = United=20 States and the various controversies that = accompanied=20 it.)
Since the terrible attacks by terrorists on September 11, 2001 in = America and=20 the resulting war on terrorism, various things that have happened that = has=20 impacted the media as well as the rest of the country.
One example was the appointing of an advertising professional, = Charlotte=20 Beers as undersecretary of state for public diplomacy and public = affairs. As=20 writer and activist, Naomi Klein pointed out in the Los Angeles=20 Times (March 10, 2002), =E2=80=9CBeers had no previous State = Department=20 experience, but she had held the top job at both the J. Walter Thompson = and=20 Ogilvy & Mather ad agencies, and she=E2=80=99s built brands for = everything from dog=20 food to power drills.=E2=80=9D Beers' task now was to =E2=80=9Cwork her = magic on the greatest=20 branding challenge of all: to sell the United States and its war on = terrorism to=20 an increasingly hostile world=E2=80=9D where many nations and people = have been critical=20 of American policies. (Beers eventually stepped down in March 2003 due = to health=20 reasons.) As Klein also pointed out, the trouble has been that the image = to be=20 portrayed is not seen by the rest of the world as necessarily being a = fair=20 portrayal:
Most critics of the U.S. don=E2=80=99t actually object to = America=E2=80=99s stated values.=20 Instead, they point to U.S. unilateralism in the face of international = laws,=20 widening wealth disparities, crackdowns on immigrants and human rights = violations =E2=80=A6 The anger comes not only from the facts of each = case but also=20 from a clear perception of false advertising. In other words, = America=E2=80=99s=20 problem is not with its brand =E2=80=94 which could scarcely be = stronger =E2=80=94 but with=20 its product.
=E2=80=94 Naomi Klein, Brand=20 USA, LA Times, March 10, 2002
The media frenzy in the wake of the =E2=80=9Cwar on terror=E2=80=9D = has on the one hand led=20 to detailed reporting on various issues. Unfortunately, as discussed on = this=20 site=E2=80=99s propa= ganda=20 page, this has been limited to a narrow range of perspectives and = context=20 leading to a simplification of why terrorists have taken up their = causes, of the=20 US=E2=80=99s role in the world, world opinions on various issues, and so = on.
One of the most famous media personalities in American news, Dan = Rather of=20 CBS had admitted that there has been a lot of self-censorship and that = the U.S.=20 media in general has been cowed= by=20 patriotic fever and that accusations of lack of patriotism is = leading to the=20 =E2=80=9Cfear that keeps journalists from asking the toughest of the = tough=20 questions.=E2=80=9D
Under the Bush Administration, the US government = has been=20 increasing its secrecy as Inter Press Service reports. = More and=20 more documents are being marked classified and more propaganda and fear = has been=20 employed (as discussed on this site=E2=80=99s war on terror section) to = scare the=20 population to support a cut back in their own civil rights for a war on = terror.=20 In that context, the lack of mainstream media courage risks further = government=20 and corporate media unaccountability.
For more about the war on terror and the attacks on the U.S., see = this site=E2=80=99s=20 war = on=20 terror section.
But deeper than self-censorship, has been the systemic and = institutional=20 censorship that goes on in the media on all sorts of issues. This has = been going=20 on for decades.
There is no formal censorship in the USA, but there is what some call = =E2=80=9CMarket=20 Censorship=E2=80=9D =E2=80=94 that is, mainstream media do not want to = run stories that will=20 offend their advertisers and owners. In this way, the media end up = censoring=20 themselves and not reporting on many important issues, including = corporate=20 practices. For some examples of this, check out the Project Censored web = site.
Another effect of these so-called market forces at work is that = mainstream=20 media will go for what will sell and news coverage becomes all about = attracting=20 viewers. Yet the fear of losing viewers from competition seems so high = that many=20 report the exact same story at the very same time! Objective coverage = gets a=20 back seat.
A friend of mine [of journalist Ryszard Kapuscinski] was working in = Mexico=20 for various US television channels. I met him in the street as he was = filming=20 clashes between students and police. I asked =E2=80=9CWhat=E2=80=99s = happening here, John?=E2=80=9D=20 Without stopping filming he replied: =E2=80=9CI don=E2=80=99t have the = faintest idea. I just=20 get the shots. I send them to the channel, and they do what they want = with=20 them=E2=80=9D.
=E2=80=94 Ryszard Kapuscinski, Media as mirror to the = world,=20 Le Monde Diplomatique, August 1999.
Even honest journalists from the major networks can find that their = stor= ies and=20 investigations may not get aired for political reasons, rather than = reasons=20 that would question journalistic integrity.
This highlights that market censorship isn=E2=80=99t always a natural = process of the=20 way the system works, but that corporate influences often affect what is = reported, even in the supposedly freest press of all. Some journalists=20 unwittingly go with the corporate influences while others who challenge = such=20 pressures often face difficulties. John Prestage is also worth quoting = on this=20 aspect too:
Even some mainstream journalists are sounding the alarm=E2=80=A6. = Henry Holcomb,=20 who is president of the Newspaper Guild of Greater Philadelphia and a=20 journalist for 40 years, said that newspapers had a =E2=80=9Cclearer = mission=E2=80=9D back=20 when he began reporting. That mission was to =E2=80=9Creport the truth = and raise=20 hell.=E2=80=9D But corporate pressures have blurred this vision, he = said.
Janine Jackson of Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR), a news = media=20 watchdog group, told the American Free Press that 60 percent of = journalists=20 surveyed recently by FAIR admitted that advertisers =E2=80=9Ctry to = change=20 stories.=E2=80=9D
=E2=80=9CSome advertisers kill some stories and promote = others,=E2=80=9D she said,=20 asserting that there is an =E2=80=9Coverwhelming influence of = corporations and=20 advertisers=E2=80=9D on broadcast and print news reporting.
=E2=80=9CThe trends are all bad, worse and worse,=E2=80=9D Nichols = said. Newspapers and=20 broadcast journalists are under =E2=80=9Cenormous pressures to replace = civic values=20 with commercial values.=E2=80=9D
He labeled local television news a =E2=80=9Ccesspool.=E2=80=9D = Local broadcasters are under=20 pressure from big corporations to =E2=80=9Centertain=E2=80=9D rather = than to inform, and=20 people are =E2=80=9Cmore ignorant=E2=80=9D after viewing television = news because of the=20 misinformation they broadcast, he said.
=E2=80=94 Jon Prestage, Mainstream=20 Journalism: Shredding the First Amendment, Online Journal, 7 = November=20 2002
It is not just corporate pressures that can impact the media, but = political=20 and cultural pressures, too. For example, Dan Rather was mentioned above = noting=20 that journalists were pressured by patriotic fever following the = September 11,=20 2001 terrorist attacks to resist asking tough questions that might = criticize=20 America too much.
At a media conference in March 2007, Dan Rather reiterated his = concerns=20 regarding the state of journalism in the US. An article from = CNET=20 summarized some of Rather=E2=80=99s key points:
=E2=80=9CSo many journalists=E2=80=94there are notable = exceptions=E2=80=94have adopted the=20 go-along-to-get-along (attitude),=E2=80=9D he said.
So, because of this =E2=80=9Caccess game,=E2=80=9D journalism has = degenerated into a =E2=80=9Cvery=20 perilous state,=E2=80=9D
=E2=80=A6 [Rather] thinks many people have lost faith in = journalists [because]=20 questioning power, especially at a time of war, can be perceived as=20 unpatriotic or unsupportive of America=E2=80=99s fighting = troops.
=E2=80=94 Daniel Terdiman, Dan=20 Rather: Journalism has =E2=80=9Clost its guts=E2=80=9D, CNET = News.com, March 12,=20 2007
As Amy Goodman noted many years ago (linked to further below), the = press=20 corps that accompanies the White House is often too cozy with the = officials, and=20 it is hard to ask tough questions. Dan Rather notes that it is a general = problem:
Rather reiterated his feeling that many journalists = today=E2=80=94and he repeated=20 that he has fallen for this trap=E2=80=94are willing to get too cozy = with people in=20 positions of power, be it in government or corporate life.
=E2=80=9CThe nexus between powerful journalists and people in = government and=20 corporate power,=E2=80=9D he said, =E2=80=9Chas become far too = close.=E2=80=9D
You can get so close to a source that you become part of the = problem, he=20 added. =E2=80=9CSome people say that these powerful people use = journalists, and they=20 do. And they will use them to the fullest extent possible, right up = until the=20 point where the journalist says, =E2=80=98Whoa, that=E2=80=99s too = far.=E2=80=99=E2=80=9D
=E2=80=A6 [Journalists] shouldn=E2=80=99t be willing to water down = the truth to protect=20 their access to power.
=E2=80=94 Daniel Terdiman, Dan=20 Rather: Journalism has =E2=80=9Clost its guts=E2=80=9D, CNET = News.com, March 12,=20 2007
And, as also detailed further on this site=E2=80=99s corporate=20 media concentration section, Dan Rather sees consolidation of power = as a=20 major problem:
Rather also said that the consolidation of power in a small number = of media=20 companies has hurt the search for the truth in newsrooms across the = country.=20 As media conglomerates get bigger, the gap between newsrooms and = boardrooms=20 grows, and the goal becomes satisfying shareholders, not citizens, he=20 said.
Therefore, Rather supports increased competition between media = companies=20 and between journalists.
=E2=80=94 Daniel Terdiman, Dan=20 Rather: Journalism has =E2=80=9Clost its guts=E2=80=9D, CNET = News.com, March 12,=20 2007
Political bias can also creep in too. Media watchdog, Fairness and = Accuracy=20 In Reporting (FAIR) did a study of ABC = World News=20 Tonight, CBS Evening News and NBC Nightly News in 2001 in which they = found=20 that =E2=80=9C92 percent of all U.S. sources interviewed were white, 85 = percent were=20 male and, where party affiliation was identifiable, 75 percent were = Republican.=E2=80=9D=20 While of course this is not a complete study of the mainstream media, it = does=20 show that there can be heavy political biases on even the most popular=20 mainstream media outlets.
A year-long study by FAIR, of CNN=E2=80=99s media show, = Reliable Sources=20 showed a large bias in sources used, and as their article is titled, = CNN=E2=80=99s show=20 had reliably narrow = sources. They pointed out for example, =E2=80=9CCovering one year of = weekly programs=20 [December 1, 2001 to November 30, 2002] with 203 guests, the FAIR study = found=20 Reliable Sources=E2=80=99 guest list strongly favored mainstream media = insiders and=20 right-leaning pundits. In addition, female critics were significantly=20 underrepresented, ethnic minority voices were almost non-existent and=20 progressive voices were far outnumbered by their conservative=20 counterparts.=E2=80=9D
In the United States, the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is seen = as a=20 public-funded alternative to the commercial stations. FAIR claims they = have debunked the idea = that PBS as a=20 whole leans to the left; =E2=80=9Ccorporate and investment-oriented = shows have long=20 made up a large chunk of PBS=E2=80=99s news and public affairs = programming, while more=20 progressive content has frequently met resistance and censorship at the=20 network,=E2=80=9D they say. And this is from an introduction to a = September/October 2006=20 report where they describe the results of a study of = PBS=E2=80=99s flagship news=20 program, News Hour, to see if it had any bias or = slants, as=20 conservatives often accuse it of having a liberal bias.
They found that PBS was consistent with commerical stations in their = biases;=20 76% of sources were official or =E2=80=9Celite=E2=80=9D sources; women = and people of different=20 ethnicities were far under-represented; Republican sources outnumbered = Democract=20 sources by 66% to 33%; issues such as Iraq, Katrina, and immigration all = followed conservative leanings.
In a radio discussion = about these=20 findings of PBS=E2=80=99s conservative biases, the researchers for = the study further=20 noted that those statistics actually did not reflect an even wider bias, = whereby=20 for example, most African American people in the period of study were = usually=20 discussing Hurricane Katrina, and even then were usually presented as = =E2=80=9Cpeople on=20 the street,=E2=80=9D whereas, they noted, =E2=80=9Cit was typically the = white male that would be=20 presented as the experts with solutions.=E2=80=9D
The discussion also noted that PBS is not like a public service as it = is=20 understood in most countries; it requires the program request funding = from=20 wealthy individuals and companies that give it backing. Indeed, PBS = requires=20 major corporate funding to keep going, and so, the media experts in that = discussion implied, did not offer the counter-balance to commercial = stations, as=20 they are often believed to provide.
All this also comes out shortly after the Federal = Communications Commission=20 (FCC) had reports on media concentration=E2=80=99s negative impacts on = local news=20 destroyed.
At the same time, it was also revealed that the FCC never=20 released another damaging report that the Telecommunications Act of 1996 = had=20 similarly reduced the diversity of radio stations throughout the United=20 States.
This concentration results from commercial ownership through buyouts = and=20 dominance by the most powerful entities and when those media interests = reflect=20 the interests of those in power, as they clearly do, has serious = implications=20 for diversity of views, and for a healthy democracy.
Concentrated ownership of media results in less diversity. This means = that=20 the political discourse that shapes the nation is also affected. And, = given the=20 prominence of the United States in the world, this is obviously an = important=20 issue. However, politicians can often be hesitant about criticizing the = media=20 too much, as the following from Ben H. Bagdikian summarizes:
[M]edia power is political power. Politicians hesitate to offend = the=20 handful of media operators who control how those politicians will be = presented=20 =E2=80=94 or not presented =E2=80=94 to the voters. Media political = power has always been a=20 fixture in American history. But today the combination of the media = industry=20 and traditional corporate power has reached dimensions former = generations=20 could not match. =E2=80=A6 Today =E2=80=A6 political variety among the = mainstream media has=20 disappeared. As the country enters the twenty-first century, the news = and=20 analyses of progressive ideas and groups are close to absent in the = major=20 media. Similarly absent is commentary on dangers of this political=20 one-sidedness to American democracy.
=E2=80=94 Ben H. Bagdikian, The Media Monopoly, = Sixth Edition,=20 (Beacon Press, 2000), pp.xv=E2=80=94xvi
Bagdikian continues in that paragraph to then note how the American = media are=20 good at recognizing similar problems with other countries, by pointing = to=20 certain New York Times stories as examples. Yet, when it comes to = looking at=20 one=E2=80=99s self, then that example of good journalism seems to be = less likely.
Many other media commentators have pointed this out as well, = including, for=20 example, Noam Chomsky and Edward Herman in their book, = Manufacturing=20 Consent (Pantheon Books, New York, 1988). In that book, they = point out=20 that there are many occasions, where the U.S. mainstream media have been = very=20 thorough, critical and in most cases, appropriate, in their look at the = media=20 and policies of other nations in geopolitical issues. However, when it = comes to=20 reporting on the actions of their own nations in geopolitical issues, = reporting=20 often fits a propaganda model that they also defined in their book. This = propaganda model isn=E2=80=99t necessarily explicit. Sometimes it is = very subtle, but=20 comes about through natural interactions of the various pulls and pushes = of=20 different political, economic and social aspects that affect decisions = on what=20 to report and how. In some countries of course, especially authoritarian = regimes, propaganda models may be very explicit.
Using their propaganda model, Chomsky and Herman, attempt to = demonstrate how=20 =E2=80=9Cmoney and power are able to filter out the news, =E2=80=A6 = marginalize dissent, and=20 allow the government and dominant private interests to get their message = across=20 to the public.=E2=80=9D (see p.2) They continue to then summarize their = propaganda model=20 that allows this =E2=80=9Cfiltering=E2=80=9D of news to be accomplished, = as consisting of the=20 following ingredients:
The issues of concentration in media and its often negative impact on = discourse and democracy is discussed in more detail on this sites = section on corporate=20 influence in the media.
The blog, FrugalDad, also has this info graphic on the the state of = media=20 consolidation in the U.S. noting that =E2=80=9C6 media giants now = control a staggering=20 90% of what we read, watch, or listen to=E2=80=9D:
On the advertising ingredient, Chomsky and Herman also point out that = the=20 pressures to show a continual series of programs that will encourage = =E2=80=9Caudience=20 flow=E2=80=9D (watching from program to program so that advertising = rates and revenues=20 are sustained) results from advertisers wanting, in general, =E2=80=9Cto = avoid programs=20 with serious complexities and disturbing controversies that interfere = with the=20 =E2=80=98buying mood.=E2=80=99=E2=80=9D (see p. 17.) Documentaries, = cultural and critical materials then=20 get a back seat. Others also recognize this as well:
It is no wonder then that media historian Robert McChesney suggests = that=20 cutbacks in news and =E2=80=9Cinformational=E2=80=9D programs are = deliberate because the=20 companies who own and control media want to keep us in our private = worlds, cut=20 off from other people=E2=80=99s pain and from too much knowledge about = the world. They=20 prefer us tranquilized, pacified, entertained. I have heard him = describe in=20 several speeches the mantra of dominant media to ordinary viewers, = readers and=20 listeners as simple: =E2=80=9CShut up and shop.=E2=80=9D
It is these often unspoken values at the heart of the business = culture that=20 undercut the creation of and support for more democratic public = interest=20 media.
=E2=80=94 Danny Schechter, Gl= obalization=20 Limits Media Change, July 26, 2000
[W]ith few exceptions =E2=80=A6 programming is carefully = noncontroversial, light,=20 and nonpolitical in order to create a =E2=80=9Cbuying mood.=E2=80=9D = =E2=80=A6 If an advertiser is=20 large enough to make the initial payment [for the high costing = commercials],=20 each household is reached at a relatively low cost. In the familiar = dynamics,=20 this in itself favors the big operator over the small, a contributing = factor=20 to the emergence of giantism in the American economy.
=E2=80=94 Ben H. Bagdikian, The Media Monopoly, = Sixth Edition,=20 (Beacon Press, 2000), p. 133
On the reliance upon official sources ingredient, Chomsky and Herman = point=20 out that because sources such as the government and businesses are often = well=20 known, they are deemed reputable and therefore not questioned much. = However,=20 when another government offers news items, we are often able to = recognize it as=20 possible propaganda, or at least treat it with some scrutiny that = requires=20 further verification.
In terms of flak, Chomsky and Herman point out how various right-wing = media=20 watch groups and think tanks were set up in the 80s to heavily criticize = anything in the media that appeared to have a liberal or left wing bias = and was=20 overly anti-business. It has a profound impact, especially when combined = with=20 the corporate ownership, as the following quote highlights:
Corporations have multimillion-dollar budgets to dissect and attack = news=20 reports they dislike. But with each passing year they have yet another = power:=20 They are not only hostile to independent journalists. They are their=20 employers.
=E2=80=94 Ben H. Bagdikian, The Media Monopoly, = Sixth Edition,=20 (Beacon Press, 2000), p. 65
They also point out that the final filter, that of the ideology of=20 anticommunism, is because =E2=80=9CCommunism as the ultimate evil has = always been the=20 specter haunting property owners, as it threatens the very root of their = class=20 position and superior status =E2=80=A6 [and] helps mobilize the populace = against an=20 enemy, and because the concept is fuzzy it can be used against anybody=20 advocating policies that threaten property interests or support = accommodation=20 with Communist states and radicalism. =E2=80=A6 If the triumph of = communism is the worst=20 imaginable result, the support of fascism abroad is justified as a = lesser evil.=E2=80=9D=20 (see p. 29.)
This last statement on supporting fascism abroad reflects the support = and=20 installing of dictators around the world in places like Latin America, = Africa=20 and Asia to support economic interests and anti-communist activities, = despite=20 social costs. While of course the Cold War has since ended, this last=20 =E2=80=9Cingredient=E2=80=9D still survives in other forms like = neoliberal economic beliefs,=20 demonization of rogue states and so on. One of the additional effects of = this=20 filter has been that during the reporting of conflicts, there has been = almost an=20 effect of =E2=80=9C[concentrating] on the victims of enemy powers and = [forgetting] about=20 the victims of friends=E2=80=9D (see p.32.)
Some of the structural causes of the above ingredients are such that = they=20 naturally come about, rather than some sort of concerted effort to = enforce them=20 by media owners. For example, if a news reporter is critical of a = company=E2=80=99s=20 business practices in some ways, and that company is a major advertiser = with=20 that media company, then it is obviously not in that media = company=E2=80=99s interest to=20 run that story. In a wider sense, any critique or serious examination of = say the=20 nations economic policies, or even the global economic policies, that go = counter=20 to what the media companies, their owners and advertisers benefit from = would=20 also not get as much, if any, discussion. Chomsky and Herman recognize = this=20 too:
The elite domination of the media and the marginalization of = dissidents=20 that results from the operation of these filters occurs so naturally = that=20 media news people, frequently operating with complete integrity and = goodwill,=20 are able to convince themselves that they choose and interpret the = news=20 =E2=80=9Cobjectively=E2=80=9D and on the basis of professional news = values. Within the=20 limits of the filter constraints they often are objective; the=20 constraints are so powerful, and are built into the system in such a=20 fundamental way, that alternative bases of news choices are hardly = imaginable.=20 (Emphasis Added)
=E2=80=94 Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky, = Manufacturing=20 Consent; The Political Economy of the Mass Media;, (Pantheon Books, New = York,=20 1988), p. 2.
Using extensive evidence and sources, they use this propaganda model = to=20 examine a number of key world events in recent history that have = involved=20 America in some way or another, including situations in El Salvador, = Guatemala=20 and Nicaragua, of the KGB-Bulgarian plot to kill the Pope and of the = Indochina=20 wars.
It is a truism, often issued with pride by the main media = themselves, that=20 the national news has a major impact on the national political agenda. = What=20 the main media emphasize is what politicians attend to. Whatever is = not given=20 steady emphasis in the news is more safely forgotten by those who make = the=20 laws and regulations. Consequently, the media race for quick and easy = profits=20 that pushed the real issues into the shadows has imposed a high cost = on=20 American voters: it becomes easier for politicians to distract the = public with=20 false or exaggerated issues. =E2=80=A6 Continuous repetition and = emphasis create high=20 priorities in the public mind and in government. It is in that power = =E2=80=94 to=20 treat some subjects briefly and obscurely but others repetitively and = in=20 depth, or to take initiatives unrelated to external events =E2=80=94 = where ownership=20 interests most effectively influence the news.
=E2=80=94 Ben H. Bagdikian, The Media Monopoly, = Sixth Edition,=20 (Beacon Press, 2000), pp. xxvii, 16
In this way then, as with other societies, the range of discourse can = affect=20 how much is discussed, what is discussed, and to what degree. It is not = that=20 there is absolutely no reporting on important issues. For example, the=20 mainstream will report and criticize on issues. However, it is the = assumptions=20 that are not articulated that affect how much criticism there will be, = or what=20 the context of the reports will be and so on. In that respect, given = that there=20 is some critique, we may get the false sense of comfort in the system as = working=20 as claimed. Yet it is at the level of these assumptions where the range = of=20 discussions get affected. In fact, Noam Chomsky, in another book = captures this=20 aspect quite succinctly, while also hinting as to the reason why:
The smart way to keep people passive and obedient is to strictly = limit the=20 spectrum of acceptable opinion, but allow very lively debate = within=20 that spectrum =E2=80=94 even encourage the more critical and dissident = views. That=20 gives people the sense that there=E2=80=99s free thinking going on, = while all the time=20 the presuppositions of the system are being reinforced by the = limits put=20 on the range of the debate. (Emphasis Added)
=E2=80=94 Noam Chomsky, The Common Good, Odonian = Press,=20 1998
Political Scientist and author, Michael Parenti, in an article on media = monopoly, also=20 describes a pattern of reporting in the mainstream in the U.S. that = leads to=20 partial information. He points out that while the mainstream claim to be = free,=20 open and objective, the various techniques, intentional or unintentional = result=20 in systematic contradictions to those claims. Such techniques = =E2=80=94=20 applicable to other nations=E2=80=99 media, as well as the U.S. = =E2=80=94 include:
In countries that have representative democracies a problem with = election=20 campaigning is that it requires a lot of money, and raising it often = means=20 appealing to those who have sufficient money to donate.
In the US, this has led to the criticism that both Democrats and = Republicans=20 have had to court big business and do not necessarily represent the = majority of=20 the people, as a result.
Such enormous campaign financing has meant that other potentially = popular=20 candidates have not been able to get further because they have not been = able to=20 spend as much on advertising and marketing.
This means that not only do political parties court big financiers = but that=20 these large entities/businesses and wealthy individuals can use the = media to=20 push their own agendas and interests which may not necessarily represent = majority views.
Numerous calls for limits are welcomed by those without money, but = resisted=20 by those with it, for clearly one set of people would gain, while = another would=20 lose out.
In the US, activists have been trying to raise the issue of campaign=20 financing for years, but it recently took on another dimension as limits = to=20 campaign financing were removed. Kanya D=E2=80=99Almeida recently = summarized this in an=20 article in Inter Press Service:
The richest one percent has hijacked the very foundations of = democracy in a=20 country whose constitution of 1787 promised to be by the people, for = the=20 people.
=E2=80=A6
[A US Supreme Court ruling in January 2010 that Congress cannot = limit=20 spending by corporations in elections] struck at the very heart of = what many=20 U.S. citizens have felt for years =E2=80=94 that despite a careful = constitutional=20 separation of the executive, legislative and judicial branches of the=20 government, corporate capital had infected the body politic from head = to=20 toe.
=E2=80=94 Kanya D=E2=80=99Almeida, US: = =E2=80=9CMoney Isn=E2=80=99t Speech,=20 Corporations Aren=E2=80=99t People=E2=80=9D , Inter Press Service, = January 21,=20 2012
This has also meant it has been hard to find out specific details = about=20 campaign financing:
By ruling that the government cannot curb spending and lobbying by = unions,=20 corporations or even powerful individual stakeholders, the Supreme = Court=20 green-lit the proliferation of Super PACs (political action = committees) that=20 are unfettered by electoral laws or transparency and free to pour=20 unprecedented amounts of money into campaigns of their choosing.
Super PACs can also drag their feet on releasing hard data on how = much=20 money actually changes hands during election cycles and, in the new = arena of=20 impunity granted by the Supreme Court, can accept donations from = registered=20 501(c) nonprofit entities that are exempt from exposing the identities = of=20 those who bankroll elections at will.
Much of this money is funneled directly into TV ads, the bulk of = them=20 bordering on smear campaigns against opposing = candidates.
=E2=80=94 Kanya D=E2=80=99Almeida, US: = =E2=80=9CMoney Isn=E2=80=99t Speech,=20 Corporations Aren=E2=80=99t People=E2=80=9D , Inter Press Service, = January 21,=20 2012
In addition to using the media to push their agendas and equally = important,=20 the US mainstream media also stands to gain:
According to investment banking and asset management firm Needham = and Co.,=20 television stations this year will rake in as much as eight = billion=20 dollars from political campaigns.
=E2=80=94 Kanya D=E2=80=99Almeida, US: = =E2=80=9CMoney Isn=E2=80=99t Speech,=20 Corporations Aren=E2=80=99t People=E2=80=9D , Inter Press Service, = January 21, 2012=20 [Emphasis added]
In a country that has a lot of concentrated ownership of media, is = there a=20 potential conflict of interest; the mainstream media may not have as = much=20 interest in discussing these issues in too much depth for they stand to = benefit=20 from it.
This site=E2=80=99s section on democracy = looks at=20 this in the wider context of democracy including other election=20 challenges.
In March 2005, the New York Times revealed that there = has been a=20 large amount of fake and prepackaged news created by US government = departments,=20 such as the Pentagon, the State Department and others, and disseminated = through=20 the mainstream media. The New York Times noted a number of=20 important issues including:
Effectively, American tax payers have paid to be subjected to = propaganda=20 disseminated through these massaged messaged.
This issue is covered in more depth on this site=E2=80=99s m= edia=20 manipulation section.
The pre-packaged propaganda revelations mentioned above is part of an = underlying trend. As the Observer/Guardian newspaper in UK=20 writes,
The media is in the midst of a transformation which the Bush = administration=20 is keen to foster. They have discovered that a partisan and atomised = media can=20 be controlled, manipulated and used to an unprecedented = degree.
=E2=80=94 Paul Harris, The=20 mole, the US media and a White House coup, The Observer, February = 20,=20 2005
Furthermore, there is =E2=80=9Cgrowing evidence of a White House = campaign to bypass=20 or control the media in its everyday presentation of government policy, = which=20 included paying one journalist hundreds of thousands of dollars to = promote its=20 policies.=E2=80=9D
While the article details that one example, they mention many others, = including:
Add to those issues the media soul-searching on how they were misled = about=20 non-existent Iraq weapons of mass destruction, the media may be coming = under a=20 bit more scrutiny.
However, the =E2=80=9Cextent of the Bush White House=E2=80=99s = command and control of the=20 press corps is often revealed in the seemingly innocuous White House = pool=20 reports=E2=80=9D which are filled with minor issues from which nothing = substantial can=20 be understood or learned.
(Note though that this issue isn=E2=80=99t just with the Bush = Administration. The=20 Clinton Administration before him also had problems when it came to = press=20 briefings. Award-winning activist/journalist, Amy Goodman, writing back = in=20 October 1997 provides interesting insight based on personal experience = on what goes on = at these=20 press briefings at the White House; why the questions are so = similar, why=20 other reporters themselves don=E2=80=99t like dissenting or tough = questions to the White=20 House, etc. A major problem Goodman concludes is that =E2=80=9Ca media = blockade =E2=80=A6 is=20 actually created by the media itself.=E2=80=9D)
These attempts by the Bush Administration at = =E2=80=9Cmicromanagement=E2=80=9D of the media=20 comes with =E2=80=9Cwhat appears to be a concerted effort to subvert the = mainstream=20 media.=E2=80=9D
Administration officials were recently revealed to have paid three = senior=20 journalists to promote or design policies=E2=80=A6.
At the same time, Bush has held fewer Washington press conferences = than any=20 of his modern predecessors, while courting local media, such as small = city=20 newspapers, which are perceived as easier to steamroll. During last = year=E2=80=99s=20 election campaign Bush avoided interviews with leading newspapers, = such as the=20 Washington Post , but frequently invited reporters from smaller swing = state=20 publications to speak with him on Air Force One. Vice-president Dick = Cheney=20 took the strategy one step further and banned New York Times reporters = from=20 traveling with him.
=E2=80=94 Paul Harris, The=20 mole, the US media and a White House coup, The Observer, February = 20,=20 2005
Another way large media companies can exert power and political = influence is=20 in their ownership and copyrighting and choosing when to grant rights to = others=20 to use their material. As an example, President George Bush, who rarely = does=20 press conferences and television interviews, was interviewed by = NBC=E2=80=99s Tim=20 Russert on Meet the Press. In that interview, Bush = unconvincingly=20 defended his decision to go to war on Iraq. When a documentary producer = wanted=20 to use the clip, NBC denied permission, even though these were the words = of a=20 public figure. This raised a number of inter-related issues in one = go:
Wired magazine captures this well:
Many are concerned about the ever-expanding reach of copyright law. = More=20 are concerned about the ever-increasing concentration of the = media=E2=80=A6. As media=20 becomes more concentrated, competition to curry favor with politicians = only=20 increases. This intensifies during an election cycle. Networks able to = signal=20 that they will be =E2=80=9Cfriendly=E2=80=9D=E2=80=94for example, by = ensuring that embarrassing=20 moments from interviews won=E2=80=99t be made available to = others=E2=80=94are more likely to=20 attract candidates for interviews and so on, than networks that = don=E2=80=99t.=20 Concentration tied to copyright thus gives networks both the motive = and the=20 means to protect favored guests.
NBC insists it is remaining =E2=80=9Cneutral=E2=80=9D by denying = others use of the=20 interview. But there=E2=80=99s nothing neutral about restricting = either critics or=20 supporters from repeating the president=E2=80=99s words. But the issue = here isn=E2=80=99t=20 really NBC=E2=80=99s motive. It is the president=E2=80=99s. Why would = any president allow a=20 network to copyright his message? No self-respecting president would = speak at=20 a club that excluded women: Whatever rights a private organization may = enjoy,=20 a president stands for equality. So why did the current leader of the = free=20 world, who rarely holds press conferences, agree to speak on a talk = show that=20 refuses to license on a neutral basis the content he contributed? Is = vigorous=20 debate over matters as important as going to war less important than=20 protecting his image?
This question is crucial, and thus Greenwald [the documentary = producer] has=20 decided to defend his fair use right, even if it means staring down a = bunch of=20 lawyers in court. The argument: It=E2=80=99s hard to tell =E2=80=9Cthe = whole truth=E2=80=9D about the=20 Iraq war when you censor bits of that truth because a network tells = you to.=20 But what this incident demonstrates most is what many increasingly = fear.=20 Concentrated media and expansive copyright are the perfect storm not = just for=20 stifling debate but, increasingly, for weakening democracy as=20 well.
=E2=80=94 Lawrence Lessig, Copyri= ghting the=20 President, Wired Magazine, August 2004
Another example is on how some fundamental issues are discussed in = the wake=20 of the September 11 attacks:
=E2=80=A6after the September 11 attacks had shaken the nation, = President George W.=20 Bush urged Americans to pull together by going out and spending money, = or=20 taking a trip to Disney World. Consumerism had become the common = cause.
President Bush also declared that younger Americans should be = taught to=20 respond to the September 11 crisis, but his vision of how this should = be done=20 was very narrow. In announcing an effort to strengthen citizenship = education=20 in the wake of the attacks, Bush said the program=E2=80=99s purpose = was to teach that=20 =E2=80=9CAmerica is a force for good in the world, bringing hope and = freedom to other=20 people.=E2=80=9D The goal was to prescribe, not to explore, what = American citizenship=20 is and means. And those who challenge their students to ask the hard = questions=20 are encountering difficulties. One Florida teacher who asked his class = to=20 discuss Benjamin Franklin=E2=80=99s statement =E2=80=9CThey that can = give up essential liberty=20 to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor = safety=E2=80=9D was=20 disciplined by the school=E2=80=99s principal for his departure from = the required=20 curriculum. Answers are safe; questions are not.
=E2=80=94 Evan Cornog, Let=E2=80=99= s Blame the=20 Readers, Columbia Journalism Review, Issue 1, January/February=20 2005
It isn=E2=80=99t just stifling debate that threatens democracy, but = actively and=20 knowingly distorting information.
Fox News has long been identified by FAIR and others for not just = being=20 conservative but openly hostile and even supportive of racist and other = extreme=20 views all defensible by free speech. Since President Obama has become = President,=20 the hostilities appear to have increased.
As media watchdog, Media Matters says, Fox News is not = news; it=20 is a 24/7 political operation.
And Media Matters argues that the rest of the US = mainstream=20 media are not holding Fox to account:
=E2=80=9CSo, Fox News has altered the game by unchaining itself from = the moral=20 groundings of U.S. journalism. And guess what? There is no industry = shame being=20 rained down on the outlet. The rest of the press not only = doesn=E2=80=99t complain, it=20 defends Fox News and even apologizes on its behalf=E2=80=9D = (emphasis=20 original).
(See also Alternet.org=E2=80=99s media=20 section for more on this issue.)
Harris also makes an interesting observation; that the right-wing in = US=20 politics have long attempted to portray the mainstream media as having a = liberal=20 bias. Yet,
President George Bush himself subtly took part in this casting of = liberal=20 bias shortly after the September 11 terrorist attacks when he was = boarding a=20 helicopter carrying a book under his arm where the title was clear to = see. That=20 book was Bias by Bernard Goldberg, (Regnery Publishing, = Inc,=20 February 2001) which attempted to detail liberal bias in the media. (See = criticism= of Bias=20 from MediaChannel.org=E2=80=99s Danny Schechter.)
Another article from the Guardian around 2001 commented on this whole = issue=20 quite bluntly:
One of the conservative movement=E2=80=99s strokes of genius has = been to invest a=20 fortune in persuading the rest of the nation of the existence of a = beast=20 called the =E2=80=9Cliberal media=E2=80=9D. This is, from a = conservative standpoint, extremely=20 useful nonsense.
=E2=80=94 Eric Alterman, The=20 right sort, The Guardian, December 15, 2001
As Noam Chomsky commented some time ago:
In the west, 10 or 20 years, there has been massive research = documenting=20 the fact that the media are extraordinarily subordinated to external = power.=20 Now, when you have that power, the best technique is to ignore all of = that=20 discussion, ignore it totally, and to eliminate it, by the simple = device of=20 asserting the opposite. If you assert the opposite, that eliminates = mountains=20 of evidence demonstrating that what you are saying is false. = That=E2=80=99s what power=20 means. And the way we assert the opposite is by just saying that the = media are=20 liberal.
=E2=80=94 Noan Chomsky, The Myth Of The Liberal = Media,=20 documentary, April 1999 (link is no longer available)
With such a vacuum created in US media, Harris notes the dramatic = rise of=20 political =E2=80=9Cblogging=E2=80=9D, where ordinary people write blogs, = or web logs and online=20 journals. A number of these, especially during the last US elections = were very=20 virulent and right wing, with some reaction slowly coming from the left = too,=20 possibly suggesting a trend towards partisan journalism, as opposed to a = free=20 press.
It has not gone unnoticed by many that the American mainstream media = has=20 become more critical of power in the wake of Hurr= icane=20 Katrina and the poor response of authorities and George Bush in its=20 aftermath. Many have wondered if this finally means the mainstream media = will do=20 what it is supposed to: provide a quality service, critiquing claims = rather than=20 simply reporting them, and fundamentally, allowing people to make = informed=20 decisions.
Media watchdog FAIR is guarded in its optimism noting = that not=20 all reporting has been that good. In addition:
In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, a more aggressive press = corps seems=20 to have caught the White House public relations team off-balance = =E2=80=94 a situation=20 the White House has not had to face very often in the last five years. = Many=20 might wonder why it took reporters so long; as Eric Boehlert wrote in=20 Salon.com (9/7/05):
It=E2=80=99s hard to decide which is more troubling: that it took = the national=20 press corps five years to summon up enough courage to report, = without=20 apology, that what the Bush administration says and does are often = two=20 different things, or that it took the sight of bodies floating = facedown in=20 the streets of New Orleans to trigger a change in the = press=E2=80=99s=20 behavior.
=E2=80=94 Covering Katrina: Has = a More=20 Critical Press Corps Emerged?, Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting, = September=20 9, 2005
And MediaChannel.org is=20 hoping that people can keep up the pressure on the mainstream media = to=20 continue providing improved, critical reporting.
Cultural bias (as with perhaps any country) has an effect on how = something is=20 reported as well.
For example, look at how we in Europe and USA = perceive=20 the Muslim/Islamic world and the= =E2=80=9Cthreat=E2=80=9D=20 of Islam, due to media concentration on certain aspects of the news. = (Since=20 writing the above, around 1999, we of course have witnessed a horrible = series of=20 terrorist attacks on the U.S. The resulting war on terror and various = attitudes=20 towards the Muslim world has also become negative too. For more on these = issues=20 see this see this site=E2=80=99s war on = terror=20 section.)
The USA media coverage of President = Clinton=E2=80=99s=20 historic tour of Africa (the first tour by an American President) = came under=20 a bit of scrutiny. The previous link mentions how some right-winged = politicians=20 made comments on TV about how embarrassed they were when Clinton made = some=20 unofficial =E2=80=9Capologies=E2=80=9D relating to black slavery. = Instead, they blamed Africans=20 for the slave trade!
America has also had to contend with the legacy of the Cold War. An=20 ideological battle that required a =E2=80=9Ccounter=E2=80=9D propaganda = effort against communist=20 propaganda. Propaganda battles often involve over-simplifying. = Furthermore, the=20 decades of this meant generations were indoctrinated into a specific way = of=20 thinking. As such, even though the Cold War is now over, the mainstream=20 struggles to rid itself of those ways of thinking and talking; whether = it is how=20 the rest of the world is viewed, or whether cherished principles and = issues are=20 oversimplified, it permeates throughout media and culture.
Referring to Ben Bagdikian=E2=80=99s work again, he also details how = subtle forms of=20 specific cultural reinforcement are made by corporate demands on = advertising.=20 For example,
Related articles
=E2=80=A6 to produce this:
Anup Shah, Media=20 in the United States, Global Issues, Updated: January = 28,=20 2012
Alternatively, copy/paste the following MLA citation format for this=20 page:
Shah, Anup. =E2=80=9CMedia in the United = States.=E2=80=9D Global=20 Issues. 28 Jan. 2012. Web. 28 Mar. 2012. <http://www.globalissues.org/article/163/media-in-the-united-states= >.
Date | Reason |
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January 28, 2012 | Added a small note about campaign financing and how limits in = the US=20 have been lifted making the problem worse. Also added other notes = on US=20 press freedom, advertising and TV=E2=80=99s influence and US media = ownership=20 concentration. |
October 27, 2009 | Added a short note on Fox News |
January 2, 2009 | Added a short note on declining international news = coverage |
April 1, 2007 | Added a note about Dan Rather=E2=80=99s comment on journalists = getting too=20 cosy with power, corporate and political. |
October 13, 2006 | Added a note about PBS=E2=80=99s Newshour having bias, and about = the FCC=20 destroying and burying unfavorable reports |
September 13, 2005 | Added a note about Hurricane Katrina=E2=80=99s impact on the = mainstream=20 media |
April 19, 2005 | Added some more on US media history; the stifling of debate; = about=20 White House attempts to micromanage or control the media; and = about the=20 liberal bias claims |
March 16, 2005 | Added how the US government has disseminated prepackaged and = sometimes=20 even fake news |
December 14, 2004 | The US government is increasing its secrecy. |
August 10, 2004 | How concentrated ownership and copyright can lead to censorship = of=20 issues crucial to a democracy |
March 18, 2004 | More about the divide between U.S. citizens and others on the=20 perception of the U.S. in the = world |
Sometimes links to other sites may break beyond my control. Where = possible,=20 alternative links are provided to backups or reposted versions here.
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