Liberal Media=Quality TV, Microsoft Works, Etc.

Hi Everyone,

Well, I'm back again. Work doesn't start as soon as I thought. Friday was just an orientation session, I go to a training session tomorrow, and I start the actual work sometime after that. I thought I'd just clarify that for you all. I don't want you thinking I'm slacking off at work now. Anyway, I thought I'd address this ongoing myth about some "liberal bias" in the media. I don't want to turn this into a partisan or ideologically driven blog. However, this time I must delve deep into this illusion, because it really is false and needs to be debunked.

The truth is that far from there being a liberal bias in the media, the media is very corporate friendly. As we detailed with the passing of Walter Cronkite, nearly all the major news outlets are owned by a collection of five big corporations, Time Warner, Viacomm, Newscorp, and a few others whose names escape me. Liberal, progressive views, whatever you want to call them, emphasize strong social safety nets and keeping corporations responsible for thier actions. You think that these companies want to be held responsible for what they do? They want more money and power, and those so-called liberals and progressives want to hold them responsible. These are incompatible views.

Another thing is the tone all the liberal commentators and politicians talk versus the way the conservative commentators talk. Those on the liberal side who overstep the line (getting too extreme in their positions or advocating violence against opponents, for instance) are immediately either told to renounce their statements or effectively barred from media appearances, banished to the wilderness. Conservatives, on the other hand, routinely get away with the most blatant of falsehoods and the most vicious of attacks against their opponents while on the national media circuit.

Anyone on the left who had routinely misled his viewers like Sean Hannity does or advocate violence against others like Ann Coulter, they would have been banned from all the media outlets. There's no doubt about that. And yet the news anchors continue to invite Sean, Ann, Rush, Glenn, and all the other shills. And they continue on with their slots, appearances, and they continue to rake it in after having made numerous false statements, misrepresented facts, and villified, marginalized and advocated violence against anyone who disagrees with them. Yet all that, say, a Democrat or an Air America host has to do is make one out of line comment, and their career is either seriously derailed for a time or finished. Some liberal bias.

Remember that episode in Tennessee where some nut went to kill people in a church because he wanted to kill liberals? Remember that he had numerous books by Sean Hannity and Bernard Golberg in his possession? I asked you in a post last month to imagine if a democrat had gone into a megachurch and shot people up because he wanted to kill conservatives. Imagine the noise there would have been all over the media. Imagine the outrage of Republican commentators. Then imagine if that killer had had books by Thom Hartmann or Keith Olbermann in his possession. Their careers would be finished. People would be calling for their heads. They would have faced numerous lawsuits, and maybe even criminal prosecutions.

Yet the viciousness of commentators of the right have led people to harm, even kill, other Americans who see the world differently than they do (it has been demonstrated again and again) and few, if any, conservative commentators have accepted any responsibility and denounced violence as a tactic. Let me stress here, ANYONE, left or right, who advocates violence against anyone, should be thrown out of the media and held responsible. It's just that there has been a link developing in recent years between extremist language of conservative public figures and violence against those of the opposite variety, and no one in the media (except for a few) is stepping up and calling it like it is.

Republican and conservative establishments, going back to the Nixon Administration, have had a tradition of disdain for reporters. They used phrases like "liberal media," "mainstream media," "media elite," to marginalize any media critics of their policies. Any time news outlets would publish any criticism of a right-wing figure or their actions, and they would be lambasted for being part of some "liberal conspiracy," or some "snobby, elite cadre." This is a carefully manipulative way of marginalizing and villifying anyone in the media who reported negatively.

Any organization interested in gaining as much power as possible must intimidate any potential critics into submission or silence. This is how the conservatives were able to gain so much power over the public perception. But with great power comes great responsibility, and the conservative establishment under Bush became so preoccupied with keeping power for themselves that they ignored their responsibility to the people of America and the World, and it cost them.

My closing thought is this: left-wing, liberal, progressive commentators, the vast majority of them, would rightfully cringe at the thought of advocating violence against people on the other side. That's because most progressives, though they, too, wouldn't mind getting power, recognize that even those with power have to play by the rules, and strive to be better people, just like those of us with less power. That's why people keep coming to this country. What you do still has consequences when you have more power and influence, more so the more you get. This whole issue of media bias in favor of corporate wealth is an issue of a lack of this principle.

This principle needs to be remembered and reinstilled in our socio-political-economic structure. Political leaders, corporate executives, and others with power and influence need to come to their senses, realize this. Realize that when you gain power, wealth and such, you get more responsibility, not less. Most of those on the left side realize this, and predicate their work on this. The media, in their desire to keep their ratings and wealth, have played along with the corporate and political bid to gain power, presented favorable images of them and ignored the damage it was doing to our culture. Everyone, liberal, conservative, and every variation in between, needs to realize this and predicate their work and actions based on it.

This is the Daily Reeder, Over&out.

Saying Goodbye to Walter Cronkite

Hi Everyone,

Well, I guess you're all aware of today's anniversary. 40 years ago today, a group of three men landed on the moon and took one giant leap for mankind. I've heard interviews with the Apollo astronauts now talking about how they looked back at the Earth and found it remarkable to see how small it looked in the dark void of space. They talk now about how fragile the Earth is now, how many problems are plaguing it now, and we all need to keep it safe. Very interesting, very heartening, too.

Anyway, today, I come to pay tribute to a man whom you've probably heard about by now. Walter Cronkite, who was a legendary CBS TV reporter from World War II to the 80's, died last week at age 92. His reporting, of course, came long before my time. However, given some of the facts about his reporting versus the reporting of today, it gives me a lot more respect for him. He got his start reporting in World War II alongside Edward R. Murrow (another man whose reporting we could use today).

During the Vietnam War, he offered commentary that no one would think of today. He told the country that Vietnam had become a stalemate which could result in a "cosmic disaster," in the form of a nuclear war. He reported that what the Government and the Pentagon had told the people was not true. Today, on the other hand, NBC's David Gregory dismissed allegations that the media didn't do enough to question the Government before Iraq, Gregory said that it "isn't the news media's job to question the Government." Um, Dave, it is your job. I'm aware that when someone dies, people tend to remember the best things about someone, exaggerate them, and ignore the rest (cough, Michael Jackson). However, hearing this made me like Cronkite sooo much.

Fellow journalists, professionals and amateurs like me, have voiced great reverence for the late Walter Cronkite. Katie Couric commented noted that when he was in the anchor chair, if he was critical of a policy, it was much harder for an administration to pass it. That is something to be admired. Imagine a journalist who highlighted elements of a policy that didn't work for people, and then the administration had to fix it. Oh, what a wonderful day that would be. But I've gotta get out of my daydream. So you see why I've got quite a bit of respect for the late Mr. Cronkite.

So what has changed since Cronkite left the anchor chair? Well, for one thing, the media is very corporate dominated today. All the major media outlets are owned by about five huge corporations (Time Warner, Viacomm, and a few others). They depend on access to politicians, corporate figures, celebrities and such for their ratings and salaries. So if they publish something those in power don't like, they could very easily have their career and status pulled out from under them. Our culture has become geared so much toward "infotainment." The news media gives things such an in-your-face, UFC type feel, instead of the serious, slightly uncomfortable analysis that Walter gave when he blew the lid off what was going on in Vietnam, or that Edward R. Murrow gave when he stopped Joseph McCarthy in his tracks.

The news today is at the mercy of some very rich and powerful folks, on whom they depend for their fortunes and fame. But the people have been complicit in this, tuning in time and time again. Perhaps people are drawn to this infotainment culture because it's easier to swallow. If the media had to question our government, question those powerful CEO's, and whoever, people might figure out some uncomfortable things about our culture. Maybe our way of life is costing us a lot more than we realize. Maybe some serious reforms are in order. This would be a very painful thing to discover, especially for people who profit a great deal from this way of life.

But I refuse to give up hope. If nothing else, there is always hope. Maybe someday soon, another Walter Cronkite will emerge, and will use his status and fame not solely for their good, but for the good of the world. Perhaps he (or she) could use the reporting they do to persuade those with power to keep on the right course. Maybe that person would be guided by the spirit of Walter, just as Luke Skywalker was guided by the spirit of Obi-Wan. The world awaits. Anyway, Walter, for what it's worth, the Daily Reeder salutes you!

This is the Daily Reeder, Over&out.