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One of the problems there is with this concept of media bias. Higher ups at the outlets are so scared that the public will label them as biased, that they bias themselves toward bad coverage. We're so scared you'll think we're liberally biased if we tell you Bush screwed up, that we won't tell you bush screwed up unless someone else SAYS Bush screwed up.
The press used to go out and dig up the facts. Now they largely sit around waiting for some group to dig up the facts, then report it as "these guys say .. . " to avoid bias. Unfortunately, we're also avoiding our jobs when we do that.
Who's at fault for that? Well, partly the guys who scream "media bias" every time the media reports something they don't like. The rest belongs squarely with the media bosses who kowtow to that kind of manipulative bullshit.
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I was reading somewhere online that the only reason the public was not made aware of Genetically Modified Organisms (or foods) until they were in place and legislated in favour of was that both political parties were paid off by the industry to support the policy. Thus, if one side is not crying about and opposing what the current administration is doing, then will the media cover the story at all?
Without turning this into a Paranoia Thread, I wonder here what stories have been ignored by ALL SIDES due to special interest groups putting the spin on, well... everybody?
People cried when CNN got very large: Less competition in the media reduced the checks and balances that maintained objectivity. Look at what CNN has done, however. They are substantially large enough to be able to fund foreign offices around the globe, and they have enough clout that foreign governments are pressured into allowing them access that small news stations simply would not recieve.
Yin and Yang, tradeoffs, okay. I am in favour of giving gounalists every freedom they can to practice their trade, and I believe that the Internet can have a positive effect in this regard. Can a reporter make, edit, and broadcast the story of their choice online? I would like to see it.
Maybe we could get a website dedicated to just this kind of thing; journalists from around the globe are offered a refuge, a place where their work can be published without edition. Very little would be paid, other than the joy of having the masses exposed to your craft.
It could be hosted in a country with the least amount of censure laws to prevent people screaming liabel and slander.
/Ben runs off to make his fortune...