December 14, 2004
Election Performance
As we all know, the last election was important to say the least. We also know that the media has an enormous effect on the public's opinion. So how well did the media handle election coverage? In my opinion, not very well. My major complaint against the election coverage was the whole Swift Boat Veterans for Truth fiasco. This group of veterans succesfully painted John Kerry as an untruthful man who is a closeted communist. Ok ok, lets slow down and look at what they are doing. They are angry at John Kerry because they think he undeservingly recieved purple hearts. But even if Kerry did recieve them unfairly, it doenst matter because at least he was there, fighting for our country. Where was Bush is the relavent question. Oh yeah, he was busy doing lines of coke at frat parties. This is the media's job to expose, and they failed miserably. They only reported on what the SBVT were accusing Kerry of, and didn't take the initiative to investigate the truth of both sides. This is just a small example of the media's failure in the past election. They were so concerned with the polls and numbers... leading to horse race coverage. They should have spent more time covering the issues, each candidates stance on the issue, and their record on each issue. This would have exposed the huge gap between what Bush says and what Bush does. So, if you think I am a little salty about the election and should move on, I guess your right. I can now put it behind me, now that I have laid all of the blame on the media.
Posted by beng0061 at 11:48 AM
December 12, 2004
FCC Public Hearing
On thursday night, I attended the FCC public hearing on media consolidation at Hamline University. With FCC commissioner Jonathon Adelstein present, the hearing gave an opportunity to citizens to voice their concerns over media consolidation. With well over 2000 people in attendence, the meeting was lively and informative. Commissioner Adelstein began with a speech about his concerns over media consolidation. He was against the recent relaxing of media ownership laws, and was happy to tell the audience that the new rules had been frozen by federal courts and were to be reviewed again. Next, a panel of guests representing various local media groups, professors, and journalists spoke of their concerns over media consolidation. Their testimonies were genuine, sometimes emotional, and all concluded that media consolidation has hurt the quality of local media. Finally, citizens were allowed to comment. Most of the comments were directed at Commissioner Adelstein, and ranged from concern over poor minority perceptions in media to disapproval of the recent sale of St. Olaf radio station WCAL to Minnesota Public Radio. In the end, I am not sure how big of an impact this hearing had on media consolidation because everyone in attendence was in aggreement that big media is a bad thing. It surely would have been more interesting if there had been more diversity of thought. But, none the less, the meeting was meaningful to those in attendence and was a great example of democracy in action.
Posted by beng0061 at 6:23 PM
December 9, 2004
Media Objectivity
In 1949 the FCC adopted the Fairness Doctrine, which created the ideal that journalists report news in a fair and balanced way. This model of journalism has dominated the media ever since. However, there are many that would argue that objectivity actually discourages the entire truth from being reported. For example, including certain facts in a story might lead the reader/viewer to sense a bias. Should the journalist include the fact to make the story more complete, or should the journalist leave it out for the sake of keeping the story completely objective. Another common argument against objectivity is that it makes journalists apprehensive to report something new and possibly controversial in fear of being labeled biased. Dan Rather's unsuccessful attempt at doing so recently backfired, and reaffirmed the belief of many that he is leaning left.
So what is the right way to cover the news? Should objectivity remain an ideal or should the public be responsible for spotting biases and making up their own mind? Perhaps different types of media should have different ideals. The network newscasts could remain objective, while cable news could be subjective. Any ideas?
Posted by beng0061 at 3:39 PM
December 7, 2004
The Daily Speaks
Check out the Minnesota Daily's take on media consolidation from Tuesday. It does a good job of pointing out how big media mergers hurt more than just news, but music as well. If you like indie music, seeing shows at First Ave, or listening to Drive 105, it may affect you. It's not just about the news. What do you think about these repercussions, locally or broader, and do you think there should be cause for concern?
Daily Article: "Media Mergers Hurt Public"
Posted by beng0061 at 12:36 PM
December 6, 2004
Take a Poll
How do you get your news: the newspaper, internet, radio, network news (CBS, NBC), or cable news (CNN, Fox News)? And which medium do you think provides the most reliable, unbiased information?
Posted by beng0061 at 9:57 AM
Much at Stake
It has been said that the media is the fourth branch of the federal government. And with so much influence riding on what is reported and how it is reported, it is no wonder there is speculation of journalist bias. But the widespread speculation of a "liberal bias" is hard for me to understand when looking at the media ownership landscape. Back in 1996, and again in 2003, the FCC relaxed media ownership rules, allowing broadcast networks to own stations that reach 45% of the national audience, up from 35%. They also lifted the ban on owning a newspaper and television or radio in the same town (FCC). Trumpeted as gains for free speech, these rulings effectively limit the number of voice heard, resulting in homogenized news. Now, the majority of media is corporate owned by fellows like Ted Turner and Rupert Murcoch, who only worry about not upsetting their corporate advertisers with what and how they report. The result: Fox News.
Posted by beng0061 at 9:48 AM
December 5, 2004
Leaning Left?
Before getting into anything, I want to get an idea of what your thoughts are on the media's political agenda. If you weren't aware, there is broad speculation in America that our journalists have leftist views and that they frame news content to accentuate these views. Have you ever heard of the media's liberal bias, and, if so, do you think there is any truth to it?
Posted by beng0061 at 9:00 PM