[Nathaniel Firethorn]

It sure seems that way on the Sunday morning talking-head programs. The latest trend seems to be to turn people off to the war news because it's not going their way.

- pdmoderator

[PlayTheAces]

It sure seems a lot of the networks aren't real pleased. I think that most of the people running these networks came of age in the 1960's and have carried their liberal agendas with them throughout their lives. They didn't want us to go in to Iraq, and now that our military is bringing the campaign to a successful completion, they just cannot figure out why people don't view things their way. The fact they are out of step with the majority of the population doesn't occur to them.

The network leaders of the future may be the people on the ground right now that are covering things first hand. I wonder if they will have the same world view as their elder bosses? One group growing up during a period of demonstrations and a war nobody really understood; another group coming up as the country embraces a philosophy of taking preemptive strikes against percieved threats, and then successfully taking out the threats.

I wonder if the liberal media we've all watched for years won't become less liberal in the future.

[Art Eatman]

What war news I've seen has been on FOX, so I can't speak for the rest of the herd.

Generalization: Most young folks who are inherently conservative in their outlook are gonna go toward the hard sciences in college. Most who are inherently liberal go toward the softer courses, such as Liberal Arts--which includes Journalism School.

Add to this the rise of "advocacy journalism" that began in the Vietnam/Nixon era, and you have the majority liberal viewpoint in the media. Sadly, a large percentage of them think they're honestly "middle of the road", lacking any understanding of political philosophy or the meaning of words like "Liberal" or "Conservative".

Regardless, slanted reporting resulting from a political viewpoint is a major problem.

Art

[agricola]

plus the media relies on the effect of shock, dramatic stories with which to break and gain ratings - they are just another part of the entertainment industry after all - and (sadly) nothing to them is more newsworthy than mistakes killing civilians, the death of Coalition soldiers, and sensationalist stuff like the various NBC suit finds and torture claims.

the existence of 24 hour news just makes the situation worse, as does (as people here have pointed out) the fact that these reporters usually know nothing about what they are reporting on. like many here i saw the 9/11 attacks on TV while at work, and (at least on CNN) the airtime was taken up with hours of mindless speculation based on ignorance. that said, there is a dividing line between the rolling news people and those who take the time and space to step back and try and look at the overall picture and report objectively, but these people are all too rare, sadly.

[standingbear]

listen to don henleys' dirty laundry song.sometimes i wonder if certain media are waiting like vultures to pounce on a tradgic story for sensationalism.they show the peoples faces,looks of horror..ect.when i see it,it sickens me..time to change the channel.

[Hypnogator]

While I haven't been glued to the TV set since the war started, from what I've seen, I hate to admit that our journalists have been doing a pretty good job of covering the war effort.

In fact, that seems to be a matter of concern for the journalism profession: The fact that embedded reporters in our units are reporting "our" victories, instead of "balanced" (aka Al-Jazeera type US-bashing) coverage. Well, aren't most of the journalists Americans. And shouldn't they be referring to "our" side, rather than some dispassionate reference to "coalition forces."

For once, it seems that the press is portraying coalition forces as heroes, and accurately reporting the underhanded, cowardly way the Iraquis have been shielding themselves with women and children and fighting in civilian clothes. And they seem to accurately be portraying our soldier's concerns to protect innocent lives and property.

Sure, there were times when the media seemed eager to report that the war wasn't going according to plan (as though any war ever did), but in the main, I'm satisfied with their coverage. Arnott and Rivera excepted, of course.:barf:

[Blackhawk]

Anybody with an audience ends up thinking they're smarter than the audience. That's the main drawback of electronic media.

[LoneStranger]

Will have to agree with Hynogator, As the embedded reporters determine that what they were told in school about the military comes up not matching the reality that is in front of them they will start questioning other areas of truth as pronounced in school.

The last thing that you need, if you wish to control what others think, is people questioning what you have told them to think. Think of the problems that could ensue if the questions go beyond the fundamental belief of Liberals(?) that the military is full of dunces?

I predict that those in control of the Media will fight tooth and nail to stop this embedding thing from being used in any future conflict or activity.

[Backwoods]

I think that the embeds are here to stay. The military likes the results that having the reporter "right there" where they can't help but see how good our guys and thier missons are.

The media will go along because otherwise, they don't get accesss to any good stories, they're stuck with the system whether they like it or not.

Don in Ohio

[Standing Wolf]

The national leftist extremist so-called "news" media has a deep, abiding vested interest in promoting the destruction of America and its replacement with a socialist people's republic.

Of course, if America ever were replaced with a socialist people's republic, freedom of speech would be the second item crossed off the Bill of Rights—but no one's ever accused leftists of having or exercising too much forethought.

[PATH]

Aww crud! Those creeps are looking to bad mouth our folks any way they can!:cuss: :fire:

[Leatherneck]

As usual, agricola and Blackhawk make salient points. Despite the rampant liberal bias of many establishment media figures, anything that gets people to watch (i.e., ratings) is their friend. And even the libs understand that triggering the gag reflex is not good for their ratings. So the Rathers and the Jennings make a weak attempt to disguise their leftist slant and say what's most popular at the moment. :scrutiny:

TC
TFL Survivor

[foghornl]

"The Media" is pretty well bummed out, except for Fox News Channel.

[TheEgg]

The embeds are doing a decent job.

Mainstream US media (CBS, NBC, ABC, New York Times, LA Times) seem to me to be very energized when they have bad news to report for the coalition, seem to be very depressed when they only have good news to report for the coalition. My guess is this is based on what looks to me like a very bad case of "We hate Bush, and anything that makes him look good is bad".

Washington Post seems to be fairly even-handed (I am shocked!)

Fox News, although I watch it a lot, seems to be too much in the cheerleader camp for the coalition, even though they report good and bad. CNN is deeply depressed by the course of the war.

BBC seems to have a lot to answer for -- mostly had respect for their journalistic ethic, but it seems to have been badly dented by what appears to me to be a very Anti-American bias -- maybe they are just reflecting the opinions of their customers.

Arab media -- I don't speak Arabic, so I could be wrong, I have to rely on translations, but they seem to be pulling out all the Anti-western, Anti-Jewish propoganda that they can find and shouting it from the rooftops. I find what they are doing to have very little resemblance to journalism.

I try to watch/read from a wide variety of sources -- the truth is usually out-there, but you do have to hunt sometimes.

[Mike Irwin]

What?

The media, such as the New York Times, thinks we're winning?

Last couple of articles I read in the times (granted, I've stopped reading it lately) is that American evil devil invader forces are being crushed by the righteous might of the Iraqis.

[SkunkApe]

A note on grammar:

"Media" is the plural of "medium". The correct question is:

"Are the media bummed that we're winning?"


Your friend,

The Grammar Nazi

[Mike Irwin]

Skunk Ape,

What to discuss the concept of collective singulars? :D