media
Is the News Media Denying Reality??
By Daniel G. Jennings
The recent behavior of the news media is perplexing to average people such as myself. What seem to be major important stories are being ignored while meaningless trivia is being played up as news.
Take for example, the Aug. 11, Denver Post, the paper’s front page stories included one on an attack ad aimed at Supreme Court nominee John Roberts and one on the lack of port-a-potties at Denver parks. This on a day when oil prices rose to $65 a barrel and Al Qaeda released a video tape in which a masked terrorist with an Australian accent threatened bomb attacks. Nor have the television newscasts given these stories much play.
Some observers would say these stories aren’t very sensation or there isn’t much interest in them. A masked terrorist threatening violence against America and its allies not sensational? Rising oil prices and a looming oil shortage not generating interest in a nation where the majority of the population drives?
Something just doesn’t compute here are the media and newspaper editors stupid? Perhaps, or perhaps the media elite is simply ignoring reality because it doesn’t like what is happening in the world.
Take rising oil prices they threaten the economic and political order that keeps the media elite in power. After all oil companies, auto makers and real estate developers are major advertisers. Without them many newspapers and television networks might be out of business and many journalists forced to work for a living. How dare journalists upset major advertisers by reporting negative news.
Or terror, the world view many media elitists subscribe to is that the world be a nice peaceful place if those nasty Americans refused to engage in military actions. The existence of a violent terrorist organization like Al Qaeda, which is dedicated to waging all out war on its enemies just doesn’t square with this world view. It of course is easier to ignore news that disproves this world view than to report upon it.
Such denial of reality may make reporters feel good but it doesn’t change the ugly realities of the world we live in. Ignoring high oil prices, oil shortages and terrorism won’t make such things go away.
This denial will destroy the news media’s credibility average Americans angry at high gas prices and worried about terrorism wonder why such things are absent from the news. Many will figure the media is composed of fools or is lying to them.
The long term result of this denial of reality by the news media will be that the public will tune out the news media and turn to the Internet where people can pick and choose the news they want. Unfortunately, the media elite will ignore that trend too until they find themselves unemployed\.
By Daniel G. Jennings
The recent behavior of the news media is perplexing to average people such as myself. What seem to be major important stories are being ignored while meaningless trivia is being played up as news.
Take for example, the Aug. 11, Denver Post, the paper’s front page stories included one on an attack ad aimed at Supreme Court nominee John Roberts and one on the lack of port-a-potties at Denver parks. This on a day when oil prices rose to $65 a barrel and Al Qaeda released a video tape in which a masked terrorist with an Australian accent threatened bomb attacks. Nor have the television newscasts given these stories much play.
Some observers would say these stories aren’t very sensation or there isn’t much interest in them. A masked terrorist threatening violence against America and its allies not sensational? Rising oil prices and a looming oil shortage not generating interest in a nation where the majority of the population drives?
Something just doesn’t compute here are the media and newspaper editors stupid? Perhaps, or perhaps the media elite is simply ignoring reality because it doesn’t like what is happening in the world.
Take rising oil prices they threaten the economic and political order that keeps the media elite in power. After all oil companies, auto makers and real estate developers are major advertisers. Without them many newspapers and television networks might be out of business and many journalists forced to work for a living. How dare journalists upset major advertisers by reporting negative news.
Or terror, the world view many media elitists subscribe to is that the world be a nice peaceful place if those nasty Americans refused to engage in military actions. The existence of a violent terrorist organization like Al Qaeda, which is dedicated to waging all out war on its enemies just doesn’t square with this world view. It of course is easier to ignore news that disproves this world view than to report upon it.
Such denial of reality may make reporters feel good but it doesn’t change the ugly realities of the world we live in. Ignoring high oil prices, oil shortages and terrorism won’t make such things go away.
This denial will destroy the news media’s credibility average Americans angry at high gas prices and worried about terrorism wonder why such things are absent from the news. Many will figure the media is composed of fools or is lying to them.
The long term result of this denial of reality by the news media will be that the public will tune out the news media and turn to the Internet where people can pick and choose the news they want. Unfortunately, the media elite will ignore that trend too until they find themselves unemployed\.
posted by great one at 4:53 PM
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