Thread: The Media

I think it's been a while since we've had this topic, so I thought I'd bring it up again.

We're all familiar with the accusations of 'FoxNews being one-sided, or plain false' and the 'drive by media on to a mission to install communism in America'. If that's your thing just be assured that your guy is the good one and the other is the bad one, please don't try to convince us, and find some other place to contribute.

What I am more interested in is do you think the media has any more responsibility to not be a propaganda machine, than the people have a responsibility to not fall for it and be proactive in educating themselves?

It's pretty much the same as the argument about the majority of mass entertainment being garbage because that's what is offered, or because of what is sought.

And to make it personal, do you 'buy' the news that you get daily? How often do you actually look for a well reasoned opposing view? (All conspiracy theorists, this may be a good moment to tell us what the real truth is )

i get all my news from the conversation forum.

Originally Posted by Slartibartfast

i get all my news from the conversation forum.

Both fair and balanced!

When I was a kid most of the media was small companies and usually family owned, they had a reputation in the community to protect. Now the media is owned by nameless/faceless corporations and those who pull the strings within those corporations and have no loyalties to anyone but themselves.They are there to make money and peddle influence, it has been so long since I have seen anything that was objective I probably would not know what it was when I saw it. I think todays media is run by the few for the sake of the few. I think the onslaught of partisan polotics in the media simply divides the public making them more easily manipulated, divided they are conquered and led in any direction the leaders want, while the sheep are too busy bickering and pointing fingers amongst themselves as to whose fault it is that they are being led to slaughter.

I can explain media bias quite easily.

1. all people are biased. some more than others, but everyone is a little biased, at least.
2. media corporations are run by and made up of PEOPLE. see 1.
3. for reasons of getting along, people with similar biases to those making hiring decisions tend to get hired. thus, you usually get a pretty homogenous set of biases in a given workplace. (in my experience anyway)
4. when a large group of people all feel the same way, they tend to make decisions more harmoniously.
5. due to 4. (groupthink) that selfsame group will develop cultural blind spots if there are no dissidents (or if they are overwhelmingly drowned out by a loud majority)
6. due to 5. these groups will tend to display self-reinforcing behavior when it comes to exhibiting bias.

Very good question, Ivan. In an idealistic way, I do think the media has a responsibility to provide unbiased information. Being a realist, however, I think it's ridiculous for any of us to waste even a bit of mental energy trusting that media information is unbiased and equally ridiculous to complain that one facet of the media versus another is biased.

From this point in time and onward into the future I believe the media is manipulation and is no longer unbiased. Those days are gone gone gone. Rather than waste any energy and be ridiculous, I've long since entrenched myself and view "the media" with more skepticism that I can even describe bordering on complete disbelief.

Part and parcel with my belief, I stopped watching network news years ago and rarely read the paper. NPR hurts my head with its pablum. Consequently I feel much less manipulated.

It's our responsibility to wake up or get what we get.

Chris L

Originally Posted by jockeys

I can explain media bias quite easily.

1. all people are biased. some more than others, but everyone is a little biased, at least.
2. media corporations are run by and made up of PEOPLE. see 1.
3. for reasons of getting along, people with similar biases to those making hiring decisions tend to get hired. thus, you usually get a pretty homogenous set of biases in a given workplace. (in my experience anyway)
4. when a large group of people all feel the same way, they tend to make decisions more harmoniously.
5. due to 4. (groupthink) that selfsame group will develop cultural blind spots if there are no dissidents (or if they are overwhelmingly drowned out by a loud majority)
6. due to 5. these groups will tend to display self-reinforcing behavior when it comes to exhibiting bias.

And I'd like to add to that:

Whoever pays the piper picks the tunes.

Originally Posted by nun2sharp

When I was a kid most of the media was small companies and usually family owned, they had a reputation in the community to protect. Now the media is owned by nameless/faceless corporations and those who pull the strings within those corporations and have no loyalties to anyone but themselves.They are there to make money and peddle influence, it has been so long since I have seen anything that was objective I probably would not know what it was when I saw it. I think todays media is run by the few for the sake of the few. I think the onslaught of partisan polotics in the media simply divides the public making them more easily manipulated, divided they are conquered and led in any direction the leaders want, while the sheep are too busy bickering and pointing fingers amongst themselves as to whose fault it is that they are being led to slaughter.

I agree with this. The media is owned by just a few very large corporations that usually have joint holdings. They have a great deal of influence about what is released. I remember the owners/managers of affiliate clearchannel stations were pressured into playing what were basically infomercials about that whole Kerry swiftboat thing, and treating them like they were valid, proven news. I also remember, quite a while back, I turned on the news and Dan Rather made a statement like "Bill Gates is being punished by Washington politicians for not playing ball!" This was in the summary at the beginning of the 5:00 news. I noticed it because it wasn't even remotely unbiased. The really odd thing was that I turned to a different news channel at 5:30, and the exact phrase was read by another anchorman, Brokow, I think. I was pretty suprised by that.

I think the whole divide and conquer part is true as well. People have allowed themselves to become radicalized. They see their own countrymen as the enemy and take in information from certain commentators, politicians, ect as gospel without any questions begin asked. The fewer the questions, the more the people in power can get away with.

There are about 50 other things I could list here, but I'm really tired of typing right now.

Originally Posted by Pete_S

I agree with this. The media is owned by just a few very large corporations that usually have joint holdings. They have a great deal of influence about what is released. I remember the owners/managers of affiliate clearchannel stations were pressured into playing what were basically infomercials about that whole Kerry swiftboat thing, and treating them like they were valid, proven news. I also remember, quite a while back, I turned on the news and Dan Rather made a statement like "Bill Gates is being punished by Washington politicians for not playing ball!" This was in the summary at the beginning of the 5:00 news. I noticed it because it wasn't even remotely unbiased. The really odd thing was that I turned to a different news channel at 5:30, and the exact phrase was read by another anchorman, Brokow, I think. I was pretty suprised by that.

I think the whole divide and conquer part is true as well. People have allowed themselves to become radicalized. They see their own countrymen as the enemy and take in information from certain commentators, politicians, ect as gospel without any questions begin asked. The fewer the questions, the more the people in power can get away with.

There are about 50 other things I could list here, but I'm really tired of typing right now.

Please type more when you're able, Pete. I've appreciated what you've written here and I agree with it. I stopped being partisan and loyal to one particular political party years ago. The divide and conquer approach was tested to be effective by the Romans and has proved so ever since.

To me, blindly and "proudly" aligning oneself with a single party and spending energy pointing at the misdeeds and foibles of the opposing party is akin to a pigeon looking downward and pecking at crumbs. Only, the crumbs are being strewn about by a hawk perched above. The pigeons focused only on the crumbs and fighting amongst themselves for this crumb or that never even see the hawk coming.

Chris L

Originally Posted by gugi

What I am more interested in is do you think the media has any more responsibility to not be a propaganda machine, than the people have a responsibility to not fall for it and be proactive in educating themselves?

Imo, yes. News media have an important role in society, and they should not spread lies because they are the basis for people's opinions. They are in a position of trust.