Politics – The distorted manner in which CNN's favorite son, Wolf Blitzer, reports on the campaign and comments of Barack Obama has completely obliterated fair and objective news coverage on cable television.
Started after the 60's. Walter Cronkite made a speech that blasted the Viet Nam war. That started the big three to slant the news towards the liberals. They have been getting worse all the time. Their news rating plummet as a result. Talk radio filled the gap and then Fox came along. Their news ratings have caused CNN to put on more conservatives to balance their network. Their ratings have improved as a result. If you have biased people at least you should have them on both sides.
I agree that even people of your ilk should also be allowed to speak.
wolf blitzer is just more proof that the idea of the "librul meedeeyah" is just another right wing hoax.
besides news outlets with an obvious bent (foxnews, washington times) the media is neither blue nor red. the media is green. as in money. they are all about the green. and things like war help the media make money. people watch the news during war. advertising fees go up. cha-ching!
remember, if it bleeds, it leads.
My, my. You don't like CNN. Liberals don't like Fox. Guess they had better ask Uncle George Soros to buy them a News Channel. They can ask Al Franken to run it, since he is losing badly in his Senate campaign, and will soon need a job. Or you could blog. You make up your own news anyway. But this is really amusing to watch you complain about CNN. Never thought I would see the day when libs were upset with Wolfie.
Media in the Us no longer has anything to do with information or analysis. It is about keeping media from exposing corporate and government corruption.
Why Big Media Needs Propaganda to Survive
The mainstream media are as likely to report on Pentagon propaganda â;; and thus, themselves â;; as President Bush is likely to cede that "mission accomplished" was poor phrasing. That is, it ain't ever gonna happen.
... If you haven't heard already, just six corporations control most of what we read, watch and listen to every day. These corporate giants are motivated entirely by profit, not public service. So as Big Media get bigger, gobbling up more newspapers, radio stations and TV networks through consolidation, our media system actually gets smaller. Corporate execs have gutted newsrooms, shuttered foreign bureaus and slashed spending on investigative reporting...
To consolidate their control, Big Media owners like Rupert Murdoch have cozied up to Washington, deploying legions of lobbyists and lawyers to craft U.S. communications policy, while doling out millions of dollars in campaign contributions to squelch any challenge from elected officials....
..Weak and lightheaded, the junk news we now call journalism is now entirely incapable of fulfilling its mission to hold government and corporate actors accountable, to report in the public's interest, and to critique itself for wrongdoing...
... Yes, we need to hold the government accountable for the crime of propaganda. But we also need to roll back consolidation so that new voices can counter the propaganda that has seeped into the newsrooms of the mainstream press...
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/05/09/...
As for Wolf Blitzer, he represents one of the types of corruption that Americans are never to be told about by the corporate media. What is a member of an israel-first organization (AIPAC) who is of dubious primary loyalty to America doing as a major news presenter in the US?
Wolf Blitzer is a Zionist
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-8aTGnjHnI
THE DANGER OF MEDIA COMPLICITY IN ZIONISM'S SUPPRESSION OF THE TRUTH OF HISTORY
As a former ITN and BBC Panorama correspondent, I am often asked how I explain the Western mainstream media's preference for Zionist mythology as opposed to the truth of history (as it relates to the making and sustaining of what used to be called the Arab-Israeli conflict). I address this question, quite explicitly, in the Prologue to Volume Two, recently published, of my book Zionism: The Real Enemy of the Jews....
http://alanhartdiary.blogspot.com/2007/04/dange...
Wolf has taken a stance against Dean, Ron Paul, Obama and many others. He listens to Joe Liberman and Romney. Is it my imagination or is he against anyone who tries to take a balanced approach to Americas policy in the Middle East? I expect Obama to be loyal to America. So why does Wolf question his loyality to Israel?
Obama is not a muslim and your remark aniokly is bigotted and distasteful to those who are. He was raised in a better home than you were that appears self-evident by the disgusting comments that you make.
He is not a Muslim today maybe, but you cannot lie about his former Muslim background, his 5 years attending Prayers at a Mosque with his step father, and you cannot lie about the fact his Grandfather, and Father were Muslims, and his father named him Barak Hussein both Muslim names. These are facts, and you can deny all you want, but that is the truth. Even today his religion is Afro centric, and his pastor, and he went to Libia years ago with that great man, Louis Farrahkan.
CNN is getting a bit tiresome! I guess I like the old cranky guy since I am one myself. I am old and white and educated and support Obama, go figure! My mother is still living and always claimed she was not prejudiced but she now admits she is! Guess who she voted for.
I am a true Texan if anyone cares to reply!
vidman rarely reads the article and comments on the substance of the story.
From the story:
This kind of bias coverage that uses the comments and clips from one interview as the fodder for more uncontested attacks by selected opponents is a disgrace to the integrity of objective reporting. CNN looks more and more like a pack of jackals picking at the bones of the victims that they create. It is an insult to the American people, who are currently struggling desperately to put food on the table, to put gas in their cars, to keep their mortgages paid, and to keep their sons and daughters safe from the corporate war in Iraq.
Lets argue the facts vidman, most of us really don't care about the "S" in your avatar.
Hi Spadecaller!
I don't really know who is Blitzer: it seems he is accustomed to play a dirty trick on everyone, that is below the belt...He is a regular of this kind of attack (but he is not the only one, all the medias are and everywhere). I think American People are clever enough to set apart truth from lie!
Here is a commentary on how degraded our media have become and an interesting suggestion for improvement.
America's newshounds have turned into a pack of poodles
This year's Arab Broadcast Forum in Abu Dhabi is bringing together electronic and print journalists from across the Arab region for a series of discussions in the round, covering a range of topics of critical concern. The sessions are exploring threats to press freedom, evaluating the coverage of major crises, and self-critically examining their craft. The participants will benefit â;; but so, too, will the wider public, since the proceedings will be aired on the sponsoring networks.
..The Arab media may not be free, in the sense that there is government ownership and, in varying degrees, interference and censorship. But Arab journalists are free thinkers, and quite serious about expanding their freedom to examine critical issues.
All this stands in interesting contrast to the US media that, while cherishing and boasting of its freedom, is increasingly constrained by factors that have resulted in limiting that freedom. The US press is technically free of government influence, but there are a combination of political, cultural and commercial considerations that have made the US media less free and less inquisitive. The controls are not overt, but subtle and at all times pervasive â;; and decisive.
There is, for example, the "corporatisation" of the media, which has resulted both in a dumbing down of content and the push to mimic, rather than compete in the ever-demanding need to increase ratings. There is the incestuous nature of the Washington scene: its revolving door of journalists going into government and vice versa; the self-serving need to protect access, and the shared social circle of too many government and media elites that results in self-imposed restraint.
.. How else could one explain the shameless collaboration of media in President Bush's "rush to war" in Iraq, or the uncritical celebratory treatment of his "mission accomplished" speech. The latter is especially noteworthy, since this past week marked the fifth anniversary of that event.
While the pack has turned, and is now largely critical of that 2003 White House public relations stunt, what passed unremarked was the media's own culpability in promotion of that event. It took some enterprising researchers from the media watchdog Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, to point out what commentators said then and have not acknowledged now.
It is infuriating the very same US journalists who rightly hold politicians accountable for past sins on Iraq and inconsistent statements generally, have yet to engage in self-criticism of their own failings. Holding politicians to a standard you yourself do not adhere to is not the best definition of a free press.
A bold idea comes to mind. Let's make a trade. Arab journalists can be brought to the US to cover the White House, Congress and political campaigns. Here they can expand their freedom and perfect their craft. At the same time, the US "pack" journalists could be sent to the Arab world, where they can learn to fight for the freedom they now enjoy but do not exercise.
Or, American journalists can simply tune in to the Arab Broadcast Forum, and see how their colleagues overseas engage in thoughtful self-criticism in an effort to improve their profession and expand their freedom.
hy - are the Arab journalists expressing opinions, or reporting the news?
or are you praising the Arabs for their biases, ie opinions and castigating our commentators?
From what I have seen, the english version of Al Jazeera has better coverage than the corporate American TV channels. For example, they have commentators and interviews from all over the world - how often hve you seen a Lebanese, a Syrian, a Chinese, a Brazilian, ... commentating or being interviews on American TV? Our news channels are extremely provincial.
Most people know CNN is no longer a reliable news source. Hasn't the time come to do something about it? I wonder how many propellerheads have voiced opinions denouncing CNN and Blitzer's underhanded news reporting but have not contacted CNN or their advertisers even one time. Any guesses?
Reminder:
The best way to beat the media's BS is to cut into their ratings; and that can be done by organizing, boycotting, and communicating. Send CNN a quick email at this link:
Not a member? Sign-up today!
soulkeeper009
pericles
axlarry
GoldMaster
asolious
darwinm701977
dokkyou08
elliotthicks1965
dexlovex2
tracyneil
SpiderPig
neiltracy
AnteUp
senoma07
harleyb761960
slashup67
digitalfever
popperous
daviant701973
tonks21
Tango57
Radiofreeeuropa
onlyonesecret
CoolCrazyStuff
geniusbeauty
lawrencee
quackpot
triizine
hatukabu
Iris-Iris
shawnmartinez1960
eyeillusion
Lurch
PSIAII
rhettdejesus1975
gano
Chuck The Canuck
Raiderwall
1basque1
namecritic
tchef
getreal1
mmrhe
icono1
ProudBlueTexan
superuser46
ramblasos
funkywallpapers
satansatan
jomarjarmo
236)
LOL
This is tame. George Washington was called a traitor when he ran the second time. Keep it in perspective. This is what freedom of speech is all about.
I have never cared much for that kind of arguement that seems typical for endoscopy; "everyone else does it."
My kids used to tell me that one. LOL! I told them: I don't care if the Queen of England does it. If it's wrong, knock it off.
That is what you call values, endoscopy. Try them on for size.
The point is that as far as this type of attack goes it is very tame. Attacks are part and parcel of politics. One example I detested from Democrats. When the Republican talked about needing to visit the rules about who gets free lunches because they felt too many teachers kids were getting them what did the Democrats scream? "STARVE THE KIDS" It shut down any investigation into the problem.
How was that response to a problem for a value?
What happened to investigating 9/11 and why it was not stopped despite the dire warnings from internal and external intel sources?
What happened to investigating why the 9/11 commission wasn`t fully implemented?
What happened to investigating why the Bush admin kicked the inspectors out and rushed to a counter-productive and completely unnecessary but costly war?
What happened to the tens of billions in cost overruns, lost bribes, and other taxpayer dollars lost to corruption involving Iraq?
I think it is more of a priority issue than anything else. $1 here or there versus $1B here and there. Think about it. We could feed 9,000,000,000 teachers` children just with the money `lost` in Iraq. The Republicans refuse to investigate or allow an investigation.