NewYorkLawyer@146 – That’s more than I can say for myself. Thanks for the reality check

No it is not. I thought your comment was well taken.

I think we all agree that most reporters are lazy. Not that they don’t work hard but they do not work smart. They would rather be spoon fed a story that to spend the time researching all avenues of information. For christ sake, you would think with access to Nexus/Lexus and Google they would be overwhelmed with data.

Really, I’d like some facts on this. We say they’re just lazy–but I know in my own job, which isn’t in the media, I’m pressured to produce in quantity and not given enough time to do a really good job. So of course I cut corners. With the massive layoffs going on in most mainstream media, might there also be similar pressures going on for reporters? And even in cases where there are big media budgets, wouldn’t it be in the interests of the big bosses to keep the news research staff extremely slim, so they don’t have time to do any real reporting?

I think we all agree that most reporters are lazy. Not that they don’t work hard but they do not work smart. They would rather be spoon fed a story that to spend the time researching all avenues of information. For christ sake, you would think with access to Nexus/Lexus and Google they would be overwhelmed with data.

Really, I’d like some facts on this. We say they’re just lazy–but I know in my own job, which isn’t in the media, I’m pressured to produce in quantity and not given enough time to do a really good job. So of course I cut corners. With the massive layoffs going on in most mainstream media, might there also be similar pressures going on for reporters? And even in cases where there are big media budgets, wouldn’t it be in the interests of the big bosses to keep the news research staff extremely slim, so they don’t have time to do any real reporting?

I think we all agree that most reporters are lazy. Not that they don’t work hard but they do not work smart. They would rather be spoon fed a story that to spend the time researching all avenues of information. For christ sake, you would think with access to Nexus/Lexus and Google they would be overwhelmed with data.

Really, I’d like some facts on this. We say they’re just lazy–but I know in my own job, which isn’t in the media, I’m pressured to produce in quantity and not given enough time to do a really good job. So of course I cut corners. With the massive layoffs going on in most mainstream media, might there also be similar pressures going on for reporters? And even in cases where there are big media budgets, wouldn’t it be in the interests of the big bosses to keep the news research staff extremely slim, so they don’t have time to do any real reporting?

For instance, some wealthy Republicans established some week-end ?journalism? schools, one of whose graduates, Jim Guckert, morphed into Jeff Gannon with a press pass for presidential news conferences. A week-end ?journalism? degree? C’mon, who are they kidding, or more appropriately, trying to deceive?

In other words, how many more Republican “plants” are there in the MSM? People who start with a bias and have no interest at all in objectivity, or truth, or balance, or fairness? Hey, just look at Fox News for a prime example.

Who, what, when, where, how and why have turned into “talking points” power-point MSM presentations, solely pushed by a specific political party, that have done more damage to our democracy and the Fourth Estate than any al Qaeda terrorist attack.

This is why I have turned more and more to the blogosphere for the who, what, when, where, how and why…while keeping a wary eye on the WMD MSM. Because, although I am aware of what the right-wing conspirators are attempting to do to the MSM, there are still plenty of honorable, responsible journalists, editors and even publishers in the MSM who have not succumbed to the traitorous subterfuge certain right-wing ideologues have unleashed on our Fourth Estate.

Thus, I really value the blogosphere in this time of extreme peril to our democracy. And why I value “net-neutrality” as well. There is no net-neutrality in Red China, or in numerous theocratic police states scattered across the Near and Far East. So, why would anyone in America (at least in their right mind) think that subverting net-neutrality in our freedom-loving, democratic, First Amendment nation is a good idea?

Oh, I get it. Control the information flow. Control the media outlets. Control the internet. Control the citizenry. Objectively speaking, I get the picture. The “thought-control” police are alive and well, and firmly rooted in the Republican Party of today. The Party of Lincoln and Eisenhower is hardly recognizable anymore, and to view something comparable one would have to travel to a Communist country or theocratic police state.

And Karl Rove, Alberto Gonzales, Dick Cheney and George W. Bush are at the center of this web of corruption and deception in today’s Republican Party. Shame on all of them. Why do they hate our democracy so much? Isn’t it time to stop them, before they do even more damage to the Republican Party and to our nation?

A lot of people zero in on individual reporters, but the reporters all know what their bosses want. The problem is at the top. And no one ever says this, but Graham and Sulzberger at the Post and Times are bad guys. You’re wasting your time waiting for the Times or the Post to get any better, because their owners like them the way they are.

A key point. But take the next step. If the interests and opinions of a small number of corporate owners can dictate the content and slant of our public discourse, how can any sort of democracy survive? Or, to put the matter differently, how can we ever get high quality public policy?

My conclusion is that the electronic media system has to be changed from a pure corporate ownership model to some sort of publicly steered oversight system. Essentially the electorate needs some kind of check on the enormous power conferred by media ownership. In order to formulate the specifics of such an approach, it would be necessary to study media control systems around the world, as well as a range of proposals, to find some approach that could work.

The condition of U.S. electronic media is now so dismal that I believe we should give high priority to the search for a better system.

The Pilsbury Report in late 1995 exonerated the Clintons of any wrongdoing in Whitewater.

http://archives.cjr.org/year/9…..ewater.asp

Yup, and that report was authorized by a hostile Republican Congress which refused to believe the results. So they pushed for the revival of the OIC.

PW- This is such a good post. It should be run more than once so many will see it.

In the meantime, Spotlight-Spotlight.

Thanks!

Any time a person or entity makes a “mistake” that puts extra money (or power) in their pocket, expect them to make that “mistake” again and again and again.

http://archives.cjr.org/year/9…..ewater.asp