Dateline: February 7, 2006
Media
Ethical or Unethical: That is the question
Are media presenters of the news and the mainstream press ethical?
The public says no. Bill O'Reilly says no, Sean Hannity says no, Rush Limbaugh says no and virtually all of the conservatives in America say no. So are they or aren't they?
The conservative broadcast critics have good reason to be skeptical. I like most Americans would like to read the news, not editorials on the front page every time I pick up a newspaper. I would like to see something other than a liberal spin put on every major news story. With the exception of Fox News and a miniscule number of American daily newspapers and isolated broadcasters, that is how it seems every day of the week.
The trend in recent years has been for editors to permit editorial bias to enter into what seems to be the majority of every national interest story. They pass off the news as unbiased, fair, and impartial. Unfortunately, the resident bias seemingly inherent in every major national news story, particularly when it comes to the war on terror or domestic issues, in no way represents the middle of the road values of most Americans.
A case in point: Dan Rather of CBS News abortive attempt during the election run up in 2004 to blatantly frame President George W. Bush for falsifying documents during his Air National Guard duty days blew up in his face. When it turned out that the story was a complete fabrication based on one questionable source, CBS circled the wagons. Rather than admit their rush to judgment, they stonewalled. When it turned out that there was no place to hide, Dan Rather went mute.
In the end, it turned out for Rather to be a non-recoverable mess, one that could not be explained away or glossed over. He retired under pressure in order to avoid the embarrassment of being fired. His producer was not so lucky. She was fired. This was nasty business, lost in the excesses of trying to make a political point other than dig out a real story.
In this case, the real story, as it finally was exposed in the nontraditional middle of the road press and among the conservative broadcasters, was that a handful of 'not so nice' folks were trying to fabricate untruths wrapped in half-truths and foist them on what they perceived was a gullible public banner. To this day Dan Rather sticks tenaciously to some metaphysical allusion that what he did was the right thing to do, as though anybody in the world believes him or even cares.
Two things occurred however in the aftermath. The highly visible case finally revealed that media can have an agenda. It smacked us in the face with the notion that the major news media does not just report the news but attempts to shape it when it suits them. Millions, for the first time recognized they make of the news what they want and how they want in order to achieve whatever outcomes they desire.
Perhaps this has gone on for years, unnoticed. Finally someone got caught at it. The story so backfired on CBS News that their ratings plummeted, and their credibility went in the toilet.
What CBS found and the nation discovered is that the public is not the same as it was, not even as little as five years ago. The public is no longer willing to accept carte blanche whatever the networks say or the mainstream press prints without question. We can thank Bill Gates and the Internet for this breakthrough.
Follow this up with the ongoing scandals at the New York Times, the so-called holy grail of news and truth of our time, and one begins to wonder if any of these guys can be trusted again, either on the right or the left. Currently the Times may be dangerously close to being charged with espionage for leaking top secret government information and revealing wire taps that were highly classified.
In what now appears an obvious effort to embarrass the President, they managed to tip off enemies of the state to exactly what our government was doing to catch them. One can only wonder if the Times real motive was one of sinister intent considering they knew of the information for at least a year and kept it under wraps or an innocent miscalculation. Why did they need so desperately to publish it now and for what purpose?
One would think the press has lost its collective marbles in its efforts to beat the president, his administration and the war effort senseless.
But that is not the case. What is the truth, it readily seems, is that sale of newspapers and television market share of major broadcasters has been steadily declining while the costs of running them is steadily increasing. Therefore if no controversy exists, create one.
It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out these guys are in a world of hurt economically. The best way to overcome that is to create drama where none exists; the 30-second sound bite or the blazing headline, exploiting stories that are borderline, and then playing deaf, dumb, and blind when it comes time to own up to the excesses seems a sure path to financial success.
The New York Times is not the only BIG guy teetering on the ethical envelope here. Let's throw in the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post and a battery of the lesser known like the Atlanta Constitution. The popular TV iconoclast Bill O'Reilly thinks the Atlanta Constitution ought to fold up its tent and go away.
Media
Ethical or Unethical: That is the question
Are media presenters of the news and the mainstream press ethical?
The public says no. Bill O'Reilly says no, Sean Hannity says no, Rush Limbaugh says no and virtually all of the conservatives in America say no. So are they or aren't they?
The conservative broadcast critics have good reason to be skeptical. I like most Americans would like to read the news, not editorials on the front page every time I pick up a newspaper. I would like to see something other than a liberal spin put on every major news story. With the exception of Fox News and a miniscule number of American daily newspapers and isolated broadcasters, that is how it seems every day of the week.
The trend in recent years has been for editors to permit editorial bias to enter into what seems to be the majority of every national interest story. They pass off the news as unbiased, fair, and impartial. Unfortunately, the resident bias seemingly inherent in every major national news story, particularly when it comes to the war on terror or domestic issues, in no way represents the middle of the road values of most Americans.
A case in point: Dan Rather of CBS News abortive attempt during the election run up in 2004 to blatantly frame President George W. Bush for falsifying documents during his Air National Guard duty days blew up in his face. When it turned out that the story was a complete fabrication based on one questionable source, CBS circled the wagons. Rather than admit their rush to judgment, they stonewalled. When it turned out that there was no place to hide, Dan Rather went mute.
In the end, it turned out for Rather to be a non-recoverable mess, one that could not be explained away or glossed over. He retired under pressure in order to avoid the embarrassment of being fired. His producer was not so lucky. She was fired. This was nasty business, lost in the excesses of trying to make a political point other than dig out a real story.
In this case, the real story, as it finally was exposed in the nontraditional middle of the road press and among the conservative broadcasters, was that a handful of 'not so nice' folks were trying to fabricate untruths wrapped in half-truths and foist them on what they perceived was a gullible public banner. To this day Dan Rather sticks tenaciously to some metaphysical allusion that what he did was the right thing to do, as though anybody in the world believes him or even cares.
Two things occurred however in the aftermath. The highly visible case finally revealed that media can have an agenda. It smacked us in the face with the notion that the major news media does not just report the news but attempts to shape it when it suits them. Millions, for the first time recognized they make of the news what they want and how they want in order to achieve whatever outcomes they desire.
Perhaps this has gone on for years, unnoticed. Finally someone got caught at it. The story so backfired on CBS News that their ratings plummeted, and their credibility went in the toilet.
What CBS found and the nation discovered is that the public is not the same as it was, not even as little as five years ago. The public is no longer willing to accept carte blanche whatever the networks say or the mainstream press prints without question. We can thank Bill Gates and the Internet for this breakthrough.
Follow this up with the ongoing scandals at the New York Times, the so-called holy grail of news and truth of our time, and one begins to wonder if any of these guys can be trusted again, either on the right or the left. Currently the Times may be dangerously close to being charged with espionage for leaking top secret government information and revealing wire taps that were highly classified.
In what now appears an obvious effort to embarrass the President, they managed to tip off enemies of the state to exactly what our government was doing to catch them. One can only wonder if the Times real motive was one of sinister intent considering they knew of the information for at least a year and kept it under wraps or an innocent miscalculation. Why did they need so desperately to publish it now and for what purpose?
One would think the press has lost its collective marbles in its efforts to beat the president, his administration and the war effort senseless.
But that is not the case. What is the truth, it readily seems, is that sale of newspapers and television market share of major broadcasters has been steadily declining while the costs of running them is steadily increasing. Therefore if no controversy exists, create one.
It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out these guys are in a world of hurt economically. The best way to overcome that is to create drama where none exists; the 30-second sound bite or the blazing headline, exploiting stories that are borderline, and then playing deaf, dumb, and blind when it comes time to own up to the excesses seems a sure path to financial success.
The New York Times is not the only BIG guy teetering on the ethical envelope here. Let's throw in the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post and a battery of the lesser known like the Atlanta Constitution. The popular TV iconoclast Bill O'Reilly thinks the Atlanta Constitution ought to fold up its tent and go away.
What is the obligation of the 4th Estate?
First we have to realize these guys get a free ride. Nobody checks his or her ethics badge at the door. Nobody elected them to speak the ethical truth or be the ethical watchdog. Yet, they have assumed this role. In the end it is not about who they are but what they are. We accord them the ethical consciousness of America because we have protected a free press and the right to free speech and expect them to uphold that mantle. But, what do we do when they don't measure up anymore?
That's pretty weighty stuff for a public not accustomed to questioning everything the broadcast media and the press may say, print, or represent. Americans have found themselves getting REAL uncensored, untwisted news from alternatives like the Internet news blogs and the Fox News guys. CNN, it appears, has long capitulated their dominance of balance and ratings to FOX who is closing fast on the network giants of ABC, NBC and CBS for bigger chunks of marekt share.
What does it take to be ethical in the press today?
Truth telling.
The formula has not changed, just the people who interpret what truth is. Someday we may get back to telling it.
posted by Robert Cox - Editor at 10:07 AM
2 Comments:
The press has to lie about the news or make up new stories in order to keep the rating up.That's their business. The ethical choice would be to tell the truth but sometimes the truth is not what we need to read in the newspaper or watch on tv. But as the public we deserve to know the truth. We dont need a brainwash and make us believe what they want to. The press has destroyed many careers and lifes by telling lies and making money from it.
The media is a nasty thing, many things are said and done to attract audience, many newspapers are sensationalist to attract readers, but I am not saying that people shouldn’t believe what they read or hear, but they should believe half of it until it can be prove. Because there are many news that are bias, that only tell one part of the story etc. also some newspaper put shocking photos to attract audience , stereotypes, and use advertising techniques to persuade the audience, and sometimes they just give their opinion. So people should not believe every single word that come out of the media, just hear or read what they are presenting and gather information from other sources and come up with your own opinion.
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