Add the Mesabi Daily News editorial page to the Sean Hannity school of situational outrage.
“Tea Party” protests over a tax increase for the wealthy (along with an unmentioned tax cut for 95 percent of the population) are equated to tyranny and fascism during an economic crisis: OK. And screw you, MSNBC, for not taking them seriously.
War protest occur during the 2003 invasion of Iraq: Bad. And anyone who disagrees should submit now while we are at the peak of our nationalist urges.
Of course, both protests deserve attention and legal protection. The First Amendment protects all speech. It would seem that it’s a little easier to defend freedom of dissent during a budget negotiation process than it is during a war. Hindsight might make this a pot shot, but can we all just stop pretending that our mainstream media outlets are any less subject to bias than blogs like this?
The only currency of our times is information. Opinions are a dime a dozen (including mine, unfortunately). An active media doing its job might have prevented our nation’s mistakes after 9/11, just as an active media is now needed to make sure that the federal recovery efforts are employed wisely. But we don’t have an active media. We have a pack of animals. (“Growl,” said the blogger).
I saw a TV show that analyzed the post 9-11 coverage by some of the news anchors. It showed the subtle and not so subtle ways that the anchors’ words and set decorations helped in a very pro-go-to-war atmosphere. Of course, we were all shocked at what happened on 9-11, so it was hard to be objective, therefore hard to pick out that the TV networks weren’t really objective. But news people need to differentiate between pure news (as much as is humanly possible) and editorial.
I used to shun the stations that were blatantly partisan, such as MSNBC and FOX, but lately I’ve tuned in to see what they are really saying instead of relying on second hand accounts. They not only twist facts, they lie, they laugh about the other sides’ opinions and words, and actually run down the competitions’ commentators with personal attacks. If you watch the side you are most aligned with, it is somewhat entertaining, as in: my own ego’s opinions are stroked as well. But sheesh, it isn’t news. What kind of “journalism school did these men and women graduate from? Another issue, how come the most blatantly partisan of the stations, by their own admission, employs only women who look stunning, wear a ton of makeup, but often sound rather vacant?