I have been very dissatisfied, as many people are, with the state of our media.
They have redefined their role as one of opinion and gossip and fluff over that of truth and facts.
Not all of them but, a majority of them.
I honestly believe this has led to a the confused and partisan thinking and dysfunction we now see in the Capital and our political parties and in average voters.
My thinking and theory of what is keeping people from making informed decisions and why so much of politics is falling apart is due to the role of our media.
They use to be the referees and educators of the issues and breaking down the walls and spin.
Now they say it is not their role to do that.
They fill their time with ginning up something called resentment politics to keep people coming back. They are giving opinion, much uninformed and pushing their own views into stories and reports.
Opinion writers were not as big back in the time of my childhood of the 60s and early 70s. You had some, of course. But, they were not the dominating voice of media.
People learned to trust what the were told on the news because of the fact that the role was seen as being part educator and truth teller. They would educate the public on what the facts of an issue was without an agenda.
Let's take the contention of today that Obama is raising taxes. Back then the news would tell people that it was for those making over 250 thousand a year. Today they spin it to gin up resentment and anger.
Back then politics was seen as serious business and it was a vital function to our country and lives. That making an informed decision on voting was all important and tried to arm the public with as much truthful information as possible.
Today the media sees it as a game to be played. To publish the rumors and gossip and not clarify it or tell people it is wrong or just gossip. They take something and spin it to push anger and rage.
This is happening on mainstream news programs and on blogs.
The politics of resentment brings in viewers and readers. Traffic and ratings.
As does drama.
To fill in the time with covering an issue in depth and explaining the details is never done. Instead, the holes and time are filled with opinion and partisan fighting.
Add to this the 'balance'
The media got it into their minds that they needed to present this false balance.
Instead of just telling the facts they insist on doing the 'if one side does it then the other must as well'.
That leads to so much confusion and frustration for the public. But, they still do this.
Because they will not educate and clarify and insist on this false balance, you have the republicans doing and saying more and more outrageous tall tales.
People think if it was not true it would be told to them. But, instead they are given spin and the false balance so, the people think this must be true and the republicans are left to do as the will without answering for it.
this has led to an uptick for Fox news. People assume they are telling the truth and no one is correcting it in the general mainstream.
This has led to a dysfunctional government as the parties can spin and twist things and no one is correcting it or telling the people what is the truth and the facts.
I watch Washington Journal on Cspan. Callers are starting to complain about the lack of facts and education of the issues by the media.
Today, Bill Adair of Politifact was on. He said that sometime in the late 90s the journalism establishment became afraid of telling people the facts when someone was lying or spinning. They felt they could not tell people the truth of the matter. So, if someone was telling a reporter a lie and the reporter knew this, they said nothing to let the public know.
We are now seeing this creep up in our blogs. Of course they are run by private individuals and they are expressing their own take on things. but, when they are invited as guests on news programs, the opinion they express are presented as factual and not challenged.
So, you have a Huffington who has become famous for guest appearances. She expresses her view and it is usually in opposition to whoever is in power. But, the news program's hosts do not challenge her or clarify that this is her opinion and not the facts.
So, again you have confusion and misleading for the public.
Again, as I said, this is my view. My take on what a large part of voters being misled and not well informed. What has played a role in our dysfunctional congress and senate. In why so much is being misunderstood and lies are being believed over facts. Why no one is accountable and trust has eroded.
Many adults came to believe the news from decades past. It was like trusting your teacher. It is hard to suddenly realize they no longer have the interest and general good of the country at heart. They still want to believe if it is on the news then it is fact.
I do believe the public wants to be informed. They just don't know where the truth lays and where the spin begins.