If the Post applied the same standard to the statements from Democrats as it does to Republicans, it would do a he said, she said, where it reported Democrats complaining that the invasion had not removed Saddam Hussein as president of Iraq, while the Republicans would be insisting that he had been removed, tried, and executed.
That is the only thing that one can conclude after reading the Post report on the Labor Day statement of House Minority Leader John Boehner complain that the stimulus bill has not created any jobs. Estimates of job gains from economists range from 500,000 to 1,000,000. If Mr. Boehner is unaware of this fact, then this level of ignorance of a person in an important position would be an appropriate topic for a news story.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Dean Baker on a Double Standard
The US media has a double standard for dealing with Democrats and Republicans. Here's Dean Baker's take on this in his blog Beat The Press:
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
There are many topics that the news reports on that are conflicting if you read certain blogs or allow Faux News into your home.... I like the idea of doing a he said, she said kind of things on a large scale or at least the two sides of the issue. We might learn who is has the truth or who is lying. Or, would it be just a lot of yelling?
Thomas: I agree that good media analysis does try to air different viewpoints as part of their responsibility to educate the public.
But the media gets lazy when they do a "he says, she says" story. For example, if there is a group in town that claims that "the earth is flat", the press shouldn't report "views on the shape of the earth vary".
That kind of news story wouldn't be useful. There is no real debate over the shape of the earth. In a situation like this the reporter should step up and provide useful analysis. The press needs to point out that "flat earth" is a bizarre viewpoint held by a tiny minority outside modern educated opinion.
There is too much "news coverage" which allows the object of the news to spin the news by setting things up as a "he says, she said" difference of opinion. Too often this isn't a real difference of opinion. It is a minority trying to get airtime or newspaper inches as the "fair share" of coverage. Coverage they don't deserve because their opinion is not part of the mainstream.
Nobody wants to sideline serious policy disagreements. But the press needs to take more responsibility for providing more than a "stenography" service that plays into the hands of media spin doctors.
I had not thought of it that way. Some views are not valid although these views get news coverage or space. There is no point in trying to educate the public since most will not listen to anything but Hannity or Beck or Fox News and all others are liberal media trying to destroy the nation. Education is the one thing they need most, but they will have none of that.
Thank you for your response. I look forward to future discussion.
I like the "flat Earth" example; it brings to mind many thoughts and memories. Perhaps I will write about these one day.
Post a Comment