Conundrum question?

[gumby]

When railing against the MSM to "lefty" media critics, they will always respond with "how did you know about the story...?" Of course, the answer is that the story was "reported" by the MSM. This is true.

Look at Buzzflash for example. They link to many MSM sources.

Personally, I think the MSM are the traitorous handmaidens to the fascism we now find ourselves knee-deep in. So how do you counter that the very thing you are against gave you the information in the first place?

[Newsjock]

1. Editors make the difference

The various wire services do indeed report many or most of the stories we cite here on a daily basis. In a traditional newspaper, editors decide where these stories are placed, how much of each story runs, and what headlines are placed above them. Here on DU, the contributors serve as editors, writing topic titles, and votes for Greatest Page serve a type of editing function.

The problem with corporate media now is that the editors are not giving proper attention to the stories we notice here. The AP can transmit all the stories damaging to Bush that it wants, but if editors ignore them or place them on page A17, it doesn't matter that the stories were transmitted at all.

That's why the Internet is different, and that's why newspapers are scared. Their gatekeeper function is under attack by people who don't like the way the gatekeepers are behaving.

[gumby]

2. Thanks for that thoughtful reply.

From now on, I'll refer to the MSM as the MSG (hahaha-like the implication). MSG = Main Stream Gatekeepers.

[Wilms]

3. It's that we ANALYZE the news.

We see things within a context of related stories and events. We read between the lines. We have questions beyond what seems to have been asked.

The average American doesn't do that. :(

[gumby]

4. I've been visiting family in a semi-major city.

The local nightly news is a ritual here. Unfortunately, after many viewings, I can report that what I've seem is nothing more than "human interest" stories. Some are bad, some are good. But there is nothing there for "the average American" to conclude much about anything. It's just fluff. Major fluff.

There is no chance to "read between the lines" because no real information is offered.

It kinda goes like this: Someone was killed here, and Girl Scout cookies are on sale there; and now the weather, and now sports. The End.

Sad.

[applegrove]

5. They are being coerced. Power in the wrong hands is still power.

Several have been made examples of. They will not be protected by their corporate heads (as Wooodward & Bernstein were by Katharine Graham). It is complicated. They do manage to get some stories & information out. They are as frustrated as you but have actually something to loose (a career). I say you wait until the tide turns and people become more embolden.

All the ones who retire say some pretty clear stuff. So we just have to wait. They are being challenged by all sides in their lives - I think they do a good job considering. And they know a lot of stuff and are pro-market. Nothing wrong with that. Ninety percent of Americans are pro-market (it is the only thing that creates or maintains a middle class) and until the loudest democrats are the ones who agree with the mixed market system that is in place in every country on the planet except for Cuba... democrats may find themselves loosing elections to monsters like Bush. And it may look to them like the media is not paying attention to the election being stolen... when really - far left democrats managed to scare many middle of the roaders as wingnuts did.

I think you want your media to spoon feed you what you want to hear but Utopias do not work. We have to go out and trade in the big wide world. That doesn't mean we hand the elites everything. But to fight effectively we have to be up on all the issues... and when you have studied all - including economics... then you likely will not find the MSM so odd.

Neocons are creeps and monsters and they will keep winning if we on the left do not do our homework and learn and get rid of idealistic dreams.

[kaitykaity]

6. Differentiate between MSM print and MSM TV

For most Americans, like Randi says, it ain't real
unless they see it on their TV.

And on TV, the RW just proved that they can take down
the biggest of the big fish. The rest of the whores will
not make a sound.