Exposed!
March 17, 2006 Previous Post
Outside Voices: Waldman Weighs In On The Mission Of Media Matters(CBS)
Each week we invite someone from outside PE to weigh in with their thoughts about CBS News and the media at large. This week we asked Paul Waldman, author and Senior Fellow for Media Matters, a liberal media watchdog group. Waldman shares his thoughts on why progressive media criticism is "not about bias." As always, the opinions expressed and factual assertions made in “Outside Voices” are those of the author, not ours, and we seek a wide variety of voices. Here's Paul: Snip...
But the most perverse effect of “he said/she said” is that it gives political actors – if they’re so inclined – permission to lie. If a lie is not called a lie, the liar knows he can get away with it again and again. Such a system rewards the most unscrupulous of political actors – take the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. When news organizations finally got around to investigating their claims – months after they had been in circulation – they found that nearly all the charges they made against John Kerry were bogus. But by then they had their effect, and the group became heroes to the right. Their example will no doubt be followed two years from now. The Lunatic Fringe We at Media Matters for America spend most of our time investigating claims, tracking down information, and policing the inaccuracies that appear in the news media every day. But we often get more attention for one of the simplest things we do: recording what members of the right-wing (and sometimes ostensibly not-so-right-wing) media say and write, and putting transcripts, audio, and video up on our web site.
As it happens, lots of people – including journalists - don’t watch Bill O’Reilly, listen to Rush Limbaugh, or read Ann Coulter, so they have no idea just what kind of bile issues forth from these and other sources every day. One of the most striking imbalances in American media today is the way extremism and hate from the right are tolerated and even lauded, while there is nothing remotely comparable on the left. Take Coulter, who regularly advocates the murder of people with whom she disagrees. Is there anyone on the left who does the same, and is given the media megaphones she gets? Or radio host Michael Savage, who has said immigration is “part of the grand plan, to push homosexuality to cut down on the white race.” Or Limbaugh, who last November actually celebrated on the air when four Christian peace activists, including the recently murdered Tom Fox, were taken hostage in Iraq (“Well, here’s why I like it,” he said. “I like any time a bunch of leftist feel-good hand-wringers are shown reality.”). Reporters treat these figures not as immoral hate-mongers, but as mainstream figures who are worthy of attention.
Just this week, Franklin Graham said, “If people think Islam is such a wonderful religion, just go to Saudi Arabia and make it your home. Just live there. If you think Islam is such a wonderful religion, I mean, go and live under the Taliban somewhere.” This message of love and tolerance to the millions of American Muslims was described by John Donvan of ABC’s Nightline as something that “may not get a diplomacy prize.” Maybe not.
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http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2006/03/17/publiceye/entry1414928.shtml
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