Mainstream media - a useful rant
Harsh and highly opinionated, but with disturbing facts on how "news" is manufactured by the administration.
Critical of John King, but I saw the same show, and King said something else, in response to the question "what's the most amazing thing about covering the WH?", he said, "that everyone is going along with it", even tho' everyone knows Bush isn't in charge, the charade continues.
"Lying Media Bastards"
straybulletins.com
First of all, King gave a brief description of his role in Bush's speech. Evidently King and many other Washington reporters were nowhere near Bush as he spoke. They were watching his speech on TV in a "filing room," presumably where they could write and film their commentary (although I don't know if King writes his own reports or not). This should strike everyone as odd that the man who is supposed to be telling me about this event from first-hand experience watched it on TV, just like the rest of us do. He also briefly described the filing room, and it sounded a little on the posh side.
Second, he mentioned that Bush made a rare appearance in the filing room, and the reporters actually got to ask him a couple of questions. Wait, you're a news reporter for one of the largest news outlets in the world, covering the Bush administration and you rarely get to ask questions of President Bush? What the hell good are you? You know who else watches Bush's speeches on TV and doesn't get to ask him questions? Me, and 99% of America.
And finally, when Stewart asked King if it was frustrating how Bush was able to announce his reform plans in a staged event with little external input ("like a CEO announcing his company's new soft drink," I believe was Stewart's line), King matter-of-factly described it as part of the "marketing" of issues. Wait, you're just going to accept that these parlor games are just the way things are, and only bother exposing them in off-hand comments on a talk show? You fucking jerk, exposing these guys is your job! You probably went to journalism school, I'm sure you've heard about serving the public, keeping an eye on those in power, the Fourth Estate, comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comfortable.
But of course, that's my righteous indignation based upon idealistic fantasy. John King is a television news reporter. He has a powerful position, and I'm sure he's very comfortable himself. The more power and wealth you have, the more unlikely you are to take actions that might upset that. I imagine that King is always balancing his actions between the news that will garner him acclaim for his journalistic skills, while carefully skirting the stories that will anger the politicians he depends on for access. |
