[manimal]

This is an interesting article on the media's ability to tell it's own side of the story.

Note: I am not, in any way, saying that it only happens in the liberal media, we all know better than that. Just an interesting perspective and the rebuttal from the Chronicle is humorous.

http://www.zombietime.com/sf_rally_september_24_2005/anatomy_of_a_photograph/

 

[jimmydean]

We talked at length about this last night in my POL215 class about 24hr news channels trying ot create 24 hours worth of watchable news.

Sometimes the media slants the covereage to support a public or political agenda, other times it's just about selling papers.

That was a great article, thanks for sharing, manimal.

 

[ohio]

Well-written enough. It would be nice to see a shot of the print version and a screenshot of the webpage, but I guess that would be hard to come by... but the point isn't who's right or wrong. Either way this IS a nice demonstration of how easy it is to manipulate a message through omission if one wants to, whether or not they actually did.

 

[jimmydean]

That was part of the debate last night. When do you consider omision lying? You can often say a lot by only saying a little.

 

[manimal]

the pro-life protest pictures and story are pretty interesting. it's on the main page of the site. kinda funny to see all the "militant anarchists" run like little girls from the motorcycle cops

i'd have a good time in SF at one of those protests.

 

[N8 v2.0]

The media makes the the news... just see how much coverage there is over the ABC news dude who got hit in an IUD attack over the weekend... its like its the only thing going on in the world.

 

[Tenchiro]

Here is my take on it. If you're conservative, there is a liberal bias. If you're liberal, there is a conservative bias. If you're religious, there is an atheist bias. If you are an athiest, there is a religious bias.

/Didn't RTFA

 

[syadasti]

Well in the current administration, the administration makes the news - I for one don't want my tax dollars spent on illegal propaganda. Its bad enough the Pentagon uses it other countries while trying to claim they are for democracy.

On issues from Medicare to farm prices, hundreds of local stations are running stories extolling Bush administration policies, reaching tens of millions of people.

But all these reports were written and distributed by the administration and its public relations firms -- not by journalists.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/03/20050314-6.html

Q Scott, on video news releases, is it this administration's position that that device is legal and legitimate, to package those up, send them out sometimes with actors portraying reporters -- though, God knows why anyone would want to do that -- without disclaimers that they're government productions, as long as they meet some standard of factual basis?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, a couple of things. First of all, we're talking about informational news releases. And the Department of Justice has issued an opinion saying that as long as this is factual information about department or agency programs, it is perfectly appropriate. There is a memorandum that we -- or the Department of Justice sent to agencies and departments last week expressing the view of the Justice Department. And the informational news releases that you're referring to are something that had been in use for many years. It goes back to the early '90s, both in the private and public sectors; many federal agencies have used this for quite some time as an informational tool to provide factual information to the American people.

And my understanding is that when these informational releases are sent out, that it's very clear to the TV stations where they are coming from. So that information, as I understand it, is disclosed.

And the Justice Department opinion talks about the importance of making sure that it is factual information and not crossing the line into advocacy. But I think agencies and departments have an obligation to provide the American people with factual information about their programs, particularly when you look at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. There's an agency that I think has used some of this going back to the '30s -- I saw some information to that effect -- providing farmers with important factual information that helps them in their everyday lives.

Q Does the administration disagree with the GAO findings that the ONDCP and HHS went too far, and what they did was propaganda?

MR. McCLELLAN: Yes, that -- in fact, in terms of the Department of Health and Human Services, that was what generated the opinion from the Department of Justice.

Q Thank you.