Hugh Hewitt exposes the root of current MSM (main stream media). Shock and Awe. No research. No corroboration. No conscience to strive for the truth. And if you only get your information from this source, you're not getting the whole story. Because their goal is not to get you the whole story. It's to get ratings. It's as simple as that.
Here's Hugh from a Powerline post:
"If all of that amount of resources was given over to this story and they got it wrong, how can we trust American media in a place far away like Iraq where they don't speak the language, where there is an insurgency, and I think the question comes back we really can't."
And here's Hugh's article at the Weekly Standard.
The news isn't going to bring you the news. You're gonna have to go get it.
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4 comments:
Well Geoff finally something we can both agree on. It is sad but true it is all about the ratings. In the end they have the resources but they are losing credability so how can we trust them keep in mind though can we trust someone with credability and no resources?
What can one do?
I don't know what we can do either. But we can't do nothing. We can't be lied to. We can't be mislead. So we have to do Something.
Maybe we can look at it this way. When your friend tells you a crazy story, why do you believe him? You trust him. Ever had a friend you didnt trust, cuz maybe he's exaggerated before? How do you believe him? I have to have the story corroborated. "It really happened! Ask Jimmy!" Now I have to determine my level of trust with Jimmy.
I treat blogs like this. And the blogs are pretty well self policed. The only blogs I feel comfortable with have a good reputation in the blogging community. They even check each other. They don't all agree. The irony of blogs is that they used the details of the MSM as thier sources. They use paragraphs from NYT, AP, Reuters, Times of London, Iraqi newspaper translations. And the newest discussion is "citizen journalist". You see something, take a pitcure. Post that pic on your blog with a paragraph of what you saw. So there are Iraqi bloggers telling us what thier daily life is like. There are soldiers blogging. Who am I going to believe? An AP reported in a hotel in Bagdad, or 50 blog reports? The answer is both. I thank the AP reported for telling me 5 car bombs went off. But I also thank the Soldiers of Duece Four in Mosul telling me that life is 80% better than it was when they arrived, and that Iraqis in that town are fighting for thier freedom... and winning.
Well Geoff, the fact that you go into trust and Iraq in your reply is very interesting to me because our war in Iraq is somewhat based on false information which the Government gathered and relayed to the citizens. When i say this i speak of WMDS and other biological agents. Also how much of what the government shares do you believe to be true? While you are right about some bloggers checking other bloggers and getting many more data points from 50 bloggers when compared to 1 reporter. How do we know those 50 blogs aren't written by 1 person with an agenda or 50 people with the same agenda?
I do agree with you in certain aspects but i don't believe we can abandon the mass media all together. I believe this in conjunction with the new ways information is being reported it can continute to be valuable tool.
zack
As for for the Iraqi intelligence infomation, there was plenty of evidence from many sources (Britain, Russia, the UN). The UN had stated he had WMD. That was one of the reasons for the sanctions. Sanctions that he was ignoring. So I don't distrust the governemt for this mistake. It was not misleading. It was a mistake. A post-war UN report stated that Saddam was doing everything in his power to "look" like he had WMD. So he was acting like he had them, we ALL thought he had them.
Do I trust the government? I think the answer is the same as for the press and the blogs. I don't blindly believe the President. If he can corroborate his story (ie. Britian, Russia, etc. on WMD) I believe him. Do I trust his latest Supreme Court nominee? No. But will I? I need corroboration. I'll be listening to the media, the blogs, and the government.
Good point about the blogs. As a matter of fact, most of the blogs I go to probably do have the same agenda. But it's not purely the opinion at the blog that I value, it's the report. These blogs search out information to make a story. They corroborate their stories.
Who do you trust more? Government or the MSM? The government's agenda is running the government (and staying in power, for that is the fundamental nature of politics). The MSM's agenda is ratings. That scares me. That means the audience is not looking for the truth as much as they are looking for entertainment. We need the truth.
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