Wrong way media

by Duckman GR

Maybe I’m just backwards and archaic and, well, just plain naïve, but for some stupid reason I thought that the press didn’t exist for the dispensation of presidential favors, nor was it their purpose to cater to the needs of their object of study or reportage; Rather, I always thought that their purpose was to report on the actions and activities and effects and impacts of said subject, the President.

Foolish me. Read this piece from Joe Hagan, and tell me if somebody hasn’t lost their way. [My bolds-DGR]

To measure the relative credibility of news networks with press officials at the White House, Mr. Levine suggested a scale of one to 100: he put Fox News at 90, NBC News at 80 and CBS News at “about 10.”

snip

“It depends on where they go from here,” said the official. “Contrition is always nice, but it all depends on what gets on the air. That’s the true test.”

“Bowing and scraping is not going to please this White House,” said Mr. Levine.

“Results are going to please the White House.”

“There’s nothing wrong with being optimistic,” he said, ... but “I don’t think removing Dan Rather from the equation—that doesn’t make CBS on par with Fox.”

Well, that's refreshing, isn't it? What, it's not? It's revolting and the antithesis of what reporting is supposed to be?

But they will get access now, right? Maybe. But, really, access, is it all it's cracked up to be? Access to this?

And you wonder why the media so laps up spectacles like Terri Schiavo. The same reason they make movies like this beauty, Spring Break Shark Attack!

[update 3/26/05 9:39 pm - Avedon Carol's Sideshow nails the access schmackcess angle square. We don't need no stinkin access!

Nevermind that the ironies, hypocricies, and insanities in this case are piled high on the back of our Constitution. We've got those credible people at Faux advocating criminal actions; lawyer hating conservatives running through every legal angle they can figure, holding their Roman noses the whole time no doubt; marriage sanctifiers working feverishly to undermine the Schiavo's marriage bond, oh the stench must reach high into the gardens of heaven and down far into the circles of hell.

CBS has lost its way. The Schindlers have lost their way. America is losing its way.

I have to hope that maybe on this day, in this time, Americans are awakening. Clearly, we can't count on the media, they're too busy selling themselves for pointless access to blathering idiots, pathological liars, and scheming con men. Maybe we just have to start using them too, the media I mean, let the right have the blathering and scheming.

Demonstrate our convictions and values by our actions. That's the key. More on that later.