Contemplating the Media
A comment I left at Rhetorica: Press-Politics Journal: Story time… #
I don’t have much to base this on other than a couple of things that have crossed my field of view lately – and perhaps you’ve already talked about this elsewhere – but it seems to me that, in addition to making up a narrative about particular events, members of the media also create a meta-narrative which defines the role they play individually as newsmakers. #
I have contemplated this lately because of two things: First is this post by Kevin Drum at Washington Monthly. Drum takes Jonathan Alter to task for writing gentle critiques, laced with optimism, of the Bush administration, while outside of the confines of his Newsweek column, Alter is willing to espouse a much more vitriolic and pessimistic view of Bush, as he apparently did on Air America Radio. #
The other item that struck me was a story related by Ariana Huffington during a speech in Seattle last month. Huffington described being on a talk show and describing Bush as a “dry drunk.” When she explained what she meant, her fellow panelists all gave non-committal looks, yet as soon as the show went to commercial they all piped up firmly in agreement. #
We all make up a face for the public, one that allows us to get along in the world, yet if these anecdotes point to common behavior among journalists I find it a bit worrying. I don’t see how we can properly push discussion of critical issues forward if the media are unwilling to say what they really think. Of course reporting should be tempered with judgment and respect for all points of view, but if you’re writing only to fit a narrative, how does that contribute to informed discourse? #
Perhaps this relates to your “Glory Bias.” The media are aware of the characters they play on the stage of world politics and, like good actors, will play those parts to the hilt, regardless of their personal views. The media are not writing from what is known, they are writing a script that fits an idealized world view. The effect is that no matter what the policies or who the policy makers, the public gets the same bland, recycled narrative. That is a dangerous state of affairs. #
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Friday, May 21st, 2004 @ 9:55 am 
Truth Matters
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