|
Feedback ForumHow would you rate the job of U.S. media in airing important issues and keeping America informed and aware?Submissions for this question are no longer being accepted. Previously submitted comments appear below. Comments may have been edited for content or space. Poster: Miles Coverdale Comment: Most news organizations are owned by one of ten big infotainment conglomerates. They are more interested in selling you products you don't need than in keeping you informed. In fact if you were too well-informed, you probably wouldn't buy things you didn't need. An acquisitive, ill-informed public is the ideal. Poster: Edward Flowers Comment: Most of the network news media are presenting what brings in the most money; unfortunately, that is mostly bad news. On a local scene, there is more honest reporting, as well as good news. There are many signs of facism in our nation and particularly our government: this should be the top news, but one rarely hears it. What we must do is keep trying, keep writing letters to the editor, write (and visit) our congress critters. And use the ultimate criterion for all decisions: What is best for all children? Poster: Angela R. Comment: The corporate media is an abject failure without exception. It has failed to inform, to investigate, and to do what news reporting requires above all else: to dig for the truth without regard to persons and bring it to the public in the form of plain facts. The media openly crushes alternative opinions, even when those opinions represent a large percent of the public. Most egregious is it's willingness to broadcast PR disguised as news and to submit to the public opinions presented as facts. Today the media functions with the feel of a giant psyop that works to control the public, not enrich it, inform it, or empower it. It is simply disgraceful. It has become harmful to the public and should be abolished and returned to the people. Poster: John Briggs Comment: I feel the media has redeemed itself slightly in recent months, however, the constant coverage of celebrities and pop-culture is such a distraction in a time when we cannot afford distractions. Americans must be up to date and informed not dumbed down and entertained, there is too much riding on this. Bring back the war-time coverage like we had in Vietnam, we should all suffer (even if it is incomparable) with our troops over seas. Poster: Tommy Comment: I would rate it as horrible. Overreporting stories about gas prices, global warming, inflation and other scare stories that get overplayed and under reporting stories of successful Americans taking advantage of the free market system here at home and progress being made by our military in Afghanistan and Iraq. As well as Saddam Hussein's links to terrorism that are fully documented. Poster: Leon Brooks Comment: Woefully inadequate. Fro the most part it caters to lowest common denominator and parochialism. Fortunately we have public television sources like NOW, NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, the BBC, and Democracy Now. Poster: Richard Huff Comment: The US media has been woefully missing in action, or complicit in the creation of an incomplete disclosure of the facts surrounding every issue critical to the well being of our Democratic Society. I am hopeful that the truth regarding corporate influence in our election process and policy making process will come to light during the incoming Congress, and drastic changes will be enacted to return Government to the interests of the governed. Poster: Dan Jacobs Comment: The media has fallen down on the job. There was far more media scrutiny of the White House during the Clinton years over relatively minor issues than there has been during the current administration even though the conduct of the Bush White House has been egregious and far more detrimental to the country. Also, ponder what would be found if Bush and Cheney's business dealings prior to taking office were investigated by the media to the same degree as Whitewater? Poster: e. Green Comment: The US media does agood job giving a short overview on important issues. The media does not ask the tough in depth questions. The Iraq situation is a good example of that. However, this makes news programs like NOW and Frontline and others important outlets for information and more thought provoking stories. Poster: Gregory Frezados Comment: Aside from the longstanding problem of American broadcast media, which spends 99% of its efforts on making celebrities seem important while relating political issues to Hollywood sized soundbites and rightwing opinions, a problem of equal depth lies in the print media's failure to ask questions of the Bush administration, whose lies led us into an invasion of Iraq for no real reason. In an indirect but distinct way: many, many Americans are been killed because our press has failed to inform us. Poster: Daud GeAzan Comment: Poorly. As though they are purposely slanting information in the interests of the wealthy few instead of the majority of Americans and our interests. Poster: Kathleen Worman Comment: I appreciate the coverage by the major networks and believe they are sincere in their efforts to keep us informed. However, I think there are many more stories we'd like to hear about if we knew of them. Longer air time and more in-depth stories done by seasoned reporters without a political bent would benefit public awareness and a likely outcome would be greater interest in public policy. Poster: mari Comment: I don't think we can expect objective programing in this country. The reports generally reflect the position of the media owner, see R. Murdock. We can always expect complete coverage of Paris, Britney, TomKat, et al. I'm so grateful for Thirteen, WBAI and the Village Voice. Thanks. Poster: Michael Arnold Comment: The media is serving the public poorly. There is no depth to news reporting. It seems to consist primarily of spin meant to obscure the real issues involved if government is involved in the story. Or corporate cheerleading if industry and business is involved. Your show is a valuable countercurrent to this trend. Poster: anne kent Comment: I count on PBS for accurate reporting on all topics. I am a Canadian and never listen to U.S. network news but watch PBS almost exclusively, except for Jon Stewart and Steven Corbert. I think Americans who rely on Network news are being poorly served and misled. I think Canadians are better served by our national network, CBC. Poster: roger dennis Comment: the media allows the corporate world to influence them to such a degree that the public is deliberately kept misinformed, and many innocent people are dead as a result. Poster: Gerry O'Malley Comment: Edward R. Murrow--Chet Huntley--David Brinkley--Walter Cronkite--Charles Kuralt--and now Rush Limbaugh and O'Reilly. The peaks of balance, journalism -- a point of view to be sure and sometimes even opinion -- but fairly presented, and supported by facts and evidence, not just asserted and repeated more stridently to drown out all other perspectives. Once we were served from these lofty standards. Today, most media operate from boxed-in canyons--with all the fairness and breadth of vision that entails. It's main advantage to the faithful adherents of these ideologues, is the canyon walls serve to amplify the message so it is focused, loud and direct--so as to drown out all contrasting opinions and indeed to drown out thought and analysis. Poster: linda blondel Comment: I think that the U.S. media has failed us, the American people, in these last few years. Instead of informing us in an objective & unbiased way, they have become a mouthpiece of the administration & a conduit to further their political agenda. Who is asking the important questions, uncovering painful truths? Our democratic system requires better than this if it is to survive. Poster: Nancy E. Comment: Unfortunately our media outlets have increasingly focused more on style than substance. Many news programs offer only a cursory view of domestic and international events. A balance between the everyday tragedies in our world and more positive stories is needed. The media does a disservice to Americans by giving a very slanted view of international events, especially the negative view of developing countries. My hope is that with the change in leadership, public policy will drive a shift in the approach to the news. Then Americans can become more informed as opposed to being simply more opnionated. Poster: Ruth S.Eckhouse Comment: Unfortunately there are only a few of the news media who take their duty to inform America of the issues that are most important, such as vote fraud, environmental problems, the facts about Iraq. NOW is one of the outstanding ones. So much that is offered to us is senseless violence and sex but the real information is considered of no interest to the important segment of the public, the 18 to 49 year olds. How will they, our future, ever learn to become involved? Poster: Wendy Carter-Pitchell Comment: Overall rating of 6 out of 10. Being led to propaganda news by the nose makes freedom of the press dangerously vulnerable to totalitarian control. Poster: TE Ferguson Comment: Overall performance is very poor. The three major networks are focused on entertaining us. The news is like watching a video of People magazine. Then you have networks like FOX and people like RUSH dominating the airwaves with their opinionated spin on the news. Thanks to Reagan‘s abolishment of the fairness doctrine in 1988 we now have conglomerates like Clear Channel controlling our news, like in Mansfield Ohio where they owned 11 of the 17 radio stations. Now only seven media giants control virtually all our TV stations, radio stations, newspapers, and magazines. It’s pretty easy to control seven people, you just have to have enough cash and influence and presto you have the news you want. Poster: Ken Haney Comment: Although the media deigns not to cover too many stories important for the edification of a concerned citizenry, what I find most troubling is the concerted attempts to mold public opinions. First it was the cheer leading, beating of the drums for war with Iraq and which now beat the drums for war with Iran. Second is how quickly they assign the blame for the latest assassination in Lebanon to Syria. No longer do we get the who, what, when, where, and (always listed last, because only applicable if it can be confirmed) why. Instead we get another reason to spend more money on our war machines in order to enrich a few, while impoverishing our nation. Not only do we need more stories covered, opinions should be in the Editorial section. We should be given the opportunity to make up our own minds as to what meanings to attach to the incidents that are reported. Poster: Tommy Trapp Comment: Dismal failure. This is the inevitable consequence of media consolidation. There is a price to pay and we are paying. Democracy requires an informed public, but an informed public is not in the interest of the powerful. Poster: Frank Comment: The state of the US media is an abomindation. We are kept in the dark we are misled and more often than not our anchors are nothing more than readers. The affect of the latest elections was primarily due to our alternative media - internet blogs and xm radio if you will. The unfortunate thing is that many are trying to pollute this outlet to regain their monopolistic hold on information. We must continue to fight and only support our elected representative who support the American public being informed. Poster: Chic Young, EHF Comment: Not even close to being broadly informative in any Democracy: The Media's responsibility is to their stockholders, rather than the vast majority of their viewers, listeners, and/or readers. Advertising must be 'packaged' in content that is sufficiently disturbing as to create the widespread desire for diversion - if not actual relief - that is if it is to secure the most financially rewarding effect for both the advertiser and the Media outlet. Truly Happy, well adjusted, people seldom buy anything they do not actually need - and the vast majority of our Economy is based upon the unneeded - so advertisers cannot allow us to remain truly relaxed and happy. Except for Public Radio and Public Television, the Media must concentrate on satisfying their advertisers - that is, if they are to gain repeat business, and please their many stockholders. Marketing is the universal watchword today - all else must be severely discounted by all commercial Media. Poster: Cheryl Comment: The media has done a horrible job. It sees itself as buddies of the people in our governement. It ought to keep itself separate, objective as possible, and fully inform us on all of the important issues. Instead it leans towards trash and cronyism. The failure of the media to do its job is one of the biggest threats we have to our democracy. |
Who's Helping Our Wounded Vets?
Elizabeth Warren on the Economy
Nurses Needed
Electric Car Dreams
PBS Special Report: Health Care Reform
