Classic Hits - Media Bias

*Classic hits is an attempt to consolidate all my internet written content, and also to revisit it from the present*

This post was borderline cheating when I originally put it up since it was mostly just something I wrote for a class, but it still seems pretty relevant today, even though there aren't a lot of people braying about bias in the media these days. By far the most interesting dialog going on about the media right now is happening right now in the final season of David Simon and HBO's The Wire. The show's depiction of the newsroom and the conversation going on in the journalistic community about its portrayal is pretty fascinating. I want to watch the rest of the episodes so badly, but I do not want the show to end.

Other funny notes from this post include me mentioning my homepage as fark.com, a site I don't believe I've visited in a couple years, and poking fun at dateline well before the "To Catch a Predator" thing became wildly popular.

I have included the stupid 'mood' and 'song' fields because I have to give myself some credit for starting my internet tradition of saying I felt dirty every time the internet asked me what mood I was in over 4 years ago. That and the song I was listening to is really awesome, and Y O U is a great band that's giving their cd flashlights away on pleaserock.com.

Makin' love on the radio

I've just finished what appears to be a successful all nighter writing a sociology term paper on bias in the media. I achieved new heights of procrastination on this one- I did no research at all until the night before it was due, and didn't start writing until around 1. But, due to my silly perfectionist complex that decides to rear its head every once in a while, I couldn't bear to halfass it. One thing that was fun about this paper is I got to write a 2 page section on what theory I thought best addressed the problem, so I've decided to post it here for your viewing pleasure. -disclaimer- I'm a bit delirious at this point and it was the last thing I wrote so it may not be completely coherent. Enjoy:

Dr. Media-slant or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Pundits

If one were to listen to the pundits, be it on television, the radio, or the internet, one would think that media bias was everywhere. Of course, if one were to keep listening to them, one would be inclined to suffer a brain aneurism due to all the issues to be upset about.

I think media bias is an important thing to keep an eye out for. After all, if we can’t get reliable news, or at the very least get the same news from a variety of sources and then settle on a reasonable conclusion, how can we reach any logical conclusion on world affairs, or even social and political issues? However, none of the theories or opinions I researched seemed to resonate completely with me. I think the answer lies somewhere in-between the lines.

However unrelated they may seem on the surface, the many different topics that were discussed in my research, whether it was the liberal media junta, the menace of mega-media corporations, or Rush pontificating into his microphone over the issue of the day, all are part of an ever-increasing problem in media presentation.

Perhaps it’s not media bias that is the problem per se, but the bias that seems to be as much a by-product of showmanship in news reporting as hard-line political views. News today, regardless of medium, doesn’t seem to be about the five Ws anymore, but about answering the question at hand in the most entertaining fashion possible. It almost seems like a new, twisted form of yellow journalism.

Evidence of this emergence of entertainment as king of news can be seen as the 24 hour cable news networks become overpopulated with pundit fueled debate shows that seem to be less about debate and more about yelling opposing viewpoints that are far from those of the real mainstream citizen. It may not represent all the viewpoints very well, but it sure is fun to watch. Even headline news, the network that just gives you the main news details, inundates its viewers with a screen full of information, much of which is entertainment related.

Hardly any of us are innocent of contributing to this trend. As a confessed internet junkie, my internet homepage is www.fark.com, the very definition of entertaining tidbits mixed in with the news. My mother, despite vehemently disagreeing with his political views, listens to Rush Limbaugh whenever she can because she thinks it’s funny. She’s one of the 40 million reasons he has a 250 million dollar contract.

Even investigative reporting has let some of these aspects slip through. The Datelines, 60 minutes, and Primetime Lives of the world keep us inundated with new, upsetting, and titillating hour-long segments to shock and horrify middle-aged women every day of the week it seems. What fun is the latest investigative report without the deadpan wit of John Stossel?

This is not to say that bias in the traditional sense does not exist or is not a problem. Bias is most likely present in virtually every story whether the author is aware of it or not. It’s very possible that just in what small details are revealed or remain unrevealed, or even the wording of a sentence, can be interpreted as bias by someone with a personal connection to the issue at hand. I’ve witnessed firsthand the "hostile media effect" examined in the UPS teamster strike study. I’ve almost certainly fell victim to it as well.

What is worrisome is the increasing inability of reporters, columnists, and editors to write on any subject without stepping on the toes of the people who give them a paycheck. Even if a member of the media has an outright liberal bias as some claim, it is most likely not in their best interests to show it. More likely it is in their best interest to reverse that bias. Unfortunately, these economic influences put even the most impartial writers in a position where they cannot upset the stockholders else they end up out on the street dancing for nickels.

I think that bias in the sense that most people are worried about is not going to develop into a huge issue. Despite what insidious motives the conspiracy theorists may ascribe to the media, for right now most of the established media is concerned with maintaining their integrity. I think the bigger problem lies in the replacement of that integrity with the profit-driven bottom line and what we may lose in the end. But, even I can say I would tune in to watch CNN’s Crossfire: the Cage Match.

Current Mood: dirty

Current Music: You - Radio

Classic Hits - Apples in Trees

Classic Hits is a new feature for Craig T SoAndSo, which has a two pronged purpose- To take old material I've written on the internet (substantive content articles only) and have it all moved here, and to do a bit of reflection on it. I'm going to go from the very back, to my then famous (10 comments!) post inspired by a silly saying that I saw again recently, even though it was kind of the setup for a decently funny joke.

This was written on October 27th, 2003 on livejournal, and the 21 year old Craig was still very much in a Jason Lee in mallrats phase of his life involving a lot of rants and general malaise directed mostly towards the opposite sex. He also was not very self confident around the ladies. The 'wahh, nobody wants a nice guy' stuff is especially fun. Just soak in the angst :)
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Warning: if you are the average girl, this will probably piss you off.

Everyday, be it through general observation in the outside world or cruising the away messages and profiles on my buddy list, somebody says, does, or writes something that just kind of pisses me off. These somebodies usually have no Y chromosome. Now don't get me wrong, There are way more than enough idiot guys around, but for some reason the things I'm about to talk about are more of an irritant. Fire and ice, baby.

First on the list- no matter who your boyfriend is and how many nice things he does for you, odds are he is not the best boyfriend in the world. In order to fit that criteria the guy would have to be able to deliver amazing sex, take you shopping, buy you roses and dinner, appreciate your feelings, and ride a white horse, all at the same time. If you can document your boyfriend doing this, then I'll give you that one. I also request the videotape, as it would be highly amusing.

Next- girls are not apples on a tree. They're not bananas or pears either (but maybe melons AM I RITE? ROTFLOLOLOOLLL). "Boys don't want to reach for the good ones because they're afraid of falling and getting hurt." What? Speaking for myself, if all the best girls were at the top of the tree, I sure as hell would own a lot more climbing equipment. But, it's not that simple. I just think this is a ridiculous metaphor. Relationships and why they do and don't happen are quite a bit more complicated than you don't have a boyfriend because the guy who's supposed to be with you is having saucy apple sex with all the rotten fruit sluts on the bottom branch. Odds are you don't want the idiots chasing after every fruit, vegetable, and legume that gives it up easy anyway. On second thought, maybe this is true and those patient good climbers do eventually come for the best women. Perhaps this is why I see all the best women with stupid apes :p.

Third- I realize many of you ladies fantasize about being a princess. Waiting for that prince on the white horse to come and sweep you off your feet and live happily ever after. Ain't gonna happen. True love does happen, and I've seen it. That doesn't mean there's such thing as a problem free relationship. You may meet some person that complements you so completely that you can live the rest of your life with them. But odds are this person will not be the guy that comes on to you in the bar and feeds you exactly what you want to hear so he can get you to come back home with him. You want to know why you keep getting mixed up with assholes? Because flattery gets them everywhere and they know it. I'm becoming bitter and disenchanted enough to subscribe to the "not many girls want a nice guy" school of thought anyway. In real life, a true happy to the end relationship is a two way street. A guy should work hard to earn the affection of a lady, but it's like the transcontinental railroad- you need people working from both directions. I mean come on, that loveable ragtag bunch of railroad workers from California can't get the job done by themselves!