This Target ad for this Christmas season cracks me up every time I see it:
My favorite line is “Maybe Santa doesn’t need help doing Santa’s job…” and a cold icy wind sweeps through the room before a Christmas song plays the ad out.
More on the incestuous nature of mainstream media
Many years ago there was a movie out called “They Live” Aliens had taken over the Earth and to keep the humans under control they used different means like camouflage and subliminal propaganda to mask their presence. The hero of the movie is given some special sun glasses that allows him to see the aliens and all the propaganda that wasn’t seen by the naked eye. He joins the resistance and fights the aliens. I tend to see the current mainstream media – the news programs on NBC, CBS, ABC, and Fox networks as similar to the aliens and I wish I could give everyone sun glasses so they could see it too.
I have written many times about the incestuous relationship between the talking heads on news shows like Meet the Press, This Week, State of the Union, Fox Sunday, and the like. Regular “Joe the Plumber” conservatives cry about a liberal bias in the news yet these shows have no liberal bias. These shows tend to lean right or center right as the same people are on every week.
They are allowed to make any kind of statement they want – even if it is a lie – and the hosts or moderator don’t challenge them about it. Also, even though the programs claims to be discussion shows, little is discussed. The networks seem to think that all policy views are equal and have a pro and con side while at the same time stacking the deck in favor of the party currently out of power – the GOP.
Blogger driftglass had an excellent post about this:
because George W. Bush’s codpiece was an Invincible Christian Peace Shield that would keep us all safe from the scary brown foreigners forever.
We were right. About everything.
They were wrong — tragically, catastrophically, completely wrong. About everything.
And yet they still are on the Inside. Sleek and prosperous.
While we still fight for scraps on the Outside.
On “Meet the Press”
A rich guy and his wife talked about giving.
And Reverend Rick Warren said “I’ve spoken at Davos many times…”
And then I turned the channel.
On “This Week” Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) used his one appearance on national teevee to cock-punch Senator Lindsey Graham (R-John McCain’s underwear drawer) during his 355th such appearance.
The Roundtable consisted of one liberal — Paul Krugman — and four members-in-good-standing of the Conservative/Beltway Insider Axis; Matthew Dowd, George Will, Cokie Roberts and Dan Senor, who, if you didn’t know (because they didn’t mention it) was, among other things, Deputy to Bush White House Spokesliar Scott McClellan
[Senor] currently draws a paycheck playing pundit for…wait for it…Fox News, and completed the Beltway Insider circle of life by marrying CNN on-air personality Campbell Brown in 2006.
Yesterday he was brought on camera to share his infinite wisdom on the subject of foreign policy, because who on Earth could possibly be more credible and qualified? Except maybe Dick Cheney’s daughter?
That’s why I refuse to watch those news programs and yesterday when President Obama gave his Afghanistan speech I turned off the analysis programs that followed.
The best part of driftglasses post is the final bit that had some Fox talking heads complaining about the recently man and woman who crashed the state dinner:
Yes, that’s right: the degenerate sons of Mike Wallace and Irvin Kristol…
…sitting on the set of their fake news show…
…lavishly adorned with blonde Fox news bimbos…
…and collecting the paychecks for telling lies to stupid people…Are pretending to be stunned that American culture has grown so sick that some fortune-seeking, second-generation, spoiled rich twat of a con artist…
…would use his contacts and blond arm-candy…
…to break the last, sacred seal — the rules of Beltway party-going…
…to get his own teevee show.The horror.
The horror.
Yes indeed – the horror…
Beyond the basic who, what, where, when, and how of news journalism on your 6 and 11 PM newscast, you are being mislead and not getting the truth. Just stop watching those shows or listening to what passes as news analysis in this country.
No news is not good
A local TV station makes the case that news is over rated and it is better to watch talk shows instead. They go a bit too far by using the tag line “No News is good…” Actually, people avoiding the news is why this country is in the trouble it is in.
To be a complete citizen one should keep informed from the local news.
Haters please do something else
The Internet is a good thing when all things are considered. It has done a lot to improve the world and to make it smaller for all of us. The Internet also has a dark side especially if people attack something you like. Those kind of people I call “haters”. They don’t like something so much they spend their time online letting everyone know it. I can’t understand why they must tell me they are a hater. I just wish they would go do something else.
I was watching the Cleveland Browns vs the Baltimore Ravens on Monday Night Football and decided to do something different and read tweets during the game. I had to stop. I know the Browns suck this season (oh man do I KNOW) and MNF games are usually boring but this game was better than some of the others this season for the Browns. Tweet after tweet cracked on the Browns and the game. I understand tweets complaining about certain plays or ref calls but most were just mean toward the team itself. One person tweeted that the Browns shouldn’t be allowed to play on Monday night.
Why waste time typing a tweet to tell all of us you hate the team? Shut up and do something else.
The haters also seem to show up in comment sections of web site articles.
I am a fan of Saturday Night Live and have been since the 1st season in 1976. There are times the jokes are flat, the host stinks, and other times when it is laugh out loud funny. For a live show the cast and crew do a good job overall.
There was an article this week complaining about the previous week’s host and to be honest the show was flatter than usual. Fine, offer some complaints and others will defend or support those comments. Instead there were many who posted comments along the lines of:
Is that show still on? I stopped watching in 1988. Thanks for the recap letting me know it still sucks.
or
Mad TV did the same thing in season 8 and it was funny
Basically if you are not a fan or have never watched the show why waste time posting a comment.
I can think of many things to do if I don’t like something. One is to avoid it. Telling everyone how much I hated it would be wasting time.
Return of Fairness Doctrine would be good
I‘ve made no secret that I support a return of the old FCC rule called the “Fairness Doctrine” that was removed in 1987. I feel that the obscene conservative bias in talk radio is hurting the country more than the Fairness Doctrine would “hurt” people like Rush Limbaugh. Steve Almond had a good op-ed about it today in the Boston Globe.
Predictably, the abolishment of the Fairness Doctrine in 1987 spurred a talk radio revolution. Why? Because talk radio’s business model is predicated on silencing all opposing viewpoints. If Rush Limbaugh and his ilk were forced to engage in a reasonable debate, rather than ad hominems, they would forfeit the moral surety – and the seductive rage – that is the central appeal of all demagogues.
Would talk radio’s bullies freak out? Absolutely. They know the Fairness Doctrine would spell the end to their ongoing cultural flim-flam. Besides, there’s nothing so intoxicating to a fraudulent moralist as the perfume of fraudulent martyrdom.
The real shock is that journalists haven’t supported the Fairness Doctrine. Then again, consider the state of “mainstream media” outlets. Increasingly, they dine on the same fears and ginned-up wrath as talk radio. Rather than wondering, “Does this story serve the public good?” they ask, “Will it get ratings?”
I agree. Real journalism should be asking “Does this story serve the public good?” and we might see that if talk radio were forced to have other voices on their shows as well.