Krugman: Reading the Script (Busts the Media Whores Again)

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/03/opinion/03krug.html?pagewanted=print&position=

A message to my fellow journalists: check out media watch sites like campaigndesk.org, mediamatters.org and dailyhowler.com. It's good to see ourselves as others see us. I've been finding The Daily Howler's concept of a media "script," a story line that shapes coverage, often in the teeth of the evidence, particularly helpful in understanding cable news.

For example, last summer, when growth briefly broke into a gallop, cable news decided that the economy was booming. The gallop soon slowed to a trot, and then to a walk. But judging from the mail I recently got after writing about the slowing economy, the script never changed; many readers angrily insisted that my numbers disagreed with everything they had seen on TV.

If you really want to see cable news scripts in action, look at the coverage of the Democratic convention.

Commercial broadcast TV covered only one hour a night. We'll see whether the Republicans get equal treatment. C-Span, on the other hand, provided comprehensive, commentary-free coverage. But many people watched the convention on cable news channels - and what they saw was shaped by a script portraying Democrats as angry Bush-haters who disdain the military.

If that sounds like a script written by the Republicans, it is. As the movie "Outfoxed" makes clear, Fox News is for all practical purposes a G.O.P. propaganda agency. A now-famous poll showed that Fox viewers were more likely than those who get their news elsewhere to believe that evidence of Saddam-Qaeda links has been found, that W.M.D. had been located and that most of the world supported the Iraq war.

[The Zanti Regent]

1. Paul the K is THE MAN WITHOUT FEAR!

He's the only reason to read anything in the SCREW YORK TIMES.

[dand]

2. Krugman is right on Fox, it is a national embarrassment,

the entire civilized world knows that the American media is compromised, thanks for the great post.

[The Backlash Cometh]

3. Kick

*

[chimpymustgo]

4. Krugman is the Lone Ranger. A national treasure. And hero.

What do the media whores think when they read this? Have they no shame?

Can we get copies of this to every one of them?

[ixion]

5. Thanks, Paul, for giving the sheeple a reality check... hope it helps

Pointing out the truth seems largely lost on the 'swing' voters these days. :-(

[non sociopath skin]

6. A brilliant article.

Not sure what can be done about it though (sigh).

The Skin

[Jack Rabbit]

7. It's not just the media critics at DU

CNN used to be different, but Campaign Desk, which is run by The Columbia Journalism Review, concluded after reviewing convention coverage that CNN "has stooped to slavish imitation of Fox's most dubious ploys and policies."

Ouch!!

[GOPFighter]

8. A great column!

As a result of naming these three superb websites, many NYT readers will be introduced to them for the first time. They will see just how bad today's media is. Some will pass the URLs on to their friends.

Fantastic! We have all got to be proactive and get the word out to everyone that the major media in our country has an agenda.

:kick: