Media Credibility Loss Hurts Media

July/26/2008 0:06AM
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This week we have heard a lot about the media infatuation with Obama.  The long established practice of putting ideology before fair reporting is catching up with mainstream media. All mainstream media is being hit hard in the pocketbook. Many Americans are on to them and tuning them out. From the New York Times to the three major network news shows, ratings and subscriptions are down and profits are sinking like the titanic. How long can businesses with boards of directors and shareholders let this go on?


I could give example after example, but lets just look at the war in Iraq. It is patently unfair to all concerned to report day after day that we were losing the war and simply report nothing when we are winning. Doesn’t the sacrifice the country has made and the brave young men and women who made it possible merit celebration? Doesn’t it seem fair to show what all of that has done for the Iraqi people who suffered so much under Saddam?  The media says the public only wants bad news, not good news. Who in America asked for that?


A recent survey shows that 75% of the journalists in a poll donated to Democratic candidates. It’s 80% who gave to Obama. This in itself should tell the executives of major media that they have a big problem. But, the truth is that those executives probably gave at the same ratio. These kinds of numbers are usually found among union people, college professors, artists, and environmentalists. Not people who have  such impact on public opinion. The media preaches the need for diversity, but has none.


What can we do about it? If you own shares in any of these businesses, sell. Sell because you can’t support a business that will continue to lose money. And, they will. 


All business needs to reinvent itself from time to time. That time will eventually come for these businesses. They will purge their employee ranks of people who put ideology ahead of their jobs. Ultimately the customer will dictate the product. The media has had it their way and they don’t hear the customer, they have never had to listen. Now they must and they aren’t .


It’s a microcosm of the Congress. With an approval rating of 9-12%, they aren’t listening to the customer either. Perhaps the system of government that has served us so well, like the media, needs to be re-invented to fit the times. Obama wants to try European Socialism here. That’s not a new idea and it hasn’t worked anywhere. If the U.S. system of government were a business they would be calling in the consultants to reorganize for better results. The two party system is certainly questionable. This week is a great example. The Democrats want to nail the oil speculators and the Republicans want to drill offshore. Neither will give on either issue so we have gridlock. Term limits in congress is a must. These were never intended to be career jobs. Again, in business people get moved around because they get stale and ineffective and to foster experience in different areas of expertise. 


We can tune out the media and we are doing it in droves. Financial pain will fix that. We can’t tune out congress. We keep sending unheard messages. Maybe it’s time for another Boston Tea Party. We have government without representation. Have we become so numb or emasculated that we can’t get righteously indignant? We better because as my favorite journalist, Glenn Beck says, “the perfect storm is brewing in America and it’s not going to be pretty.” 

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Comment (1)

  1. Ken Dozier says:

    Once the elections are over in November, I suspect the 3 big media executives will have no choice but to do as you suggest and rethink their business plans and refocus on the basics, which is to report the news, not create it. Like any business or industry, times change and if you don’t keep up with what the customer wants, or what the competition is offering, your business begins to lose market share and eventually you go out of business. It’s not rocket science, you either change and keep up with the times or you go out of business and let those like Fox take your place and your customers.

    Fox’s approach is to provide unbiased and balanced reporting to their viewers and is the reason they are the highest rated network. You would think the big 3 would take notice and change their approach, but they are too damn smart and don’t want to change.

    Unfortunately for them, rather than understanding what the customer wants and giving it to them, they would rather try and push for and direct the Liberal Congress to enact legislation by controlling and limiting the conservative broadcaster’s message. Rather than change themselves, their idea of change is to try and get Congress to clamp down and silence Rush, Hannity, Beck and any other number of other highly rated conservative broadcasters.

    Fortunately for us, their tactics for silencing the conservative voice is beyond their control. Ultimately, the voice of the vast majority of the American People will dictate what will happen and perhaps the time has come when we’ll see or hear silence coming from the Liberal Media.

    T-Rex’s, which use to rule the planet, are now extinct and the Liberal Media mogals are right behind them.

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