Solving the Media Puzzle

[cal04]

American progressives finally are taking seriously the threat posed by the U.S. news media’s swing to the right, which – perhaps more than any other factor – has transformed the U.S. democratic process into a mess of disinformation, fear and irrationality.

Many of the depredations of the last four-plus years – from the war in Iraq and the collapse of America’s image abroad to assaults on the teaching of evolution and inaction on the looming global-warming crisis – can only be understood by factoring in the Right’s powerful propaganda apparatus and the mainstream media’s complicity. Still, there remains widespread confusion on the Left about what can be done and how to get the most value from investments of money and talent.

From our perspective as a 10-year-old independent investigative Web site and my own personal experience of more than three decades in journalism – mostly at mainstream news outlets, such as the Associated Press, Newsweek, PBS Frontline and Bloomberg News – here are some suggestions:

‘Content and Outlets’
First, concentrate on producing strong journalistic content and building independent media outlets that can reach broad segments of the American people by using a variety of forms – print, Internet, talk radio, DVDs and TV. The guiding principle should be: “content and outlets are the keys.”
An important corollary is that the content must be uncompromising, not watered-down fare to satisfy mainstream editors or producers fearful of offending conservatives. That means independent outlets must exist that are brave enough and have sufficient resources to get the content directly to the American people. The existence of powerful independent outlets would have a secondary effect, eventually forcing the mainstream media to do better journalism because that is what the public would come to expect. At some point, the mainstream media would face a crisis: either get serious about good journalism or lose any remaining credibility with the public.

rest of the article
http://www.consortiumnews.com/2005/051305.html

[patricia92243]

1. "Have sufficent resources" is the key phrase, and we don't have it unless

Soros or someone of that ilk rescues us. That is the hard, ugly truth.

[therapist]

2. my 2 cents

He is basically saying "leave corrupt mainstream media alone - go play in your own sandbox".

I think most important task is to roll back media conglomerates that have huge conflicts of interest - eg MSM corporations that supposed to cover Iraq war and at the same time are involved in weapon programs and directly profit from the same war they are covering. We will not have reliable news as long as news companies are allowed to have vested interests in areas they should be serving as watchdogs.

Bottom line should never supersede the truth.

Don't take it wrong - i welcome any liberal news initiative, but it doesn't mean we should turn blind eye or compete with corrupt MSM. We simply need news that tells the truth and real facts. People are drawn to honesty - good example Jon Stewart Daily Show.