What is the defining issue of our time?

[Gabi Hayes]

http://mediamatters.org/items/200605260016

The defining issue of our time is not the Iraq war. It is not the "global war on terror." It is not our inability (or unwillingness) to ensure that all Americans have access to affordable health care. Nor is it immigration, outsourcing, or growing income inequity. It is not education, it is not global warming, and it is not Social Security.

The defining issue of our time is the media.

The dominant political force of our time is not Karl Rove or the Christian Right or Bill Clinton. It is not the ruthlessness or the tactical and strategic superiority of the Republicans, and it is not your favorite theory about what is wrong with the Democrats.

The dominant political force of our time is the media.

Time after time, the news media have covered progressives and conservatives in wildly different ways -- and, time after time, they do so to the benefit of conservatives. Consider the last two presidents. Bill Clinton faced near-constant media obsession with his "scandals," while George W. Bush has gotten off comparatively easy.

Even many members of the media have stopped contesting this painfully obvious point, instead offering dubious justifications. Bill Clinton's "scandals" made for better stories than George Bush's, we are told, because they were simpler and easier for readers and viewers to understand. "Sex sells," while George Bush's false claims about Iraq are much harder to explain. This excuse is simply nonsense.

.........

much more, as recommended by Eric Alterman

[Emit]

1. Thanks for posting this

This topic is key, IMO.

More from your link:

Eric Boehlert, author of the excellent new book Lapdogs: How the Press Rolled Over for Bush (Free Press, May 2006), has offered one example of the obsessive coverage the media gave Whitewater:

In the 24 months between Jan. 1994 and Jan. 1996, long before Monica Lewinsky entered the picture and back when Whitewater was about an alleged crooked land deal, Nightline devoted 19 programs to the then-unfolding scandal and investigation, for which no Clinton White House official was ever indicted.

And that's how it was for eight years: obsessive media coverage and hype of made-up Clinton "scandals" that never went anywhere because they never existed anywhere other than the fevered imaginations of a few far-right Clinton-haters and the credulous news media that took them seriously.

How bad did it get? As we're fond of pointing out, the Washington Post editorial board called for the appointment of an independent counsel to investigate Whitewater "even though -- and this should be stressed -- there has been no credible charge in this case that either the president or Mrs. Clinton did anything wrong." That's right: The Post called for an independent counsel to investigate "no credible charge."

Boehlert offered a comparison to the Bush era:

But during the 24 months between Sept. 2003 and Sept. 2005, Nightline set aside just three programs to the unfolding CIA leak investigation, for which Libby, an assistant to the president, was indicted. On the night of the Libby indictments, Nightline devoted just five percent of its program to that topic.

And that's pretty much how things have been for the past five years: Clear, conclusive evidence exists that Bush and his administration have committed countless transgressions far more serious than whatever it is reporters thought Bill Clinton might have done. And it has received far less coverage than Clinton's non-scandals.

[Selatius]

2. Without a functiong news media, there is no informed citizenry. Without that, you are doomed to fail

No matter what you do, if your citizens are uninformed, your civilization cannot long endure before falling into the darkness of feudalism where a few control everything. You will disappear like the Republic of Rome.

[Parisle]

3. Two words....

--- Marshall McLuhan.

[Warpy]

4. I would say wealth concentration

which concentrates power into as few hands as the wealth has ended up in.

Everything flows from that: the destruction of the rights guaranteed all of us, the flow of 61% of the nation's wealth into the military, and the push to expand Empire so the wealthy and powerful can keep grabbing.

Do you honestly think they would have gotten away with lying us into war had power still rested with citizens?

[fed-up]

5. I say ACCOUNTABILITY is real issue-(media's real job) and consequenses for CRIMES nt

[Gabi Hayes]

6. of course, which leads to the inevitable conclusion that, without a vigiliant media,

there's no way to hold business/goverment accountable

even those few members of government who try to do their job can't get the message out without media performing as they're supposed to.

a perfect example of this was during Iran/Contra, when, after daily congressional hearings on the subject, REAMS of printed material were made available to the media who ostensibly covered said hearings. According to a congressman who commented on this, there were only TWO reporters who EVER availed themselves of all the detailed, damning information about the crooks in the Reagan admin.

one of them was Robert Parry, who was FIRED for his trouble. can't remember the other

this is the way it is

[snot]

7. Rec'd; kicking -- nt

[Lindsey]

8. Murdock, Moon....N/T