Media Criticism

A great site for articles that read between the lines and dig deeper than most mainstream media outlets is Mediachannel.org.

The site bills itself as “a media issues supersite, featuring criticism, breaking news, and investigative reporting from hundreds of organizations worldwide.” They link to various articles from around the media world, which is a much better way to get your news than from just one MSM site like CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, etc. They have an interesting article today from Howard Kurtz of the Washington Post. I have mixed feelings about the Post since they often seem to bury the more important stories deep inside the paper rather than on page A1, but that’s another issue altogether.

Kurtz’s article, “Reporters as detectives”, raises several key issues for anyone concerned about the state of the media. In the first section, he writes “It’s striking how many of the major probes involving members of Congress were launched because of news accounts, which have become the first line of defense against public corruption. While journalists may lack subpoena power and eavesdropping authority, they often crack these cases ahead of the cops.

But will that change? Times Publisher Jeffrey Johnson was ousted this month when he refused demands by the paper’s parent, Tribune Co., to cut the newsroom staff from 940 to about 800. Five years ago, the staff numbered 1,200. And anyone who thinks investigative projects are unaffected by such corporate slashing doesn’t understand the business.”

Kurtz rightfully points out that investigative reporters from major daily newspapers are still able to produce some great work, but that this output will continue to decrease as newsroom staffs face more and more layoffs. Such is the result of ever-increasing media consolidation and placement of profits over reporting. Kurtz concludes “Newspapers and networks face the same dilemma: too many people doing other things with their time, from Web-surfing to podcast listening, or simply losing interest in news altogether. Some of these customers are consuming the companies’ wares online, which is great for exposure but doesn’t produce the revenue needed to support long-form reporting. If this erosion continues, it would be bad news for serious journalism, and good news for corrupt politicians.”

This erosion has been steady since FCC rule changes in 1996 that allowed increased media consolidation. This act is one of the major reasons I often refer to Bill Clinton as a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Kurtz is dead on when he notes what good news this media erosion is for corrupt politicians. I would also suggest that one of the main reasons people are “losing interest in news altogether” is because of the bland, middle-of-the-road tone that most newspapers employ.

Kurtz goes on to address this in the same article when he changes topics with the timely sub-headline of “Gonzo journalism’s return.” He cites Rolling Stone magazine’s increased output of investigative political stories in 2006, with a particular focus on writer Matt Taibbi. As a longtime fan of Hunter S. Thompson, I have become a big fan of Taibbi’s work over the past few years. Like the good doctor, Taibbi isn’t shy about telling it like it is and has equal venom for both Republicans and Democrats. It’s been a journalistic joy to see Rolling Stone making an effort to return to its roots. Kurtz makes particular mention of Taibbi’s current RS cover story on the worst Congress ever, which Taibbi calls “the most shameful, corrupt and incompetent period in the history of the American legislative branch.” See:

The Worst Congress Ever
How our national legislature has become a stable of thieves and perverts — in five easy steps
By MATT TAIBBI

Kurtz quotes managing editor Will Dana:

“We feel a much greater sense of urgency to cover this stuff,” says Managing Editor Will Dana. “With Bush and conservative control of Congress, the values the magazine has always stood for are under assault. We feel the need to sound the alarms pretty loudly.”

There’s also a great quote from Taibbi about the current state of political journalism:

Despite his GOP-bashing, Taibbi is no fan of the Democrats, whom he depicts as addicted to special-interest money. He sees campaigns — and political coverage — as a farce, “with these clowns getting up and saying the same thing over and over again, and the press corps treats these people like they’re Nobel Prize winners.

“News outlets are interested in selling news as a battle between two fierce ideological opposites. You get conservative journalists who do nothing but hit the liberals, and liberal journalists who do nothing but demonize George Bush. They hate George Bush so much they don’t bother to criticize Democrats for supporting the Iraq war. And it’s totally uninteresting.”

Taibbi is right on the money here - news outlets shouldn’t be letting the Dems and Repubs dictate that political journalism be about horserace coverage. It should be about the issues, and it is a damn shame for America that daily newspapers won’t support journalism in the vein of Taibbi, Thompson, and the gonzo ethic that says its okay to savage politicians in print if they deserve it. Serious kudos have to go to Taibbi for getting himself mentioned in the same breath as Thompson… and kudos to Rolling Stone for stepping up with this type of coverage.

Mediachannel also has a good story today about how coverage of North Korea’s nuke test is being watered down by archaic Cold War framing that fails to address the real 21st century issues. See:

Cold-War Mentality Skews Coverage Of North Korea
By Young Kee Ju, New America Media