For a long time now, especially the last four years, conservatives and Republicans have been bashing the media for fraudulent reporting and spinning the news. They argue, of course, that the media is liberal and biased in its reporting. There may be something to this charge, but not for the reasons given.<\/p>\n
An article on the Opinion Page of Monday\u2019s Wall Street Journal<\/em> got me thinking. \u201cThe Most Popular Shows You\u2019ve Never Seen\u201c was written by Peter Funt, Allen Funt\u2019s son and a writer and host of \u201cCandid Camera.” He points out that in the 1960s there were only three broadcast networks and a few local stations. Viewers at that time had far fewer choices than today. He quotes Newton Minow, former chairman of the Federal Communications Commission ( FTC), as saying that today we have \u201calmost unlimited choice\u2014a totally different medium\u2026.Fractionalization of the audience provides more choice, but we pay a big price.\u201d In Mr. Minow\u2019s view, \u201cOur country now is divided much more because we do not share the same news or believe the same facts.\u201d Now 95, Mr. Minow questions whether more choice has been in the public \u2019s best interest.<\/p>\n Funt writes that \u201cTV is a metaphor for what ails, or at least divides, society. With fewer shared experiences\u2014even trivial ones\u2014we find ourselves in smaller social and political groups.\u201d<\/p>\n The writer makes a good point. The history of social and political movements in the United States has always been that \u201cmore is better\u201d in the marketplace whether it\u2019s politics or the economy. Our answer to problems has often been to increase the role of democracy or deregulate the market. We argue that this is just common sense. Most recently, the internet and the miracle of technology have brought us social media\u2014Facebook, Twitter, etc., so that everyone has a say about everything. We all have become journalists, whether we know anything or not!<\/p>\n I don\u2019t have any answers, but I do know that I miss Walter Cronkite.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" For a long time now, especially the last four years, conservatives and Republicans have been bashing the media for fraudulent reporting and spinning the news. They argue, of course, that the media is liberal and biased in its reporting. There may be something to this charge, but not for the reasons given. An article on…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-540","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-by-robert-fischer"],"yoast_head":"\n