February 23, 2004
The Corporate Media: All The News That's Fit To Bury
I been reading newspapers a long time and I've figured out a few of the ways the news is slanted without actual censorship. First, try counting the number of times information is sourced to government officials or right wing think tanks (frequently not labeled as such) or party officials. You'll rarely see any information sourced to liberals or progressives. And they have several methods for burying the news.They write misleading headlines that don't reflect the story, a violation of one of the most basic cannons of journalism. A lot of people just skim the headlines. They write stories where the most important information is buried deep in the last few paragraphs, because most people don't read the whole story. Then there's story placement. During the run-up to the Iraq war, the national papers would regularly place stories that supported the administration's case on the front page while well-reasearched investigative stories that might have undermined the case were placed on pages like A19 and A21. Lots of people don't get that far in the paper.
One of the most common ways to bury a general interest story, though, is to put it in the business section. Mostly only business people and investors read the business section, yet labor stories, which just might be of interest to the average worker who doesn't read the business section, are usually placed there. This is why I always read the business section. This is among the most egregious examples I've found:
Bush to Revisit Changes in Medicaid Rules
Don't believe the NYTimes.com> Washington label at the top. If you go to the home page you'll find it listed in the business section, just as it was in my newsreader. I defy anyone to demonstrate to me that this is legitimately a business story. Ain't a fucking thing in it about business. It's general interest, and important general interest at that. The headline is a subtle lie. It should read "Bush to Revisit Cuts in Medicaid," because that's exactly the effect the "Rules" changes will have.
Don't Believe The Corporate Media. Don't Believe The Corporate Media. Don't Believe The Corporate Media. Don't Believe The Corporate Media. Don't Believe The Corporate Media. Don't Believe The Corporate Media. Don't Believe The Corporate Media. . .
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