Shot In The Dark: Unclear On The Concept

July 28, 2006

Unclear On The Concept

Every once in a while, while patrolling the left-wing blogosphere for material, I run across something to which I just can't resist responding.

Such as this, one of about half a million articles on the leftyblogosphere about how the mainstream media is really conservative doncha know (!).

And then - almost as if from the "I know you are, but what am I?" school of playground argumentation - comes this little bon mot:

If media is really slanted to the left then why aren’t conservative attempting to restore the Fairness Doctrine?

Because the "Fairness Doctrine" - the 1949-1987 FCC edict that demanded "balance" in media - was the problem. It was administered by a bureaucracy whose entire mandate springs from a big-government philosophy. It was handled at broadcast stations by news departments run by people who were more often than not more sympathetic to the left-of-center than otherwise - types who viewed the likes of Larry King and Owen Span and Michael Jackson and the entire stable of Public Radio programming as "balanced" and "centrist", but who noticed overt conservatism with laser-like precision.

That's why.

Posted by Mitch at July 28, 2006 06:30 PM | TrackBack

Comments

While watching NBC Nightly News last night I couldn't help but notice a stark contrast. The first story interviewed two Isrealis who were obviously at the beach. The second story took place in a Lebanese hospital and showed a mother who had walked 10 miles carrying her child.
Nope, no bias whatsoever.

Posted by: Kermit at July 28, 2006 04:34 PM

Way to stiffle their dissent, Mitch! How dare you question their talkings?

Posted by: Brian Jones at July 28, 2006 05:02 PM

"It was handled at broadcast stations by news departments run by people who were more often than not more sympathetic to the left-of-center than otherwise - types who viewed the likes of Larry King and Owen Span and MICHAEL JACKSON and the entire stable of Public Radio programming as "balanced" and "centrist", but who noticed overt conservatism with laser-like precision."

Who is this “Michael Jackson” fellow? Is it someone other than the peter pan wannabe or was there supposed to be someone else’s name there?

Feel free to delete this message.

Posted by: Thorley Winston at July 29, 2006 12:08 AM

Michael Jackson - british-born talk show host who's still on in LA - used to joke about the name. "Michael Jackson - not the king of pop, not the beer expert, the *other* Michael Jackson..." he'd occasionally say by way of introduction.

Posted by: mitch at July 29, 2006 07:11 AM

Kerm blathered: "While watching NBC Nightly News last night I couldn't help but notice a stark contrast. The first story interviewed two Isrealis who were obviously at the beach. The second story took place in a Lebanese hospital and showed a mother who had walked 10 miles carrying her child.
Nope, no bias whatsoever."

Stupid lazy news crew, looking for casualties in a war zone. If they did the proper reporting, I'm sure they could have found somebody on that beach who'd been stung by a jellyfish or had a really bad sunburn.

Posted by: angryclown at July 31, 2006 09:56 AM