Fight Media Bias: Support Alternative Voices–Like Me!
October 1, 2008 / 11:11 pm • By Dr. Melissa ClouthierMost bloggers I know, myself included, don’t ask to be paid. We hope you’ll advertise or click on our advertising and we’ll get residual income. Or, we hope that you’ll buy something at Amazon and go through our website to buy so we get a commission (that’s how that works, by the way).
Meanwhile, most readers watch the evening news, read media that’s in the tank for Obama (hello Gwen Ifill) and the Democratic nominees, and tacitly show their approval of these forms of “news”. But many honest people are sick of it. They are sick of the media, the bias, the lack of fairness, the fawning adoration, the complete and total lack of objectivity. What to do? Glenn Reynolds has a suggestion:
If you want to have a media environment that isn’t dominated by the Gwen Ifills and Keith Olbermanns of the world, you need to ensure that other kinds of voices flourish. That means supporting the alternatives with your eyeballs, your subscriptions, your advertiser-patronage (and you could write those advertisers and tell them you’re happy that they’re supporting that kind of programming, too — they probably don’t get many letters like that, so they’ll be noticed) — basically, your money. Businesses need money to flourish. There’s a vast underserved population out there, for news, entertainment, movies, etc., and if people start serving it, the current “mainstream” media won’t be so mainstream anymore. So if you’re unhappy with current offerings, put your money where your mouth is.
And if you’re one of the people with creative interests, start making alternative stuff. Not just news and punditry, but entertainment, documentaries, etc. If An American Carol does well this weekend, it’ll make it a lot easier for the next film of its type to be made. If Evan Coyne Maloney’s documentary work does well, it’ll encourage a lot more of that kind of work.
Think of it like cultivating a garden: Starve the weeds, feed the flowers. Like gardening, it’s work. But like gardening, if you do the work you’ll see results.
At first, I was going to joke about this, but it’s the truth. It is also something I argued with a friend about. He said he didn’t trust what I wrote because I was a partisan “interpreting” facts. And I told him that absolutely, I’m partisan. I don’t hide it. My bent is conservative-libertarian. Period.
However, if I have an opinion, or even present a story, I do my best to link it to facts so that a person can decide whether I’m full of shit or not. And my readers, bless them, call me on the times they think I’m full of it. Blogging has a lovely feedback loop. A person who presents lies won’t last long and will lose credibility–unless they blog over at Kos. But for those on the right, the readers are smart and rigorous and opinionated.
I don’t like this post-modern notion that there is no truth–only opinion and interpretation. What utter bull. The fact is there IS fact. The Senate voted a certain way. That is fact. Why they voted in a certain manner is up for interpretation.
So, while I spout my opinion, an endless stream of them if you ask my friends and family, I make it clear that it’s my opinion. Those in the media go wrong because they pretend at objectivity while being shamefully biased, and they also do this, as Glenn Reynolds continues:
I promised some thoughts on what to do about the news media’s outright campaigning for Obama. (And that’s what it is. Media bias used to mean that they would slow-walk stories that reflected badly on their candidate; now they just flat out ignore them, or even try to shoot them down. They’re not just in the tank, they’re functioning as arms of the campaign, and Obama’s strategy shows that he knows that and is relying on it.)
What is NOT being reported, what is not being said will kill you. Suppression of information leads to wrong conclusions. It is an abomination. A patient can lie to his doctor or omit important facts (and many people do) and the doctor will come to a wrong conclusion. Perhaps harm will come to the patient–but he is only hurting himself. When the media omits important facts, readers and watchers, news consumers come to erroneous conclusions. The consequences are profound. The consequences can sway elections. And that is exactly what the media counts upon.
The success of alternative media indicates that people are eager for more solid facts and more fair interpretations of them. But to “feed and water” the alternatives, money helps. Time is money and honestly, I have a day job that funds this job. It’s just the way it is. But some on the right, and I don’t know if I am or will end up being one of them, deserve for their writing to be a full-time gig. They are that good. If you appreciate someone’s hit the tip jar; hit the Paypal; buy from Amazon. Every bit helps.
If you don’t think an individual contribution makes a difference, remember this: the guy driving slowly in the passing lane affects the lives of many for many a mile. One person actions can influence the lives of many.
