(I was watching a thread on a forum I subscribed to that injected a very interesting discussion about Rush Limbaugh and how so many people follow what he says with almost complete disregard and irresponsibility.. Because it turned out to be a decent rant, I'm including what I submitted here..)
Interesting responses from what I've read so far, but to suggest that Rush, Franken, O'Reilly, (or whoever you insert here) bestows truth is nothing short of laughable.. They are nothing more than forms of entertainment, which is why you see most opinion/editorial pieces tucked away separately from the "so-called" news stories of the day.. Everyone of them stands on their respective pulpits and spew the talking points of the day.. One minute it's an investigation into what the democrats are doing, the next it's attacking a statement made by Bush..
Realizing the goal of these radio-types allows us to see how each and every single one twists and turns their news stories as they see fit.. That's why I have to laugh anytime I hear O'Reilly preach to be a "spin-free zone.." An "actual" spin free zone would be reporting: who, what, when, how, where.... while leaving the "why" out of it - because it's the "why" that carries the bias bias.. Want an example??
Look at the AFC playoffs last year between Indianapolis and Pittsburgh in Indy.. We've already answered:
a.) who: Indy and Pittsburgh
b.) what: AFC playoffs
c.) where: Indianapolis
d.) when: last year
When we start discussing the "how" - we can discuss statistics of yards, turnovers, and scoring opportunities that led the game towards a Pittsburgh win.. It's when we start talking about the "why" - that we all of a sudden expose our bias: does one say that Pittsburgh got lucky, or that they were the better team?? Was it a choke by Peyton Manning or lucky tackle by Ben Rothlesberger.. The why becomes a formed opinion or analysis of the game.. Depending on who you wanted to win - weighs on your ability to provide comprehensive, well thought out analysis on the "why" the game's outcome turned out the way it did..
In examining the "why" - we can expose the bias of the writer, and that's where every talking head takes advantage of the "facts" as they want them, so that they can spin it accordingly to please the crowd their preaching to.. It's simply not a Republican/Democrat issue as much as it is a creative propaganda vehicle to further their cause - whatever that cause might be in the moment...
Monday, June 05, 2006
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment