CJR: The media and the financial crisis: Journalism failed
I didn't need the CJR to do a report on the CNBCs of our media to tell me what results they found on the coverage of the financial collapse, but it's good so see it in print.
Columbia Journalism Review this month took the first steps toward transforming the ghost stories and urban legends of America's current recession into the formalized analysis of history. In "The List," a table of 727 stories from the business media, CJR tracks the history of the recession's coverage from its first rumbles and murmurs in 2000 to the cataclysms of 2007. In the process, the publication explores whether the media did, in fact, do everything that it could to protect its readers.
In its final analysis, the answer seems to be a resounding "no."...read on
Are you shocked? I found this report over at Digby's place so I'll let her explain what this means:
In all the navel gazing about the future of journalism, it seems to me that one of the most important is consideration of the cracking of the insider culture. The media's failures of the past decade can be at least partially explained by its insular nature and class based identification with those they cover. (As James Wolcott so pithily illustrated with his description of Judy Miller and Scooter Libby "buttering each others' toast" at the St. Regis.)
Good journalism requires something that is in short supply among many establishment journalists: a healthy skepticism toward power, money, celebrity and elite opinion. Unfortunately, all too many elite journalists swim in the same social and professional pool as the people they cover. I thought it was bad in politics, but when you watch the financial media it's almost dizzyingly cozy and self-reinforcing.
Writing is hard, and nobody has more respect for good journalism than I do. And there are many, many good reporters out there doing great work, some of them at the biggest and best papers and news networks. But the fact is that American journalism is in crisis. They can pretend it's all about the financial model and parasite bloggers or whatever other excuse they can come up with. But one of the reasons is a catastrophic loss of credibility because they are consistently either missing the most important stories of our time or helping the powerful manipulate them. And one of the reasons for that is because they are part of the same elite system they are covering.
Update: The NY Times public editor thinks Elizabeth Bumiller should have used more skepticism with her shoddy reporting on the Pentagon "terrorist recidivist" story. Same old story. Cheney's minions give a story to the NY Times (Bumiller says she had to fight for this one, which makes it all the sweeter) and then Cheney goes on TV and quotes the NY Times as the authority.
And now it's out there.
One only needs to see William K Black and James Galbraith to know that the media has failed.
here
The fraud in the financial system has been massive from top to bottom.
The media failure continues, both as for the cause and the effect of the 'crisis'.
Obama's blunder is to follow Paulson's plunder, but nary a 'journalist' gets the story straight.
Enron was the wakeup clue that everyone thought they understood but could not remember.
Sarbanes-Oxley was so watered down it meant very little.
Fraud in 'Financial Services', fraud in 'Accounting', fraud in 'Journalism'.
America the fraudulent.
---
The Greatest Swindle Ever Sold
How the financial bailout scams taxpayers, subsidizes Wall Street and props up our broken financial system.
Andy Kroll, the Nation here
If We Don't Stop Wall Street's Colossal Theft Now, Where Will This Country Be Next Year?
Tiffiniy Cheng, AlterNet here
Our Economy Is Going to Keep Tanking Until We Stop Shoveling Billions to Rich People
Pam Martens, from CounterPunch in Alternet here
Is Larry Summers Taking Kickbacks From the Banks He's Bailing Out?
Mark Ames, AlterNet here
The Trouble With Democrats
Reclaiming the Economy for the People
William Greider, the Nation here
statusquObama, change you can only pretend in
thanks for sharing the article by william greider, the trouble with democrats
What does it matter, as long as they have plenty of underwear ads?
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
anything to my underwear on purpose.
not even racing stripes?
not on purpose.
'cause I thought it would help me get dressed faster in the morning. Didn't work though.
Opinions are like underwear
Everyone has one
And the republicans come unravelled.
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
...of the bush admin and the economy, we could probably all do with a pair of clean underwear.
And this is why newspapers are dying on the vine. We can't believe half the shit in many of them.
Say what you mean. Mean what you say. But don't say it mean.
When, laughingly enough, the media bemoans that print journalism is dying, I look back at the coverage of the bush admin, and the economy and think: So?
Are there reporters who do unbelievable jobs? Yes. But does that matter if the framework they operate in is broken?
I have a B.A. in journalism from the Walter Cronkite School (yeah, a
real honest-to-god journalist). When I graduated in 1985 I realized that it was pretty pointless even then. They don't hire women that look like me, I'm attractive (so people tell me), but carry some extra pounds and no publications, save perhaps one where I lived, were actually doing any real reporting.
The state of media is so pathetic now that I refuse to subscribe to a newspaper and I can't stand to watch television news. I went back to school and got a B.S. in nursing, which is probably what I should have been doing all along, I love it. The things I learned in j-school have not gone unused by any means. I use them daily to explain to patients and families about diseases, tests, conditions, procedures, medications, etc. It allows me to cut through the crap in studies and articles. I must admit, though, I wouldn't mind writing once in a while.
I've been commenting on how bad the media has gotten and it only seems to be getting worse.
about Morning Joe and Starbucks. Just when you think it can't get worse (as if that petulant mouth-farter Joe Republican isn't bad enough already).
It reminds me of the Lily Tomlin quip "No matter how cynical I get, I just can't seem to keep up."
Nice job of stating your goals and experience with patients.
"Let's talk dirty to the animals"
you sound like would be good at it.
You are purty dang eloquent there boocilla69.
It might eventually result in a book, memoir or screenplay. Then we can say we "knew" you on C&L back in the day. You write well here, so don't stop writing! Good luck!
sure thing mainstream journalism failed. no effin doubt. but the info was out there, not on NBC, or in the WashPost, but it was out there, and if the voting public gave 2 shits they could have been more pro-active about informing themselves. it was a joint failure; a journalism failure and the failure of citizens to do their part in democracy.
the victim.
and i see a mixture of purposeful ignorance and laziness
different strokes for different folks i suppose
(note: i am generalizing)
The murkins who avoid due dilligence in vetting media reports don't read the NYT, or the WSJ. So let them fail. It IS laziness on the part of many. The internet, and those of us who use it for more than porn and ebay, have put enough of a dent in the print media to bring about it's ultimate demise. But your bottom line point is correct. Murkins are lazy. They don't participate enough, or educate themselves enough, and casually blame others for the problems we face.
"Someday somebody related to some of these sufferers, these victims, these collaterally damaged souls, may try to kill you. And I have to tell you, I think you’ll have it coming." - Christopher Cooper
"casually blame others for the problems we face"
indeed. and sometimes not so casually.
that the liberals are better informed than the right wing. The problem is the control of the media. In some parts of the country there is no liberal media. People think they are informed but are not.
And there is a serious lack of education in critical thinking.
"Someday somebody related to some of these sufferers, these victims, these collaterally damaged souls, may try to kill you. And I have to tell you, I think you’ll have it coming." - Christopher Cooper
when you consider the greatly-gutted system of education, the rise of the cretin religious groups, and the continual stream of confusing propaganda that spews from the TV and other media - people of limited intelligence (unlike us)
or with serious time constraints (because they're trying to live up to the American Dream)can;t be blamed entirely for following the wrong path.
Paraphrasing Maya Angelou, "When you know better, you'll do better."
"Egotism is the anesthetic that dulls the pain of Stupidity" - Frank Leahy
I must admit I became aware when I was 16, when my brother was part of the military uprisings during the vietnam war, was jailed and got the old cold room no blanket, loud music sleep deprivation treatment. So I guess getting a constant diet of conservative talking points from an early age can make it difficult for many murkins to break on through.
"Someday somebody related to some of these sufferers, these victims, these collaterally damaged souls, may try to kill you. And I have to tell you, I think you’ll have it coming." - Christopher Cooper
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dLAv0NklTg
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
YS,
Muchas gracias. Got it on now.
"Someday somebody related to some of these sufferers, these victims, these collaterally damaged souls, may try to kill you. And I have to tell you, I think you’ll have it coming." - Christopher Cooper
Well you have a lot of fundie types trying to bear their testimony during evolution lessons.
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
failure of the citizenry to do their part? thats a tough haul when the major media is stacking the deck in favor of big business. in a democracy i should be able to rely on the major media to TELL ME THE FACTUAL TRUTH. i cannot lay too much blamed at the feet of an ill-informed citizenry. thats like poking someone's eyes out and bemoaning them for being blind.
democracy is not a spectator sport. and americans shouldn't be couch-citizens (present company excluded)
Matt, well then how come WE see it?
"Someday somebody related to some of these sufferers, these victims, these collaterally damaged souls, may try to kill you. And I have to tell you, I think you’ll have it coming." - Christopher Cooper
because of the internet. Many people my age and older don't use computers. The demographics for Fox news listeners and watchers are age 50 and up. My aunt who just turned 75 got a free computer from a friend a few months ago and is just beginning to use the internet. She and her family are the few of my relatives who I could say are more independant than liberal.
I wonder how long it'll be before nekkid pictures of auntie appears on MyPage?
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
MORE of us see it because of the internet, thank the stars. But as I said above, I have known this shit for decades because of my life experiences, as I'm sure many others have. But the numbers seem to be growing. Or maybe just connecting with other progressives makes it appear that way to me. I felt very isolated in my political views until the internet connected us.
"Someday somebody related to some of these sufferers, these victims, these collaterally damaged souls, may try to kill you. And I have to tell you, I think you’ll have it coming." - Christopher Cooper
My older brother and I were totally on opposite sides of the coin when it came to politics.
yet, for people with little/no access to the internet there are always magazines (mother jones, adbusters, etc.), books, lectures, etc.
i don't actually expect people to devote their lives to ferreting out the "truth" (as if), and i realize our neogilded age doesn't afford everybody spare time to go out and hunt down information.
but, if people have the time to follow celeb gossip, or what-have-you, they have time to try to peek out from under the establishment-blindfold. and that seems to be a rarity.
I used to read Harpers and Rolling Stone. Then I found Talkleft (my gateway drug) in 2002. And we now have 7 million more people since 2007 with nothing else to do. So they watch Fox and get pissed off.
"Someday somebody related to some of these sufferers, these victims, these collaterally damaged souls, may try to kill you. And I have to tell you, I think you’ll have it coming." - Christopher Cooper
the gateway drug to C&L?
:)
rolling stone (despite being shitty in regards to music, imo), has the ever-awesome matt taibbi. one of my personal favs
Yeah I love his style and POV also. Many say he is a Hunter Thompson wannabe but I don't see it that way. He has a style all his own, which is NOT gonzo journalism.
"Someday somebody related to some of these sufferers, these victims, these collaterally damaged souls, may try to kill you. And I have to tell you, I think you’ll have it coming." - Christopher Cooper
propaganda systems do not have to convince EVERYBODY. just enough to keep things rolling along same as it every was.
That is why the overlords of the MSM see the internet as such a threat and want to "regulate" it by labeling it as a source of porn for pedophiles and other criminals.
"Someday somebody related to some of these sufferers, these victims, these collaterally damaged souls, may try to kill you. And I have to tell you, I think you’ll have it coming." - Christopher Cooper
your correct. that has been the successful strategy of the financial elite/think tanks take people out of the system. they didn't visually publicize the bodies coming back from the war(s), the right would give a
personal beatdown of being "unpatriotic" if you spoke against the war and/or questioned 9-11. remember
the "don't tase me bro" yeah real funny. remember at the bush townhall meetings secret service looking for opposing bumper stickers. the public/"we the people" have been taken out of the process. capitalism
has a lot of losers. the financial elites don't want people to think about losing just think about the possibilities at any expense. this is sophisticated social darwinism....kind of like buyer beware. the science
of behavorial economy is very sophisticated/powerful.
another media mea culpa. the media did this after the run-up to the iraq warofchoice. they did this after vietnam. this is the pattern. cheerlead for the warmachine and profiteerers and issue a sheepish mea culpa. our propaganda machine is working just fine . . . move along. nothing to see here.
NY Time wins 5 Pulitzers. One of them for exposing the fact the pentagon ran a propaganda campaign using retired generals as consultants/commentators on television news to promote the iraq war, as well as the fact that many of these generals had financial ties to companies that would earn a lot of money from the iraq war and that the television news media never informed nor apologized for it.
So after the Pulitzers are awarded, television news dutifully reports the Times won 5 but only details the 4 that don't implicate their own incompetence/malfeasance.
is not really a recession - and I think we should stop using that term to describe the current financial mess.
It is theft, pure and simple, caused by corporate/government fraud on a scale of gigantic proportions.
"Egotism is the anesthetic that dulls the pain of Stupidity" - Frank Leahy
When the TARP program was announced, providing 700 billion, with no oversight and the decisions of the fed unquestionable even by congress, the whole 8 year Bush admin played out in my mind like an elaborate Ocean's 11 scam.
were just the last nails in the coffin built decades ago.
"Egotism is the anesthetic that dulls the pain of Stupidity" - Frank Leahy
the media has been directed and put in their place. they're also realizing the dumbing down is happening. people don't read for many reasons but i believe it's the education system. it's the culture
that has been dominated by get rich quick. people want the path of NO resistance. i believe as part of taking "we the people" out of the system the media has been greatly influenced/lead by financial elitists.
the financial market is about secrecy. now with the financial market becoming even more global now more so than ever how information is processed/presented is a strategy. a strategy to confuse cause chaos to influence markets.
I stop taking the news seriously a longtime ago ever since it became the speaking tool of propaganda of whichever party was or is in charge at the moment. Like Ed Beal said "Throw out your T.V" and pay attention to the things going around you. Plus the "reporters" today or as i call actors with teleprompters are a joke. They seat there and repeat talking points and their opinions all day long without covering a single bit of news,information or objectivity!! I turn on the news when i need comedic relief since they are oblivious to the things going on around them, that goes for FOX,NBC,MSNBC,CNN, The newspaper outlets we could be here all day.
Vote GOP and move forward to the 18th Century.
Whoo...fast on them thar shootin' irons, Slim.
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
I think maybe controversial conversations should be limited to just the weather.
Vote GOP and move forward to the 18th Century.
Global Climate Change?
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
it's gettin' hot in here.
Vote GOP and move forward to the 18th Century.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxNyoAMqRXQ
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
What I see in the rightards is that they also are critical of any media outlets they have been dubbed liberal by the plutocrats of their ilk. THEY don't believe the Communist News Channel. And yet they still parrot the conservative lies. The conservatives in this country, to me, are divided into the rich, greedy, selfish bastards, and the dumbed down lower middle class that has been convinced that the evil liberals are the cause of all their problems. It's such a contradiction!
"Someday somebody related to some of these sufferers, these victims, these collaterally damaged souls, may try to kill you. And I have to tell you, I think you’ll have it coming." - Christopher Cooper
are the modern-day
slavesserfs of the Limpballs ruling class."Parachutes are allowed in checked or carry-on baggage, but may not be worn in flight."
---Southwest Airlines
Replace "the financial crisis" with just about anything else and the heading central point stays the same. "journalism" = failed....
What journalism? They're all bought and paid for Reslugs.
I hate how when you sign-in under the comment you want to react to it drops you the bottom of the thread.
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
It drops you to the bottom of the replies. I don't like it either.
"Someday somebody related to some of these sufferers, these victims, these collaterally damaged souls, may try to kill you. And I have to tell you, I think you’ll have it coming." - Christopher Cooper
I trust less than 10% of those assholes. Good fucking riddance and go the hell out of business.
the media especially the last 10 yrs. or so is all about presenting some information so that you pick a side. someone mentioned it earlier 'lack of education in critical thinking'. this has been part of the ridiculous culture wars. often NOT always if you were educated you were/are a liberal. the right has used that for their polictical attack strategy. often i feel people don't want the truth/cross check references
they may find out their culture club is wrong. instead they will listen to the likes of hannity who will present "information" in a way that reinforces their identity/their side....propaganda.
The media (and there is media criticism around) has been a sick joke since the New York Times fabricated the Whitewater controversy and then along with teh Washington Post, NBC and their enablers around the DC area kept up their harassment of the Clintons and Gores right through today.
Don't think that it's the papers (it is) or Fox News (it is) it's also shows on MSNBC that are purportedly "progressive" like the execrable KO and the soon to tb a millionaire, Rachel Maddow. Have youy seen either do a substantive story about health care? No, of course not, they HAVE health care and they don't care about you except as eyes on the screen.
Wait for it, reichwingers will say we went invaded Iraq, because the liberal press failed.
They'll claim the situation is getting worse under Obama, but the press isn't reporting it.
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
No one is going to touch Iraq right now. It's still a straight line to Bush.
Wait until after the summer, when no real troop withdrawals have occurred. The right wing will all of sudden be pro withdrawal and screaming that Obama lied to the American people.
Vote GOP and move forward to the 18th Century.
that's a good point. i also notice not much is really said about private contractors and their role in iraq and afghanistan. i remind those we are responsible and pay for those people also. the war(s)
are expansion off the "empire" for resources. the people in this country have been taken out of the decision making regarding the war(s). sometimes i feel the war(s) were mismanaged on purpose as a strategy to prolong occupation. the u.s. is NOW building embassies in afghanistan and pakistan...i believe i have that correct. i wonder if it's to contain china just a thought.
If the occupation of Iraq does NOT wind down, will that NOT be a betrayal of a central campaign promise?
I'll grant you the hypocrisy of the right in that matter, but wouldn't the left be justified in such an interpretation, sans hyopocrisy?
that's reasonable and easily understood on the surface. the candidates intentions("promises")
don't always work out. once in office the other players/variables come into play. for me
not to reduce what your saying i tried to read between the lines regarding obama. he wants to return some power of democracy back to the people. if he could he would stop the war(s) but these war(s) are complex and complicated in my opinion. maybe i'm wrong maybe obama had no
intentions of stopping the war(s) but i don't believe that. these war(s) are bigger than obama.
having said that it's certainly expected that obama will be held responsible for promises made during the campaign.
once the multinationals have sucked out all the money they can without damaging their global reputations.
Global Corporations are like vampires. They will only suck out as much blood as they can without killing the host.
Vote GOP and move forward to the 18th Century.
for me my best bet is charlie rose. some may disagree that's cool but usually the interviews are longer and the guest have time to explain themselves. although more obvious as far as it's political leaning i
appreciate bill moyer's journal.
I'm rarely up that late these days. Sadly, the 'murkin public can't take the long(er) form of TV "jornalism"--ADD (American Deficit Disorder).
"Parachutes are allowed in checked or carry-on baggage, but may not be worn in flight."
---Southwest Airlines
I think part of the issue is that Americans at large do not understand the difference between tabletop dialog, editorial commentary, and journalistic reporting.
Charlie Rose belongs to the first category.
I thought it was dialogue.
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
The entire (remains of the once-lauded and laudable) Fourth Estate, fleeing from right-wing canards casting them as a somehow disloyal "Fifth Column," retreated into the safety of corpoRatism, and forsook their historical mandate to "report," preferring instead the role of 'local boosters.'
It started, as did so much of the decline of the instruments and institutions of democratic government, under the quivering, alzheimeric fist of Ronald Reagan, may his pain persist, in what was euhemistically called "consolidation." The free and independent press of earlier days was too messy, too unpredictable, too erratic, too curious. Consolidation took care of ALL that...
is due to many of the major media outlets being owned by the same corporate/financial structure they claim to be covering?
I don't think they failed at all... I think their job has become to aid and abet.
during the past 2 decades:
They failed during the Clinton impeachment, they failed during the 2000 elections, they failed before and after 9/11, they failed during the Iraq war, they failed during the 2004 elections, they failed during the whole litany of scandals of the Bush administration... heck their failure during the economic meltdown just seems nothing more than yet another confirmation of their pattern of failure, not an exception.
Where was turning point in history?
Was it Reagan saying 'America is great' but government is the problem, after Jimmy Carter tried to warn us about the energy crisis.
Was it Nixon taking us off gold in 1971 because they had cooked the books on the Vietnam war costs. Thus allowing currency speculation, derivatives and ultimately the financial services fiasco of today.
Was it the National Security Act of 1947 that set up the great nemesis of world wide communism and guaranteed an unending flow of war bucks. Which led to Vietnam.
Was it Wilson's perfidy of taking us into WWI which led to victory without peace and WWII.
There are many junctures in history where I am tempted to say we went permanently wrong as a country.
As was noted by far greater than I, the problem is not in our stars, but in ourselves.
'Journalists' now would rather be rich than right, like so many others. Rock the boat and you will never get to that seven figure salary.
Here is my last response to something you said.
statusquObama, change you can only pretend in
santa clara county v. southern pacific railroad
gets my vote for one of the top "where did we go wrong" moments...
For some reason I've been in this mood for several days:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtDWPN4s8Vo
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
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