About That Media Notion of "Balance"...
I had a very interesting tête-à-tête last week that I thought I'd share. As you may have guessed, I'm on the email distro lists for all the major Sunday shows and cable news networks, and I get email notifications for who the scheduled guests will be as well as transcripts, p.r. pieces and the like. Last week, when ABC sent me an email that John McCain was going to be their guest again, I sent back a snarky reply asking if they ever had John Kerry on after he lost the election to George Bush as often as they've had McCain, and why, when there are so many actual issues about which the public needs to be informed, they gave so much air time to GOP obstructionism. Normally, I shoot off those emails just as a private protest, but this time, I got a reply back from the executive producer:
Thanks very much for your email. I’d have to take issue with your suggestion that “so much time is given to GOP obstructionism.” Week to week we maintain a balance between Democratic and Republican guests. It’s not always a perfect balance – airtime often tips toward the party in power because the mission of our program is to ask questions of those who are in decision making and policy making roles. Our guest selection is also determined by the news stories we cover. As the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee Senator McCain is clearly the appropriate Republican guest to follow the Secretary of Defense in a discussion of US Afghanistan policy.
Well, if you've ever seen me in the comments, you have to know I'm not going to let a steaming pile of Village B.S. like that go unchallenged:
Thanks for your response.
The notion of a "balance" between Democratic and Republican guests is a false equivalence too often used in lieu of actual journalism. If you put brought on a creationist to discuss the fossil record with Stephen Jay Gould, are you serving your viewership well for balance?
With all due respect to Sen. McCain---and knowing full well how much he cultivates a good relationship with the media (I'm sure Mr. Stephanopoulos enjoyed his weekend in Arizona with the McCains when health care was the prime topic in the country)--his purpose as a follow up to Gates is to simply toe the GOP line of disagreeing reflexively with any agenda the President sets. My site, Crooksandliars.com, has been documenting this for the last five years.
How about instead of reducing every issue to a simplistic binary equation of Republican vs. Democrat, you seek to actually inform your viewership with people who have real background in Afghanistan or could bring a different (and not partisan) perspective? For example, Paul Rieckhoff of IAVA could discuss it from a soldier's POV. As a blogger involved in many journalism listservs, I personally could put you in touch with people far more versed in the history and the actualities in Afghanistan which would provide far more cogent and *informative* information than you will see from the man who tried to tell Americans that Baghdad was as safe as Main Street with his contingent of soldiers and helicopters guarding him.
Further, your insistence that this is the best person to follow up on Gates is disingenuous at best, when looked at the history of who THIS WEEK has booked. I've been a media analyst and political advocate for several years and my memory is not that short. John Kerry was on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee during Bush's presidency. How often did you ask Sen. Kerry on to discuss foreign policy as a response to Bush? Rarely.
And why is McCain on as *a response*? Why isn't he on first and then give Gates--as the person who can actually make policy, as opposed to the minority party--the opportunity to address the issues afterwards? Because air time tips to the party in power? Last time I checked, Americans have pretty decisively said that they weren't happy with the GOP being the party in power, not that we can tell from your bookings. It's bad enough that you give air time to George Will every week to spread disinformation (and if you'd like, I'm only too happy to provide you with at least 10 examples in the last year of things George Will has been factually wrong about), but to actually tell me that air time tips to the party in power when you have notoriously been favoring Republicans makes me question how forthright you're being about your booking choices. Let's see you book a Democratic blogger even once to "balance" your egregious booking of the completely factually-challenged Michelle Malkin. Or maybe it's just that *informing* your viewership is secondary.
Funnily enough, the producer didn't really have much response to that, simply thanking me for the input. Honestly, I wasn't really happy with the dismissive little pat on the head from the Villager who thought that little blogger me couldn't understand why McCain was a reasonable booking. So I thought I'd give him a suggestion as to real balance:
Here is a segment I would LOVE to see you do with Sen. McCain: why don't you invite my colleague, David Neiwert, author of The Eliminationists, on to discuss how the violent rhetoric that used to be relegated to the fringes of the Republican Party which has been mainstreamed since Obama's election and let Sen McCain respond to that? After all, he is the one who brought Sarah Palin to the national stage (and as I recall, actually said on your program that Palin was his "soul mate" after having only had one phone conversation and a short meeting with her before asking her on the ticket) and there is no other politician who has tapped so proficiently into that zeitgeist. I think it would be beneficial for Americans to hear someone of Sen. McCain's gravitas and stature disavow the kind of violent and racist rhetoric we've all seen. I'm more than happy to provide you with contact information for Mr. Neiwert if you are so inclined.
But if you're not interested in putting Sen. McCain on the spot, perhaps next time you do a show on the problems we're facing in Afghanistan, the "balance" you seek would be better achieved by putting on a politician who favors withdrawal, like Rep. Alan Grayson, instead of two hawks who will both say that the most important thing is "winning" in Afghanistan without actually explaining what "winning" means or how we can achieve it militarily. Where's the balance in that for your viewers?
Are you surprised that he had no response to that? Nah, me neither. I don't know if it impacted him at all, but I'm hoping that from now on he has a small voice inside his head reminding him that some of his viewers actually think critically and realize how badly he's--and all the rest of the bobblehead media--doing his job.
UPDATE: Glenn Greenwald looks at the sources that our liberal media uses to discuss the issues of the day.
Give them HELL!!
Even though they'll just ignore it....give them as much hell as you can.
I am devastated to see what the media has become. Especially ABC.
Sadly, their biased ways are now starting to bite them in the ass, as the country is dropping broadcast news in favor of some kind of source of truth.
GIVE THEM HELL!!!!
C&L, Firedoglake, and others,
Can you/we make our own Sunday show to compete?
Our frustrations are caused by our own mis-perception that these shows are seeking the truth, that they are trying to get to the bottom of things. When in fact, they are not....our show would
thank you...nicely said...it's dirty filthy work but, well, you know
you hurt his feelings ? .
every time you throw a little mud , you lose a little ground .
But facts don't phase republicans of today. They believe only fox and what someone told them about the bible.
republicanism is a mental illness, its a proven fact!
You should say what kind of accident were you in that caused that much brain damage?
republicanism is a mental illness!
I don't participate in C&L's comment section anymore, but I still regularly read the front page. I just wanted to log in for a minute to say that this is a fantastic post, one of Nicole Belle's best-written.
Everyone is equally entitled to the pursuit of happiness. Wasn't that once self evident?
I miss seeing your posts.
Same here. Poke your head in more often.
I did watch your clip on the "Know Knothing Knation". Thanks for that too.
That post was a pleasure to read.
Very nicely done.
Me too.
Where have you been? And what have you been up too?
I miss your input. It's nice to see you again.
I wish you would comment more often Karen.
I'd like to know how you feel about this healthcare issue.
What is your conceptual, continuity?
I have always enjoyed your contributions, and miss them. While this visit is short and sweet, it's nice to know you are still out there. somewhere, giving them hell alongside our Nicole here.
me-oww!
Every blow at the corporate media's claims of balance and fairness helps. If nothing else, maybe they'll have a clue when their ratings start following the plunge in newspaper distribution.
I've given up on any hope that mainstream journalism, whether print or broadcast has any semblance of or even any idea of what its supposed to be.
They take their cues from the powerful after they are done licking their boots. I've seen more restrained sycophants among nuns clucking around a popular young priest.
Not only that, but even if they had a clue I think they have to stuff it as the shareholders of the corps that own these "news organizations" are very clear about where their priorities lie. Teevee news has become a giant advertising/propaganda organ for corporate interests and nothing more.
Long after the tea baggers are dead and gone and probably after I'm in my grave, this entire cabal will crumble under its own weight.
such as you suggest, their ratings would skyrocket.
But catapulting the propaganda is their real mission. Just as some medieval armies catapulted corpses dead of the Black Plague into their enemies cities, ABC and FOX and all the others catapult their noisome collection of lies to the people of the USA.
"...the shareholders of the corps that own these "news organizations" are very clear about where their priorities lie."
They're large funds and investment banks that plan to divest the company and sell their shares in sixth months. Operating it beyond that window is beside the point.
if they could get SJG on. He died seven years ago. RIP
"every cloud is silver liney"
Give me a break ;)
I always enjoy and read your articles. You have great insight into the rethug machine.
"Let's talk dirty to the animals"
Smack down! And the crowd goes wild!!!!!!!!!!
Damn I hopw I never piss you off
where's bin laden? you said you know how to find him. be a patriot and tell the president how to find him.
No, McCain said if HE was elected he would tell his people how to get Bin Laden. Since we didn't elect him he ain't telling. He probably knew how to get the Olympics to Chicago too but.........
Those freakin' weenies and brewskis were the best investment McCain ('s wife) ever made for Grampa John's media career. Too bad all us libruls have to offer are tofu dogs and apple martinis.
(Not that there's anything wrong with tofu dogs and apple martinis...)
Well said. Thanks for posting. I've written to ABC a couple of times about this same subject. Never got a response. I'm sure that since they know you have an audience that they felt compelled to respond to your email. Keep hammering away, they know that C&L is a formidable foe.
Nicely done!
Afghanistan. We had accomplished the mission years ago. Al Queda does not have a safe haven there anymore. The Taliban were punished for not giving them up when we asked. Bin Laden is safe in Pakistan. We won the war in the first few weeks. We should have came back home then but the Republican need to continue the war so that they could stay in power. We are not fighting an organized army or a state. We are fighting a rag tag guerilla force that can continue fighting forever. Time to call it a day and come back home.
The Taliban was a self-contained group of a-holes until bin Laden got desperate and bought them off. Now, the merits for increasing deployment to Afghanistan range from women's rights to drug trafficking, issues that affect literally billions of humans in places that GOP leaders couldn't find on a map.
Calls for troop increases are simply the path of least resistance.
. . . for this fantastic post -- and for letting 'them' hear all your (and our) thoughts and feelings!!! Thanks again for sharing this with all of us. Great, great, great.
I usually 'hide-out' in the background here (lurking), but just had to drop in to tell you how I enjoyed this, and appreciate you.
. . . Oops -- Sorry I mispelled your name :~(
Have a good evening.
You've made me very proud to be a commentor here.
All I can say is......... ThataGirl!
In the event that isn't politically correct. Fuggettaboutit!
You know what I'm sayin!
Thank You Nicole. Thank You Very Much.
That damn Librul media will git ya every time.
What is your conceptual, continuity?
They deserve the money because not just any psychopath can murder that many people and remain presentable. In this case, they obviously searched for someone intelligent and articulate who nonetheless has his head firmly stuck up his ass. Not rare, but, again, a special talent and I'm sure they had to expend some effort to find someone at the level they felt matched the job in mass media.
Don't even call it media or corporate media, much less mainstream media any more. Call it corporation television, tv of the corporation, by the corporation, and for the corporation. When you vote for your corporately chosen candidates, the corporation wins because the game is rigged and you lose. The sheep are sheared, the 1% rejoices.
Politics is for the present, but an equation is for eternity. Albert Einstein
Hard to believe this pussie worked for the Big Dog!
It's not all or nothing.
LADIES AND GENTLEMAN.....NICOLE BELLE! That was a first rate smackdown of those idiots. I can't stand to watch that dwarft and his minions. When they had Malkin on I knew they were officially over. This Week is really a disgrace! You know you suck when feline faced David Gregory is kicking your ass each week on Meet The Press which equally sucks! Rachel Maddow kicked ass again today and can you believe that asshole David Gregory used that weak ass clip from last night's Saturday Night Live which also SUCKED? I love the fact that the last time Gregory had Maddow on he gained an additional 886,000 viewers. If those corporate clowns at NBC had any real guts, they would have at least offered the show to Rachel. Can't wait to see what today's ratings pulled in. Again, thanks Nicole for letting them know that we're aware of their bullshit and you're right....each time they have the geezer on again or any powerless Republican they're going to know that we know that they're full of shit!
Body slams the Beltway Idiotocracy! Great job pummeling that lying MSM android. Of course he did not respond, he knew he was outmatched 1000 to 1. The only people that this "executive producer" can relate to and reach are the rigid and paranoid dupes that unquestioningly believe their propaganda.
"We will find fulfillment not in the goods that we have, but in the good we can do for each other."
Robert F. Kennedy
I really dug your letter. It obviously made the producer's head explode, that's why they didn't answer back the 2nd time.
The MSM is so goddam lame, and they're just getting lamer.
I'm still waiting for the debate on whether the world is flat or round. Dammit, there has to be balance, even if the guest is insane!
I'm surprised that they haven't had a birther on yet.
It needs saying, and you said it well. I doff my imaginary hat to your fabulous way with words.
!
me-oww!
SEND THIS TO EVERY REGRESSIVE THAT YOU KNOW.
{I have a problem with people yelling. Please do not post in all caps.
We appreciate your input. But posting in all caps is yelling.
So, in future please refrain from yelling. Thank You. SiteMonitor}
I believe every effort adds up.
http://TheFrankFactor.com
Aggressive Progressive and Vertebrate
thank you!
I believe the reason there was no meaningful follow-up response is that you indicated that you have a MEMORY of recent events. No doubt that scared the crap out of him because the media counts on a memory-free audience.
In fact, the more I think about politics and the media, the more I believe that the biggest problem we face is something akin to Social Alzheimer's. Many think that American voters are "dumb," but more specifically the problem is that we have no political memory at all. As a result, the media can keep claiming this 'balance' garbage because most folks do not remember the issues you point out--the media probably forgets these things too.
For example, how many times does Michelle Malkin have to say blatantly and provably false things before the media will remember how pathetic she is as a 'source' (and a human being)?
so very well said.
You stand up to these 'bullies', keeping your cool, while bombarding them with facts & pertinent questions.
You speak for so many of us out here...and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
We're with you all the way!
Thank you Nicole for providing an invaluable service for those of us who read your Sunday am bobble-head lists and your comments - which result in hours and hours not wasted on watching these same old tired Rethuglicants who just don't get it.
ABC will never learn.
May they soon rest in pieces!
That might have been the very first right wing talking point ever created for dumb people to repeat ad nauseaum, a test, really, to see how far they could push factually challenged memes on the public.
tell me where a liberal channel is , and i will buy a tv .
every time you throw a little mud , you lose a little ground .
Thanks for the post. Really great job.
The corporate media is ridiculous.
The only way that's true is if you look at the last 8-3/4 years. Then, yes, you favor the winning party 90% of the time. Well done for correcting that imbalance the last 9 months. Good time for your conscience to kick in, eh?
Well done, Nicole. And yes, I would definitely like to see more of Rep. Grayson every Sunday morning on a wide range of issues.
I just sent a message to the show to ask them why it was that a comedy show like The Daily Show with Jon Stewart was able to book more interesting and compelling guest every night, and they have to rely on the likes of John McCain, Cokie Roberts, George Will, Peggy Noonan, and Michelle Malkin every week?
first class
every time you throw a little mud , you lose a little ground .
Peter Galbraith, US Special Envoy to Afghanistan, gets sacked by the UN Secretary General for refusing to let go of the Afghan ballot stuffing election fraud that the UN Elections Commission itself had documented, but then went strangely radio silent after G-20 when they all picked up their baaksheesh checks from Obama, and SecState Clinton backs Banki-moon up, Galbraith should be sacked, he was a 'trouble maker', and "can we just move forward on the election 'victory'?"
I have contacts associated with Galbraith who said Karzai announced his victory to his cabinet and ministers on August 25th, when the vote count was only 4% completed, claiming a 53% victory! SA Holbrooke flew to Kabul in a rage, having been cc:d through Hillary, and told Karzai in no uncertain terms that if he prematurely announced a ballot stuffed victory, he would create another Iran.
Instead, Karzai has privately declared a State media monopoly to US:ISAF, and required all contracts with Afghan nationals be made void, in favor of this new 'approved' State media arm, run by a Karzai cousin, and owned covertly by another Karzai living in Alexandria as an envoy between CIA:ISI!!
We are supported a corrupt ballot-stuffing crony narcomafia which has just taken over the media with a State monopoly!
Wait, that sounds like the United States!
hmmm ,
should read United Slaves
every time you throw a little mud , you lose a little ground .
Wow Nicole, you really "pwned" that "liberul' media" guy!
Rush Limbaugh is what a smart person thinks a stupid bigot sounds like.
In corp-speak, thanking someone for their input is translated roughly as: Go fuck yourself.
I wouldn't wait by the phone for that corporat to call though. He just may not be that in to you...
"Parachutes are allowed in checked or carry-on baggage, but may not be worn in flight."
---Southwest Airlines
I knew you would lose their attention the moment you used the word "blogger". To the vast majority of people over 40, a "blogger" is some kid that sits in their mothers basement and posts stories about what their best friend "Trisha" did on her date last night.
In the future, I'd use the term "contributing editor of an online political watchdog journal with over 10,000 daily readers" instead of "blogger". :(
* There are two types of Republicans: millionaires and suckers.
"Mugsy's Rap Sheet": Recording history for those who seek to rewrite it.
.
"Parachutes are allowed in checked or carry-on baggage, but may not be worn in flight."
---Southwest Airlines
Right on, Nicole! The problem is NOT one Republican equals one Democrat (especially when the Democrat is some Blue Dog DINO), but how the issues are selected and framed. Who do these villagers think they are fooling with this tripe about balance? But I keep remembering these are the kind of hacks who thought that it is a good idea to select a president on the basis of who you want to have a beer with. These are not deep thinkers.
Candideinnc
Great email Nicole. You made the guy think a little. Too bad you can't give us his email address but that is understood. Please stay on this guy's butt every week. A nice email like you sent him this week would do a reminder. Let him know how disappointed "we" are. Let him know that ABC has an opportunity to take the lead now that NBC has that fool David Gregory on. Let this guy know that we who read the blogs religiously on Sunday for our political news would like to watch ABC over breakfast if they would only put people on that would show a fair look at our side as well as theirs. Let this guy know that he would be doing his network a favor if he would not act like Fox News and bring on people who counter Michele Malkin (as you did very nicely).
The thing is, you have this guy's ear. Use it. Let your other "contributing editors and contributors of online political watchdog journals with over 10,000 daily readers" know about this (I'm sure you already have) and get them to write to this guy. Not all in one day. Everyday! Let this guy know he will get good PR if he only does the correct thing by being fair.
Thanks Nicole, I hope you opened up a dialog with this guy. Now if we could get Rachel to replace David Gregory so that he could move over to Fox News. 8^)
How about instead of reducing every issue to a simplistic binary equation of Republican vs. Democrat, you seek to actually inform your viewership ...
Enough said.
Keep up the great work Nichole!
I apologize for misspelling of your name Nicole.
the average ABC exec may not know what (a) binary equation is...
"Parachutes are allowed in checked or carry-on baggage, but may not be worn in flight."
---Southwest Airlines
... that this ripped the scales of this producer's eyes, but I think the Villagers are little more than adherents to an obscene cult of GOP-worship, and it doesn't matter how many facts you lay on the table in front of them, they'll run to their masters to have their worldview validated.
I simply don't think we're going to see a shift in how the major networks treat issues before they've essentially done themselves in. Honestly, for those of you who watch these shows, how old are you? I watched them when I was in high school, mainly because my father did. Upon leaving high school, I did not. The USENET, Gopher, FTP and the WWW later opened up the doors to a lot more detailed publications. This was before Netscape was even released.
I'm 34 now and I never watch any of these shows. The few times I'm exposed to them, they actually give me a headache. It's either people talking over each other or mild twists of talking points that have been repeated 1000 times. That being said, I actually don't personally know one person my age who watches these shows. News is either obtained through a couple of the major newspapers in my area (New York Times or Star Ledger) or through the internet.
I don't think there's much of a chance of capturing people like myself in an audience again. It wouldn't matter if they truly started dedicating time to informing the audience. I simply don't need them for that, have been thoroughly disenchanted with what they do for well over a decade, and don't particularly feel the need to follow their schedule. As people my parents age begin to naturally die off or lose interest in TV in general over the next 20 years, I think maybe then the networks will realize exactly how bad they messed up. What they replace their format with might be interesting, but I doubt it will be enlightening. I sooner see them putting on a show where politicians and pundits have to race each other through an obstacle course and win in order to be able to spew their talking points before I see one where time is spent to give the public the tools to learn more about issues.
I hate to puncture your balloon, but complaints to television networks aren't seen by anyone above the level of associate producer trainee who tells his intern to respond with answer number or deletes the offending e-mail. Which is dependent on how close to lunch break it is.
I have given up pointing out the obvious to the over the air or cable networks. They just don't give a flying *7^@ as long as the advertisers are happy. I AM amazed that Beck hasn't been put on lithium with his losses in ad sales, but maybe they put it down to a temporary thing.
I just quit watching. Same old crap differenct day.
Thank you for an article that needs to printed again and again. I am tired of the same political tools being on TV and regergitating the same misinformation time and time again. The only other time I was satisfied that someone had spoken correctly to the media was when Jon Stewart called out the "dickheads" on Crossfire.
It's about time someone said what needed to be said. Thank you. During the election I took snapshots of the front page news for CNN and MSNBC, and then I graphed how many times McCain/Palin made the headlines versus Obama. Biden was barely noticed. McCain and Palin had the headlines so many times more than Obama it wasn't even close to being fair. It was so one sided I was debating on writing an article about brainwashing.
Maybe it's called tipping the scales, but I'm glad America didn't fall for it.
Bush and the Reslugs bought up all the media and reporters so this is the horrible bullshit we have now, that refuse to tell the truth and get their facts straight.
Excellent emails Nicole. I really like the way you write.
============================================================
This related claim by Mike Murphy in an exchange with Rachel Maddow on Meet the Press yesterday caught my attention:
Continuing on discussion of partisan media divide, Republican strategist Mike Murphy — an MSNBC contributor during the campaign — said "there is kind of a freakshow business of each side."
"We have one-party cable networks now," Murphy said. "One of each. What that does is dumb down the debate."
"Is Joe Scarborough — which network is he on?" Rachel Maddow asked.
"He’s on your liberal network," Murphy said.
"So how is that a one-party network?"
"I would take your prime-time and Fox prime-time and say it’s the same dance toward dumbing the debate," Murphy said.
==========================================================
"... the same dance toward dumbing the debate"?
I'm a little surprised that no one on the panel questioned this claim by Murphy that there is an equivalence between the prime-time lineups in their effect of "dumbing the debate". If you compare the two lineups, the MSNBC shows (especially Rachel's) are far more intelligent and are far less likely to dumb the audience down than any of the FSN shows. The Fox shows routinely say dumb things, distort the truth, and tell outright lies.
hardest workin WHOA-man in show business
awesome relentlessness we can all look to;
now pick up your tweet/FB/MySP cell BlackBerry and metaphorically call your congressperson! donate money to Alan Grayson before Rahm tries to pencil Grayson in for Extreme Makeover... the one where they leave your face how it is but eviscerate the stuff between the ears...
hebbin hep us!
your name's Lebowski, Lebowski... and your wife is Bunny
Did anyone notice how David Gregory, in his Afghanistan segment on Sunday, parroted the Republican talking point (now virtually accepted as truth by all the Villagers): "keeping America safe"? He dogged it at least three times.
I miss reading your insightful posts, as do many others. God forbid we are ever forced to look to ABC News for insightful and trustworthy news coverage.
Where'd I go?
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