I wanted to write a column about bias in the mainstream media. I wanted it to be intelligent, and filled with thoughtful analysis. I wanted to be fair. I can’t. There is nothing to be fair about. NBC, CBS, ABC, and CNN have their noses so far up Obama’s posterior, it would take the jaws of life to pull them out. And that, my friends, is a sad day for the country.1) David Letterman’s comments about Willow and/or Bristol Palin were beyond the pale, and absolutely echoed his disdain for conservative women specifically and Republicans generally. It took him days to finally apologize for those crass and uncalled for comments. His apology didn’t ring true. Truth be told, he would tell that joke again in a minute if he thought he could get away with it.
2) Brian Williams “news report” from the White House last week was a joke unto itself. He bowed to the President, and made comments like people weep when they leave Obama's presence. Even Bill Moyers had a problem with this one.
3) Matt Lauer was downright hostile to Sarah Palin when he interviewed her on the Today Show relating to the Letterman flack. He was rude. He was arrogant. And he should be ashamed.
4) ABC is doing a one hour “townhall” meeting from the East Room of the White House next week featuring His Holiness Obama, and refusing to allow any Republicans to participate in the event. And of course, the ABC Evening News will be broadcast from there also. It will be a one hour infomercial for Obama’s policies with no response allowed. The Republican National Committee is lodging a protest with the appropriate agencies…big woo. ABC has righteously proclaimed it is doing nothing wrong. Even Susan Estrich, one of the most liberal commentators around has a problem with this, stating that ABC could be as fair as it wants...but this looks bad. People remember what the see rather than what they hear.
5) CNN has apparently tried to stake out the middle ground in the debate, and failed miserably. Anderson Cooper used crass oral sex jokes about tax protestors. He later “apologized.” Of course, that doesn’t mean he didn’t believe what he said, because he wouldn’t have said it if he didn’t believe it. Anderson Cooper is openly gay, and so is his liberal agenda. His sexual orientation should be irrelevant. If he was a good reporter, he would be able to practice the "no bull/no bias" he to which he pays lip service.
6) CNBC, the NBC business channel, was ordered to lighten up on Obama criticism, and now offers Arianna Huffington and Howard Dean as regular guest commentators on its Squawk Box morning show.
What bothers me about all of the above is that these news networks are owned by conglomerates who have tacitly given their approval to the editorial content of their media outlets. Why? When things don’t add up, my general rule is to follow the money. If something doesn’t add up, it is usually money that is the missing in the equation.
GE is the most obvious of the culprits. Jeff Immelt is looking for huge government contracts relating to wind turbines and the medical information processing for General Electric, and he is willing to prostitute NBC news to get what he wants. I am a General Electric shareholder. And this is making me very angry.
As for Disney (ABC) or Viacom (CBS), who knows what’s in it for them. Time Warner owns CNN, and Ted Turner’s liberal bias apparently still remains at the news network he founded.
America has lost something in this near monopoly of liberal/progressive viewpoints in the most watched news broadcasts in the country. On the other hand, the American public isn’t stupid. Overall viewership for mainstream media news programs is down. The number of people watching Fox News is up. Rush Limbaugh’s listening audience has never been higher.
Sooner or later, the networks will have to wise up. As David Letterman has found out the hard way, you can’t afford to alienate half the population and keep your ratings up. Conservatives make up the largest ideological voting block in the United States. People know a snow job when they see it.
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