Dan Rather Slams Press Coverage Of War And Corporate News

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Dan Rather addressed the 2008 National Conference On Media Reform in Minneapolis on Saturday, where he warned of the dangers of corporate media ownership. Rather told the crowd:

Now, I have spent my entire life in for-profit news, and I happen to think that it does not have to be this way. I have worked for news owners who, while they may have regarded their news divisions as an occasional irritant, chose to turn that irritant into a pearl of public trust. But today, sadly, it seems that the conglomerates that have control over some of the biggest pieces of this public trust would just as soon spit that irritant out.

So what does this mean for us tonight, and what is to be done?

It means that we need to be on the alert for where, when, and how our news media bows to undue government influence. And you need to let news organizations know, in no uncertain terms, that you won't stand for it...that you, as news consumers, are capable of exerting pressure of your own.

It means that we need to continue to let our government know that, when it comes to media consolidation, enough is enough. Too few voices are dominating, homogenizing, and marginalizing the news. We need to demand that the American people get something in exchange for the use of airwaves that belong, after all, to the people.

It means that we need to ensure that the Internet, where free speech reigns and where journalism does not have to pass through a corporate filter... remains free.

We need to say, loud and clear, that we don't want big corporations enjoying preferred access to - or government acting as the gatekeeper for - this unique platform for independent journalism.

Watch Rather's address below:

Comments

[sector1463]

WOW. Go Dan Go! I do miss the real press of yesterday.

[Indubio]

I don't suppose anyone under the age of 50 would remember Dan Rather when he was a honest to god journalist and not a news anchor. If anyone understands the impact of media consolidation it's Rather because he was in on the process before it began. Rather was a hell of a foreign correspondent and I prefer remembering this about him then his work as an anchor. Regardless of his work at CBS, it would be foolish to ignore what he says just as it would be stupid to ridicule and ignore Scott McClellan because he worked for Bush. I suppose most people are too young to recall the roll Bill Moyer's played in the 1964 election. Moyer's was as much reposnible for the character assassination of Barry Goldwater as any one person and he did it using tactics that Karl Rove and Lee Atwater would appreciate and approve. Yet the left reveres Moyers. I'm willing to overlook what Moyers did for LBJ because his journalism has been top notch for a long time. Look past Rather's CBS anchor roll; learn about his work in Vietnam and his earliest work during the Galveston hurricane of 1960 (this make's the Katrina damage look modest by comparison): Rather's accomplished a lot in his life and what he says about his profession is valuable and worth considering.

[NoahVail]

Net neutrality now! And forever!

[Nobrun]

'....our news media bows to undue government influence'.

Really? Shocked! I'm really shocked.

[feculentlibs]

A lecture on this from Rather.....priceless.

[totalliberal]

He's still got it wrong. It's not the government that influences news stories, it's the corporations that tell the government what to say/print. There are no more countries anymore, just soulless corporate entities with no plan in mind other than for us to manufacture more crap cheaply and consume it. Even our pathetic flags and flag pins are manufactured elsewhere.

[edwcorey]

Government + Business = Fascism (per Mussolini).

[blueshield]

Wait, you mean I can't trust my cable / media / communciations conglomerate to give me journalism with integrity, facts and independence? There may be bias? Commercial motives in editorial decisions?

Well, that certainly explains the whole Tyra Banks thing, for sure.