Lots of speeches and talk about the middle class and healthcare and taxes, but too often the perspectives of working people are missing from the debate and the media coverage. So we're happy to be here be covering the convention with SEIU, the Service Employees International Union. SEIU understands that these issues need to be featured in new and different ways -- reaching beyond the headlines and bringing forward stories and perspectives that highlight and celebrate the voices of working people and the issues at the forefront of their lives during this historic election.
And don't just take it from us. Last night we had a chance to speak with Ted Koppel inside the convention center. One of the Deans of American journalism told us that the mainstream media is too distracted by what's immediate to cover what's important.
For more Huffington Post coverage from the Democratic National Convention, visit our Politics @ the DNC page, our Democratic Convention Big News Page, and our HuffPost bloggers' Twitter feed, live from Denver.
You can bet if their face is on TV, they are towing the party lie ... errr, I mean line, and dancing to the man behind the curtain and his music.
The game is rigged.
Everyone on TV is in on the game.
It's all sewed up, nice and tight.
Good cop/Bad cop.
Americans only have each other now, as the entire media is run by liars and thieves of the most scoundrelous kind.
Sounds like it is more about ratings then what is truly important. If there is something immediately available regardless of the truth and honesty about it, the MSN is all over it. They very very rarely attempt to debunk anything that is obviously an out right lie, and then end up covering it as a lie if and when they are forced into the corner of no choice but to debunk the lie rarely stating the facts or producing the evidence that debunks the lie. Such a shame in my book.
It's sad that his wisdom falls on too many deaf ears.
We need to have news organizations back in the hands of corporations not run by other corporations. The media needs to be an industry of its own and independent of all other industries. The pubic isn't served well when the MSM is owned by fairy tale vendors (Disney), appliance makers (GE), dream factories (studios), and other non-related companies.
We also need to eliminate the common misconception that infotainment is news. It's not.
I grew up in the old days when we respected media members with gray hair, wrinkles, and lengthy tenures. We felt more confident with their reports. We didn't always agree with them but we listened. Now the tables turned and those with long tenures especially in the Washington Beltway are scorned and disrespected just like the politicians they cover, if not worse. I wouldn't object if term limits were imposed on Washington journalists but who could enforce that and networks "sell" their images to enough viewers. As far as I am concerned, the likes of Sam Donaldson, Baba Wawa, Bill Kristol, Cockie Roberts, George Will, Dan Rather (gone) and others overstayed their welcome on the Washington scene. Commentators are worse. These days we can hardly tell their real age with beauty treatments, botox, makeup and cosmetic surgeries for both genders.
The only current long term journalists I care for include Helen Thomas, Charlie Rose, Ted Koppel, Jeff Greenfield, Brian Lamb and his people at C-SPAN, and Bill Moyers, Jim Lehrer et al at PBS. Some journalists at NPR are pretty good too. C-SPAN, PBS, and NPR are non-profit or near that. All three need funding but they don't dance to the tune of sponsors like the other networks.
Distration is their chronic tactic to screw around with AMERICAN MINDS.
Americans BELIEVE THE MEDIA. We will have another BUSH-MCBUSH in the
White House if we don't watch out!
Vote for COMMON SENSE: Obama-Biden.
But....Ms. Goodman has more journalism in the tip of her little finger than the entire MSM has in its collective person - and, horrible dictu, she isn't (a) perky (b) 'young' or (c) a "bubbleheaded bleach blonde" (courtesy of Don Henley....)
The absolute, most pointless commentary for the last month was the endless drivel about who will be VP. Empty, mindnumbing speculation. Just tell me when someone decides.
The worst question asked is always... "So, what's going to happen?" Either they don't know or it's obvious. In any case it's pointless. Can't they think of anything that might inform us about the issues even within the context of the horse race?
If I want entertainment and fluff I'll watch Access Hollywood, and the like.
All the MSM does is cover tabloidesque issues or covers he said/she said matters.
"THEY" drive the message, and the message is GARBAGE.
I'll watch C-SPAN or Lou Dobbs if I want to be informed and hear the "NEWS"
Everyone else is into gotcha journalism.
It's ALL "THEIR" fault that the public is being limited to real news coverage.
Apart from that I agree totally.
There are plenty of juicy stories or subjects out there regarding the plight of the American worker.
- Companies that punish workers with non-compete clauses. They fire workers and also prevent them to work for other employers
- Carple (sp?) tunnel syndrome
- Using credit scores to filter candidates
- Employers bullying employees about their political views
- Forcing employees to train their replacements, then firing them without notice
Don't tell me these stories aren't at least as "sexy" as Jenna Bush's wedding photos or bad airplane food!
Solutions for our countries problems can NOT be summed up in 2 sentences or a "Catch Phrase".
The ONLY people who want COMPLETE answers are the PBS crowd and they make up a Tiny percentage of the country.
This country can ONLY get back on track by educating the next generation. Maybe they can fix it before it's too late.
We MUST return to full funding for PBS as only one small part of a restoration of our media to its rightful place as the "fourth estate." Remember; You cannot have a working democracy without a working media.
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A true non-profit news organization funded by subscribers only leads to fewer conflicts of interest. However, gathering news on major issues and stories is not cheap these days and as you know, many PBS viewers don't contribute.
Even with corporate sponsors partly funding PBS, it has advantages over the MSM because:
- PBS is not owned by a corporation
- PBS isn't a publicly traded company on a stock exchange
- PBS doesn't have a profit motive like publicly traded corporations
- PBS staff aren't glamorized as media celebrities like many MSM anchors and anchorettes
- PBS informs viewers when a segment is a report, essay, analysis, commentary or an update
- PBS explores fewer issues but in greater depth and usually with participation of those with dissimilar interests and POVs.
- PBS edits stories, something sources of instant news don't do. Editing significantly improves the quality of news. Accurate news presented later is better than erroneous, incomplete or misleading instantaneous "breaking news".
- PBS involves participation of journalists from other news sources, even if some are competitors
It's unfortunate many viewers prefer infotainment. It's also unfortunate that our schools fail miserably in educating children on the importance of history, geography, civics and other subjects so useful in understanding current events. Jay Walking is a painful reminder of such