Shown in the photograph
is yellow-orange and purple flower
"Texas Cactus in Bloom", Spring, 2002.
Beautiful in color, the long spines growing from this desert flower, areoles, and stems are painfully sharp.
Like a cactus in bloom, video and interview US news media has flourished. The glitzy special effects are good for the media business and Internet "hits", but often distract the US public from the painful issues presented.
Many plain black & white newspapers have folded, and with them, the "2 newspaper town" discussions of different views of a news topic. Most news readers will miss the more neutral presentation of issues: first page facts, editorial page commentary.
As perspectives on issues facing the US have become more polarized, so has the surviving news media. The liberal left took more control of many major newspapers like "The Washington Post" and "The New York Times". Center and conservative opinions were harder to get published in major news outlets.
Many individuals pulled out their computers to publish newsletters, blogs, and build networks to talk about news items and express opinions not welcome in the left liberal news media. FoxNews filled a publishing gap with many news stories and opinions from center and conservative journalists and editorial writers. FoxNews actually seems to have a diverse group of stories, including entertainment-style rants and raves, like Keith Olbermann, and raucous discussions, like "The Red Eye" shows. FoxNews gave former radio talk show hosts like now more conservative Glenn Beck a forum.
The US public might have been better informed by three or four major news networks at the 6PM and 11PM news, presenting the major news and issues of the day from a more neutral, more fact-based perspective. Many now tune-in mostly to the network or news personality who presents more of their opinions. To others, the news now has become advertising and entertainment, somewhat anxiety-provoking in a time of domestic economy worries and daily threats of Al-Qaida terrorism in the US, Europe, and around the world.
A September 28, 2010 Gallup Poll of 1,019 adults from 9/13-16/2010 (+/- 4% error) revealed Americans distrust the media more. 57% of American do not trust news media to accurately and fairly report the news, higher than the mid-1990s 45%. Only 43% have a "fair amount" or a "great deal" of trust, the lowest since the Gallup began ratings on this question.
In a consistent split along left wing and right wing populations, 59% of Democrats believe the news is reported fairly while 32% Republicans believe the news is reported fairly. But 48% say the media is too liberal, while only 15% say the media is too conservative. 33% believe the media is just right.
More on Fox in the next blog (31).
Corrections 10-22-2010: In the second paragraph, internet "hits" and "clicks" are a measure of readership. In the fifth paragraph, Keith Olbermann is generally considered to be a liberal left-wing news commentator. K. Olbermann has been included in indexes on www.biggovernment.com, generally considered to be a conservative website, in what on one accasion appeared to be a parody of a "right-wing commentator" on a FoxNews broadcast.
Graphic: "Texas Cactus in Bloom", Spring, 2002, Original Photograph by mkrause, copyright, 2002, mkrause381@gmail or mkrause54@yahoo.com.
References: A. Barr in Politico, 9/29/2010, H.Kurtz, The Washington Post, 3/1/2009.
Email mkrause381@gmail.com or mkrause54@yahoo.com to comment or request a copy of this or other blogs in the "Obama Accounting" series or other blogs posted by mary for monthlynotesstaff at http://monthlynotesfive.blogspot.com or http://monthlynotes.blogspot.com (monthlynotestwo-six) on www.google.com.
