The Mainstream Media Has Something To Hide
To talk of “the MSM” – the mainstream media – is to allude to maybe the most successful hoax of all time.
Oh, there is a mainstream media. That I don’t doubt. Maybe it’s even as cloaked and as guarded as it’s rumored to be. Probably it’s biased as hell.
But that partiality? It slants to the right.
You want proof, naturally. Lest you think the rest of this article is going to be as radical as that statement, let me comfort you with a cliché: The proof is in the pudding.
Before I get to the pudding, I’ll first dispense with the simplest point. We can bypass entirely the field of radio. Except for people with acute media myopia of their own, everyone accepts that talk radio is a conservative medium of politics if not of pop.
So, that leaves books, television, and the internet.
Topping Amazon’s bestseller list are Glenn Beck, Dick Morris, Mark Levin, Bill O’Reilly, and Jonah Goldberg.
If the authors’ names alone don’t convince you, their titles and subtitles should be sufficiently instructive:
*Common Sense: The Case Against an Out-Of-Control Government
* Liberal Fascism: The Secret History of the American Left, From Mussolini to the Politics of Change
* Liberty & Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto
* Catastrophe: How Obama, Congress, and the Special Interests Are Transforming a Slump Into a Crash, Freedom Into Socialism, and a Disaster Into a Catastrophe
Scanning the bestsellers, the only indication of the left is that the right publishes books in opposition to it. Seriously, except for those pointed titles, the bookshelves show no sign of a liberal party whatsoever.
Coincidence might explain it, except that it’s pretty pervasive. Beyond the in-your-face polarity of the books I mentioned lays a more subtle conservatism.
There’s even a book about work, the “value of” which is explored through the lens of shop class, of all things. Explained by its subtitle as an “inquiry into the value of work,” Shop Class as Soulcraft is at home among the other conservative bestsellers. That its summary couldn’t be more apolitical points to the extent to which conservative sentiment has pervaded literature.
If subtlety is proof of the right’s dominion of books, then superficiality is proof of the conservative command of TV. Television is blatant in its leanings, utterly conservative and of that patently proud.
I could be referring again to Bill O’Reilly and Dick Morris and Glenn Beck – all loud-mouthed TV personalities – but I’m talking instead about ratings, which happen to be just as demonstrative as those guys.
FOX News is considered “the” conservative news network – “the” because it’s singular in its representation of the right.
But FOX is also “the” news network, considering that it has absolutely blown away the competition. In fact, the number of FOX viewers averages the combined total of the three major news channels. With viewer numbers more than double those of rival CNN, FOX New is hardly an alternative to the mainstream media. FOX News is the mainstream media.
So, that leaves the internet.
While conservatism drives radio, books, and television, the internet is decidedly tit-for-tat. For every Hot Air, there’s a Huffington Post. For every Drudge Report, there’s a Daily Kos. For every FITSNews, there’s a … well, I can’t quite think of a match for that one, but you get the idea.
But really, the internet is the only medium for which there’s even an ideological fight . . . and the internet isn’t even “mainstream media,” so there’s that.
However huge the “liberal MSM” used to be, that’s what used to be.
America is a country split down the middle on just about every issue, with both sides vying for that smidgen of an edge. This happens to be the one area for which neither side wants to declare victory.
There is a victor, though . . . it just happens to be the underdog.
Comments
By Mickey Blue Eyes on June 29th, 2009 at 8:18 am
I think Mande’s account has been hacked by someone from Daily Kos.
If we define “conservative” as anyone to the right of Joseph Stalin, then yes, Fox News is the conservative news network. Let’s compare that with the leftist new networks CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, NBC.
On the newspaper front, I think the “conservative” newspaper is Washington Times and maybe Wall Street Journal? Counter that with leftist news papers New York Times (who sets the MSM talking points), Washington Post, Atlanta Journal and Constipation, Miami Herald, Tampa Tribune, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, and their various “farm teams” in smaller cities.
If we grant that THIS WEEK, the majority of the best selling non-fiction hardcovers are conservative writers, consider that every week for the past decade it has been dominated by leftist writers.
And don’t forget that Hollywood and the entertainment industry is controlled by hard-core leftists. You can’t watch an entertainment show without someone someone saying something like “George Bush hates black people” or “Fox News sucks” or “Bill O’Reilly is a jerk”. It’s only the skinny-tie, wide-sideburns, large belt buckle crowd that publicly voices displeasure about ABC/CBS/NBC/CNN/MSNBC.
Okay, maybe in this instant of time, the MSM consists of Fox News, Glenn Beck, and Bill O’Reilly. But every other time, the MSM, or at least the MSM that the powerful and important people support, are the usual suspects.
By Rick on June 29th, 2009 at 8:39 am
Gee Mande, while you addressed the power of Fox, you might want to investigate why it’s beating ABC,CBS,NBC,CNBC,MSNBC,CNN and on and on. You might want to investigate why Air America can’t succeed in it’s programing format for talk radio. Since you assume that this means the country is right centric and thus will only support the right wing platform, you might look at the present administration and begin to rethink your premise. I expected a much more honest and lucid argument from you, but like most of your ilk, you speak much without the evidence to back it up. Another wasted opportunity Mande.
By Toyota Kawaski on June 29th, 2009 at 8:40 am
Monday to-do List
1)write an article that makes me seam intelligent (check)
2)go to clinic get testerone levels checked
3)hang out with losers at fits news
good greif Man-d what a busy Monday
By Pat Hendrix on June 29th, 2009 at 10:35 am
Rick,
Fox News is unstoppable on the upper end of the cable dial, the same channels that have infomercials, documentaries on Big Foot and reruns of Matlock, but gets clobbered by the ABC, NBC and CBC evening news broadcasts.
Mande,
The right has manged to create an entire cottage industry of “news.” I mean, why bothering reading real news when you can have your existing opinions validated by Fox News and NRO? It’s much easier that being burdened with using your brain. That’s why Air America failed, people like me found a bunch of liberal pundits railing against “The man” inane and insufferable. There’s better ways to spend my time than fortifying my opinions with baseless talking points.
By Mincing Words on June 29th, 2009 at 12:15 pm
I think perhaps Mande is missing something fairly critical- maybe conservatives are the only ones watching the news. Maybe liberals don’t watch the news. We know they watch Oprah. We know they watch Survivor. We know they watch “American Idol.” Tell me, do you know an average Joe-the-Plumber liberal who watches “Meet the Press”? Please. I know a lot of liberals and they do not watch the news, unless it is the nightly news right before they go to bed, to catch up on the local stuff. I know a lot of liberals who do not read, unless it is the latest Jodi Picoult novel or People magazine. They just aren’t interested in North Korea’s nuclear weapons testing, or that Obama managed to come to the same conclusion that Bush did, that there are certain foreign would-be terrorists that cannot just be let go, even if they can’t be charged with a crime.
(Before all you liberals get your panties bunched up, please bear in mind I am not speaking about all liberals. I am sure there are plenty that are well-read and well-informed. Oddly enough, however, the ones I know (and that is a number far higher than the number of conservatives I know) just aren’t that interested in real news. Also, this is not a condemnation of any liberal at all- just a recognition that different people are interested in different things, and that drives TV ratings and book sales.)
By Mike on June 29th, 2009 at 12:24 pm
Yet another piece based upon a faulty premise and flawed assumptions…
The notion that book readership represents some broad indicator of the entire population’s political affinity and/or general interests denotes a seriously misinformed view of demographics and the socio-cultural realities they represent. Pat’s point about Air America is well-taken and illustrative on this point: the fact that Air America failed so miserably certainly doesn’t mean that no like-minded audience existed for their material. The format just didn’t match the desires of that demographic. Culturally and socially, a certain conservative demographic just seems to dig listening to Rush, Hannity, and their ilk all day long (I’m conservative, but I can’t do it and don’t get it).
Book sales are not only a snapshot of time, but represent a narrow slice of the overall MSM even then (the “MSM” is obviously not a single, monolithic entity). When considered in the context of print journalism (especially America’s dailies) and general broadcast journalism, the contention that the “slant” is conservative is nutty. This isn’t the venue, but do a little checking on the academic research attendant to the self-ascribed political leanings of journalists from across the MSM spectrum.
The MSM is a big beast and represents more than just a few media outlets in certain time slots (remember too, Hollywood, the arts, and the music scene). Even within the journalism piece, however, Fox’s primacy in one area and the occasional blip of conservative titles on bestseller lists do not conservative bias make.
By Pat Hendrix on June 29th, 2009 at 1:01 pm
Mincing,
Except the majority of people with college degress, especially graduate degrees, vote Democratic. This is not based on some people I know, but extensive polling data.
Here is the headline of a Gallup poll:
“Obama Education Gap Extends to General Election
McCain leads Obama among those with a high school education or less”
http://www.gallup.com/poll/106381/obama-education-gap-extends-general-election.aspx
There are also studies that show people who listen to talk radio are least informed on policy. They also tended to see themselves as the most informed. You have to love the juxtaposition of arrogance and ignorance. But hey, it’s almost definitional at this point.
By dirtbogger on June 29th, 2009 at 1:09 pm
http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/1182883-media-control
2 wings 1 bird 1 beak! There is really no diffrence between CNN, and FOX, they try to get you to argue over Republican or Demacrat but we really only have one party to pick from, the WAR party! CSPAN is the only Channel that I can stand to watch, and only because of the call in viewers on the show Washington Journal. How ever Freedom whach on Fox does show a little promise.
By The Baldmongoose on June 29th, 2009 at 1:16 pm
Umm I’m guessing that the conservative media outlets have higher ratings because the market for news is flooded with a disproportionate number of liberal outlets. The left is spread out across the majority of the media outlets while conservatives are left with only a few choices. Naturally, the few conservative media outlets are going to get higher ratings.
By ts on June 29th, 2009 at 1:50 pm
“City Attorney found asleep in neighbor’s trash can”
That’s some trash there, Baldmongoose!
My favorite part:
“stain on my shirt from a porkchop the night before.”
Mmm.
Lawyers.
By SCCON on June 29th, 2009 at 2:28 pm
This article completely overlooks the fact that a disturbing number of folks under 30 (40?)get their news exclusively from The Daily Show which, by the way, may just be the “tat” for FITS’s “tit”.
By Mincing Words on June 29th, 2009 at 5:42 pm
Pat,
Good points, all. However, in my post, I said nothing about education level whatsoever. I separated the watchers and readers of news from the non-watchers, non-readers. And all the liberals I know hold at least one advanced degree. You are also correct in that a number of conservatives I know do not hold advanced degrees, but they do read and watch news and are very “up” on current events that have nothing to do with a couple with two sets of multiples capitalizing on their divorce while the whole world watches. (As you may have guessed, I am that rare bird who has entirely too much time on my hands, so I catch all the news- gossipy and serious :))
By Richard Brooks on June 30th, 2009 at 1:24 am
Mande, you hit a nerve with the dittoheads. Original thought serves us all well. Keep up the good work.