Dan Rathers, Moyers Address 'Crisis of Journalism'

Dan Rathers, Moyers Address 'Crisis of Journalism'

rawstory.com

The day the National Conference for Media Reform began, the Associated Press reported that the event's top issue would be corporate reform.

Moyers and Rather did not disappoint.

Former CBS News anchor Dan Rather and journalist Bill Moyers addressed the perils of corporate media and the shared burden the media bears for the disaster of the Iraq war and the conglomeration of news organizations.

(visit the link for the full news article)

The importance of this issue cannot be underestimated--It is one of the most detrimental issues facing us in modern times. Corporate and Governmental Control and Consolidation of the Main Stream Media Outlets. They have been almost entirely infiltrated and corrupted, and are now serving as propagandistical weapons against the populace...If something is not done soon to reverse this course, we are in HUGE trouble. They are working on Iran next, which could well spark off WWIII. To these people, it is nothing more than huge dollar signs, but to the rest of us little "pawns" it is life and death...

"America's biggest, most important news organizations have, over the past 25 years, fallen prey to merger after merger, acquisition after acquisition... to the point where they are, now, tiny parts of immeasurably larger corporate entities — entities whose primary business often has nothing to do with news," Rather said.

Rather added by stressing the importance of the current political climate regarding Iran and Scott McClellan's recent book criticizing the Bush administration.

"The stakes could not possibly be higher. Scott McClellan's book serves as a reminder, and the current election season, not to mention the gathering clouds of conflict with Iran, will both serve as tests of whether lessons have truly been learned from past experience. Ensuring that a free press remains free will require vigilance, and it will require work," Rather said.

rawstory.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

Too bad both of these reporters have turned to complete crap in the last decade, I'd like to see someone who doesn't do a crap job on reporting the news to speak up about this issue. Dan Rather and his false Bush story, then Moyer with his pathetic Rev. Wright interview. I have a feeling both these guys have their own agenda just as the vast corporate entities have theirs. I actually like the NBC crowd outside of Keith Oberman who is just a left wing Bill O'Reilly. The problem with reporting or even writing...is that no matter what, there will be a biased...there are even bias history books. I think the only thing that can't really show a bias is mathematics.

[edit on 8-6-2008 by yellowcard]

Those two preaching media reform is like Son of Sam and Charles Manson preaching the First Commandment.
Coupla used up media hacks. They're the type of journalist we need to worry about.

Originally posted by yellowcard
The problem with reporting or even writing...is that no matter what, there will be a biased...there are even bias history books.
[edit on 8-6-2008 by yellowcard]

Good point; I noticed that Rather, in his speech, didn't except himself from criticism:

So when you hear me talk about the press, please know that I am talking about all the ways that news can be transmitted. And when you hear me criticize and critique the press, please know that I do not exempt myself from these criticisms.

And he emphasized that the role of a 'journalist' nowadays seems to be only reporting 'facts', and not even necessarily questioning those 'facts', a role much different than in the past:

But when a tough question is asked and not answered, when reputable people come before the public and say, "wait a minute, something's not right here," the press has treated them like voices crying in the wilderness. These views, though they might be given air time, become lone dots — dots that journalists don't dare connect, even if the connections are obvious, even if people on the Internet and in the independent press are making these very same connections. The mainstream press doesn't connect these dots because someone might then accuse them of editorializing, or of being the, quote, "liberal media."

But connecting these dots — making disparate facts make sense — is a big part of the real work of journalism.

He makes the usual points about media consolidation of ownership, and exactly what principles corporations are beholden to:

These are entities that, as publicly-held and traded corporations, have as their overall, reigning mandate: Provide a return on shareholder value. Increase profits. And not over time, not over the long haul, but quarterly.

One might ask just where the news fits into this model

And extends the cry for change to his peers:

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.

But he doesn't mention the key paradox here: in order for the public to in any way embrace such change, the very media outlets that would object to the result would need to actually cover these types of stories, and allow the observations of such problems to be considered 'newsworthy'. How can that happen? He briefly mentions the Internet, but as we all know news on the net is very compartmentalized, and although you might find support for various opinions, movements, etc., it rarely enters the public sphere unless the mainstream media acts to allow it.

Moyer's speech is available on YouTube, haven't watched it yet but I'm about to:

Bill Moyers addresses NCMR 2008

Here is the link to video of Moyer's key note speech at the conference:

VIDEO LINK

www.youtube.com...



Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been speaking out about this for years. And he is right on!!

Originally posted by Ian McLean
Moyer's speech is available on YouTube, haven't watched it yet but I'm about to

Wow wow wow! I just watched this speech. Incredible. Credible. Eloquent. So many quotable quotes! Here's a great sig line for someone:

"The Fourth Estate has become the Fifth Column of Democracy" - Bill Moyers

I'm going to repost the YouTube link as an embedded video:



This is a must watch! More conference videos available here.


[edit on 8-6-2008 by Ian McLean]