Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Media Really Does Matter

I'm watching Gwen Ifill right now on PBS Newshour.
The subject is Al Gore and "An Inconvenient Truth".
The guests are two... hmmm... supporters I suppose, I can't remember their names. No contrary guests.

Ifill: "Has Al Gore been radicalized? ...Has he gotten over the 2000 election? ...Has Gore gone Hollywood? ....Is he planning to run in 08"

Hey Gwen! Are you a reporter, a journalist or a blinkered political junkie? Think you could spend two minutes dealing with the subject of the movie instead of the personality behind it? And do you think you could describe the CEI as being not just a bland "think tank" but as an organization exclusively funded to promote the interests of energy companies?
Apparently not.
C'mon Gwen, I know you're better than this! Or have you given up too?


CORRECTION: CEI is not "exclusively funded by oil companies" and to characterize it properly it is worth reading from it's own site :

"The Competitive Enterprise Institute is a non-profit public policy organization dedicated to advancing the principles of free enterprise and limited government. We believe that individuals are best helped not by government intervention, but by making their own choices in a free marketplace."

Hmm, ...sounds like they are super-qualified to provide unbiased views and information of envonmental issues. NOT!

6 comments:

billie said...

i stopped watching this show and all msm quite awile ago. i was especially disappointed when leher and ifill sold out to pbs- which is now run by fcc toadies. i stopped donating to pbs when the admin took over and changed the programming to more right-friendly shows. ifill is probably only doing what she has been told to do- and reports the news that she has been given- pretaped.

5th Estate said...

betmo...
I don't have cable and since the WTC came down no CBS and other reception is lousy becuase of their being no antenna.
Ifill was pretty good in the 2004 Pres. election debates, quite tough. It may not be that she is being told what to do, but she seems to have absorbed a lot of what some of us have refused---she's adopted a dangerous vocabulary and doesn't seem to add anything--she just facilitates. It's like she's on "soma" most of the time. PBS and NPR are the last redoubts of responsible broadcast journalism and the cracks are all to clear. These are perilous times for "true"journalism, and time and truth are running out.

billie said...

i quite agree. each time the politicians and corporations take over some other form of communication- another article in the constitution goes away. we are beyond flirting with a totalitarian theocratic state and are marching in denial towards the precipice minute by minute. not trying to sound like a crackpot but i see our democracy being replaced and only remaining in name only.

5th Estate said...

betmo
you sure know how to liven up a party!
pay no attention to the man with his head in the scanner, it's only me attempting a DIY MRI--looking for tumors.

Unknown said...

She wasn't reporting the news. News means you learn something..didn't sound like she asked anything newsworthy to moi.CEI is a great Investment firm that needs to be given its due, and shows like this apparently aren't going to do it either.

5th Estate said...

Dusty....
Ifill reported that the CEI was just a "think-tank", not that it is largely funded by existing energy interests , nor that it's mission is de-regulation and minimal government. It is not an investment firm.
Where the heck did you get that?
Thanks for leaving a comment and by doing so nudging me to review my own assertions . C'mon back--there's more than one side to an issue. Thanks again.