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http:// --> Ashland, Oregon HOME Valley & State Sports Nation & World Opinion/Editorial Classifieds Business Columnists Obituaries Weather Archive Hot Topics Forum Photo Gallery Past Readers Polls Revels Etcetera Backpage O-Zone Special Sections Real Estate Guide Menu Guide Shakespeare Subscribe Contact Us Rate Card Place an Ad Online Games Movie Preview October 7, 2006 Amy Goodman takes on the mainstream media By Robert Plain Ashland Daily Tidings Bob Hunter, editor of the Mail Tribune, held the minority opinion at a forum titled "Is the mainstream media doing its job." In his opening remarks he said, "My task is to praise Caesar, rather than to bury him." Not only was a majority of the audience, who came to see independent media star Amy Goodman, in disagreement with Hunter's assessment of the establishment press, but the three other panelists, including Goodman, also felt the mainstream media has lost its way. "What matters is not the occasional expose," Goodman, host of the radio show Democracy Now!, said. "It's the daily drumbeat: who is on the front page every day; who gets quoted over and over again." Robert Scheer, another panelist who is a former political columnist with the Los Angeles Times who now edits an on-line magazine called Truthdig, said "there is no question there is a bias in the mainstream media." He noted that most newspapers have a business section but few have a reporter to cover labor issues. And Ralph Temple, a board member with the Southern Oregon chapter of the ACLU, said the corporatization of the media led to a degradation in the way the news is reported. He said 11 corporations own all of the major news outlets that a majority of Americans rely on for information. "In the end the news we get comes from the lens of corporate America," he said. "When we read that the Cheney Administration cut taxes for the richest 1 percent, these are the guys." But Hunter told the audience that he, and the rest of the mainstream media, is used to the criticism. "We get it from environmentalists and we get it from loggers," he said. " Conservatives are just as certain that the media is against them as liberals are that the media is not doing enough to expose the dark underside." And, he added, the American public should take solace in the fact that the press is so often lambasted from a broad cross-section of society. "You should not want us to take a side," he said. "If that is how the game is played, how do you know what side we will pick the next time." The panelists and the audience spent as much time critiquing the Bush Administration as they did the mainstream media, leading Scheer to pass some of the blame to the all of Washington DC. "Is the mainstream media doing its job, obviously not," he said. "But the question could be asked is the Democratic party doing its job. We wouldn't have an Iraq War if they were doing their job." Though the mainstream media was the focus of the debate, Goodman was the star of the evening. She spoke about how the mainstream media, led by the New York Times, gave the country a one-sided view of the situation in Iraq in the run-up to the war and how political activists are marginalized for their stances, rather than highlighted. "The mainstream media denigrates movements," she said. "The media should be covering power, not covering up for power." Jeff Golden, a Jefferson Public Radio talk show host, made reference to Goodman's popularity in Ashland. "It strikes me that the last time I was in this building and it was this full Amy Goodman was here," he said. "I wonder if that is a coincidence?" Staff writer Robert Plain can be reached at 482-3456 x. 226 or [email protected] Current Comments: If the day ever comes that reporters (media) can report the news without their obvious personal bias, liberal or conservative views...you know, just report the facts? Maybe if that happens, we the public can trust them and the complaints will stop. It's not the public at fault here, it's the history of biased news reporting in this country. Best example of this today is the New York Liberal Times. Oh, and which media outlet by the way is controlled by a specific corporation? Besides Ted Turner? Steve L. Iverson - Ashland,Jefferson - October 8th, 6:57 AM It is impossible to open your mouth and utter three words without being biased. It is impossible to "just report the facts." Any newsworthy story will have thousands of facts. Which facts appear in the report have been selected by the reporter according to the bias he brings to the story. It makes more sense for the reader to admit that bias is inevitable and overcome it by reading critically. James R. Ruston - Fresno, CA - October 8th, 11:33 AM Steve, do the research on the concentration of media outlets in this country. You can start with Fox news, which is controlled by a conglomerate headed by Rupert Murdoch. The reason that Fox News is so successful, that is profitable, which is the only measure of success for these boys, is that it provides an entertaining approach to news reporting, appealing to people who really don't want straight news. And, of course, it is anything but fair and balanced. James R. Ruston - Fresno, CA - October 8th, 11:38 AM Who,what,when,where,how; They could start with this."Why"-this is where we start down the path to biased reporting if not careful.I won't jump on the Fox News bashing wagon James, I have to admitt,after decades of liberal-biased(far left) reporting,it was refreshing to see someone (besides Limbaugh) come along and try a different approach.Tedd Turners CNN was much worse than Fox.I say was,because since Fox and even Limbaugh(like them or not)came along, the Libs have to be more careful..more fair Steve L. Iverson - Ashland, Jefferson - October 8th, 12:05 PM "you can start with Fox News"....yes go on.. is that it? That hardly sounds like a concentration of media outlets. It is interesting how Fox is frequently the only news network that is cited for an example when it comes to conservative bias, I can think of a couple others but for the most part the vast majority of outlets are very obviously liberal in their views and reporting Fox News does actually try to be fair and balanced even if they don't always hit their mark . C - Ashland - October 8th, 9:16 PM If you count all the media, not just TV, the vast majority of outlets are definately not liberal in their bias. Talk radio, with millions of listeners, is almost exclusively conservative. The majority of newspapers, not the vast majority but the majority in any case, are conservative in their editorial policy. The right wing propaganda machine has been dissing "the liberal media" for so long and so visciously that their view of the truth has become the truth for lots of folks. James R. Ruston - Fresno, CA - October 9th, 8:51 AM Who, what, when, where, and how. Right! The first media outlet that took that approach would be bankrupt in a week. Murdoch figured that out quick and it's why Fox News and its clones thrive. And by the way, they don't even try to be fair and balanced. They are conservative in their bias, period. Which is OK. All sides should be presented. The problem arises when you claim to be fair and balanced but aren't. That's called hypocricy. James R. Ruston - Fresno, CA - October 9th, 8:59 AM Okay James, fair enough-both sides show their bias in reporting.I think at times both sides believe what they are saying when they claim to be balanced, bias can cloud your preception. That makes it hard, they believe what they say. Now, about radio.The conservative talk shows are there because people listen to them,and must agree with what they are hearing or they'd tune out.It makes a profit.Unlike public radio-funded by tax dollars which forces liberal views on listners who tune out.Opinion? Steve L. Iverson - Ashland, Jefferson - October 10th, 8:02 AM The straight news on PBS radio is the most balanced news coverage I know of. The News Hour on PBS TV certainly has the most in depth news coverage of any network. Both regularly have conservative commentary. Since listening is voluntary, your comment about forcing liberal views on listeners is a bit ingenuous. I don't know how you could get something into the culture that isn't driven by the lowest common denominator of what sells to the most people except through public funding. James R. Ruston - Fresno, CA - October 10th, 11:57 AM Steve and James: Thanks for using this forum in such a civil manner...really! It is nice to see folks bang ideas around on something other than each others heads. My 2 Cents - Cyberspace, USA - October 11th, 11:24 AM 2-Cents, it's the nature of internet open forums to talk fast and hard.A short amount of space to get the point across doesn't leave a lot room for niceties.Then it gets contagious when one person talks hard to the other...I'm guilty of it a lot. James,I'll try PBS,didn't know they had a news hour.Where have I been?You said it best-public funding being used to drive something into the culture...not sure I like one group using tax money to push their agenda. Even when they mean well. JPR?? Steve L. Iverson - Ashland, Jefferson - October 12th, 9:27 AM The PBS TV news program is called the Newshour with Jim Lehrer. It starts with a news summary and then highlights three or four issues in some depth. PBS radio has two news programs, Morning Report and All Things Considered. Again, you have a news summary and then a series of special reports that range from the ridiculous to the sublime, some interesting and some not, and many are non-political. These are national as opposed to local programming. james ruston - Fresno, CA - October 12th, 11:18 PM What group are you referring to in your last post, Steve? James R. Ruston - Fresno, CA - October 12th, 11:20 PM James, I was asking about JPR? Is that a tax funded orginization. Jackson Public Radio. Very Liberal, but I have to admit, I enjoy alot of their content - Like; "All things considered" Steve L. Iverson - Ashland, Jefferson - October 13th, 10:57 AM Leave a Comment: Advertisement: Advertisement: Paid Advertising Inkjet Printers Student Loans Water Filter Helzberg Diamonds Mortgage Calculator Security Systems Advertisement: Copyright © 2006 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers. All Rights Reserved.