Topic: Political Advertising
Ron Paul is Fair Game Tired of Congressman Paul being treated unfairly in the news? Cry me a river.by John Brooks
(Libertarian)
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
The mainstream media unfairly manipulates the american people? Nawww. For the last few months there has been a big outcry about the fact that Dr. Paul has hardly been mentioned in the news on television, the newspaper, and the radio compared to the other candidates. I would hope that people understand these news companies have(or should have) no legal obligation to provide equal amounts of coverage on each candidate and it is correct that things be that way.
The current news media was not created in a day. It's history is the history of America, since it's inception it has acted as a counterbalance to the power of the incumbent. For one sweeping example: The media's bias had swung to the left as a result of the near dominance of the presidency by the republicans in the 70s up until President Clinton. Kennedy, Johnson, and Carter all made the democrats look weak on the world, sparking a surge in conservatism that had only been balanced by the supposed voice of the people(the media). As a result of this bias combined with the popularity of President Reagan, Fox news channel found it's audience, was created, and was made an instant success.
No news distributor sells the news without having a hungering audience. The left drifting bias of big news created a demand for something that would counter it's slant and it was created, the demand satisfied. It was not meant to be fair and balanced, it was not created to provide us with the information we want to know. It was made to tell those who think in similar fashion what they want to hear and help them believe what they want to believe. The ablility to sway public opinion in this country is a very, very valuable thing and for those who wish to do so it is not cheap. These news organizations were put in place to serve their customers. In this case the customer might not be the audience that one would assume it is. There is a great deal of money changing hands before your favorite reporter comes on the air and if you refuse to believe so you are fooling yourself.
The earlier a person realizes what's really going on the better. It is simply arrogant to believe that an entity with so much influence does not serve it's own interests first. (Note for those strong believers in Google!) But for the followers of a relatively newly popular(though admittedly ageless) ideology it is also foolish to believe that media will begin to pander immediately to Dr. Paul's audience when their founding is steeped in very different schools of thought. If the message of libertarianism, to generalize, is truly as popular as it seems to be, a venue will be created to spread it. And if the message's popularity can compete, it's purveyor will eventually be able to do the same with big media.
Bookmark http://www.nolanchart.com/author181.html to keep up with my column. Questions, concerns, comments? E-mail me at johnsarticle@gmail.com.
Did you like this article? If you did, Thumb It! 9 thumbs so far
2008 John Brooks, all rights reserved.
Published: Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Last modified: Wednesday, January 30, 2008
The views expressed in this
article are those of John Brooks only and do not represent
the views of Nolan Chart, LLC or its affiliates. John Brooks is
solely responsible for the contents of this article and is not an
employee or otherwise affiliated with Nolan Chart, LLC in his/her role as a columnist.
Want to comment on this
article? Leave your comment here. Your email address is
required to track your comment. However, we will neither
publish your email address nor distribute it to other
organizations or persons. The only reason we might use
it would be if we needed to contact you regarding your
comment. All comments are subject to our
terms of use policy.
2008 John Brooks, all rights reserved.