Will the Inaugural Protests Be Covered?

[BrklynLiberal]

by Danny Schechter

published by MediaChannel.Org

Will the Inaugural Protests Be Covered?

Some of us are old enough to remember that bright day in January 1977 when Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter got out of their limo and strolled down Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House. We remember it now with nostalgia because that more hopeful American moment is long gone. Now we have elections deemed "brief accountability moments" and a garrison state to insure the trains of social order run on time.
<snip>
Not surprisingly, the protesters will be out in force as they were in 2000. Back then, the press barely took notice of the biggest inaugural protest in American history. Writer Dennis Loy Johnson wrote a must-read little book called "The Big Chill" on "The great unreported story of the Bush Inauguration Protests..." (Melville House.)

The protests were ignored, he charges, "There seemed to be a determined and almost paternalistic effort by the media to soothe and assure the populace that everything was fine, that the democracy was running smoothly (as if that was the obligation of either print or broadcast journalists) that there was, in any case no dissent except from the usual suspects …"
That was then. That event signaled a new media paradigm for marginalizing dissenters
<snip>
So if media outlets can't or won't cover a major war in the making, is it any surprise that they won't cover the political war at home, right in their own backyard?

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http://www.progressivetrail.org/

[Lizzie Borden]

1. Just a wild guess...

No.

[Skittles]

6. you would be correct Ms. Borden

they might throw us a bone but they will refer to the "dissidents" and "dispruptions"

[LiberalEsto]

2. The DC local stations might show something

But no more than a minute or so. They will show film of the weirdest, most hippie-like protester they can find, to make the whole protest seem like it's a bunch of weirdos.

They'll also show any police-protester scuffling they can find.

I've lived in the DC area almost 15 years, and have gone to protests here since 1969.

However I'm sitting this one out. The last coronation protest was bad enough, with the cops keeping us herded in one plaza and letting us out one at a time after searching us. And then diverting us with more cops and barricades, so that we couldn't get anywhere near the parade route. This time is bound to be a lot worse, and my arthritic feet just can't handle it in the cold.

[Pachamama]

3. What protests?

America and God love Bush....those protests you saw in F9/11....Michael Moore made up....no protests....

[Q3JR4]

4. Um..... no. n/t

[Name removed]

5. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[TexasLawyer]

7. The foreign press will be interested

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=203&topic_id=290104&mesg_id=290104

But as for our domestic MSM, "the revolution will not be televised." (Gil Scott Heron)



The revolution will not be brought to you by the

Schaefer Award Theatre and will not star Natalie

Woods and Steve McQueen or Bullwinkle and Julia.

The revolution will not give your mouth sex appeal.

The revolution will not get rid of the nubs.

The revolution will not make you look five pounds

thinner, because the revolution will not be televised, Brother.

[Robbien]

8. The Washington Post admitted it downplays protests!

Last year, the Post's ombudsman Michael Getler investigated complaints that the Post had been downplaying protests and minimizing their numbers. He concluded that the complaints were valid. And it was done as a matter of policy. The paper carried a mini-mea culpa about its prewar coverage. And then it was back to news business as usual

It appears the WaPo believes that as long as they admit (to a select few) that they are biased it is okay to continue to be biased when reporting to the general public.

This article is well written and very interesting. Thanks for posting it.

[hatrack]

9. 100 protestors could soak themselves in gas and light a match

And Wolf Blitzer and Judy Woof-woof would report that Park Police were putting out a trash fire when forced to explain all that smoke.

[BadGimp]

10. HA

fat chance

[sarcasmo]

11. Local news no, Faux news no, CNN news no, MS NBC maybe.

My choice will go to Olberman. I have noticed that MR Olberman is one of the few true journalists left, him and John Stewart are where I get my TV news from.

[Selatius]

12. Mr. Olberman is irrelevant simply because of his solitary nature

If everyone on MSNBC whitewashes it and says it went off without a hitch while he says there were protests and anger against Bush, guess who looks like the odd man out, the kook, the "minority report"? It'd be Olberman. People would largely assume that Olberman was nuts because everyone else thought it was fine. After all, they'd think, how could so many news outlets get it wrong? Our media is supposedly "free." They'd assume that if everyone else says the opposite of Olberman, then they must be true, and he is wrong. It's easier to jump on the bandwagon than go it alone and do something dangerous like asking questions.

If liberals are relying on Jon Stewart for the news, something is broken, and it ain't Jon Stewart!