MyDD: The MSM is irrelevant

[quaoar]

In other words, it no longer matters whether the MSM counters the lies of the right wing because Bush voters only listen to the right-wing media now. So reality is also irrelevant. They invent their own reality now.

http://www.mydd.com/

< snip >

I think, however, that it is time we put the notion of the Mainstream Media to rest. The national consensus is dead, because there is no longer a singular institution of news journalism producing a singular, dominant view of political and current events reality for the vast majority of the nation. Take Iraq as an example. For the past three years, many on the left have ached with incredulity that nearly half of Americans still believe various things to be true: that Saddam was behind the attacks on September 11th, that WMD's were found in Iraq, or that Iraq and Al-Qaeda formed some sort of alliance ala the Taliban and Al-Qaeda. Further, many have placed the blame for this delusion on the shoulders of the Mainstream Media. If only the MSM was doing their job, Americans would not believe this. If only the MSM were actually telling them the truth, then Americans would know the truth.

Unfortunately, the reality is that the MSM has been telling them these things, which is perhaps the main reason why half of America does not believe them to be true. However, the audience of right-wing alternative media has risen to such a point where it no longer matters if the MSM tells the truth or not. For tens of millions of Americans, many of whom are the influential opinion makers when it comes to politics and current events in their social circles, an alternate reality is being provided by a vast empire of alternative, conservative media. This alternative reality operates in direct conflict with the reality produced by the MSM, and operates under entirely different standards of truth. Further, many aspects of the mainstream media have become so thoroughly dominated by subjective and opinion journalism that the mainstream media itself is simultaneously providing multiple, competing realties right alongside its "objective" news reporting.

There is no longer a national consensus in large part because there is no longer a single, or even a dominant, view of political and current events reality being produced by a hyper-powerful institution known in the blogosphere as the MSM. Other institutions have risen to become nearly as powerful as the MSM (see here and here for two examples). Hell, the liberal blogosphere now serves more Americans under 55 than Fox, CNN and MSNBC combined. With the death of the mainstream media and the national consensus came the death of pragmatic liberalism as the core governing philosophy of the country, which governed most of the nation from 1932-1994. Theory and faith are now able to take on equal relevance with pragmatism and objectivity, as there are now equally powerful institutions driving a theoretical and faith-based view of political reality as there once were driving pragmatism and objectivity. Considering this, any Vast-Left Wing Conspiracy, if successful, must take as it primary aim not to simply influence the remains of the MSM, but instead to create an entire alternative media empire at least as powerful as the current, languishing manifestation of the MSM.

What brought this on, you might ask? Why, the conservative alternative media has decided that the Downing Street Memo is a fake. This is because the reporter, Michael Smith, made copies of the memo, and could have potentially changed anything he so desired from the original. Of course, this means to conservatives that he definitely did make changes, and thus the entire thing should be dropped instantly. This story is already on every major conservative blog and Drudge. It won't be long before it is on every conservative and evangelical radio outlet, not to mention Fox News. Conservative commentators in so-called liberal outlets will be trumpeting it after them.
< snip >

[AuntiBush]

1. Tell Them To Listen to AirAmericaRadio: Springer is Live in Florida

right now and the masses sound pretty pissed.

[Frances]

2. Thought provoking article

Thanks for posting the link.

[quaoar]

3. I thought so too

Which is why I'm going to bump it.

[Frances]

4. Another explanation

The author writes, "Theory and faith are now able to take on equal relevance with pragmatism and objectivity, as there are now equally powerful institutions driving a theoretical and faith-based view of political reality as there once were driving pragmatism and objectivity."

I grew up in the segregated South where the newspapers and radio stations were 99% owned by whites. It's true that there was a 15 minute national news program on the radio at night and there was news off the wires, but most of our news came from locals. And most of it was based on theory and faith. Many of our newspapers never even mentioned the civil rights movement and those that did were not objective.

We never examined race based on fact or reason or science. We started from the supposition that the white race was superior and then we justified that position with faith and our own made-up theory. The majority of whites were sure that the Bible and Nature supported segregation (if God had wanted whites and blacks to marry then He would have had red birds and blue birds mate--yes that was an argument that I heard).

So why is theory and faith dominant in the country as a whole now rather than just in the South (and rural areas all over the country, including California where I now live)? Because of population shifts. And because of a willingness on the part of unscrupulous people like Atwater and Rove to manipulate the people who believe in faith.