Why do I have to pay for this socialist propaganda? I'm getting tired of people ignoring the obvious bias.
1. CLICHES IN DEPTH. Neither NPR nor PBS use the same new cliches as the mainstream news media. My favorite cliche is the unending battle between the moderates and the hardliners (or extremists) for influence. The U. S. is divided into moderates and hardliners, but so are the Israelis, the Russians, the Iranians, the Palestinians, and every other government. Both PBS and NPR dichotomize the world in these terms just as enthusiastically and just as stupidly as the television networks, but at much greater length. The networks may say little in their 2 minute stories, but the public media says just as little in their 15-20 minute stories.
2. The TALKING HEAD NEWS. Almost any political science text will say that one of the primary functions of the news media is to focus attention on government leaders. This is even more the case with PBS and NPR than it is with the television networks. Some complain about the superficiality of pictures on the networks. But how could anything be more superficial and deceptive than the parade of government, special interest, business, and campaign talking heads who spin their way through a typical Newshour broadcast. The networks have beat reporters and do some investigation, but the Newshour has almost no resources to dig out its own stories, and, as a result, relies almost completely on the talking head.
3. POPULAR CULTURE FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE TOO GOOD FOR POPULAR CULTURE. Anybody who knows anybody who follows the public media knows that the public media audience is full of snobs who think they are several steps higher in life than the rest of us poor losers. But the public media operates on the same celebrity principles as the rest of mass culture. The audience for NPR follows their favorite NPR reporters and waits for Ken Burns documentaries with the same pseudo-personal devotion that characterizes fans of sports teams, boy bands, Britney Spears, and Brad Pitt. The only difference is that the NPR audience thinks that it has transcended the cult-like aspects of popular culture. Which makes them the biggest fools of all.
- Riccaric
1. CLICHES IN DEPTH. Neither NPR nor PBS use the same new cliches as the mainstream news media. My favorite cliche is the unending battle between the moderates and the hardliners (or extremists) for influence. The U. S. is divided into moderates and hardliners, but so are the Israelis, the Russians, the Iranians, the Palestinians, and every other government. Both PBS and NPR dichotomize the world in these terms just as enthusiastically and just as stupidly as the television networks, but at much greater length. The networks may say little in their 2 minute stories, but the public media says just as little in their 15-20 minute stories.
2. The TALKING HEAD NEWS. Almost any political science text will say that one of the primary functions of the news media is to focus attention on government leaders. This is even more the case with PBS and NPR than it is with the television networks. Some complain about the superficiality of pictures on the networks. But how could anything be more superficial and deceptive than the parade of government, special interest, business, and campaign talking heads who spin their way through a typical Newshour broadcast. The networks have beat reporters and do some investigation, but the Newshour has almost no resources to dig out its own stories, and, as a result, relies almost completely on the talking head.
3. POPULAR CULTURE FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE TOO GOOD FOR POPULAR CULTURE. Anybody who knows anybody who follows the public media knows that the public media audience is full of snobs who think they are several steps higher in life than the rest of us poor losers. But the public media operates on the same celebrity principles as the rest of mass culture. The audience for NPR follows their favorite NPR reporters and waits for Ken Burns documentaries with the same pseudo-personal devotion that characterizes fans of sports teams, boy bands, Britney Spears, and Brad Pitt. The only difference is that the NPR audience thinks that it has transcended the cult-like aspects of popular culture. Which makes them the biggest fools of all.
- Riccaric
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