Politics: My feelings on the memo scam
Sep. 23rd, 2004 09:49 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lionkingcmslNow, I'm not going to say who did what to whom. That is for the pros to figure out, if they can.
I have my suspicions, but they are not the reason for this post.
No, the reason for this post has to deal why the media, in this case CBS News, got upset about being found out.
It has nothing to do with, as one person put it, "Republican Operators" (i.e. computer users) picking up the forgeries so quickly, but the fact that the public is no longer sitting idly by and swallowing, for the most part, everything the media has pre-digested for them.
Now the average viewer can log onto the 'net and with a few keystrokes check the validity of a story. Are you saying that there was a huge house fire on 1st and Main in Sacramento? Hmmm. Let's go to the local Sacramento news site and see what they say. No, that fire was at 21st and Main. Better get your facts straight news outlet, though the "2" could've been dropped off in error.
So, I believe, it is the ease of the viewer to refute a news story, that the media outlet wants to put their spin on, that has those media outlets worried/angry. No longer can they spin the news so their particular candidate wins.
Couple the ease of checking a story with the real time communication of the different instant messenger programs, blogs, forums, etc. you can see how things can get pretty messy for a news organization.
Want the news from Iraq, just log on to AIM and go to a chat room. There is probably a service (wo)man stationed over there that will give you the skinny in real time. No glossing over the facts. No media hype. (S)He'll give you the straight scoop.
So it is the loss of control of what news is shown (aired), and how it is delivered, that has the different news organizations, particularly the the major networks, upset/worried.
I see a time, as I think they do, that there will be no news hour, except on the local level, as everyone will get there news from the 'net. Heck, I do. I don't watch TV anymore, except at my parents and that the Discovery, History, etc. Channels. Broadcast TV has turned me off.
If I want the weather, I go to my "Favorites" and click on one of the "Weather Underground" forecast areas I have saved. No smiley faces, or animated fly-bys. Just what I need to know, when I need to know it. No sitting through sports, or human interest stories that don't hold my interest. Nor do I have to wait till 6p (actually 6:25p by the time they get to it) to see it.
Same thing with the news, though I may be repeating myself. I go to, normally KYW 1060 News Radio's web site and pick out the stories I'm interested in. If I want to check the stories in more depth, I can go to innumerable other news sites to check, and cross check, the story.
In other words, they no longer "control the horizontal and the vertical." They no longer "control what you see and hear". (Thanks Outer Limits.) You, the viewer, now have control, and the networks don't like that one bit.
So that is my take on the furor caused by those "memos".
Right or wrong, that's my opinion. And that's subject to change as I get more facts and I can form a more informed opinion.
I have my suspicions, but they are not the reason for this post.
No, the reason for this post has to deal why the media, in this case CBS News, got upset about being found out.
It has nothing to do with, as one person put it, "Republican Operators" (i.e. computer users) picking up the forgeries so quickly, but the fact that the public is no longer sitting idly by and swallowing, for the most part, everything the media has pre-digested for them.
Now the average viewer can log onto the 'net and with a few keystrokes check the validity of a story. Are you saying that there was a huge house fire on 1st and Main in Sacramento? Hmmm. Let's go to the local Sacramento news site and see what they say. No, that fire was at 21st and Main. Better get your facts straight news outlet, though the "2" could've been dropped off in error.
So, I believe, it is the ease of the viewer to refute a news story, that the media outlet wants to put their spin on, that has those media outlets worried/angry. No longer can they spin the news so their particular candidate wins.
Couple the ease of checking a story with the real time communication of the different instant messenger programs, blogs, forums, etc. you can see how things can get pretty messy for a news organization.
Want the news from Iraq, just log on to AIM and go to a chat room. There is probably a service (wo)man stationed over there that will give you the skinny in real time. No glossing over the facts. No media hype. (S)He'll give you the straight scoop.
So it is the loss of control of what news is shown (aired), and how it is delivered, that has the different news organizations, particularly the the major networks, upset/worried.
I see a time, as I think they do, that there will be no news hour, except on the local level, as everyone will get there news from the 'net. Heck, I do. I don't watch TV anymore, except at my parents and that the Discovery, History, etc. Channels. Broadcast TV has turned me off.
If I want the weather, I go to my "Favorites" and click on one of the "Weather Underground" forecast areas I have saved. No smiley faces, or animated fly-bys. Just what I need to know, when I need to know it. No sitting through sports, or human interest stories that don't hold my interest. Nor do I have to wait till 6p (actually 6:25p by the time they get to it) to see it.
Same thing with the news, though I may be repeating myself. I go to, normally KYW 1060 News Radio's web site and pick out the stories I'm interested in. If I want to check the stories in more depth, I can go to innumerable other news sites to check, and cross check, the story.
In other words, they no longer "control the horizontal and the vertical." They no longer "control what you see and hear". (Thanks Outer Limits.) You, the viewer, now have control, and the networks don't like that one bit.
So that is my take on the furor caused by those "memos".
Right or wrong, that's my opinion. And that's subject to change as I get more facts and I can form a more informed opinion.
