My, how the headlines have changed since that blessed day on January 20. 'Iraq election hailed as great success,' was splashed across the top of MSNBC's website on Saturday. This is not only newsworthy, but significant to Americans. The headline is neither misplaced nor overstated.
It is, however, strikingly bizarre following years of negative, downbeat stories by MSNBC regarding Iraq during the Bush years.
Also notable is the blurb toward the middle of their web page about a certain "George Obama", half brother to our very own Barack Obama. George Obama was arrested for alleged marijuana possession. This is a story worth mentioning. It was placed where it belonged and was given the proper amount of attention.
However, had this been George W. Bush, imagine how MSNBC would've placed these stories. The two would've been switched around and, under no circumstances, would the blurb regarding Iraq been titled, 'Iraq election hailed as great success'.
The media ought not to put themselves above the likes of slimy politicians. In many ways they hold the same imperious power and have the ability to set the tone for and persuade the thoughts and minds of their audience.
George W. Bush had an abysmal approval rating in part because of media outlets such as MSNBC and CNN . Americans have only the words of journalists with which to base their opinion.
True, Bush may not have been the most popular president regardless of coverage, but the mainstream media was on a witch hunt in their portrayal of Bush. They knew the power they had over their audience, they used and will continue to do so until we begin to see beyond their misuse of power.
Note: The word "Obama" appeared three times in 'Iraq election hailed as great success'. After years of dedication to spreading democracy, I'll let you guess how many times the word "Bush" appeared in that same article.
3 comments:
Obviously the media is out to sell their wares. Guess we'll never know how the drug story might have played out. I wonder if the election results had anything to do with their new sense of hope from across the seas.
What did Fox News have to say about the election?
Seriously, I think the media had the bottom line right on Bush if you just look at the facts and sift through all the headlines. And just think, as a budding journalist you are on your way to being a part of "media."
I wonder if media will hange their tune a little with all Obama's problems putting together his cabinet. I'll bet these days it will be even more difficult to find someone with lots of money that didn't cheat on their taxes to get there, whether they are republican or democrat. The rich and wealthy stack the deck in their favor.
I recently readan nteresting quote in a book by Nelson DeMille: "for rich person there is a crime of some sort in the background." Or something like that. You get my drift.
All politicians and most wealthy people are cut from the same cloth. Greed + power.
Your comments about Bush spreading democracy is disturbing. It sounds too much like the spreading of christianity. How do we know they wanted democracy? That wasn't Bush's purpose. When the US wanted democract we went out and got it for ourselves. This sounds too me like another entitlement program.
Surprise! There's a significant correlation between consumption of online porn and Christianism:
Eight of the top 10 pornography consuming states gave their electoral votes to John McCain in last year's presidential election – Florida and Hawaii were the exceptions. While six out of the lowest 10 favoured Barack Obama. Residents of 27 states that passed laws banning gay marriages boasted 11% more porn subscribers than states that don't explicitly restrict gay marriage...
States where a majority of residents agreed with the statement "I have old-fashioned values about family and marriage," bought 3.6 more subscriptions per thousand people than states where a majority disagreed. A similar difference emerged for the statement "AIDS might be God's punishment for immoral sexual behaviour."
Utah is the country's single biggest consumer of online porn. You've got to love those Mormons.
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