Back in 1971 Edith Efron wrote “The News Twisters.” Her thesis was that the major media was distinctly liberal in its reporting. She used the coverage of the 1968 election to prove her thesis. The book was a bombshell in the Media Centers of this country and much time was subsequently spent by leftists seeking to deconstruct Efron’s thesis.
Thirty Seven years later one would have to be brain dead to not notice the advocacy journalism that exists in America. If you watch the major media market you’ll see them selling Barack Hussein Obama the way that Ivory used to sell soap. One indication of the infatuation of all things Obama one notices is that all three major news network anchors followed Obama on his recent World Tour much like Deadheads used to follow the Grateful Dead from venue to venue. Another indication of the bias for Obama by major media outlets was the recent refusal of the New York Times to print a submitted editorial by Republican Presidential candidate Juan Mequeno after Barack Hussein Obama had an editorial published.
On the other hand if you listen to talk radio you hear a constant anti-Obama drumbeat. The difference is that talk radio tends to admit their bias while the major media outlets still pretend to objectivity. Another difference seems to be that while the liberal major media bias is clearly pro-Obama, talk radio is more anti-Obama then they are pro-Mequeno.
From this we need to realize that we are now living in a time that is much like Europe has experienced for decades, which is to say that we live in a time of advocacy journalism. It is folly on any news consumer’s part to think that by listening or reading any one news outlet they can find out what the truth is, unless they have the infrequently found ability to listen and read the news looking for what has been left out or barely mentioned.
The problem with advocacy journalism is bad enough but it is compounded by the reality that for all the different journalistic advocacy that is going on, with all its supposed differences, it is pushing products that are surprisingly the same. What I mean by that is the advocacy battle by the different media outlets that is going on in the Presidential campaign is like a battle between those who favor mashed potatoes against those who favor fried potatoes. If your a person who doesn’t like potatoes at all you don’t see much difference and what you’d like to see is somebody advocating baked apples.
Christians need to realize the reality of advocacy journalism in order to practice reading for what is not present or for what is not emphasized. Christians also need to realize, as it touches the Presidential campaign, there is nobody in the major media outlets or the radio talk show outlets, who are advocating baked apples. In order to find baked apples advocacy one needs to turn to genuinely minority news outlets.
In order to find some journalism that will get one out of the rut of the majority news outlets I recommend John Lofton and the American View ( www.theamericanview.com ) as well as the covenant news and backwater report outlets ( www.covenantnews.com , www.backwaterreport.com). John Lofton of the American view is very direct and pointed in his radio interviews and some people take exception to what they consider a “ambush approach” but personally I like Lofton’s approach as it does not allow people who are being interviewed to avoid the contradictions in their views or policies.
At the very least a dedicated reading of these alternate news and opinion sites for 6 months will help one see what is often left out in the other advocacy outlets.
