When did media commitment to fair and balanced become duty to report lies?

[prolesunited]

One of the basic tenets of journalism has long been a responsibility to tell both sides of the story. If a person leveled charges, reporters made every effort to get comments from the opposing side and then giving both equal time or space.

Responsible editors held stories until the facts were fully fleshed out, charges were substantiated -- until a genuine story had gelled. Blatant falsehoods never saw the light of day and if they did, they were always followed by evidence or experts that would point out the contrary was true or what the person making the charges stood to gain or where his allegiances stand.

Today, we barely see remnants of that tenet in place. I wouldn't even call what we see being spewed out of our television sets or splashed on the pages of our newspapers journalism.

Lies are given the same credence as truth, truth that seems to be a byproduct of a haphazard process rather than its primary objective. It is appalling.

We keep blaming our fellow citizens for being stupid, but I believe the media it to blame for feeding them a steady diet of junk news.

[papau]

1. I agree - he said/she said is gutless - and wrong

Thank God for the BBC and CBC

[Village Idiot]

5. The BEEB and the CBC

have shown that they are NOT above propagandizing for the government interest...

THANK all the GODS for the Independent Media and the bloggers!!!

[papau]

8. True - but BBC and CBC are light years ahead of the US Media

:-)

[prolesunited]

10. They may not be above it

But they certainly are not feeding people a steady diet of BS

[Pacifist Patriot]

2. Advertisements contain the only truths to be relied on in a newspaper.

Thomas Jefferson, 1819

[bryant69]

3. It is a serious problem

We'll have to see what comes of the future--but there are some positive sides as well. After all one of the reasons for this kind of balance was that the right wing news sources would get all jumpy and agitated at the "bias" in correcting Republicans. Now there are Liberals critiques of media that are just starting, but are growing. Air America for example or Media Matters.

I guess I'm saying there are some hopeful signs along with all the problems.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[Az]

4. Focus on profits have gutted the news infrastructure

Cut backs on resources and ability to dig into stories has rendered the news a useless organization. Without in depth research abilities all the news can do now is read the prepared statements handed to them.

In this day and age they are at the mercy of those that are best able to spin their own story. Not able to investigate the information behind the spin they can only report what the spokespeople for the various sides give them.

[blogbear]

6. amen! If we can rid ourselves of junk food then why not rid ourselves..

of junk news?

[mcscajun]

7. A gradual slide from journalistic integrity

1970s -- ABCs "Eyewitness News" -- that started the trend towards good-looking, popular team banter -- the 'friendly news'.

Couple that with the networks making the News Division pay its own way, rather than the prior situation, where the News Division was 'sacred' and wasn't part of the bottom line of the network's results. It was an accepted cost of doing business the rest of the broadcast day.

Then came the encroachment on American broadcasting and print media by Rupert Murdoch and his ilk. And the assaults continued:

The elimination of the Fairness Doctrine.
The dumbing down of the American populace.
Explosion of media outlets with the coming of 100-channel cable and the Internet made the scramble for ratings and viewers more cut-throat than ever before.
Media consolidation into massive conglomerate structures with the total absorption with quarterly profits.

Once, the news was 'sacred' -- now, it's just another commodity to be packaged, polished and sold to a benighted American public.

A necessary part of our democracy cheapened beyond belief.

[killbotfactory]

9. They don't report lies, silly

They just heavily infer them or bring on "experts" to repeat them so they can stay above the fray.