Dakota Beacon

What used to be the fount of solid journalism, the so-called mainstream media (MSM), has degenerated into a second rate cheering section advocating for liberal causes, policies and politicians.

Why place trust and confidence in the daily reporting of the major news outlets? What now passes for journalism in the MSM has become banal and trivial. Many newsworthy issues are not covered at all. It is little wonder the greater public turns to alternative media sources for their news.

One of the better digests of media bias is the Media Research Center headed by Brent Bozell, brother-in-law of the late William F. Buckley, Jr. Here is a smattering of recent evidence that challenges the veracity of the MSM.

Bias? Let’s see how editorial boards allow you to view the news. Compare the news coverage of the Chris Christie “bridgegate” story with the recent Veterans Administration scandal. The major TV networks (ABC, CBS and NBC) offered a combined total of 110 minutes of coverage on “bridgegate” in the morning and evening news shows. Later, when the VA scandal broke on April 23, none of the networks covered the story until May 6. This despite heavy coverage by cable networks, Fox News and CNN.

When Chris Christie’s “bridgegate” story broke on January 7, ABC, CBS and NBC immediately deluged Americans with criticism of Christie. In just four and a half days they gave about the same amount of coverage (112 minutes) to criticism of Christie as they gave in four and a half weeks to the VA scandal.

Another example. Racist remarks by Los Angeles Clippers owner Don Sterling take much higher precedence in news coverage than does bad news about the Obama administration. For years the MSM have given cover to Barak Obama. Beginning April 26 and for four days running, ABC, CBS and NBC offered 146 minutes of coverage on Sterling’s remarks.

By comparison, during the exact same period a series of stunning White House e-mails were released showing that the administration had a direct role in creating the misleading Benghazi talking points about the killing of four Americans including our ambassador. CBS spent two minutes discussing the story. NBC and ABC skipped it.

During the exact same period, ABC spent 18 seconds discussing its own poll showing Obama with the worst poll numbers of his career, but 46 minutes covering Sterling’s remarks.

Again, during the same time period, CBS spent 30 seconds covering controversial remarks by Secretary of State John Kerry that Israel would become an “apartheid state” if it did not accept a two state solution with Palestine. However, CBS devoted 52 minutes to Sterling’s unkind remarks. ABC and NBC skipped Kerry’s statement.

Finally, while Sterling’s rant received broad investigation by the networks over the four day period, remarks by Democrat Congressman Bennie Thompson that Justice Clarence Thomas is an “Uncle Tom” and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is a “racist” was not reported by any of the networks.

The third example involves network coverage of the IRS scandal involving targeting of Conservative groups. In May 2013 and during the first seven weeks after the IRS misbehavior came to light (May 10 through June 28), 136 stories were broadcast on ABC, CBS and NBC morning and evening news casts. After that, and for more than ten months (June 29 through April 30), only 14 stories by the networks gave slight mention the IRS scandal. Yet, over that ten month period, a multitude of reports substantiate the fact that the IRS “was aggressively targeting conservative groups, that IRS officials lied in their initial public statements about the scandal, and that the Obama administration has been stonewalling the House investigation.” These revelations received zero network coverage.

The MSM no longer holds a monopoly on the news, but they still exert influence. They no longer operate in a vacuum because the alternative media sees to that. The alternative media does what real journalists used to do.

Meanwhile, the MSM continues to prey upon the sentiments and dispositions of middle-America, especially the news-consuming elderly.

If Americans are being sold a bill of goods, chalk it up to the mainstream media and its low information consumers. What would we expect from a media that gives high precedence to a basketball owner’s racist rants and New Jersey governor’s non-issue “bridgegate” story while ignoring the failures of Obama administration?

Dennis M. Patrick can be contacted at P. O. Box 337, Stanley, ND 58784 or (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).