User Comments

1. 

   12/08/08

   NewBlogger2008

   At the rate congress is giving out money, why not. I am going to need a bailout for all my debt soon, do I get in line or do I just take a number.

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2. 

   12/08/08

   satijournal

   The revenue from my blog has dwindled to the point where I can't pay myself multi-million dollar bonuses! I need a bailout! Immediately!

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3. 

   12/08/08

   MadameX

   This gives rise, I think, to a new look at the necessity of/purpose served by journalists in America today. Obviously, there's the same issue we face with every other industry regarding layoffs and such (and that extends down to a lot of people running printing presses and driving trucks and all that, not just writers), but the issue of whether or not the print media bears saving as a social institution is worth a look. The "fourth estate" seems to be a thing of the past, and "news" outlets biased and overly influenced by advertisers. At the same time, new media makes it much easier to get a message directly to the public. Is the press still serving any kind of critical role in the U.S.?

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   1. 

      12/08/08

      NewBlogger2008

      MadameX- To answer your question, Sean Hannity and Alan Colms got it right when they said on their show that "This election cycle has been the death of American journalism". We have seen the media take sides on an unprecedented level and in such an important election, they really should have just stayed out of it. The way the media should have conducted themselves was "Here is Obama/McCain about to give a speech in this town" (they candidate gives their speech) "Here is analysis from a liberal and conservative analysts, you have 1 min each". But it did not go anything like that, every major media outlet chose which stories it was going to blow out of proportion and which it was going to bury to make sure their favorite candidate got elected. That is not journalism, that is political campaigning. Journalism is supposed to take an uninterested and objective view of a certain topic, but that did not happen. If the mainstream media wants to become as important as they once were, they will have to start becoming accountable to themselves and not throw fuel on the partisan flames.
   2. 

      12/08/08

      libertycast1

      Journalism in news is supposed to factual and unbiased, except for editorials which can be opinionated with yellow journalism making up stuff off to the side.
      
      What we see now is editorials all across the board anymore and the news is kind of fading out of the picture.
   3. 

      12/08/08

      xmarks

      News media is an entertainment industry. Their selection about which stories to show was more about getting ratings than which candidate the network wanted as president.
   4. 

      12/08/08

      MadameX

      NewBlogger, I think this predates the recent election cycle by many years, and I think that your "journalism is supposed to" makes assumptions about the role of "news" that are no longer valid. Journalists--television and print--are hired for one purpose: to sell advertising space. The mainstream media has no desire to be "as important as they once were"--they have a desire to make a lot of money.
4. 

   12/08/08

   Phoenix1962

   I am happy to see them go. Major news media companies are nothing but propaganda machines that spew out lies and half trues shaping the minds of those who refuse to think critically on the information they receive from these one sided so-called journalist. Let them all fall!

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   1. 

      12/08/08

      MadameX

      "Major news media companies are nothing but propaganda machines that spew out lies and half trues shaping the minds of those who refuse to think critically on the information they receive from these one sided so-called journalist."
      
      Unlike minor media companies, bloggers, editorialists, activists, etc?
   2. 

      12/08/08

      Phoenix1962

      Them too!
5. 

   12/08/08

   loverofjazz

   i'm sorry to see newspapers dying off like dinosaurs, but i guess it's a similar evolutionary process.

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6. 

   12/08/08

   libertycast1

   Businesses in competitive capitalism flow similarly to that of the capitalist economy and stock market as well as fiat currency.
   
   There will be ups and downs like it or not the question is how will the brace the fall of the downs when they happen.
   
   I still think that everyone has let their guard down in US since social security after the great depression and haven't planned accordingly. A bad guard to get accustomed to anyway considered social security has not social security since it became fiscal security.

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7. 

   12/08/08

   Phoenix1962

   MadameX said, NewBlogger, I think this predates the recent election cycle by many years, and I think that your "journalism is supposed to" makes assumptions about the role of "news" that are no longer valid. Journalists--television and print--are hired for one purpose: to sell advertising space. The mainstream media has no desire to be "as important as they once were"--they have a desire to make a lot of money."
   
   Sounds like you are calling them prostitutes.

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   1. 

      12/08/08

      xmarks

      More like business people. News today isn't any more slanted than the yellow press of Lincoln's day.
8. 

   12/08/08

   theboyjlowe

   Newspapers overwhelmingly supported Obama. That shows you how biased they are.

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   1. 

      12/08/08

      xmarks

      The editorial pages are supposed to have opinions.
   2. 

      12/08/08

      cooper

      Endorsements are typically biased as they are opinions as is punditry, but the support of Obama by publications which are otherwise conservative, some having never endorsed a Democratic candidate before was unprecedented.
      As for journalist themselves being biased, I believe this time around the bias was obvious and a direct result of the policy of the last eight years under Republican rule. This is really not a surprise considering the circumstances.
   3. 

      12/09/08

      Phoenix1962

      Fox and its affiliates went overboard trashing Obama.
9. 

   12/08/08

   Aoi

   So two threads in this discussion.
   1. Bailout journalists/journalism? No, but then again I'm against most of the bailout anyway, so I'm just being consistent. On the other hand, I've already started the process of turning my blog into a bank so I can get bailout funds, and into a city for the same reason.
   2. Death of journalism? Depends on your definition of journalism. We have plenty of news reports and plenty of "analysis" (i.e.: opinion, pundits, and other nonsense), and plenty of bias. But since these are private companies, all we can do is vote by watching the one we prefer.

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10. 

    12/14/08

    Majik

    I don't think that Newspapers are dying because of the recession. I think that newer forms of media are slowly rubbing out the old forms. For example if you take a good look around I'm sure that you can find one or two notable blogs that center their focus around news worthy topics. News papers aren't failing because of the recession, they are failing because more people are turning to blogs for news. It is evolution I think.

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