"quote approval" - How Washington Controls the Media

Ever wonder what happened to real journalism?

How Washington officials bested the media - CNN.com: ". . . quote approval for almost everyone, even when the story isn't nuanced or complicated, and that's where the problem begins. Reporters are easily acquiescing today to midlevel aides who seek quote approval. These aides aren't talking to make certain a story is more nuanced or better informed. They're doing it because they want more control of the story or to clean up a sloppy quote -- and because reporters let them. Baker called it an "effort to get more transparency but it's backfired. The town has found a convenient way to control the press," he said, referring to people throughout Washington and on the campaign trail."

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The problem with mainstream media "journalism"

The problem with mainstream media "journalism?" They are too often "wrong on the facts" and then there is the "partisanship." Two examples of many:

1. The night of the Wisconsin recall vote, CNN reported their "exit poll" showed the vote to be a "dead heat" and spent unbelievable amounts of time with "talking heads" about the significance of a "close race" or "Walker defeat." Later CNN corrected itself and said their exit poll showed 2 percentage point favor to Walker (still "too close to call") and then abruptly switched to coverage of the Queen's Jubilee. CNN was wrong on the facts (and their so-called "exit poll" was "garbage."). The election results in the Wisconsin recall vote were never "tied" or even "close." Walker's victory margin? Seven percentage points!

2. CBS Chief Moonves Attends Obama Fundraiser, Outs Journalism as 'Partisan': "Though he heads a news division, Moonves (CBS Corp. and chairman Les Moonves) said, "ultimately journalism has changed … partisanship is very much a part of journalism now.""

Someone once said, you have a right to your "opinion." You don't have a right to be wrong on the "facts." That's why I don't watch or listen to "mainstream media" anymore--I prefer not to be misinformed. To give other than "passing attention" to mainstream media "journalism" is a waste of time.

Your best source of news? The internet without question--I use a variety of sources including foreign sources, Drudge, Twitter feeds, blog feeds, and other news feeds, and of course Google uncovers whatever you want or need very quickly. The day and age of "news domination" by a few sources in New York-Washington are over.

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Why Everyone Should Only Get Their News From The Internet:

This Is Why Digital Media Is Winning - Business Insider: "The four of us were the only news outlets, as far as we saw, to bother going to the courthouse to get the document so our readers would know, as soon as possible, what Kleiner was saying in response to Pao's charges. . . .  We didn't see anyone from the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, or the San Francisco Chronicle. No one from CNN or the local broadcast channels. . . . In between running to and from the courthouse on the day the Pao filing came, we also broke stories based on extensive research, public corporation filings, and exclusive tips. You wouldn't get those stories anywhere but on Business Insider. We know that's a major reason why you keep coming back, and we promise to deliver more. At the same time, we quite honorably picked up on stories broken elsewhere and did sharp synthesis and smart analysis from others' reporting. It's not either/or. It's both/and. And it always has been. All that's changed is who's doing it, and who's doing it best. This is why digital media is winning. Because we are doing the work of journalism." 


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