
 |
|
May 22, 2013
John Thorne:
They launched the 'Arab Spring' but now yearn for the good old days of a strongman
May 20, 2013
Richard A. Serrano: Is Meir Kahane's assassin now a changed man?
Melissa Healy: Genetic copies of living people from embryos no longer science fiction
Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Jews Inducted into Rock Hall of Fame; Anton Yelchin co-stars in New "Trek" film; Kutcher (but not Kunis) visits Israel; Jewish TV Star Praises Jewish Rap Star
The Kosher Gourmet by Cathy Pollak: WARNING: This WALNUT CAKE WITH PRALINE FROSTING, perfect for afternoon coffee, is addicting
May 13, 2013
Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo: Why the giving of the document that would permanently change the world could only be done in desolation
David G. Savage: Church-state, literally? Supreme Court weighing public school graduation in a church
May 10, 2013
Rabbi Berel Wein: Be all that you should be
May 8, 2013
Peter Ford: Why China is welcoming both Israel's Netanyahu and Palestinians' Abbas
Warren Richey: Obama administration quietly backs out of appeal over new contraceptive mandate
Fred Weir: At Kerry-Putin meeting, US-Russia relations thaw --- a tad
The Kosher Gourmet by Leela Cyd Ross : Almost too pretty to eat, this colorful salad with Sicilian inspiration will tickle the taste buds and delight your visual sensibility
May 6, 2013
May 3, 2013
Kids, kittens the Same? With employee perks at struggling Internet pioneer Yahoo! it's hard to tell
Sandy Kleffman: Artificial kidney offers hope to patients tethered to a dialysis machine
April 29, 2013
Roy Gutman: Poland's new Jewish museum celebrates life, doesn't revisit Holocaust
Mark Clayton: Terrorism in America: Is US missing a chance to learn from failed plots?
Kim Murphy: Boston Bomber's 'Svengali' Revealed
Pete Spotts: Tiny satellites + cellphones = cheaper 'eyes in the sky' for NASA
April 26, 2013
Clifford D. May: Defense in the Age of Jihadist Terrorism
Sharon Palmer, R.D.: How to feel your best -- with plenty of energy, a healthy weight and optimal mental and physical function -- without driving yourself batty
April 24, 2013
|
| |
Jewish World Review
January 3, 2008
/ 25 Teves, 5768
Baseball's broken trust what about traditional media?
By
Larry Elder
|

|
|
|
|
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
When the Mitchell Report came out accusing more than 80 professional baseball players of using performance-enhancing substances television commentators lectured viewers about "broken trust." One commentator, in particular, somberly expressed his disappointment.
I found myself asking, "Wasn't this the same guy who, as a motorist, struck someone on a bicycle? And even though witnesses yelled, 'Stop! Stop!' he continued through two red lights while dragging the bicycle underneath the car?" The commentator insisted he was "unaware" he'd hit the cyclist. Charged with leaving the scene of an accident, reckless driving, assault and harassment, the commentator pled guilty to operating a motor vehicle knowing or having cause to know property damage had been caused. The bicyclist, who reportedly required elbow surgery, expressed disappointment that the court fined the commentator only $250 with 70 hours of community service. Broken trust?
A few weeks ago, an MSNBC reporter covered French President Sarkozy's visit to China. With videotape rolling of President Bush flanked by Sarkozy to his left and German Chancellor Angela Merkel to his right, the reporter gushed, "(W)ho could not have a man-crush on that man? I'm not talking about the monkey, either. I'm talking about the other one." Questioned by the show's host, "Who's the monkey?" the reporter clarified, "The monkey in the middle" meaning President Bush. The reporter later apologized. Broken trust?
In a 1996 survey of Washington, D.C., newspaper reporters and bureau chiefs, 89 percent said they voted for Bill Clinton in 1992, while 7 percent voted for George Herbert Walker Bush. Numerous surveys over the years show reporters describe themselves as liberals or Democrats by a two-to-one or three-to-one margin. Broken trust?
ABC's George Stephanopoulos, this past Sunday, "interviewed" presidential contender Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y. Stephanopoulos asked Clinton about the appropriateness of using her experiences as First Lady when touting her qualifications for the presidency. Clinton talked about the substantive nature of her activities as First Lady, and said, "You were there." Indeed, Stephanopoulos was there. As a trusted aide for then-candidate Gov. Bill Clinton, Stephanopoulos campaigned hard for his boss's election, and then served in the White House. Now we watch the new, improved, "nonpartisan" Stephanopoulos "objectively" interview the likes of Sen. Clinton on his weekly TV show. But isn't this the same guy who, after Bill Clinton got elected, talked about his expectations for a better America through Clinton's vision of bigger government? Broken trust?
Meanwhile, over at NBC, we watch Tim Russert, a former aide to liberal Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, similarly conduct "objective" interviews. On their sister cable channel, we watch a sputtering anti-Bush Keith Olbermann and equally anti-Bush Chris Matthews "cover" debates and, in the case of Matthews, even host one! Yes, the same Matthews who spoke about the "criminality" of the Bush administration.
Speaking of "broken trust," how long did it take for the traditional news media to recognize that the U.S. military's surge was working? Some polls say half of Americans consider the country in a recession. Does the drumbeat of negative economic "news" coverage play a role?
On election night in 2000, a handful of journalists friends, undercover, of course told me that, in their newsrooms, they saw "objective" reporters crying when it appeared that Bush won the election. And whether covering the war, taxes, global warming, spending on education, spending on social programs, health care, abortion those who report the news side with Democrats.
Now, what does this have to do with baseball?
Despite the tears and desk pounding, baseball over the years has seen record attendance, and the pace of ticket sales for the upcoming season predicts another all-time high. As for the traditional news, however, the major networks' share of viewership continues to decline, and newspapers shed employees while downsizing. More and more consumers of news find other outlets to stay informed.
There are many reasons for this, but a 2003 Gallup Poll found 45 percent of respondents believed the media too liberal. A 2007 Zogby poll discovered 83 percent of likely voters believe bias remains "alive and well" in the mainstream news media. Ninety-seven percent of Republicans and two-thirds of independents call the press too liberal.
In the case of baseball, the owners knew, the players knew, and the fans either knew or didn't want to know. But fans remain fans. As to traditional media, perhaps skeptical viewers see a "broken trust" and now take their business elsewhere.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
JWR contributor Larry Elder is the author of, most recently, "Showdown: Confronting Bias, Lies and the Special Interests That Divide America."
(Proceeds from sales help fund JWR) Let him know what you think of his column by clicking here.
Larry Elder Archives
© 2006, Creators Syndicate
|
|

Arnold Ahlert
Mitch Albom
Jay Ambrose
Michael Barone
Barrywood
Lori Borgman
Stratfor Briefing
Mona Charen
Linda Chavez
Richard Z. Chesnoff
Ann Coulter
Greg Crosby
Larry Elder
Suzanne Fields
Christine Flowers
Frank J. Gaffney
Bernie Goldberg
Jonah Goldberg
Julia Gorin
Jonathan Gurwitz
Paul Greenberg
Argus Hamilton
Victor Davis Hanson
Betsy Hart
Ron Hart
Nat Hentoff
A. Barton Hinkle
Jeff Jacoby
Paul Johnson
Jack Kelly
Ch. Krauthammer
David Limbaugh
Kathryn Lopez
Rich Lowry
Michelle Malkin
Jackie Mason
Ann McFeatters
Dale McFeatters
Dana Milbank
Jeanne Moos
Dick Morris
Jim Mullen
Deroy Murdock
Judge A. Napolitano
Bill O'Reilly
Clarence Page
Kathleen Parker
Star Parker
Dennis Prager
Wesley Pruden
Tom Purcell
Sharon Randall
Robert Robb
Cokie & Steve Roberts
Heather Robinson
Debra J. Saunders
Martin Schram
Greg Schwem
Culture Shlock
David Shribman
Roger Simon
Lenore Skenazy
Michael Smerconish
Thomas Sowell
Ben Stein
Mark Steyn
John Stossel
Cal Thomas
Dan Thomasson
Bob Tyrrell
Diana West
Dave Weinbaum
George Will
Walter Williams
Byron York
ZeitGeist
Mort Zuckerman

Robert Arial
Chuck Asay
Baloo
Lisa Benson
Chip Bok
Dry Bones
John Branch
John Cole
J. D. Crowe
Matt Davies
John Deering
Brian Duffy
Everything's Relative
Mallard Fillmore
Glenn Foden
Jake Fuller
Bob Gorrel
Walt Handelsman
Joe Heller
David Hitch
Jerry Holbert
David Horsey
Lee Judge
Steve Kelley
Jeff Koterba
Dick Locher
Chan Lowe
Jimmy Margulies
Jack Ohman
Michael Ramirez
Rob Rogers
Drew Sheneman
Kevin Siers
Jeff Stahler
Scott Stantis
Danna Summers
Gary Varvel
Kirk Walters
Dan Wasserman

Tech Q&A
Mr. Know-It-All
Ask Doctor K
Richard Lederer
Frugal Living
On Nutrition
Bookmark These
Bruce Williams
|