Shame the devil

When CNN was first created: the idea of 24 hour news held the promise of greater, in-depth news coverage. It has turned into tabloid reporting.

I laugh when I hear people talk about the ‘liberal media’. All of these large media organizations are corporate owned and funded by other corporations. They serve the dollar, not the truth.

The bigger the information media, the less courage and freedom they follow. Bigness means weakness.

– Eric Sevareid

Both CNN and Fox, were so eager to break the story of the supreme court’s ruling on the, ‘Affordable Health Care Act’, that the both flubbed it and reported the wrong outcome.

CNN headline “The Supreme Court has struck down the individual mandate for health care. Mandate struck down” – June 28, 2012

Some eight minutes later, CNN started to get it right:

CNN headline “The Supreme Court backs all parts of President Obama’s signature health care law.” – June 28, 2012

In a participatory democracy, it is crucial that we have a vigilant news media that strives (if never perfectly reaches) objectivity and accuracy. But ever increasingly, it’s about the sound bite and the horse race of who gets it first. We all suffer for this.

There can be no higher law in journalism than to tell the truth and to shame the devil.

– Walter Lippmann