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Are the U.S. media as transparent as the government?

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by lcjjdnh, Jan 2, 2014.

  1. lcjjdnh

    lcjjdnh Well-Known Member

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/erik-wemple/wp/2013/12/31/are-the-u-s-media-as-transparent-as-the-u-s-government/?hpid=z3
     
  2. DanOregon

    DanOregon Well-Known Member

    My anonymous source doesn't think so.
     
  3. boundforboston

    boundforboston Well-Known Member

    Probably less so. The industry that most wants transparency provides the least of it, at some shops.
     
  4. JimmyHoward33

    JimmyHoward33 Well-Known Member

    The industry asks for transparency of government, funded by taxpayers. What private business do journalists demand transparency of? What news org that is not transparent is publicly funded?
     
  5. JRoyal

    JRoyal Well-Known Member

    Shouldn't the words "U.S. media" in the headline for that be replaced with "tv media"? Like the story says, newspapers are generally much more transparent.

    And the issues of people resigning or being fired seems a little sketchy to ask for total transparency. Companies could face lawsuits for releasing too much information on personnel matters, so in most cases I think it comes down to trying to avoid being sued and not trying to hide something.

    Sure, there could be more transparency in some cases, esp. from our larger broadcast brethren. But government transparency isn't just a question of ethics; it's a question of the law and how it's been rewritten and reinterpreted to allow for the government to hide more and more. There are no laws saying media companies have to reveal internal investigations or personnel issues. Some of it would be good to practice, but there aren't laws requiring it for the public good.

    And as for anonymous sources, those are necessary for some stories.
     
  6. dirtybird

    dirtybird Well-Known Member

    The US media is not as transparent as the US government becuase it's not supported by public money. I'm all for media transparency, but it's apples to oranges with government.
     
  7. PCLoadLetter

    PCLoadLetter Well-Known Member

    That's just comically false. Maybe it made the Post writer feel a little better about himself, but it's an asinine argument to try to back up.

    I work in a market with 5 TV stations doing new. 4 out of 5 are owned by companies with significant newspaper holdings.

    The people who run TV stations and the people who run newspapers are the same people.
     
  8. JRoyal

    JRoyal Well-Known Member

    How many papers have stonewalled like CBS, though? Most are pretty transparent with how they deal with how they screwed up. Or do you have examples of papers that acted that egregiously?
     
  9. JRoyal

    JRoyal Well-Known Member

    Of course, that's the joy of message boards. You can post that something is "comically false" without providing any evidence that actually refutes it.
     
  10. PCLoadLetter

    PCLoadLetter Well-Known Member

    Oh, spare me. That's the joy of being a blogger -- you can say ridiculous stuff and people will automatically assume it's true.

    I can't think of a time when a network or newspaper didn't react the way CBS reacted. And the writer's suggestion that it's because people in TV view themselves as "talent" and not journalists is ignorant and insulting. It takes nerve for a fucking blogger to pretend he's a journalist and Lara Logan isn't.

    Bottom line: imagine it was reversed, and the Post screwed up the Benghazi story. When CBS calls, do you think the editor of the Post sits down for an interview explaining that the ownership also has a right-wing publishing imprint that had a book by this guy coming out that needed publicity, so they ran a big story on him and never figured out the story was bullshit? Because I do not, and I have never seen anything close to that from any media entity.

    And again: it's silly to act like there's some gulf between TV and newspaper companies. They are the same companies. Even the Washington Post owned TV stations, at least until the Bezos deal.
     
  11. MisterCreosote

    MisterCreosote Well-Known Member

    As journalists, you should know that the cabal of liberal puppetmasters owns all media. It should be right on your press pass. Duh.
     
  12. JRoyal

    JRoyal Well-Known Member

    Nice. Another answer that isn't an answer, just conjecture. Nice work.
     
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