How big media shortchange the public

[Dave Faneuf]

Donna Wrote re Vietnam:
"I wanted the media to tell the truth instead of just repeating 
what the people in power said".  
 
I think today it goes beyond media "telling the truth".  There are a
number of differences in media today than as it was when you and I got
into the biz, to name a few;  
 
1. There are fewer of "us" today than back then.  With fewer reporters
more and more items get lost and unreported.
2. Consolidation has had a major impact on the quality of news coverage. 
There are fewer and fewer outlets where anything other than "breaking
news" can be reported.  Fewer still where it is allowed to be reported.
3. When consolidation first took hold, profit was the motive.  Nothing
wrong with that, but once the profit genie has been satisfied, power is
the next step.  I believe we are looking at the "power" genie right now.
 
I think today's media tells the truth "as they see it", but like the
computer geeks that we all know used to say.  GIGO.
 
My inital post that brought to light the Boston Phoenix article, written
by Camille T Taiara of The San Francisco Bay Guardian based on a report
by Project Censored was not to spark a political debate, (as it did
including some sharp words off list) it was to point out that the
slippery slope that I predicted years ago has arrived.
Dave