by BAR executive editor Glen Ford
The 41 signers of an open letter denouncing ABC's farcical conduct during the most recent presidential debate may have thought they were doing the right thing - but they managed to send the wrong message. Although there is no doubt that George Stephanopoulos and Charles Gibson made fools of themselves and their corporate employers in the "worst" debate of the season, the signers failed to place last week's televised travesty in the context of the rapid extinction of any semblance of professional journalism among corporate media. In expressing hope that corporate media will "return to serious journalism" during the general election debates, the letter gives the impression that last week's debacle was an aberration - when, in fact, nonsense and lies posing as "news" has become the norm.
Corporate Reporters Tell Lies for a Living
by BAR executive editor Glen Ford
"The complainants gave corporate so-called journalism in general far too much credit for veracity."
About 40 journalists, drawn largely from the left-liberal section of the U.S. and British press spectrum, posted an open letter denouncing ABC's "revolting descent into tabloid journalism" during last week's televised presidential debate. George Stephanopoulos' and Charles Gibson's "gotcha" questions to the candidates were "a disgrace," wrote the signers - "the worst" of this campaign season.
All this is, of course, true. American corporate so-called "journalism" some time ago crossed the line separating that which is less than useful and outright disinformation. For nearly the entirety of the first hour of the debate, Gibson and Stephanopoulos wallowed in a sick caricature of journalism that should be preserved for use as future evidence when corporate propagandists will finally be punished for their crimes against reality - with additional penalties levied for inducing cruel and unusually excessive boredom. However, the 40 complainants, while deploring "ABC's miserable showing," gave corporate so-called journalism in general far too much credit for veracity, creating the impression that ABC's oafs, Gibson and Stephanopoulos, represented a qualitative deviation from the otherwise high standards of the moneyed media. The signers hope that their letter and "the public uproar...will encourage a return to serious journalism in debates between the Democratic and Republican nominees this fall."
http://www.blackagendareport.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=596&Itemid=1
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