The Meme Is the Message
“If George Bush had done [this] or said [that], do you know how the media would have reported it?”
Well, yes, I do, and you do, too.
But we’re now over two years into the presidency of Barack Obama and I think it’s time to retire this particular meme.
Of course, the media doesn’t play fair—it never has and it never will. Part of Media Criticism 101 that every schoolchild should be taught is that everyone, and I mean everyone, comes to an event with their own worldview, and that worldview affects how they perceive and react to the event. There is an objective Truth—we just each see a very small part of it at any one time (and some of us miss it completely).
U.S. journalists as a whole are predominantly progressive: for whatever reason (and there are several theories out there), that’s a fact.
So, how to handle the frustration when you see the mainstream media once again glossing over something President Obama is supporting, something they pilloried former President Bush for? Remember, the meme is the message. Moderates and conservatives should want the message to be forceful, straight-forward, and effective, not whiny, petulant, or weak.
So, no matter how hard it is, resist the urge to compare and contrast. Concentrate on facts, not feelings, and push back as hard as you can against the media machine. With "kinetic military action" if necessary.
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Jul '10
Re: The Meme Is the Message
Anne Coletta: “
Of course, the media doesn’t play fair—it never has and it never will. Part of Media Criticism 101 that every schoolchild should be taught is that everyone, and I mean everyone, comes to an event with their own worldview, and that worldview affects how they perceive and react to the event. There is an objective Truth—we just each see a very small part of it at any one time (and some of us miss it completely).
U.S. journalists as a whole are predominantly progressive: for whatever reason (and there are several theories out there), that’s a fact.
I don't see how Reagan won the election. No one I know voted for him!
Not everyone knows that the media is leftist and doesn't play fair.
That is why this is so effective.
May '10
Re: The Meme Is the Message
Andrew,
I was afraid to make the racial or sexual equality arguments. Maybe I should not have been. Thanks for doing it.
Jan '11
Re: The Meme Is the Message
I think it's important to keep pointing it out.
Like it or not, the media serves as the place where Americans find out about what everyone else is thinking. When the media distorts that perspective, it succeeds only because the audience is lulled into the belief that the media has correctly reported the state of things. That's why, every single time the media distorts an issue, we need to highlight it, and remind the audience that the media is actively distorting what they see.
Of course, I've seen media criticism where a conservative complains that Peter Jennings arched his eyebrow at a particular story. That doesn't sway me. But when they show statistics that a story that "hurts" Democrats gets passed over, but that the media leaps at the possibility of a Republican scandal, those are more persuasive.
Keep the pressure on, I say.
May '10
Re: The Meme Is the Message
My favorite canard is that because Fox News doesn't toe the liberal line, they must be lying liars and ultra-conservative. I love to shove this survey in their noses when they repeat the liberal talking point that Fox is evil. It shows that the only remotely unbisaed news coverage during the 2008 election was Fox News! This survey is also great because it's not Rasmussen, it's Pew, not exactly a friend of the right.
Jul '10
Re: The Meme Is the Message
"Moderates and conservatives should want the message to be forceful....and push back as hard as you can...."
So called "moderates" are not "forceful" by definition, nor do they "push" anything. Moderates get pulled.
Re: The Meme Is the Message
I agree with Andrew 100%. In any case, the media bias is much more egregious now than it has ever been.
Aug '10
Re: The Meme Is the Message
I agree. Pointing out “If George Bush had done [this] or said [that], do you know how the media would have reported it?” seems to me a very good way to "push back as hard as you can against the media machine." There's nothing intrinsically whiny about it. Pointing out that the Libya Coalition is smaller than the Iraq Coalition, or that Bush got Congressional approval and Obama still hasn't, is a powerful argument. Pointing out that the left complains about targets on a campaign map while yawning whenever their own radical wing riots in the streets isn't whiny or petulant, and shuts them up pretty good.
May '10
Re: The Meme Is the Message
Well said, Anne. Rather than whine, Republicans should laugh. The Left has long known the power of ridicule to make its object seem weak. While I don't recommend making a habit of insulting the hippies as they do us, we should treat their claims as the ridiculous distortions they are.
It's more about manner than content. But conservatives empower liberals by repeating their nonsense and responding to every baseless accusation. The Left controls the public conversation largely because conservatives enable them.
Sep '10
Re: The Meme Is the Message
I am one for presenting Obama vs. Obama as I've demonstrated in several posts. I believe this is most effective. Just present his words without comment. You Tube is great for that Let them defend him. I agree that the presentation couched in "when Bush did x..." is ineffective and whiney.
Oct '10
Re: The Meme Is the Message
James Taranto's "Accountability Journalism" pieces are excellent for pointing this out to Libs or skeptical Mods.
His "Which Party?" pieces are similarly effective in showing how reluctant the state-controlled media are to identify a Democrat's party affiliation in a negative news story while they identify the GOP in the opening paragraph, if not the opening sentence. I think it was a few days before many of them reported Eliot Spitzer's party affiliation. The more we point these things out, the more likely it is that people's skepticism of the state-controlled media will grow.
May '10
Re: The Meme Is the Message
Isn't the whining effective to some extent? It appears to me the Left does a lot of whining about everything and thus controls the message, regardless of what the objective truth is. The Bush/Obama comparison will necessarily fail because of the perspective of the people reporting what happened. The media assumed everything Bush did was suspect and there needed to be proof he was doing the right thing. With Obama, the media assumes everything Obama does is right and there needs to be proof that he is wrong. Because there generally is no standard of proof that will move the media off of their preconceived notions the comparisons are futile.
It always amazed me how the media meme wtih Bush was that he was generally dumb. Yet when it came to policies the media didn't agree with (e.g. Iraq) he was an evil mastermind able to weave several lies together to dupe the rest of us into going along with him.
The point that needs to be made is that the media is really not in the news business anymore, but opinion journalism occasionally supported by selectively citing facts that support the reporter's world view.
Jul '10
Re: The Meme Is the Message
While I think we should watch our tone for signs of whining, I disagree that the comparisons should not be made. They should be a side dish, not the main course.
The glaring inconsistencies need to be pointed out. Because if you let them get away with it, they will get away with it.
Nov '10
Re: The Meme Is the Message
You are correct, but that doesn't mean people shouldn't take personal responsibility for vetting their news sources.