MSM: A Force for Far Left Negativity

TWO, that's right TWO media representatives attended the Move America Forward press conference in downtown Chicago this morning. Every major news outlet with an office in Chicago (and most of the smaller ones, too) could have sent someone over ON FOOT to cover this press conference. There were TWO.

Now imagine, if you will, a press conference starring Cindy Sheehan. OK, so no one has to imagine a press conference starring Cindy Sheehan -- we are bombarded by them day in and day out. I don't have TV, so at least I don't have to listen to the hateful, deranged diatribe...I just read it (i.e. President Bush is "a terrorist," "a murderous liar," and a "death monger") on the internet. And the MSM is practically wetting itself as Sheehan protests in Washington (or, as she put it in her 8/30 blog, the place where George resides between vacations) this weekend.

So why the disparity? Why is Cindy Sheehan such a media darling, while Deborah Johns is a media who-the-heck-is-Deborah-Johns? The "drama" of Casey's mom camping out in a ditch near the president's ranch is often touted as the reason, and I think it's part of the reason. But I think the biggest reason is that Cindy Sheehan's message is extremely left and extremely negative.

Think about all the MSM coverage of Hurricane Katrina. What were the dominant stories? They weren't ready -- but only if "they" referred to President Bush and/or anyone associated with President Bush. They didn't do enough -- but only if "they" referred to President Bush and/or anyone associated with President Bush. They didn't respond fast enough -- but only if "they" referred to President Bush and/or anyone associated with President Bush. They wanted to kill black people -- but only if "they" referred to President Bush and/or anyone associated with President Bush.

How many times have you seen a front page headline about what went wrong, only to find one about something that went right buried far into the newspaper? How large was the headline about Nagin's prediction of 10,000 dead, compared to the much smaller headline indicating that the actual count was, well, much smaller. How often do you open up your internet browser to find that the top news headline is about something -- anything -- where our government, up to and including our president -- is wrong, stupid, or downright evil?

When will the MSM learn that far left, negative stories only appeal to a small portion of Americans? Answer: they will keep following the same path as long as they perceive that it is financially solvent for them to do so. That's why WE have to take action NOW. As long as we keep buying their newspapers and magazines, watching their TV stations, and supporting them even while we silently disagree with the slanted, incomplete, and sometimes just plain false stories they feed us, we are complicit in their hijacking of the media to promote and spread a far left agenda.

The recently reported difficulties of The New York Times (read more here) should encourage anyone who is fed up with the dominance of biased media coverage. But we've got to stop giving our hard-earned money to MSM publications and organizations that wield their power irresponsibly. They are hurting our country!

My plea to you? Don't buy it -- literally or figuratively. Speak up about it because, if you don't, your silence will speak volumes. Hold these people accountable, because their job is to report, not opine.