ABC news anchor Peter Jennings said he's getting an earful on media coverage. Jennings is on a swing through battleground states, is he stumping for Kerry?
including Iowa and Missouri, where polls show the race could go either to President George W. Bush or Sen. John Kerry. "I think one of the best reasons to go on the road is just to listen," Jennings told KETV NewsWatch 7's Rob McCartney during a stop in Kansas City, Mo., Monday. Jennings said the media is now under the hot lights. "I'm a little concerned about this notion everybody wants us to be objective," Jennings said. Jennings said that everyone -- even journalists -- have points of view through which they filter their perception of the news. It could be race, sex or income. But, he said, reporters are ideally trained to be as objective as possible. "And when we don't think we can be fully objective, to be fair," the anchorman said.
You get an 'F' on both Peter....
Does the public think network news is fair? There are a number of opinion polls that show news consumers feel that the media does have a slant. Jennings maintains those polls may be driven by groups with an agenda.
Agenda: Get reliable truthful news.
"There's a whole industry of conservatives saying, 'Ah, it's those damn liberals,' and a whole group of liberals saying, 'It's all those damn conservatives,'" Jennings said. The problematic response, Jennings said, is the way people tailor the way they consume news.
No Peter. The problem is that your monopoly on the 'NEWS' is over. People can do their own research now. People can comment and discuss the news with others (some of which are very knowledgable - there are several here on Rantburg I respect). People can see that the MSM is giving the terrorists a free pass by calling them 'militants' or 'resistance fighters' instead of terrorists (i.e. someone who deliberately targets and kills innocent civilians) deliberately slanting the news (not mentioning the rapes or murdered children in Russa). People are realizing that the MSM is deliberately lying with the goal of directing public opinion (see CBS) - and has been for some time. The only 'tailoring' is to assign a 'credibility index' to news sources such as yours (zero).