Pushing Back (Part 2) - Biased News Media

Recap

In earlier entries, I discussed the idea that we Americans can and should do more than just complain about things. If we want positive change, we need to do things to make that change happen. Moreover our actions need to be sound money making solutions to attract the right sort of people. So with that quick recap, lets move on with some solutions.


Problem

Lets talk about news media today. News media is a major factor on the American masses. So many people listen to the news and believe without questioning. The media has a lot of power over what Americans think and how they vote. But how do we know we can trust them with so much power? How do we know that they are not lying to us simply for their own gain? The sad truth is we don’t and they are lying to us.

Who can forget the situation when Dan Rather was trying so hard to make George W. Bush look bad, that he falsely reported the National Guard story without validated proof. This is a clear-cut case of false reporting, but hardly an isolated case. The media needs to report the news, not create it, but that is what goes on all the time.

I believe that after years of bashing George W. Bush, the media managed to convince the American public to vote for Obama. Sadly a lot of people voted for him without considering his policies. I have spoken to a lot of people that now regret that they didn’t look into his policies more before voting.

So clearly the media has tremendous power, but who is regulating them? Well for the most part, they are unregulated, and that is a scary thought.

Often times the media will toss out a major, and devastating story with the power to crushes people’s life. If they are proven wrong about their information, we are lucky if they publish a tiny, and often buried, retraction. Well I don’t think that is right. They need to be accountable for their actions and their stories.


Solution

I propose a for-profit origination along the lines of Consumer Reports that monitors and rates, reporters and publishers for creditably.

Items like bias, false reporting, balanced reporting, and retractions would all be monitored. This origination would likely follow and publicly expose reporters and publishers that violated the rules. (Much in the same way the attack others today) The origination would sell advertising space and the sensational reports would make for a great deal of interest. People would love to watch a high profile reporter being questioned while they try to avoid the interview and cover-up the camera lines with their hand. Something about the irony in this makes it such a delicious idea.

On the flip side, honest and unbiased media outlets could register with the origination for a fee. They would be featured on the website as a credible source. Training may also be offered to members to help media outlets less bias. This would allow them to market themselves as a trust worthy news source.

In my mind, the great thing about this solution is that we have the ability to create a profitable resistance to the negative things we see in the media. We can do it without, passing a new law or asking for government intervention. We can do it the right way. We can do it the true American way.