media cluelessness part 9,752

Glen:

No matter how corrupt and sloppy the establishment press becomes, they always find a way to go lower. Time Magazine has just published what it purports to be a news article by Massimo Calabresi claiming that "nobody cares" about the countless abuses of spying powers by the Bush administration; that "Americans are ready to trade diminished privacy, and protection from search and seizure, in exchange for the promise of increased protection of their physical security"; and that the case against unchecked government surveillance powers "hasn't convinced the people." Not a single fact -- not one -- is cited to support these sweeping, false opinions.

Some good examples of how this goes against public opinion polls. And how it MIGHT just be influenced by the media's own vapid coverage:

Here is a Nexus count of how much media coverage certain stories have received over the last 30 days, including the Surveillance State stories which Calabresi cites as proof that Americans don't care about their constitutional liberties:

* "Spitzer and prostitutes" -- 2,323 results

* "Spitzer and Kristen" -- 1,087 results

* "Obama and Rezko" -- 1,263 results

* "Obama and Jeremiah Wright" -- 466 results

* "Wall Street Journal and data mining" -- 9 results

* "FBI and National security letters" -- 149 results

* "Intelligence Oversight Board" -- 21 results

This is what establishment journalists like Calabresi always do. Their industry obsesses on the most vapid, inconsequential chatter. They ignore the stories that actually matter. And then they claim that Americans only care about vapid gossip and not substantive issues -- and point to their own shallow coverage decisions as "proof" of what Americans care about. That thought process was vividly evident with their obsession with the Edwards hair "story," when they all chattered about it endlessly, promoted it in headlines, and then, when criticized for that, claimed that it was obviously something Americans were interested in, pointing to their own media fixation as proof that Americans cared.

Do I smell something burning? Fiddle away, motherfuckers!!