BY: NCViking

I know this may be just an innate action being played out by the Washington Press Corps, but subtle as it may seem, it speaks volumes.

VIDEO: A comparison of reactions from the White House press corps during presidential drop-ins at the White House’s James S. Brady Briefing Room.

I believe the American people are being grossly underserved by our news media, and this is just the latest example of that failure. Most Americans still watch television media outlets, such as ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, CNN, and others to receive news on the important events that affect their lives. Journalists here have become absolute ideologues, world news is mostly ignored and most time is given up to discussion and argument between talking heads instead of coverage. Why? Because Americans would rather be entertained than informed … or at least that is what producers and editors believe.

The American television news media has evolved into something resembling a cross between a British tabloid and daytime talk show like The View. Headlines and news have been relegated to 30 second bits and a ticker along the bottom of the screen to make room for endless arguing. One or two issues are presented, then two to three talking heads bloviate about it endlessly, while a host chimes in to ride the one that doesn’t fit his/her ideology. The arguing often reminds me of this classic Monte Python skit …

Way ahead of their time.

Even Headline News changed its format to ‘HLN’ to become another Fox News-format clone. Instead of sticking to its original intent, which was serving Americans 30 minutes of news headlines that they were no longer getting from the other outlets, the network decided to join them.

The book Bad News: The Decline of Reporting, the Business of News, and the Danger to Us All, by Tom Fenton, (though a little dated) is a really good read on the subject. Fenton accuses the American news industry not just of having a political bias, but of being supremely lazy and incompetent. Anyone who has traveled abroad and watched foreign news outlets has likely experienced this gross inequity for themselves. I sometimes learn more about what is going on in America overseas than when I am stateside, which often amazes me.

This ideology-driven ‘Newsertainment’ approach is why a piece about Michelle Obama’s dress or The One’s naked chest on vacation are deemed newsworthy. Or why O.J. Simpson, Jon Benet Ramsey, Natalie Holloway, the Octomom, on and on and on overwhelm coverage, while 500,000 protesting government corruption and waste is ignored or ridiculed. And also why the Washington Press Corps would sit with disdain for one president and stand in respect for another. Objectivity and perspective is no longer ‘chic’ in America when reporting the news.

This little, subtle innate action by the Washington Press Corps speaks volumes on the state of the American news media. Information on the events that affect us all is selectively presented for entertainment value and comes grossly tainted through ideological filters. Journalism has taken a backseat to ‘manipulation of public opinion’, which serves no one for the better … except Washington politicians.

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