Blame the Media
Glenn has this post from a Thomas Bray piece debunking all the stupid complaints about oil profiteering. All worth a read, but this part is what I want to emphasize:
Why do most Americans have ideas which diverge so drastically from reality?
If you were an honest journalist or editor, you would be really interested in publishing information that is "news". Remember the big splash that feminists created with their bogus story on Super Bowl violence? It was considered "news" because the story was telling us a "fact" which was different than we thought. What we understood was wrong. Another great example was the poll this past fall that showed over 40% of the public thought we were in a rescession when the reality was that the economy is as strong as it has ever been in history. What a great opportunity for a story which would set the record straight!
There are hundreds of similar examples which come up all the time. From the number of homeless, to similar myths about hunger, the environment, racism and sexism (just to name a few of the worst topics of misinformation) and of course the war in Iraq today, the MSM consistently provides the American public with false information.
When the public's understanding diverges significantly from reality, blame the MSM. Even if they didn't publish the original misinformation, real journalists would jump at the chance to publish the "news" correcting the error. When errors persist for long periods of time, it is because the MSM is happy for people to continue to believe the lies.
most folks have a vastly inflated view of corporate profits. One regular survey of Americans found that the majority believes the average corporate profit is between 30 percent and 40 percent of sales, while the real figure is closer to 4 percent.
Why do most Americans have ideas which diverge so drastically from reality?
If you were an honest journalist or editor, you would be really interested in publishing information that is "news". Remember the big splash that feminists created with their bogus story on Super Bowl violence? It was considered "news" because the story was telling us a "fact" which was different than we thought. What we understood was wrong. Another great example was the poll this past fall that showed over 40% of the public thought we were in a rescession when the reality was that the economy is as strong as it has ever been in history. What a great opportunity for a story which would set the record straight!
There are hundreds of similar examples which come up all the time. From the number of homeless, to similar myths about hunger, the environment, racism and sexism (just to name a few of the worst topics of misinformation) and of course the war in Iraq today, the MSM consistently provides the American public with false information.
When the public's understanding diverges significantly from reality, blame the MSM. Even if they didn't publish the original misinformation, real journalists would jump at the chance to publish the "news" correcting the error. When errors persist for long periods of time, it is because the MSM is happy for people to continue to believe the lies.
posted by Stan at 11:46 AM
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