CBC's The Fifth Estate on US Media

http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/sticksandstones.html

Well worth 42 minutes of your time.

Interesting outlooks and yes very well worth watching ty Chip

Shadow

Chip, you weren't lying. Thanks for the url, I think I'm going to ask you from now on to tell me what to do with my time.

The Fifth Estate is a highly respected news documentary program.

My better half was featured on this program 12 years ago, thank goodness in a good light. He worked with the researchers for more than 3 months in preparation of the production.

I am suprised it is still on the air, because the CBC has been cut to the bone over the years. I watch it every week.

I really liked the part about Ann Coulter and Canada's part in Viet Nam. It just goes to show how these morons pull things out of their ass and people eat it up. Then there is Al Franken, who may be factual, but relies on emotion to get a point across. Extremism at its finest.

Be careful Taco. I have laundry and dishes that need doing

My favorite part was O'Riley backing up his point about a boycott of French products by citing made up statistics from a made up publication It's far from comforting that the highest rated "news" program in the US is the rantings of a pathological liar. It makes me wonder if people like O'Riley and Coulter understand the damage they're doing. I really liked Donahue's point about how our system depends on dissent, and that without it the whole "American Experiment fails". It's all very chilling.

Dissent is one thing, but untruth is yet another.

I wonder what the professors at some of the major institutions are teaching these days?

Any journalism students out there? Does objectivity still get taught?

Weedy I think in todays society people term it "Political Correctness" unfortunately its more of a guise as a method to control the masses "group think".

Then again I liked the part that said the more you watch Fox the stupider you got...wonder how many people watch fox..LOL

Shadow

Journalism as a college major is a joke. From the sixties through the early eighties, journalism students were advised to double-major in journalism and a useful field such as sociology, political science, economics, or history. Most did, because employers looked for that qualification. No longer. These days journalism students are taught very little about the world and how it works. They come into low-paying jobs without basic familiarity with politics, social relationships, human psychology, history, economics, science, etc. Being largely unprepared, they are therefore more prone to accept the word of so-called authorities, and less able to ask the necessary "hard" questions. And, for the most part, and unlike previous generations of journalists, they are unwilling to take the time and get the expertise necessary to do it.

The difference between the so-called "liberal journalists" of 20 years ago and the so-called "conservative journalists" today is exactly that: the ability of former to ask hard questions and challenge authority, the inability and unwillingness of the latter to ask hard questions and challenge authority.

The quality of journalism, at least in the US, has plummeted.

Not an uninformed opinion, btw. Been there, done that.

Interesting report on CBC. Thank you, Chip, for posting the link. Biased? Yes. Thought-provoking? Yes. So worthwhile for everyone.

edited to add the thanks

Thanks for the link Chip, I had to wait until I got home from work to watch it last night, but it was well worth it. It seems that of recent, journalists are valued more for their entertainment value than they are for their ability to report factual information in an informative, interesting manner. I think that the commercialization of journalism as a product by corporate media is largely responsible for this.

The business of reporting information has always been competitive in their focus on how quickly a story can be reported, how accurate it is and how relevant to the receiving public it is.

With the advent of television and instantaneous communications journalists moved away from being journalists and have become "news reporters" and "new reporters" have of recent become "pundits and entertainers".

Entertainers such as Ann Coulter and Bill O'Riley are not held to the same level of accountability that journalists are yet are perceived by the public as being just as credible. Therein "lies" the problem.

,

I dunno 'bout journalism students, but my Torts professor was a firm believer that anyone who gets news from ANY television program or network (local or national) is a complete moron...most notably anything from CNN & Fox. Which I tended to agree with. How can we expect to get any unbiased account of events from sources who have to compete in the entertainment marketplace for advertising funds? Of course you will never see a school being built in Iraq, because it is boring. You will never see that poor kid from the inner city obtain his first doctorate either, it is much more entertaining to watch one of his neighbors try to outrun a patrol cruiser on COPS...

Which is why I have now switched over to reading tea leaves for my news...I find it much more accurate, and less politically motivated.

And fun to drink too...

Wow, I can watch CBC documentaries without having to hook up my tv? Why did I, a Canadian, not know this? Oh the shame!

Thanks Chip.

Now here's a fun little quote:

There is no such thing, at this date of the world’s history, in America, as an independent press. You know it and I know it… The business of the Journalist is to destroy truth; To lie outright; To pervert; To vilify; To fawn at the feet of mammon, and to sell his country and his race for his daily bread. You know it and I know it and what folly is this toasting an independent press? We are the tools and vassals for rich men behind the scenes. We are the jumping jacks, they pull the strings and we dance. Our talents, our possibilities and or lives are all the property of other men. We are intellectual prostitutes.
– John Swinton, former Chief of Staff, The New York Times, circa 1880

I finally got time to watch it... now i'm all depressed *sigh*

I already knew most of it, it's just hard to watch all at once.

I ended up watching it last night. I love how the cbc puts lots of its programming on-demand and online.

As for this particular program... it leaned against the conservatives a little, but with due regard. For the most part I think it remained straight to the point and factual and did a good job of talking to both sides of the argument.

I didn't find any pointed or slanted questions or clips... so I'd have to say that this program was really good.

As for that O'Riley guy... damn. Somebody should give me an interview with him. We'll see who "shuts up" then.

That guy is such a prick and completely unprofessional. I can't believe people consider him a journalist of any kind. He sounds more like a guest on Jerry Springer.

LOL actually I think Jerry would have one of his "Men" kick O'Riley's ass before the show just so he understood the terminology of "Shut Up!"

Shadow

I was completely disgusted by the browbeating O'Riley gave to Jeremy Glick. The gall of him telling that kid that his dead father would be ashamed of his position. It was unbelievably offensive.

Yeah Rather cowardice if you ask me...hence why in many cases of government and media its ironic this country of so many highly intelegent people is lead around by the noses by so many stupid ones...go figure.

Shadow

Holy... fucking... fuck.

I cannot believe the combination of Ann Coulter's...
(a) claim about Canada in 'Nam
and
(b) shit-eating grin while making the claim.

No, seriously. The arrogance... I'm at a loss for words here. (*cheers from various parties* )

bill o'reilly has to win every discussion. his program is unwatchable. he's an ideologue unconcerned with truth.

ann coulter is worse. she's more skilled, and knows precisely what she's doing. she's said so.

ann is awful. bill is a self-important joke.

You really must see this documentary.