Trusting commentators in the media?
Atrios (in a specific context) sounds forth on a problem which has now arrived on our own shores, too:
We here at DICK are shocked that the media are both so easily manipulated and can so easily manipulate in turn, we can certainly tell you.
"But, more generally, there's no qualification or particular expertise or license one obtains to get to talk about politics on stage, on cable, on the radio, or on the internets. In outlets with barriers like TV and radio, some people magically enter the "pundit club" through various channels. Some people earn their key to face time by being on enough rolodexes. Some people are actually experts in some stuff. But, for a long time punditry has consisted of people who don't necessarily know what the hell they're talking about posing as experts in just about everything. That's not necessarily as bad as it sounds, but it's made better if we strip away the pretense that everyone invited to talk about stuff on the TeeVee is actually an expert."Specifically in an Irish context, one can readily think of certain pundits whose presence on the airwaves or in print in a serious media publication is inexplicable. Why, exactly, should a PR liar professional be allowed hawk his or her services in the guise of providing commentary on political issues of which she has clearly no expertise whatsoever, other than obfuscation and spinning? Why is there still any pretence that the audience on Questions & Answers isn't stuffed with activists and that questions aren't pre-vetted? And on a tangent, just how did members of the Stalinist Worker's Party get away for so long (and are still in situ in some cases) in infiltrating the national media? And why do the numerous Catholic conservative activists in the media go relatively unremarked?
We here at DICK are shocked that the media are both so easily manipulated and can so easily manipulate in turn, we can certainly tell you.
| Permalink 
|
