Journalism, RIP

Sean Hannity says this is the year journalism died. Unfortunately, he’s right. Bias has always been evident in the MSM, but they were at least pretending to be objective and made an attempt, a weak one but an attempt nonetheless, to present both sides. Those days are over. They are now full-throated Obama advocates, getting chills down their legs and having Obamagasms when he speaks. They are openly defensive when he is challenged or makes an error, and they are openly scornful of the Republican ticket. Having read the newspaper and watched television news since I was ten, I’m well aware the MSM are and have been liberal, and that has always crept into the reporting. But this is different. This is a monumental shift with significant repercussions. The Republicans must come up with a strategy to confront this advocacy on the part of the MSM. They aren’t playing by the same rules as before, and neither should we. Playing nice and expecting the media to be a fair referee will not work. They still have the whistle and the black and white striped shirt, but they have joined the opposing team. Speaking straight to the American people, as Reagan did, is not enough. Fox News, Rush Limbaugh, the WSJ editorial page, conservative blogs, et al, are fantastic, but they are not enough. Harshly confronting the media will inspire even more bias, but how much worse can it get? Not giving reporters access will do the same thing as well as take away at least small opportunities to get out the Republican point of view. The only way to make them take notice is to undermine the bottom line. I’ve canceled my NYT subscription, as have many others. A one stop, high profile website dedicated to correcting media bias about the presidential election, updated rapidly, is needed. The site could demonstrate to those who don’t follow things closely how embarrassing the media have become, as well as inform supporters with the facts to bat down the distortions soon after they appear in the media and hopefully before they gain traction among voters. Other ideas are needed, and action must be taken now. The election is at stake.