Rusted Sky

Hey, that's what happens when you elevate the free market as the solution to all public good issues, right? Isn't that what your party is all about these days?

So... this wouldn't be a problem if Kerry had been elected?

Dude - let's get real here. It wouldn't matter WHO was in the White House, or what party had control of Congress and the Senate. They'd STILL be going for the ad revenue.

J.

O, yeah, I agree, this has nothing to do with who is in the white house. That's not my point at all.

My point is that the Republican Party's current domestic agenda is largely based on the premise that the free market is the best way to address just about any social ills. (If Grover Norquist had his way, we'd fully privatize the fire departments.)

So I just think it's kind of funny when Republicans complain that news organizations are more interested in profit than in legitimate reporting, especially since under current law it is illegal for them to do anything other than maximize shareholder value.

Okay, I may have a strange sense of humor, but I find that _very_ funny.

Well, I don't really consider myself a Republican, Jason - I vote for who I think can best do the job, regardless of party. My criteria for job suitability may not match yours. Unfortunately, from what I've observed the Democrats don't have a clue, are out of ideas, and darn near out of time to correct their headlong dive into the political dumpster. So if that makes me a Republican by default... (shrug) Guess I'm a Republican then.

But I've been ticked for a long time by the focus of the media on making a profit. Hey, they've got to have money to pay for their costs, and that money comes from ad revenue, and that ad revenue is generated by persuading people to sit down long enough to watch commercials. No ratings equals no viewers, no viewers equal no ad revenue, so the focus will be on stuff that folks will WATCH, not what they say they want.

Oddly, what they say they want, as he pointed out, is not quite what they'll WATCH. (American Idol? Gag. Fear Factor? Gag. Who Wants to be a Millionare? Well, at least THAT one required a bit of thought. The various reality shows? Hey, we watch 'reality' shows on cable - science and how-to stuff.) We rarely watch 'news'.

Come to think of it, we rarely watch any of the Network shows... Hmmm. Anything good on tonight? (Not that I'll be watching it.)

As far as information goes - alternative news sources will be found by folks who don't want to put up with what's being broadcast. For example, I gave up on listening to regular radio - it was a downright wasteland. I went to satellite radio, and can get news that hasn't been edited into a soundbite short enough to fit between an 8-commercial break, a weather report and a traffic report.

I still find it hard to believe that folks obsess(ed) the way they do over Natalee Holloway and Michael Jackson's trial. Takes all kinds, I guess.

J.

Well, basically, we agree about the news and the problems with the news. And I apologize for lumping you in with all the other conservatives. Like liberals, you come in all stripes.

A real faith in the ability of the free market to solve, well, everything is definitely a hallmark the right wing in this country, and you can find that sentiment in spades on sites like Captain Ed's and Will Franklin's Willisms.

To make my point more seriously and less jokey, the destruction of the journalist culture in the last 20 years or so has everything to do with market forces, and so it makes a good example of how, just maybe, the market isn't THE answer to EVERY problem. I guess I just chose the wrong blog to make that point :)