The Collapse of the MsM in America?
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet
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The Mainstream Media (MsM) in America, especially, has gone all out to support Obama and anything Obama does. They have dropped nearly all their pretense of unbiased reporting. Well, most of it anyway. Some of the old press vets are still clinging to claims of “unbiased reporting”, but they are “aging-out” and will soon be gone from the American scene.
All of this has not gone unnoticed by the consumers of “news” in America and those consumers (of which, I am one) have been, and ARE, upset and disappointed with the MsM’s obvious lack of unbiased reporting. The backlash has already begun.
Look at the financial mess the MSM in America finds itself today. All the financial problems of the MsM cannot be blamed on the Recession, because their collapse began long before the recession set in.
Why do you suppose the implosion of the MsM began at this point in history?
If I had to guess… and had only one chance to get it right, I’d say it was because the MsM decided to openly support Obama during the presidential campaign and continues to openly support him - and his socialist programs - even today while claiming, all the while, that they are unbiased. They are like the kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Understand – there are some Americans extremely ticked-off at the Mainstream Media today. In my opinion, there is something akin to an unannounced boycott of the MsM in progress in America today.
See, the MsM is pro-Obama, anti-war, anti-military. The American public interprets that as anti-American behavior. And they don’t like it – at all!
The Mainstream Media in the US is largely controlled by the political Left, and as such, is bound to play down any successes the US has in the any theatre of war - no matter the reasons America had/has for going to war.
Much, if not most, of the MsM have never worn the uniform of any of the branches of America’s armed forces. They haven’t the foggiest idea what war is all about, and certainly not how to wage a war. But, they are experts at telling the world what is wrong with America’s war effort and how badly America is losing and what a “quagmire” the US military has gotten itself into while they would not know a “military quagmire” if it bit them on the butt! Besides, a quagmire to them is defined by the US Military’s inability to invade, conquer, and withdraw in three weeks, tops!
Now, don’t misunderstand. The US is quite capable of iniating and winning a war in three weeks. However, we would have to tap our reserves of those dread “weapons of mass destruction” in order to do it, and frankly that gets a little messy. Plus, the MSM would have apoplexy if we even used a simple little battlefield nuke! Their constant carping and complaining will eventually begin to affect the morale of the troops.
Freedom of the press is a privilege, and most importantly, it is a constitutional right, in America. But with that freedom comes responsibility. It is certainly seems the MSM has no concept of their responsibility to America. It is enough that America has granted them the “right” of “freedom of the press”. They willingly use that right irresponsibly, and, in doing so, they assume the predictability of a loose cannon.
I have spoken to servicemen, just returned from a tour of duty in Iraq, and they told me they have access to network and cable news in Iraq. They told me they couldn’t believe the reports they saw on the television news. One soldier said to me, it was as if they (American troops) were fighting one war and the press was reporting on another war… somewhere, other than in Iraq.
Abuses such as these are going to cost the MSM in the long run. Unfortunately, it can only lead to a loss of the freedoms they say they value so much, but abuse so willingly. Sooner, or later, the country will grow tired of their continuous efforts at denigrating this wonderful country and their first amendment rights will be curtailed. That will be a sad day for freedom, but a day the MsM will have brought upon itself.
It is a shame to see a great institution collapse inwards, upon itself, as the MSM is doing. But, there is bound to be a reckoning, and not that far in the future.
There are many more sources of news available to the public now than ever before in history. No longer are consumers of news tied to a newspaper, or a certain TV network, or a cable network. With a click of the “mouse” the world’s news media is at your disposal. Many, like myself, are availing themselves of it.
We get our news, often unfiltered through the lenses of the MSM, and we are better informed for it.
The MSM has only just begun to get their “comeuppance.” Sadly, they brought it upon themselves.
J. D. Longstreet
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