Think of this as my attempt at teaching Journalism 101, and instead of me being the Professor you can think of me as more of a Life Coach since this "cheat sheet" will help you decipher the daily dose of garbage that's being shoved down our throats on a regular basis.
On second thought, it's not so much a "cheat sheet" as it is a "warning label" on how one should consume media, but specifically how one should consume anything that's presented to us as "news" and "factual" information - TEST EVERYTHING FOR YOURSELF BY DOING YOUR OWN RESEARCH TO SUPPORT OR REFUTE!!!
Bottom line, I will defer to Todd Strandberg of Rapture Ready who wrote it best, "The liberal media is not only the devil's best device for corrupting human society; it's his most diabolical device. The finger of blame is rarely ever pointed at the liberal media for society's ills. This is because the press is in charge of fixing the blame. Letting the liberal media decide if it’s partly to blame for our country's moral decline is like putting tobacco companies in charge of finding out what causes lung cancer...The liberal media will be a substantial player in end-time events. When the Antichrist finally does come to power, the liberal media will be tripping over itself to report his every word. The values that the press currently portrays will perfectly match the values of the forthcoming Antichrist. It will be love at first sight. The liberal media's final act will be to broadcast the hatred of the Jews and nonconforming Christians. Even today, these two groups are constantly reported about a negative bias. As we draw closer to the tribulation, the negative media coverage will only increase."
For some time now, I've thought about writing a definitive column on the biased national media (a.k.a mainstream media; a.k.a corporate media) that I can refer people to at a moment's notice in order to prove that they are anything but impartial.
The media's approach to covering the news - subjective rather than objective - is absolutely disgusting, and then they wonder why their industry is in serious decline.
Even so, there are still far too many people in this world who believe anything and everything that's given to them by the "journalists" and talking heads, so I felt it was necessary to call this what it is - DECEPTION AT ITS WORST!
The existence of deception in our world (and deception in the form of "news" that is presented to us as "unbiased truth") is an extremely important subject for us to consider in these times we live in.
According to Bible, the end times will be marked by widespread deception, counterfeit miracles, and the appearance of false prophets. Each of these evils will contribute to an atmosphere that will deceive an untold number of people throughout the world. Almost 2,000 years ago, Jesus warned us about this time period so is it any wonder that we are now seeing the fulfillment of His prophecy concerning this?
YOU CAN KNOW THE ENEMY'S TACTICS
How can we spot bias, error, and deception in the media? Easy. Strandberg outlines several "tricks" that are commonly employed such as:
Ranking The News
The craftiest device the liberal media has at its disposal is the ability to manipulate public opinion by judging the value and importance of news.
Picking And Choosing
The liberal media has sole authority to pick and choose which news stories receive press coverage. By selecting stories that are sympathetic to its line of thinking, the liberal media can help determine the direction this country will be heading.
Preferential Treatment
The liberal media has its friends and its enemies. Anyone who shares its liberal slant is considered to be a comrade, and anyone in the conservative camp is regarded as a foe.
Negative Spotlighting
When something occurs that threatens established liberal dogma, the media reports on this activity so they can alert counterparts in the various liberal activist groups.
The Friendly Fool
The best turn of events the liberal media can hope for is when someone from the opposition does something it can use.
The Team Player Ploy
Because everyone wants to be part of the establishment, the elite press has been able to win over enemies by encouraging them to be team players.
The Name Game
This is when the press assigns names to groups in order to place a pro-liberal spin on them. The abortion issue is a good example. People who are in favor of abortion are called “pro-choice,” a phrase that transforms the act from the killing of the unborn to a rights issue. The pro-life folks are referred to as “anti-abortion.” “Anti-” is a negative prefix meaning “against.” Because most people would wish be on the positive side of an issue, the negative title puts one at a disadvantage.
Rewriting History
The boldest of the liberal media's tricks is the brazen rewriting of history. Wikipedia is a prime example of this tactic in action! Don't believe me? Stay tuned for more on the "Icky Wiki" after this list.
Comedy
Few people realize how strongly the monologues of NBC's "The Tonight Show" and CBS's "Late Show," along with skits from "Saturday Night Live," influence public opinion. This one should be easy to spot since we were all subjected to Tina Fey's portrayal of Sarah Palin more than we ever imagined we would be during the election cycle.
THE ICKY WIKI
I mentioned Wikipedia as a perfect example of media bias, and specifically called it a case study when it comes to the "Rewriting History" tactic. The Internet has brought the world some wonderful sources of information, and it has brought us some perfectly dreadful sources of misinformation. Unfortunately, Wikipedia falls into the latter category. It is not only a provider of inaccuracy and bias. It is wholesale purveyor of lies and slander unlike any other the world has ever known!
Think about it. Wikipedia boasts 684 million annual visitors. I can't think of too many sources of information that attract that much attention. And that's really the problem – that too many people looking for easy and cheap sources of information turn to this wholly unreliable website run by political and social activists promoting their own agenda.
If ever there were a website to avoid at all costs, it's Wikipedia. No good can possibly come from using this vast wasteland of error and deliberate deceit. You should get off of it and warn others away. You should make sure your children and grandchildren know what a corrupt and morally bankrupt institution it truly is.
How low does Wikipedia go?
How about intellectually rationalizing displays of child pornography? You can actually join the forum over at Wikipedia where the subject is debated openly – even while an FBI investigation continues. Wikipedia has been characterized as an unreliable source by teachers. It has been denounced by authors and editors. Librarians have deemed it more dangerous than crack cocaine. Researchers have pointed out how it is subject to manipulation – especially by government. But still it is used. Still it is cited. Still it grows like a monster each and every day. Heck, until today, I've been guilty of using the site regularly myself! Not anymore.
After all, here's what Wikipedia says about itself: "Because Wikipedia is an ongoing work to which, in principle, anybody can contribute, it differs from a paper-based reference source in important ways. In particular, older articles tend to be more comprehensive and balanced, while newer articles more frequently contain significant misinformation, unencyclopedic content, or vandalism. Users need to be aware of this to obtain valid information and avoid misinformation that has been recently added and not yet removed …" (emphasis added)
These damning words are found in Wikipedia's own "About Wikipedia" section. I didn't make them. The founder of Wikipedia did as they tried to put the best face on what they do. As WorldNetDaily's own CEO Joseph Farah writes, "In other words, Wikipedia, by its own definition, is little more than an electronic graffiti board under the control of high-tech Crips and Bloods."
TUNE IN AND TURN ON YOUR FILTER
Clearly, media bias is a real and constant threat that all of us need to take seriously. So, all this being said, it is also with great pleasure that I present to you our latest addition to the "Must Read Websites" section on the left-hand side of the page.
NewsBusters is a valuable resource for anyone interested in seeing real evidence (with real-world examples provided daily) that proves beyond a shadow of a doubt how the mainstream media tries to tell us what to think let alone what to think about.
Didn't you ever think it was strange that the evening news broadcasts of ABC, NBC, and CBS are all virtually carbon copies of each other? It's almost as if a "General Memo" circulates each day between the Big 3 that gives the talking points that they are all supposed to address. Try recording all three broadcasts one day and then watch them and make your own conclusions if you don't believe me. It's sad really.
In any event, NewsBusters is a project of the Media Research Center (MRC), the leader in documenting, exposing and neutralizing liberal media bias. In August of 2005, with the guidance of Matthew Sheffield of Dialog New Media, the MRC launched the NewsBusters blog to provide immediate exposure of liberal media bias, insightful analysis, constructive criticism and timely corrections to news media reporting. Taking advantage of the MRC's thorough and ongoing tracking of liberal media bias, including a wealth of documentation and an archive of newscast video dating back 18 years, they aim to have NewsBusters play a leading role in blog media criticism by becoming the clearinghouse for all evidence of liberal media bias by joining to this formidable information store the contributions of already-established "netizens" as well as those who want to join in the web revolution.
What makes their work so compelling is the fact that they use actual video and audio evidence to make their case and prove their point. We may live in a society that has embraced deception at every turn, but it's nice to know that we can still rely on people's own words (captured on video and/or audio) to give us the truth.
Please join me by putting on your thinking cap and your truth detector hearing aid (like the one pictured above!) so that we can remain in the truth at all time and remain a beacon of light in a world that's quickly becoming overshadowed by darkness.
RECOMMENDED READING:
Satan's Little Helpers (The Media: Who Else Could It Be?)
About Semantics
A, B, C, ???, E, F - Gee, Where Did That Letter Go?
Newsweek Joins The Gay Reich Movement; Declares War On The Bible
The Godless Media
War On Christianity
Wikipedia Lies, Slander Continue
How Obama Got Elected
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