Quote:
Originally Posted by onetwo_threefour
Probably because:
a) ever since FOX News went on the air and people voiced the opinion that the White House was feeding FOX it's lines like Cyrano, conservatives have figuratively, (and literally on TV) rolled their eyes, called us the liberal tinfoil hat brigade, and generally all implied that we're paranoid delusionals. As Kurt Cobain (and others) said "Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't after you"
b) how many times in your lifetime has a former press secretary (or equivalent) for a democratic government come out while that government is still in power and publically confirm that part of the fifth estate has been corrupted by government. If people don't see that as shocking, I think that reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of how a liberal democracy is supposed to work. For that country to be the US is doubly damning since that country essentially created the idea of an independent press. Shocking is the right word for having this confirmation straight from the horse's mouth.
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LOL. "Part of the fifth estate has been
corrupted by the government". "A fundamental misunderstanding of how a democracy is supposed to work".
I think you're the one that misunderstands democracy. In a democracy, organizations can say and do pretty much whatever they want within the confines of the law. Last I checked, it wasn't illegal to have opinions or to convey the messages of others pretending that it is your opinion.
Where is the outrage exactly? How is Fox News any different than a member of parliament towing the party line whether or not he agrees with it? Jean Chretien booted people out of the Liberal party for not towing the party line. I'm sure Harper has to, I just haven't been keeping up with politics much lately.
And for that matter, how is it any different than the people we send to Ottawa to represent us speaking on our behalf and saying what we program them to say?
You guys are funny, getting all riled up about this. As Azure said, it's nothing new. Media outlets have had a slant as long as there has been media. And they've been directly influenced by government since there has been government.
If this is the first time you've ever found out that a government did this, brace yourself. It's like that everywhere. Heh. The prime minister of Italy, Silvio Berlusconi, owns half the TV channels in Italy.