June 03, 2004 Columns » IQ

How much is too much? In the era of mega-corporatization, most Americans are getting their news from companies that care more about the bottom line than imparting valuable information.

Spoon-feeding the news  

by

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How much is too much? In the era of mega-corporatization, most Americans are getting their news from companies that care more about the bottom line than imparting valuable information. And in an era when morality rules, government censors have stepped in to protect our delicate eyes and ears. Who thought a rascal like Howard Stern could emerge a hero in this debate? (For more, see cover story, page 15.)

click to enlarge Steve Angevine - - Rockrimmon - - Manager of insurance company - - - - Does corporate control of media worry you? Yes to the extent that it makes for a rather homogenous voice. The more our news is packaged the less we get the multiple messages we need. - - Is the media liberal? My sense is that it's liberal leaning, but there's plenty to choose from to coincide with anybody's ideological bent. - - Are the same standards applied to the liberal and conservative media? There are voices out there that represent the left, right and middle. No matter what the ideology, someone will object. - - Where do you get your news? Mostly NPR. It has the fewest axes to grind and makes the most consistent effort to present both sides. - - Is Howard Stern more a martyr or an idiot? I'd say the answer to that is "yes."

  • Steve Angevine

    Rockrimmon

    Manager of insurance company

    Does corporate control of media worry you? Yes to the extent that it makes for a rather homogenous voice. The more our news is packaged the less we get the multiple messages we need.

    Is the media liberal? My sense is that it's liberal leaning, but there's plenty to choose from to coincide with anybody's ideological bent.

    Are the same standards applied to the liberal and conservative media? There are voices out there that represent the left, right and middle. No matter what the ideology, someone will object.

    Where do you get your news? Mostly NPR. It has the fewest axes to grind and makes the most consistent effort to present both sides.

    Is Howard Stern more a martyr or an idiot? I'd say the answer to that is "yes."

click to enlarge Craig Stevenson - - Near North End - - Potter and sculptor at Van Briggle - - - - Should we worry about growing corporatization of media? The more limited our news sources, the more financial control there is over it, which limits diversity of opinion and points of view. - - Is the media liberal? It's not something you can really quantify, but I would say there's a liberal slant. - - Where do you tend to get your news? Talk radio. Sometimes NPR. - - Is Howard Stern a clown or a First Amendment hero? He's definitely not a hero. He's more a clown.

  • Craig Stevenson

    Near North End

    Potter and sculptor at Van Briggle

    Should we worry about growing corporatization of media? The more limited our news sources, the more financial control there is over it, which limits diversity of opinion and points of view.

    Is the media liberal? It's not something you can really quantify, but I would say there's a liberal slant.

    Where do you tend to get your news? Talk radio. Sometimes NPR.

    Is Howard Stern a clown or a First Amendment hero? He's definitely not a hero. He's more a clown.

click to enlarge Loring Wirbel - - Baptist Road/Pleasant View - - Editorial director, music and tech magazines - - - - Does consolidation of mass media worry you? Clear Channel in particular scares me. They just took over the patents for instant CDs, so all those ideas about going to concerts and getting instant CDs are history. - - Is the media liberal? That's a total myth. Recent surveys of NPR and the New York Times found that even they rely mostly on neo-conservative and military angles, and they're supposedly the liberal media vanguard. Everything reinforces the pro-corporate slant. - - Are different standards applied to liberal and conservative media? Conservative journalists can spout all kind of hate and invective, but anybody doing that on the liberal side is chased out of town. - - Where do you get your news from? The Internet, primarily, and a variety of sources that I know to be biased -- libertarian, conservative, liberal, radical. I know that every news source has a bias, but I make up my own mind. - - Is Howard Stern a martyr or a culprit? Stern is like Eminem in that he's too focused on being obscene and on making everything me, me, me. Yes, he's being picked on, but it doesn't surprise me given he's such a huge pain in the ass.

  • Loring Wirbel

    Baptist Road/Pleasant View

    Editorial director, music and tech magazines

    Does consolidation of mass media worry you? Clear Channel in particular scares me. They just took over the patents for instant CDs, so all those ideas about going to concerts and getting instant CDs are history.

    Is the media liberal? That's a total myth. Recent surveys of NPR and the New York Times found that even they rely mostly on neo-conservative and military angles, and they're supposedly the liberal media vanguard. Everything reinforces the pro-corporate slant.

    Are different standards applied to liberal and conservative media? Conservative journalists can spout all kind of hate and invective, but anybody doing that on the liberal side is chased out of town.

    Where do you get your news from? The Internet, primarily, and a variety of sources that I know to be biased -- libertarian, conservative, liberal, radical. I know that every news source has a bias, but I make up my own mind.

    Is Howard Stern a martyr or a culprit? Stern is like Eminem in that he's too focused on being obscene and on making everything me, me, me. Yes, he's being picked on, but it doesn't surprise me given he's such a huge pain in the ass.

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