MEDIA BIAS AND DISTORTION
In my experience, newspaper editors are a big problem in the Elite Media. They have a tendency to
assume they know everything and the World has to conform to their way of
thinking, OR ELSE! If they get a
letter on an inconvenient subject, they censor it. Well, actually they don’t
say that, of course. They just don’t print it and it is always for a “good”
reason like “we just did not have room!” That covers a multitude of sins!
If they do print it, they edit out anything that irritates them and print the
balance; often times that will change a letter writer’s intent and meaning. The
result is he may look stupid. Other times they will belittle a writer with
little nit-picky stuff with the intent of marginalizing him. It is so common
that it is seldom worthwhile to try to “compete” with them. Perhaps that is
the biggest reason the Alternative Media is doing so well.
With the coming of the internet, publishing is easier than ever without the
huge expenses associated with print media and the freedom of expression (in
most countries) is unlimited. There are those who would like to muzzle the
internet and the Alternative Media, but so far they have not met with much
success. In some countries certain thoughts are subject to prison terms. Truth is not accepted as a defense! That
always raises the question of why the draconian measures? Or is it proof that truth
is a dangerous thing?! Such speculation is, of course, completely
justified. If something is true, why is there a need to punish the writer? Or does that really give a clue as to who runs the show?! Thought
provoking questions that deserve some consideration!
As a broadcaster I had a policy of NEVER writing
letters to editors. Even after I left the business full-time I continued the
practice. However, settling in a rural community gave me a chance to observe local
editors at work. I found them to be the usual college-brainwashed clever boys
who know what they are supposed to say and what they are not supposed to say.
Heaven help a writer who opposes them. I noticed one smart upstanding
businessman was always writing well-informed, thoughtful letters on inconvenient subjects and the editor
did his best to marginalize him. I thought, what the heck, I will tease
the editor a bit and see if he takes the bait! He did! My letter noted my
background and how I had little use for biased editors, so I gave him fair
warning that I knew his game. The arrogant clown proceeded to marginalize
me with a bogus headline. I sent him a second letter which he not only printed,
but he spread
it across three columns in his paper as a PHOTOCOPY!
I have never seen an editor do that before; it is a classic. Unfortunately, it
does not reproduce well here, so I will just print the content of the letter. The
material in it was just too hot for him to handle and he wanted
nothing to do with it. But in all honesty, at least he displayed the whole
thing word for word! Here (in bold type) is the text of his headline (completely different
from the first one!) and the content of my letter:
Get facts straight before you print them in your rag.
Dear Editor:
Thanks for printing
my recent comments and confirming their accuracy with the biased headline:
IDAHO BIRTHER DISAPPROVES OF FACTS! Congratulations on a
marvelous juvenile smear job! Who verified I am from “Idaho?” When it
comes to “facts,” you are not as particular as claimed! Everyone needs a place
to get mail. For me (town name deleted) is convenient. It does not make me an
“Idahoan!”
Did my “President
Nobama” comment cause you to slip? I never actually mentioned his birth,
but you
brought it up! I questioned his legal qualifications: “Nobama” ignores
his obligations as president and assumes an air of king or dictator, a
conclusion I draw from his actions. Qualified Statesmen do not need
Teleprompters, either. They are for commercial actors!
Since alleged “birth certificates” for
“President Teleprompter” is so important to you, it is fair to remember there
were no computer generated certificates then. It was an era of paper
documents, mimeograph machines, carbon-paper copies and data cards. Newspapers
and books were offset printed; there were no computers or digital printing.
Race classification was “Negro,” not “African American!” His
“birth certificate” raised questions in the minds of us who were young adults
at the time. Perhaps you were too young to remember, but not me. Yet you
continue to smear and push an agenda. It’s a clever but sinister strategy: “you
read your book of facts and I’ll read mine” as a broadcast executive
once told me! What are you, a budding amateur (town name deleted) version of
network “news prefabricator” Brian Williams? Facts are only what you say they
are, dear Editor, nothing else.
He still had to have the last word, noting
someone had earlier sent in a news release about me teaching a class in
language indicating where I was from (it was actually in error!) so he used that as a pretext for covering his
butt! The whole affair was hilarious and caused quite a stir. No one, including him, was
brave enough to challenge the letter’s content!
Harald Hesstvedt Scharnhorst
Copyright 2015
brilliant! bravo!
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