By Constitutional attorney and author JOHN W. WHITEHEAD is founder of The Rutherford Institute. He can be contacted at
TV news is not what actually occurs. Rather, it is what someone labeled a “journalist” or “correspondent” thinks is worth reporting. That’s why it is important to analyze what is reported. Although there are good TV journalists, the old art of investigative reporting has largely been lost. For example, how often have you heard a reporter preface a “news” report with the statement, “This comes from official sources”? This cannot be trusted because the government hires thousands of spin doctors to spread government propaganda.
TV news is entertainment. TV news is not communication. Communication is between equals. When you are being spoon-fed by advertisers, you are in no way equal. And although the news may have value, it is primarily a commodity to gather an audience, which will be sold to advertisers.
Learn more about the economic and political interests of those who own the “corporate” media. There are few independent news sources. Indeed, the major news outlets are owned by corporate empires. For example, General Electric owns the entire stable of NBC shows, including MSNBC, which it co-owns with Microsoft (the “MS” in MSNBC stands for Microsoft). Both GE and Microsoft have poured millions of dollars into the political campaigns of George W. Bush. The obvious question: How can a news network present objective news on a candidate that it financially supports?
Pay special attention to the language of newscasts. Because film footage and other visual imagery are so engaging on TV news shows, viewers are apt to allow language — what the reporter is saying about the images — to go unexamined. A TV newscaster’s language frames the pictures, and, therefore, the meaning we derive from the picture is often determined by the reporter’s commentary. The viewer does not see the actual event but the edited form of the event. Add to that the fact that the reporters editing the film have a subjective view — sometimes determined by their corporate bosses — that enters in.
Finally, schools must begin teaching children how to watch TV news. Specific courses should be taught so that our future citizens can hopefully avoid the pitfalls that the television news monolith will continue to lay before future generations.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 25, 2007. Read the original PDF.