Now on to the news- for those who do not regularly follow the news here is what is going on: Big flood in China, Military solider charged with conspiring with the Mexican drug cartel, people are beating each other up over a difference of opinion on health care for the poor, Iran is holding American hikers hostage, Costa Rica's President has swine flu, and people are dying.
What do I want to highlight today? The freedom of the press. Outlined in first amendment of what freedoms we as Americans are able to enjoy, decided upon by 18th century white men as rights that all humans should have. Smart men- so what does this mean for the media in 2009?
It means FREEDOM OF THE PRESS! Isn't America great! Currently the anchor of 'Countdown' Kieth Olbermann and the anchor of 'The O'Reilly Factor' Bill O'Reilly are in a feud- the voice of the conservative and the voice of the liberal population are head to head in differences of option. Shocked I'm sure.
Our government has a system of checks and balances to ensure that no one part of the government has more power than another. Now we all know how well this has worked in recent past (thank you illegitimate war and executive powers), but that aside, the media needs to work in the same way. The American people need to hear the leftist opinion and the right-wing view or they are left with one opinion.
Kieth Olbermann has a segment called 'The Worst People In The World', almost on a regular basis he highlights something Bill O'Reilly has done or said which can be interpreted as ignorant, racist, or hateful. In addition, Olbermann replays previous sound clips of Mr. O'Reilly's statements that directly contradict statements O'Reilly has more recently made.
Mr. O'Reilly's response to this criticism? Attack the man upstairs. He has commented on MSNBC's parent company General Electric (weird hu? G.E. owns MSNBC- who knew?) saying they are only seeking profits from the current government by agreeing with their policies.
In an effort not to sound like a left-wing version of Ann Coulter, I will not express my personal opinion of Mr. O'Rielly or my opposite opinion of Mr. Olbermann. I will however stress the importance of keeping both sides of the media in check. There needs to be a news organization who calls the right-wing talking heads out and those talking heads don't take criticism very well- even if its true. And in turn they should be able to have to same freedom of speech no matter what the leftist news show have to say.
While the heads of both news programs attempt to negotiate a 'cease-fire', neither side will succeed to quit criticizing the other side. GOOD!! I never want to watch Keith Olbermann where he is forced to keep his correction of Bill O'Reilly's news reporting because G.E. told him to play nice. On the flip side, I wouldn't want Bill O'Reilly to stop sounding like an idiot every time he opens his mouth. Bring it on, we're in America, both sides have to deal with being criticized and this is for the better of ALL news programs.
So that's my blog, I'm trying to hard not to discuss the insanity surrounding health care reform at the moment: guns, fights, arrests, shouting, and anger. This was NOT what Obama had in mind, this was not what anyone had in mind. What is wrong with Americans and what in the world is going to be done to stop the spread of ignorance? Nothing- we're only human and that is the reality of life- most people (including myself) yield to a certain amount of ignorance. It is just unfortunate that it is costing a real solution to a broken system.
To watch Bill O'Reilly lose it on TV watch this clip, oh my imagination only wonders to all the rants that were never filmed and put online:
You're absolutely right about the Olberman and O'Reilly tiff: all gloves off! Though, I would like to know who "broke the deal" between the CEOs of GE and Faux News. Nobody's talking.
ReplyDelete"This was NOT what Obama had in mind, this was not what anyone had in mind."
Actually, nobody knows what Obama has in mind, beyond his frequent endorsement of some "universal, single-payer healthcare system." He hasn't offered legislation, nor endorsed any particular bill pending in Congress, so people have to take the words of his Chief of Staff, Rahm Emmanuel, as a good indication. He has urged the creation of panels (of course, not named "Death Panels") that would decide what "end of life care" would be "properly" paid for by a government plan. So, it's hard to fault the critics, until Obama actually endorses one bill or another.
Remember that Constitutional rights protect people from government censures of free speech, not individuals from private companies. FCC can still levy fines against broadcasters because they have to be licensed in order to broadcast, and companies can fire any employee for violating their employment agreement and to protect themselves from defamation law suits. Freedom of Speech is not as cut and dry as most people think.
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