An interesting insight into wacko conservatism
This is a surprisingly interesting story from Slate, one that I think says plenty about how the right views the mainstream media.
In one sense, William Safire is just piling on Dan Rather. Safire was part of the Nixon machine that hated Rather. When you pair the idea of a "keeper" story with the competitive and non-stop news environment of a presidential campaign, they don't mix. The truth I've learned in three years in the media is that you can't afford to sit on things because you will get beaten. You just have to make sure you are right. Did CBS News want to hurt Bush? I hope so, since it is a news organization and the point of news is to tell the truth about people in charge. Rather just got his documentation, though not necessarily his facts, wrong
I have never been a person who believed that conservatism was, by definition, a symptom of mental disease. The right's "media conspiracy" charge has always struck me as a case of projection. If there were movement conservatives all over the media, they would trade in "keeper" stories that were timed to smother the hopes of Democratic candidates. Not surprisingly, they assume the left does that as well. I reject the concept of ideological media bias because it doesn't exist.
But the most important point is this, and any movement conservatives who come across this should take note. We on the left don't have a "conspiracy arm." The problem is that the people on our side, who would be inclined to join it, are so ideologically pure that they can't actually talk to each other, let alone plot together. Trust me, I know this.
In one sense, William Safire is just piling on Dan Rather. Safire was part of the Nixon machine that hated Rather. When you pair the idea of a "keeper" story with the competitive and non-stop news environment of a presidential campaign, they don't mix. The truth I've learned in three years in the media is that you can't afford to sit on things because you will get beaten. You just have to make sure you are right. Did CBS News want to hurt Bush? I hope so, since it is a news organization and the point of news is to tell the truth about people in charge. Rather just got his documentation, though not necessarily his facts, wrong
I have never been a person who believed that conservatism was, by definition, a symptom of mental disease. The right's "media conspiracy" charge has always struck me as a case of projection. If there were movement conservatives all over the media, they would trade in "keeper" stories that were timed to smother the hopes of Democratic candidates. Not surprisingly, they assume the left does that as well. I reject the concept of ideological media bias because it doesn't exist.
But the most important point is this, and any movement conservatives who come across this should take note. We on the left don't have a "conspiracy arm." The problem is that the people on our side, who would be inclined to join it, are so ideologically pure that they can't actually talk to each other, let alone plot together. Trust me, I know this.
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