Monday, March 8, 2010
Sunday, March 7, 2010
The Most Infuential Influence That Influences All Of Us.
If you ask people who has influenced their thinking more than anyone else, they would probably say their parents, Jesus, an inspirational teacher or favorite writer. I contend that knowingly or otherwise, the biggest influence on the way all of us think is the ubiquitous Associated Press. If you grew up reading newspapers or parroting people who read newspapers, you saw the world through the prism of The Associated Press. Even if you prefer the alternative viewpoint of say, the Murdoch papers, you are still mostly reading AP feeds. If you get your news directly from internet portals you also see the world through the tunnel vision of the Associated Press.
"The New York Times" has long been credited with setting the journalistic agenda in America. That is, the editors decide which stories are newsworthy and the journalistic comrades follow suit. But the case could easily be made that the AP is more influential in that respect. The Gray Ghost has lost all of her credibility, most of her readers and even some of her influence. Meanwhile, the Associated Press, not saddled with the ego and bombast and pretense of tweed coat dinosaur, has continued to do what they do best: They continue to wash brains.
With the usual disclaimers about how much I hate the liberal vs. conservative dichotomy and the chronic misuse of those terms, let me state that the Associated Press promotes a leftist/elitist agenda. They love Obama. They hate Palin, Tea Partiers, talk radio,lesser regulation and lower taxes. They know what is best for the unwashed masses and don't you forget it.
We can cheer the demise of TV news and fossilized newspapers and the rise of the blogosphere and Youtube Nation. But do not be fooled. As long as there is no alternative to the Associated Press, we will be stuck at the low end of a playing field that is more vertical than horizontal.
AP uber alles?
"The New York Times" has long been credited with setting the journalistic agenda in America. That is, the editors decide which stories are newsworthy and the journalistic comrades follow suit. But the case could easily be made that the AP is more influential in that respect. The Gray Ghost has lost all of her credibility, most of her readers and even some of her influence. Meanwhile, the Associated Press, not saddled with the ego and bombast and pretense of tweed coat dinosaur, has continued to do what they do best: They continue to wash brains.
With the usual disclaimers about how much I hate the liberal vs. conservative dichotomy and the chronic misuse of those terms, let me state that the Associated Press promotes a leftist/elitist agenda. They love Obama. They hate Palin, Tea Partiers, talk radio,lesser regulation and lower taxes. They know what is best for the unwashed masses and don't you forget it.
We can cheer the demise of TV news and fossilized newspapers and the rise of the blogosphere and Youtube Nation. But do not be fooled. As long as there is no alternative to the Associated Press, we will be stuck at the low end of a playing field that is more vertical than horizontal.
AP uber alles?
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