The question I hear time and time again from audiences who see my documentary film, Broadcast Blues is, “Why did you leave your lucrative career in broadcasting to become a media reform activist?”
The truth is that, once upon a time, I worked in a newsroom where a corporate owner ordered me, a reporter, to skew my reporting to purposely make a man on trial for murder — look guilty.
In an instant, my entire life changed. The trust I’d had in my news organization vanished. And the deeper I looked into the way corporate owners manage the message they want the public to hear, the more disillusioned I became.
There is more to that story — so much more — but you’ll have to wait for me to finish my book to get all the chilling details on it.
But this is the kind of story that many reporters could tell, if only they dared. But when they dare, as Jane Akre and Steve Wilson did, they can get fired for telling the truth. (Who can forget the story of these Fox affiliate investigative reporters who tried to report on Monsanto Bovine Growth Hormone being injected into cattle, only for it to then be found in the milk supply, which experts said could cause cancer? WTVT fired them after Monsanto complained to Fox “News” chief Roger Ailes.) The reporters filed a whistleblower suit, and Akre won. But Fox won in the end, by getting a court order that, legally, news does not have to be true. Akre and Wilson lost not only their jobs, but ended up having to pay Fox’ attorney fees. (See my story from Broadcast Blues on this case, including courtroom footage here.)
This is the kind of information I suspect the FCC was hoping to tease out in their planned “Multi-market Study of Critical Information Needs” [PDF] which, as I wrote last week at The BRAD BLOG, sparked a right wing firestorm in recent weeks when Republican FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai went public with a Wall Street Journal op-ed accusing his colleagues of “meddling with the news” by simply asking voluntary questions of newsrooms. The study was part of the FCC’s statutory requirement to report to Congress every three years, as they have for decades, on identifying “barriers to entry into the communications marketplace faced by entrepreneurs and other small businesses.”
The question for reporters from the CIN study that was most disturbing to Pai: “Have you ever suggested coverage of what you consider a story with critical information for your customers that was rejected by management?”…
From a purely journalistic point of view, having a government agency intrude on the autonomy of a news organization by asking questions about how they decide what to cover does seem improper. But from the reality of corporate driven news agendas, where truth is often obfuscated for reasons of profit or politics, the question is spot on.
Every news organization does have some kind of bias, and it can be found in the stories they choose (or don’t choose) to cover. In response to my earlier piece on this topic, BRAD BLOG commenter “karenfromillinois” asked about a recent Guardian story on the NSA helping “their British counter parts spy on private video chats and capture naked pics of Americans which were then run thru some NSA program….creepy huh?” She noted that she’d only seen MSNBC’s Chris Hayes pick up the story briefly, and asked “does a memo go out to ignore something that damaging to the government, or do all reporters just ‘know’ the msm rules?”
You have to realize there is a unique culture in every newsroom. Some news organizations, even in the corporate “MSM”, work hard to hold government accountable to the public. And most reporters deeply value integrity in journalism. But for every reporter you see on TV, there are hundreds who would love to take that job — and for less pay. So it’s very difficult for reporters to openly challenge management decisions.
I note that in the two very dramatic cases I cited — both my own and the Monsanto/Fox story — the news directors were not at fault; in both cases, they stood up to upper management to defend their reporters. But in both cases, they crumbled under corporate pressure (and, I believe, the need to keep their own jobs.) But many news directors steer their staffs away from stories that reflect poorly on stations’ advertisers. And it is not unusual for news managers to make an entire subject off limits for coverage by their reporters.
As to some memo going out to all news organizations, as issued from somewhere on high, presumably the government (or some other dark force), warning journalists to stay away from a particular story, I’m unaware of any such practice.
That, of course, doesn’t mean they are serving the public interests well. As we learned from the corporate media’s response to the CIN study kerfuffle, they would simply prefer not to answer any questions that reveal how poorly they are serving the public interest. And they won’t have to. Late last Friday, an FCC spokesperson said the study “will not move forward,” and that the agency will “reassess the best way to fulfill its obligation to Congress.”
Score another round for right wing corporate media controlling the message.
While the government may seek to influence coverage by the media, there is no evidence the FCC was hoping to do so in this case. This was yet another case of the corporate media looking out for its own interests, rather than that of the public.
Sue Wilson is a media activist, director of Public Interest Pictures’ Broadcast Blues, and a 22 year veteran of broadcast journalism. Her numerous awards include Emmy, AP, RTNDA, and PRNDI for work at CBS, PBS, FOX, and NPR. She is the editor of the media criticism blog, Sue Wilson Reports and founder of the Media Action Center.
What do you do when corporations control the newsroom and control the agency that regulates the airways?
When talking with rational friends about subjects such as domestic spying and execution by drone it is almost impossible to break through the ignorance and disbelief to say nothing of the apathy. We are all swimming against the rip tide of corporate media propaganda.
@Sue Wilson:
Years ago, I was “discouraged” from going into broadcast journalism because of something that occurred with one of my instructors who relayed a similar story to the one in your “Newsroom Story”. At the time, music
was a much-stronger passion for me and a successful deejay career was just beginning for me (which lasted several decades). It wasn’t until after 9/11 happened (and my entire sense of purpose in life was adjusted) that I regretted not going into journalism. I guess this is why I sit here and try to help illuminate as many people as I can on Facebook as well as on Talk Radio with all my call-ins to the various shows that always welcome me. That’s also the reason why I do activism.
BTW: NPR also picked up on the NSA video chat story
from last week… Yeah.. NPR!!! I was almost knocked-off my driver’s seat in my van as I heard the story.
Ska-T,
You have it so correct. It seems the entire political universe has given in to the corporate media line. Except for Bernie Sanders, I can’t think of one politician willing to stand up for the quality of our information.
And worse, too many “real” folk no longer think it matters at all, especially younger people. I crack up at Occupy groups who are so excited when their YouTube videos gets 400 hits, but they can’t understand why I rail about Limbaugh having access to microphones that reach 20 million listeners.
Sigh. We soldier on in the hope that Truth will win in the end.
Sanchez,
The cool thing about NPR is that independent journalists across the globe can do a piece for their local NPR station, which then may be picked up by national NPR. NPR is probably the best broadcast news service we have.
PBS, on the other hand, has been taken over by corporate dollars. I witnessed it happen when I worked with Van Gordon Sauter at Sacramento’s KVIE. Ever see America’s Heartland (based on the local California Heartland)? A PBS show about agriculture paid for by big agriculture. Don’t be asking any questions about the plight of farmworkers, this is a “happy” show. There was a huge fight at the station over that one; the journalists lost.
Yep.
It is a story going on for a century now, but with different actors and directors.
You be knowin’ in the wind.
Read yesterday that Mike DeWine of Ohio was in Washington fighting a law that would make it illegal to make known false statements in election advertising. DeWine says lying is a form of free speech. He belongs on Fox as they lie every time they open their mouth holes.
sue,
thanks for the well written article ,even tho it is more bad news
posted at du… http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024620177#post1
When i heard the story of how Amy Goodman learned of Susan Lindhauers’ incarceration and offered no assistance, I stopped listening to NPR.
Gwen Eifle, Judy Woodruff, Margret Warner and Charlie Rose of PBS all conspired with most other networks during the election primaries to keep Ron Paul out of the public eye.
No one railed louder for gun control than Amy Goodman on Democracy Now.
She knows that our freedoms are hanging by a thread, and that the only right that has not been violated is our right to bare arm, and yet she tried harder than anyone to disarm the American people. There is no excuse.
I see that as a form of treason against America.
This quote was censored on a CBS website.
“Our job is to give people not what they want, but what we decide they ought to have”.
Richard Salent, former Pres. of CBS News.
“The CIA owns everyone of any significance in the major media.” William Colby, former CIA Director.
“We’ll know our disinfomation program is complete when everything the American people believes is false”. William Casey CIA Director 1981.
Exactly JJ (#10), I like to read journalist’s work who have succumbed to suicide over their work:
Gary Webb, Daniel “Danny” Casolaro, Steve Kangas, and Jam Hatfield all wrote about verboten topics.
In knowing what the gov’t is really doing to control the media then read these guys: William Blum (ex-State dept), Rodney Stitch (ex-FAA accident investigator), Phillip Agee (ex-CIA), or John Stockwell(ex-CIA).
JoeInSyracuse said @ 8:
Um…what does Amy Goodman have to do with NPR?
JJ @ 10 said:
While I’m unfamiliar with Goodman’s “railing…for gun control”, or, frankly, anybody of any stature “railing” for any kind of “gun control” that would be unconstitutional, how is “railing” for anything “a form of treason against America”.
Or are you “railing” against the First Amendment here?
My bad Brad, i had NPR in my head when i saw Democracy Now, thanks for the correction
It’s great to have people like Sue Wilson doing what they’re doing. I happened upon this today and read further on her Media site. Must say I travel a lot on the web and don’t recall seeing about Broadcast Blues anywhere.
Now I see the utube trailer has 1991 views, and the last comment of 6 total was two years ago. I just hope folks realize that NO ONE is seeing this . At $15 min for it is it any wonder? Why not try and sell millions for a fraction if you really care? Just wondering. You need millions of eyeballs on this stuff or these FCC and other horror stories continue unabated.