Why Can't the Media Get the Number Correct?

The man who championed the phrase "Gold, God, and Guns" held his rally this weekend. However, its been difficult to surmise the actual amount of people at the event. So, why is figuring out this number so difficult? I understand that its nearly impossible to count each and every person, nor is it even practical. But I would have to assume that someone made a big error in their calculations. Estimates ranged from (probably the correct) 87,000 to 500,000. Beck himself was quoted saying the event pulled in "300,000 to 650,000" people.

So how could there be such disparities between different news sources? Well, the fact is, Glenn Beck's "Restoring America" rally was highly political in nature. Beck had no idea when he originally planned his rally that it fell on the 47th Anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech. This alone is enough to politicize an event. MLK surely would have found himself on Beck's "blackboard" rants on his TV show for advocating social and economic justice. Beck, who often describes himself as a history buff, should have known that August 28th, is a very important day in American history. Though the theme of his talking points overall may not have been political (good riddance), this rally has made a quite a splash in the political realm . It is no secret that Beckonians have a real hatred towards Obama, and his administration. These people coming out in support of Glenn Beck, and his hysterics (though the numbers are significantly less than hoped for) shows their distrust for Obama and their hope to "restore" America. Whatever that may mean.

So will we ever know exactly how many people attended Beck's event? Most likely not. But I can assure you, that the man who had the real dream, and the real fortitude to carry out his dreams, gathered many more Americans, and his ideas were embraced by more than just white middle/upper class men.

Anti-muslim Rally at Ground Zero

Misinformation from Murdoch's Empire

It's no secret that Fox News distorts the truth. Sure, maybe other media outlets do it to some degree, but Fox News has made a business of it. A BIG business - with a $700 million dollar profit in 2010!

Murdoch's News Corp gave the Republican Governors Association (RGA) a million dollar donation. As if we didn't already know that Fox was simply an arm of the GOP, this donation erases any doubts.

By not adhering to ANY of the traditions of objectivity by journalists, Fox News has been able to spread lies, and propaganda to its simple minded market. It is a sad reality that, in order to grab new viewers, Fox News has stooped so low.

I would have to assume that Fox News has had a major influence on the American people who believe President Obama is a Muslim.

Create a Spectacle

I am assuming that most people in class saw this while coming into the Social Science building for our Mass Media in Politics Class.

What I found most interesting, was not their hate-spewing message, or their overall nutty views, but rather seeing the extreme far-right in motion. As a whole, the right-wing evangelicals are a force to be reckoned with. Not only are they loud, obnoxious, and boisterous, but they vote.

The man holding the "Homo Sex is Sin" sign was patriotically dressed, with pictures of revolutionary war heroes, while others video-taped the entire spectacle.

What also came to mind, was the idea that in order to sell news, or to conjure up more viewers, there seems to be a need to be more sensationalist than the others. I do not feel like many of the students watching subscribed to their views, but they did create quite a scene. Much like the battle between William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer, which gave rise to yellow journalism, many news outlets feel the need to "one-up" each other. Much like these guys are hardly speaking the truth, nor are many of the media outlets.

AOL Looks to Reinvent Itself

On my way to class this morning, I was listening to Morning Edition on NPR. They ran a story about a new wave in journalism. This morning, AOL launched its 100th local news site.

Patch goes into a community with a population of 15,000 to 75,000 people, mostly upper-middle class. Then it hires one local editor, like Evans. The editor does most of the day-to-day reporting and writing, but also purchases stories from freelancers. It's sort of the online equivalent of the free community paper that in a lot of towns doesn't exist anymore.

These reporters cover stories from local city council, town hall, and school board meetings. It seems like a good idea to get people excited and involved in local politics. All we have to do now is wait and see how it all works out!

War in Afghanistan: Will we live to see the end of it?

I realize it is late, and class starts tomorrow. However, I was up and reading, and thought this was both appalling, and pertinent to the class (even though we have yet to start). General Petraeus was on Meet the Press this morning and offered up some gorgeous spin about how the war is going. No where in the segment was there any mentioning of the staggering increase in civilian deaths, or the bullets being yanked from a screaming, and dying pregnant woman, who was shot by ISAF forces.

David Gregory, who was doing the interview, seemed to be quite enamored with Petraeus, and his bias towards the man diluted any chance of getting real answers.

Please watch the video here

Last Day of Summer

I was talking with my girlfriend the other day about that feeling in your stomach on the last day of summer. You always try to "live it up" but that is rarely the case. I slept in a good bit, and then had issues with my computer, which prompted a trip to best buy.

I just recently finished a book titled Common Nonsense: Glenn Beck and the Triumph of Ignorance. It was written by Alexander Zaitchik, and really explored the phenomena we know as Glenn Beck and his extreme-right cronies. It traces his career as a top 40 morning deejay, to the tearful fear mongering, hate-spewing, Mormon he is today.

To any critic of Glenn Beck, this book is a must read. The research is solid, and all sources are cited.

With that said, I hope everyone who heads back to class tomorrow a wonderful last few hours of summer!

My LAST Semester!

Hey class!

Just wanted to post something up here so it didn't look so bare and uninviting!

As the title indicates, this is my last semester here at Kennesaw! Afterwards I will hopefully begin graduate classes, but not until I find that ever elusive J-O-B!

Hopefully everything in this blog will-in one way or another-relate to class topics, and today's media in our own political system.

See you all in class!