Friday, November 25, 2011

Mainstream Media Reporters as the "Church of the Savvy"

Glenn Greenwald in a comment on Bob Schiefferr's Face the Nation adversarial interview of Ron Paul writes:
I would have no problem with Schieffer’s adversarial behavior here if this were also how he treated claims made by David Petraeus, Joe Lieberman, John McCain, and Hillary Clinton. But one would never, ever see that. Part of this is what Jay Rosen calls “the Church of the Savvy”: journalists revere power and political success and thus revere those who wield it in their world (Washington) while scorning those who do not (like Paul). But part of it is also that their function is to defend the political establishment of which they are a part and glorify its orthodoxies — defined as: the approved views of the leadership of the two parties, which in turn reflect the interests of the private factions that control both parties — and, conversely, to try to delegitimize any views and/or persons posing a challenge to it.

This is why one sees truly adversarial conduct from establishment journalists applied only to those who are relatively powerless and marginalized (i.e., OWS), or to those views that have no currency within the political establishment (Paul’s foreign policy/civil liberties arguments). These journalists are, first and foremost, advocates, defenders, and spokespeople for prevailing establishment wisdom and institutions. They have every right to advocate for those views, but it is anything but “objective.” The problem with the Bob Schieffers of the world isn’t that they ooze political bias and subjectivity; most human beings do. The problem is that they’re fraudulently presented as journalists who don’t.

The entire Glenn Greenwald commentary is well worth reading.

4 comments:

  1. A fantastic commentary by Greenwald that shows anyone who's willing to look what's underneath the facade.

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  2. This piece by Greenwald side-steps the issue of Schieffer's connections to many elite power centers like the CFR. In that way it is a misdirection and possibly the power elite's propaganda. I'm jus' saying....

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  3. Excellent article and a reason why economicpolicyjournal.com is leading edge. I don't always agree with EPJ conclusions but it always makes me think!

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  4. Greenwald has been a consistent and eloquent voice for the left/liberal supporters of Dr Paul. He gets a pass from me on his misguided economic beliefs for his attacks on Democratic warmongers and tirades against the media for excluding Dr Paul.

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