On episode 9 we discussed the launch of Al Jazeera America and what kind of impact the new network could have on the national news narrative and on how other networks present the news. We moved on to the 1st amendment crisis playing out in Britain as journalists do not seem to enjoy the same protections over the pond that we do domestically. From there we pivoted to the interesting case of Barrett Brown who is imprisoned for post a URL on a website. Finally, Jay Carney was on vacation this week, so we introduced a new game – BEAT THE TWEET. Congrats to Chris on finally winning!
We covered quite a bit last week, but there’s always more going on in the world of journalism. Read on to see what didn’t make it in to the pod, but is still fit for print.
You can find the latest episode here and past episodes on iTunes and WAL-Radio. The Shill Report also plays every Sunday night on Indiana Talks radio.
WHAT IS THE NEWS VALUE OF ANONYMOUS LETTER SAYING ‘EUTHANIZE’ AUTISTIC CHILD?
Mediaite’s Tommy Christopher questions whether or not the recent ‘letter’ news story is more outrage porn and less newsworthy. He makes a compelling point that if the media truly wishes to portray people with autism correctly they should start by dispelling the false information that they have allowed to spread.
“One of the ethical principles of journalism is to minimize harm, but all this story has done is to amplify the hurt, with nothing in return but the furrowed brows of news personalities. If the media wants to do some good here, they can start by correcting all the lies they’ve told about people with autism.”
LINK: www.mediaite.com/tv/what-is-the-news-value-of-anonymous-letter-saying-to-euthanize-autistic-child/
VICE GIVEN A VALUATION OF $1 BILLION WHILE THE WASHINGTON POST SOLD FOR $250 MILLION
Interesting plans for the future of Vice are in the works and if they can hit their targets this valuation *might* make sense. For now, it’s clearly out of line compared to recent sales, but things can and do change.
“I look at Tom, who built MTV, and essentially, we’re doing the same thing, just cheaper,” he adds. “I want to be the next CNN and the next ESPN and the next MTV, digitally, and I know that sounds grandiose, but when we do our Google channels and our Chinese channels, we’re going to be one of the largest networks in the world. We will get there.”
REP. JAMES CLYBURN (D-SC) LIKENS AMERICAN MEDIA TO NAZI PROPAGANDISTS
Clyburn expressed his concerns about the media on “The Morning Briefing” – a program on Sirius XM’s POTUS channel. The crux of his argument is that comments are typically taken out of context and twisted to hurt reputations. He was especially critical of right-wing bloggers who he says are not “media people”.
“The people of Germany believed Hitler’s foolishness that led to the Holocaust. They believed that stuff,” Clyburn said. “People will tend to believe what they hear through the media.”
These are the kind of stories that Ryan Ripley (me), Chris Spangle, and Joe Ruiz break down on #TheShillReport. We record weekly and can be heard on WAL Radio and the online radio station – Indiana Talks. We strive to review journalism and dig in to the stories of the week. We expand and explain the narrative and crack wise in the process. It’s a lesson in managing your media with the examples you are bombarded with every day. We like to say that the media breaks the news and we fix it.
If you would like to send in a story for us to possible use on the show, send a message to @werlibertarians on Twitter and use the #TheShillReport hashtag. You can also leave us a message on the We Are Libertarians FaceBook page.
