Features » April 12, 2005

Five Ways to Combat Conservative Media

By Jamison Foser

1. Stop talking about “bias.”

Inaccurate, distorted and misleading news reports that further a conservative agenda or undermine progressive ideas dominate our newspapers and airwaves. But this isn’t necessarily because reporters or media outlets are biased towards conservatives.

For every Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, there are dozens of reporters who don’t have an ideological axe to grind, but whose work contains conservative misinformation anyway.

Sometimes that’s because they lazily repeat Republican talking points. Sometimes it’s because the conservative communications apparatus is larger, more lavishly funded and better able to disseminate its message. Regardless of the reason, conservative misinformation appears in news reports written, produced and read by all kinds of journalists.

The Right has spent decades framing the debate over media coverage as one of ideological bias, and it has worked for them. But that’s an overly simplistic view of the media. Rather than mimicking conservatives, progressives should recognize that we can’t read reporters’ hearts and minds—but we can read their articles and columns.

By focusing our criticism on content rather than intent, we can more effectively address the problems in news reports. Criticism based on content rather than claims of “bias” will also resonate with a larger portion of the public.

2. Stay informed

Media Matters for America, Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting and Free Press are all valuable resources for progressives who want to fight the flood of conservative misinformation in the media.

Also seek out progressive voices in the media, from Air America to bloggers to the soon-to-launch Progressive Book Club.

3. Get active

Every day, reporters are bombarded with inaccurate and misleading information promoted by conservatives, and they face constant allegations of “bias” from right-wing organizations and politicians, including the president and vice president of the United States.

Is it any wonder news reports are filled with conservative misinformation?

Well, it won’t change—unless we all do something about it. When you see a misleading news report, write a letter or make a phone call. Tell the news organization why they are wrong. Tell your friends, tell your neighbors, tell your family, and encourage progressive leaders to do the same. Progressive efforts to fight back against conservative misinformation in the media will gain credibility and momentum when we all join the fight—from local activists to elected officials.

4. Be patient– and be persistent

Conservatives have spent decades actively and intensely “working the refs,” as former Republican National Committee chairman Rich Bond famously described the right’s criticism of the media. Progressives took longer to get started, so it will not be enough to occasionally hold media outlets responsible for purveying conservative misinformation: We have to do it every day.

5. Fight back in innovative ways

Aside from writing letters and making phone calls, we must think of new, creative and effective ways to combat conservative misinformation in the media. Come up with your own ideas, try them out—and share them with other activists.

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• Reader Comments

  The success of the right-wing media is that it claims to stand for the average man, as opposed to the liberal and thus elitist media.  What makes someone average by the conservative definition is of course his behavior and tastes, not his economic class.  Thus a factory worker who is a member of the Socialist Workers Party (I know a couple) is elitist, whereas a bible-carrying millionaire who owns a ranch in Crawford, Texas is an average guy.

  Thus the natural class animus of many working class whites is directed at elitists (liberals) regardless of economic status, rather than at the rich.  This is the genius of the conservatism of today, as opposed to the old, pre-1968 conservatism that indeed was rhetorically elitist.

  However, the success of this media has deeper roots.  It mirrors the rise to power of a particular criminal section of the ruling class.  The Enron bourgeois or lumpenbourgeois as I like to call them, personified by the neo-cons in office.  They have simply changed the rhetoric, and debased the public discourse, using the worst kind of mendacity that one would expect from gangsters.  Parallel to the rise of the Enron millionaire is the rise of an equally criminal element: the rich evangelic preachers.  These folks make a lot of money by staging phony healing sessions and by asking people to give up a lot of their money in exchange for God’s blessing.  These two groups have allied themselves and have created a movement which screws the average guy over and over again, while denouncing the uppity, elitist, America-hating liberals.

  To fight this, in my view, would require a fight for true working-class politics.  There are no short cuts.

  Posted by Maximillian Al Dakari on Apr 12, 2005 at 3:23 PM

  Abraham Lincoln was precognizantly correct when he smashed the current spirit of Republican politics, the political/religious hubris/ arrogance of the “moral majority”.  He said that out task should not be to invoke religion and the name of God by claiming God’s blessings and endorsement for all our national policies and practices, tantamount to saying “God is on our side”. (Hitler said that, too.  Gott mit uns.)
  Rather, Lincoln said, we should pray and WORRY EARNESTLY whether we are on God’s side.

  Unfortunately for Jesus and his painful sacrafice, the phoney preachers robbing the faithful are now our government.

  Posted by Margaret on Apr 12, 2005 at 5:10 PM

  Thank you for a most enjoyable article.  I am with you 100% on this solution to continual Bush speak by media that I used to support as a liberal.  I have NPR, Newsweek, WP, NYT, etc.

  I will use the suggestions you offer and will share your article with others.

  Good work!  We need more like you!

  Posted by Karen Kohr-Blinn on Apr 12, 2005 at 7:55 PM

  For a very interesting account of how right-wingers attract and subvert the media, please read this cold, calculating media strategy.

  Do not hesitate to send to your friends in the media. Some of them may not be conscious how they are “played”, or perhaps more to the point, “preyed” upon!

  Posted by Freedom on Apr 12, 2005 at 8:54 PM

  Points to remember when writing aletter to the editor:

  One: SHORT SELLS. 250 - 300 word letters to the editor have a better chance of getting published than a thousand word essay (send those to the op-ed page).

  Two: CONFRONTATION SELLS. If you catch a local Bush Loyalist in a lie—call them lier. Don’t even think about being polite.

  Three: DOCUMENTATION SELLS. When you send a letter to the editor, be sure to include your sources.

  Four (and most important): INTEGRITY SELLS. Include your name, address and contact information. If you don’t, your letter will not be published. No-one respects anonymous messengers.

  Posted by Walter F. Wouk on Apr 13, 2005 at 5:41 AM

• extended discussion >>>Continued...

  Discussions with more than 5 comments are continued on our special discussion page to encourage continuity and ease of use. There are currently 26 posts.

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