Resting Place For Mainstream Media

Posted on | October 13, 2012 | 12 Comments

by Smitty

Slashdot links the MOMA announcing an exhibit: ‘Faking It: Manipulated Photography Before Photoshop‘

…the first major exhibition devoted to the history of manipulated photography before the digital age. Featuring some 200 visually captivating photographs created between the 1840s and 1990s in the service of art, politics, news, entertainment, and commerce, the exhibition offers a provocative new perspective on the history of photography as it traces the medium’s complex and changing relationship to visual truth.

After this election, I expect to see a serious book or three in the specifics of how media has been manipulated, first in TV Age, and now in the Internet Age. [Aside: aren’t these Ages getting younger as we go?]

I don’t see much value in getting angry about this. The real feedback loop that will minimize the shenanigans, and drive people toward honesty is laughter. You can’t make dishonesty illegal through a court of law. You can only minimize dishonesty through the court of public opinion. The likely penalty in lost power has got to exceed whatever transient value gained by, for example, claiming some random pile of trip on YouTube triggered a demonstration that led to the death of an Ambassador and three others.

But that’s just the extreme example. Far less overt examples of spinning in the media, like the Katie Couric interview with Sarah Palin, or the infamous edit of a man carrying a rifle at a Tea Party event, beckon. As we forge a post-Progressive future in the United States, I think the realization will dawn that escaping total collapse was a near-run thing. It’s certainly too early to rule out a partial collapse.

Stacy McCain really should set about compiling a hefty list of examples of media bias.

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Comments

12 Responses to “Resting Place For Mainstream Media”

Senator Blutarsky
October 13th, 2012 @ 9:02 pm

They already publish a list of examples of media bias every morning. It’s called the New York Times.
Mike Rogers
October 13th, 2012 @ 9:07 pm

I thoroughly enjoy political photoshopping, and it’s an excellent tool for making fun of the opposition, as long as it is honestly labelled as such. Examples:
http://granitegrok.com/blog/2012/10/new-yorker-eastwoods-obama-clint-may-have-been-romneys-masterstroke
http://granitegrok.com/blog/2012/01/to-boldy-go-where-no-candidate-has-gone-before-captain-of-the-starship-moral-enterprise
Evi L. Bloggerlady
October 13th, 2012 @ 9:13 pm

Didn’t I ever tell you? Bidens Do Not Bounce!
JeffS
October 13th, 2012 @ 9:49 pm

Any comprehensive list of media bias would require a dedicated server and database, not to mention terabytes of storage.

Which is not an excuse to avoid this task; rather, I am pointing out just far off you are in the necessary scope of work, Smitty. Stacy is worthy of such, but he’ll need a lot more IT support.
JeffS
October 13th, 2012 @ 10:09 pm

Speaking of the media, I see that President Zero is still doing those hard hitting interviews with top names in the MSM.
BruceC
October 13th, 2012 @ 10:17 pm

Wow, a Rudolph reference. The holiday season is upon us. I bet I know what you want for Christmas: No more Kenyan Keynesian in the White House.
Evi L. Bloggerlady
October 13th, 2012 @ 10:59 pm

They’re coming to take Joe away, ha ha!
higgins1990
October 14th, 2012 @ 7:18 am

Time for my joke again:

Q: What’s the difference between the American mainstream media and the Russian?

A: The Russian is forced to cover for their leader.
McGehee
October 14th, 2012 @ 9:14 am

…while the American BSM do it as a labor of love.
Bob Belvedere
October 14th, 2012 @ 4:28 pm

…a sick and twisted kind of love.
McGehee
October 14th, 2012 @ 4:46 pm

Seasoned liberally with Aspic of Battered Spouse Syndrome.
Teeing it up: A Round at the LINKs (History Edition) | SENTRY JOURNAL
October 14th, 2012 @ 8:12 pm

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