In corporate media there is always a race to be first to report a breaking story seconds before your competitors. It means nothing to the rest of the world–we’re talking a matter of seconds, much of the time–but it’s a point of pride in the news business to be first.
Being right is more important, by several miles, and on that score a few prominent outlets failed spectacularly yesterday at the Supreme Court, telling viewers that the individual mandate in the Affordable Care Act had been struck down.
The prime offenders on cable were Fox News (photo by @jasonkeath) and CNN. Within several minutes, the outlets realized their mistakes and shifted their coverage accordingly.
But while it’s important to note these missteps, it’s equally important to remember that this kind of thing happens more than it should–and sometimes with far greater consequences. The 2000 election night “call” for George W. Bush was a prime example of media racing to be first. The decision to declare Bush the winner based on projections of a razor-thin victory in Florida were not only misleading, they set the terms for the public discussion that followed–he won, and now people are trying to steal his victory.
It’s mostly forgotten, but CBS anchor Dan Rather was responsible for several terrible mistakes during live coverage of the aftermath of the September 11 attacks. Rather told CBS viewers that a car bomb had exploded outside the State Department, and that two people had been arrested with explosives at New York’s George Washington Bridge.
Shortly after the United States invaded Iraq, NBC Nightly News had a “scoop” confirming the existence of Iraqi mobile bio-weapons labs (5/12/03). The segment featured a tour of the trailer courtesy of former weapons inspector David Kay. The facility had nothing to do with weapons at all. Weeks earlier (4/26/03), ABC World News had a similar exclusive: “U.S. troops discover chemical agents, missiles, and what could be a mobile laboratory in Iraq. An ABC News exclusive.”
Journalistic outlets, at bare minimum, owe the public an apology and some accountability for their mistakes. But that’s not always what we get. CNN has expressed regret over yesterday’s mistakes. But Fox? Not so much, as reported in the Washington Post:
Fox, meanwhile, said it had no regrets. “Our job is to share the news as we learn it,” said Michael Clemente, executive vice president of news-editorial at Fox. “As we were hearing it, and as we were reading it, we let our viewers know about it.” He added, “You don’t have to wait until the conclusion of the Yankees game to give the score.”
New slogan: We Report, You Decide (if What We Report Is Accurate).
Clemente could have at least come up with a cogent analogy, however misleading it would have been.
What FOX did was tell us the Yankees won, when they lost.
Arrogance 1, Integrity 0.
In spite of how badly the media behaved in the rush to war with Iraq, many people have learned nothing about how the so-called free press “works.” In spite of its size and scale, it’s amazing how difficult it is to find more than one narrative when it comes to any story which is actually covered by the so-called free press. CNN and FOX both got it wrong because the so called mainstream media is full of people with similar world views who are predisposed to present, omit, or spin “news” to match, justify, or support that world view, and that of the people they work for. This incident should give pause to those who actually believe the mainstreams media’s “coverage” of on-going events in places such as Syria, Pakistan, or Somalia is accurate or truthful. If they are so wrong when it comes to domestic events, why would anyone assume that they are any better at it when it comes to societies and places which are outside of their sphere of knowledge and which happen to be located where the government and the multinationals have vested and often secret interests and agendas?
It has been more important to be first than to be accurate for a long, long time. It’s hard to share news 24-7. However, neither of these should be cause for not checking facts. Look at the people who continue to believe that Pres. Obama was born in Kenya. That’s what they heard first and that’s what they believe. Fact checking isn’t a skill very many Americans seem to have, especially those who are in the news media.
Zer0bama Was Wrong FIRST: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpAyan1fXCE !
Uber famous Chicago Tribune headline, November 3, 1948: Dewey Defeats Truman. Sometimes news media jump the gun. Happens rarely. So what?
FAIR, you do so much irreplaceable, in-depth reporting — I rely on you absolutely — so please don’t carp on the small stuff.
Fox News: “We deceive; you believe”
“You don’t have to wait until the conclusion of the Yankees game to give the score.”
That’s a terrible analogy. You DO have to wait until the end of a baseball game to give the score.
With a last name like Clemente, you think he’d know that.
This story has been covered to death. Yet only FAIR covered it well and in the broader context. Great article.
Again, it simply gives more proof of the lack of the so-called “liberal-media”. They were simply going with the story they all expected, and most of their owner/bosses wanted. It also shows how important FAIR continues to be to those of us who want fact–not fiction. I love the T-shirt. about corporate media.
Yes, you don’t have to wait until the end of the Yankees game to give the score–but you also don’t say the game is over based on the score in the fourth inning.
Being the first on the draw and not shooting straight is how a lot of men died back in the wild west days. Maybe Fox & friend CNN will die away too.
Being the first on the draw and not shooting straight is how a lot of men died back in the wild west days. Maybe Fox & friend CNN will die away too. – boots
Naw Viral Infections have to be cured with medicine.
This is no surprise to anyone that Fox and CNN would be the first to give the wrong info. It is all part and parcel of the misinformation campaign to keep any real debates from happening. We have to remember Murdoch and Ailes are not interested in the truth because you can’t sell the truth. However produce enough lies, and the fear is sellable.
First I will admit I was wrong.Well sort of.I said all along from day one that this was a tax.Before any vote even went up.When Obama and Pelosi pledged, promised and swore that it was not a tax…in fact that it was a mandate,every constitutionalist worth his salt knew it was un constitutional.The supreme court (Robertson)acknowledged that the mandate was unconstitutional.The TAX was not.Of course if they had said it was a tax from day one ,the vote would of gone down in flames.Chalk one up to bold face lying.Now of course Obama has to admit this is a tax.A tax affecting everyone.Breaking his promise not to tax the middle class even a dime.This in fact is the largest tax we could ever fathom.Don’t want to say I told you so but…I told you so.Of course small consolation.The lie was huge,but we lost big time.America lost.Now we conservatives move to gain the three houses in the Senate and the Presidency to put and end to this madness.We will be better prepared for the magnitude of lies we will have to deal with from this lot.And you will have to live with the win at any cost attitude your side excels at.
Insurance stocks crashed yesterday,as premiums prepared to climb.Doctor associations(AMA)(ADA) are preparing to acknowledge price increases due to the Obama healthcare tax .Some of my colleagues will move to stop taking insurance all together.Im seeing this as we speak(and considering it).The small business association acknowledged that for the first 5 years of the program (at least) it is hard not to see why insurance will simply be off loaded to the government as the fines will be one third the cost of insuring your employees.This will become the great dodge we will all live to regret.Yet who can blame any businessman.In the end the bottom line if this goes through -is Government will be in charge of every ones health careA scarier thought i cant conceive of.Insurance companies were already far to involved.This will be a thousand times worse.The fact that there is no money to pay for this is a factor everywhere but- in The land of Oz Obama lives in.One good thing is the IRS will be hiring thousands of agents to come after those who dont stay in step.So in the end he is creating jobs.
Sometimes it’s hard to understand what words mean anymore. For example, the term GENERAL WELFARE. I always thought it had to do what was best for the entire nation, along with considering that POSTERITY, which will be those Americans living in the future.
There is available money, but sometimes those definitions do get in the way. GENERAL WELFARE…does that now refer to retiring generals who transition into lobbyists for the very companies that used to sell them military weapons?
A tax affecting everyone.Breaking his promise not to tax the middle class even a dime.This in fact is the largest tax we could ever fathom.
Quit peddling bullshit.
Another bad mistake on Sept. 11, 2001 was when the networks showed Palestinians celebrating the terrorist attacks. When journalist outlets dug deeper into those videos, they were recorded well before Sept. 11.
Dick Gozinja
I feel like you had a stroke and are busy recovering.All well for you(but obviously not for us)Lately you have added little.Simply writing the same line in a moronic ,repetitive drone .Like an 8 year old in an argument.Give your opinion beyond just a three word invective.Can you imagine if for four years we on the right had responded to everything BAM said with a “quit peddling bullshit”.Ok bad example… since we really should have.
Look you well know the Supreme court passed THE OBAMA HEALTHCARE TAX for one reason and one reason only.THEY called it a tax.If you think it is not going to be massive…..What in Gods name do you think?
Gloriana please re write your post above.You mistakenly wrote “There is available money”.There is actually no money.We are trillions beyond broke.I had a bike when I was six that was run over by a mack truck.That was NOT broke in comparison.This is all based on printing and borrowing from Peter to pay Paul.This is the bum who lives on the street, putting six Rolls Royces and a Beverly Hills Mc mansion on a credit card.Actually….times that by a couple trillion.This is pie in the sky insanity.Say hello to the friggin Greeks.
This is the best kind of Fox and CNN news–the lies that even THEY can’t deny they told. The bad ones are the big lies that they repeat on a daily basis, that don’t describe an election result or baseball game victor, but insinuate that myth is fact, that racism is just being realistic, and that capitalism always wins out over science and history.
Fox and the rest of the mainstream media are owned by those who control the government and the economy; they are to truth as Guantanamo is to justice.
Look you well know the Supreme court passed THE OBAMA HEALTHCARE TAX for one reason and one reason only.THEY called it a tax.If you think it is not going to be massive…..
Quit peddling bullshit.
Dick I may owe you an apology.It just occurred to me that there is no way of telling on this site how old a person is.You could be a mature adult, or you may not be.I have my suspicions that you are far younger that i at first thought.Of course i applaud young people joining in with their input.Try in the future to add more substance to your opinions and less invective.Good luck
Doc M.
Funny, I always thought that a tax was something citizens paid to government, not private, for-profit corporations.
When I was a kid, being forced to pay protection money was called “extortion,” “bullying,” and “racketeering.” Today, this same behavior is legalized and blessed for the insurance industry by the SCOTUS under the guise of taxation.
And just like endlessly forking over protection money to the mobsters, mandated payments to the health insurance companies are no guarantee we will be covered if we become sick.
Single Payer, no gimmicks, no waivers for individuals, is the ONLY solution. Everyone on the political spectrum knows this, and this includes our right-leaning and corrupt supreme court. This is why they created some new dicta to cover their very sorry asses for the corporations that fund our government.
michael e compares robbing Peter to pay Paul:
This is the bum who lives on the street, putting six Rolls Royces and a Beverly Hills Mc mansion on a credit card…
Where is this/these bum(s)? Are you sure you are not seeing things? Was your brain connected to your fingers when you wrote that? You are hereby excused from writing further posts on fair.org. It’s OK with the rest of us, really.