Blog :: Why people don't trust the MSM

I've gradually become aware that I perceive people who primarily get their news and information from the MSM as ... quaint. I'm not really sure when I first started to feel this way and I can't always remember why it is that I feel like this.

You are probably aware of the recent riot in Toledo Ohio.  This story on CNN, for instance has a straightforward factual accounting of the events: Neo-Nazi's tried to march (allegedly to protest violence by black gangs) and the counter-protestors grew violent, eventually sparking a riot where "gangs" (according to the Mayor and Police Chief) burned a gas station, flipped over cars, and injured a police officer.

So how does ABC News headline its story?

For those of you having a hard time reading the screenshot, it says:

White Supremacists Riot in Toledo, Ohio
Mayor of Toledo, Ohio, Declares Emergency, Sets Curfew After Hundreds of White Supremacists Riot

Now the news reports are clear - the initial violence (throwing eggs and rocks at the neo-nazis) was done by the counter-protesters. The riot proper was the work of young African-American men (again, gangs according to local political authorities.) This headline then is factually incorrect. When contacted by readers, however, ABC News put up another version of the same story (hat tip to Michelle Malkin. This time the headline reads

Anti-White Supremacist Protesters Riot
Toledo, Ohio, Mayor Declares Emergency, Sets Curfew After Anti-White Supremacist Protesters Riot

So apparently ABC has become a full-service news agency. Whichever truth you prefer, ABC will be happy to provide. And oh yeah, now I remember why I don't rely on the MSM. It isn't just the slowness (I prefer my information on internet time). It is the feeling that ultimately the highest loyalty of many news organizations is no longer to the news - the facts as nearly as they can be made out - but rather to the impact and results of reporting news and shaping opinions. This of course means that they are no longer in the News business... But "ABC Propaganda" probably wouldn't fit on the TV screen.

Posted on Oct 18th 2005, 12:33 AM