|
Thursday, May 19, 2005The Hidden Wisdom of Terry MoranTerry Moran got contentious with Press Secretary McClellan the other day. And he and Hewitt didn't exactly get on like the best of chums. But there's one thing to be said for some of what Terry's saying: It's right. McClellan had suggested that maybe Newsweek ought work to repair some of the damage it's done, prompting the NYT's snip in residence to ask if he wanted rah-rah stories about the military. If Newsweek wants to help us, though, next week they'll have another sloppily reported exposé. Moran is right about the damaging effect of the government even appearing to direct the media. The media has to go its own way. And if we want the Muslim world to really catch on, the object lesson is not for a major publication to change its tone on the heels of nasty comments from the maximum leader's mouthpiece. Rather, we want the Muslim world to find out that you can't trust the media, you can't trust the government, you can't trust the imams... you can't trust anybody but yourself, and we're not so sure about that. If we want the seeds of democracy to truly take root, McClellan will admit to his frustration at how complicated life gets when the media blows it this big, then apologize for getting involved in a problem that, now that the truth is out, is Newsweek's to deal with, not his. The message sent would be potent: Whatever the media prints, good or bad, one thing it isn't is government approved. Positive stories? Negative stories? Post Koran-flushing, you've gotta take it with a grain of salt. But at least you know it's not just government propoganda. On the other hand, if Newsweek runs a "Why we love Rummy" story next week that isn't cynical as hell, what's the message? Easy... our government controls the media, just like theirs. Not the message we want to send. So Moran's right for possibly the wrong reasons. But in the long run, not only the "sanctity" of free speech, but also coldly calculated self-interest require that we walk back from McClellan's speech and let the press be the press. 
posted by gbarto at 7:13 PM |
Archives
|
Day By Day© by Chris Muir.Old TurkeyBlog here.
