New Survey Finds Huge Gap Between Press and Public on Many Issues

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000920962

A new survey to be released Monday reveals a wide gap on many media issues between a group of journalists and the general public. In one finding, 43% of the public say they believe the press has too much freedom, while only 3% of journalists agree. Just 14% of the public can name “freedom of the press” as a guarantee in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, in the major poll conducted by the University of Connecticut Department of Public Policy.

Six in ten among the public feel the media show bias in reporting the news, and 22% say the government should be allowed to censor the press. More than 7 in 10 journalists believe the media does a good or excellent job on accuracy--but only 4 in 10 among the public feel that way. And a solid 53% of the public think stories with unnamed sources should not be published at all.

Perhaps the widest gap of all: 8 in 10 journalists said they read blogs, while less than 1 in 10 others do so. Still, a majority of the news pros do not believe bloggers deserve to be called journalists.

Asked who they voted for in the past election, the journalists reported picking Kerry over Bush by 68% to 25%. In this sample of 300 journalists, from both newspapers and TV, Democrats outnumbered Republicans by 3 to 1--but about half claim to be Independent. As in previous polls, a majority (53%) called their political orientation “moderate,” versus 28% liberal and 10% conservative.

[Catch22Dem]

1. 22% say the government should be allowed to censor the press

Who the FUCK are these people? Do they realize we live in the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA????? We USED to pride ourselves on NOT wanting to gov't to censor jack shit. Now we have 22% of the sheeple population thinking this is perfectly acceptable.

[glitch]

4. Somebody has to score between 70-90 on standard IQ tests.

I am guessing this is the group.

[havocmom]

6. Same bunch that yell "Love it or Leave it" when someone voices that

there are some problems we need to address in America.

The dumbing down agenda plays well with too many lazy people who think freedom was won once upon a time and never has to be actively defended.

Go shopping, America. Yeah, buy yourself a pretty new frock. Don't worry yer purty head about anything distasteful...

We need to start making sure kids get edcated about history better than they are.

[Kadie]

19. Scary.

:scared:

[Toots]

22. You know what the average IQ in America is?

Well half are below average...

[TahitiNut]

28. Median.

Half score below the median.

[Griffy]

29. whats the percent of American that watch Faux?! about 22%? nt

[Rose Siding]

2. Wow

:cry:

I have an idea. Make verifiable memorization of the Bill of Rights a graduation requirement of every grade beginning after, oh, sixth? -And an essay on its meaning before the issuance of a driver's license?

[sonicx]

3. yikes!

[young_at_heart]

5. How is it possible only 14% know of "Freedom of the Press"?

That statistic just boggles the mind..........the dumbing down of America I guess. It's really sad!

[nadinbrzezinski]

7. Next time you are among the people ask them

if they know what the constitution is? After that give away free copies... I ahve done that by the way

[ohtransplant]

8. Bottom line - A mind is a terrible thing to waste.

The state of the educational system in this country is catching up to us.

[Occulus]

20. It's intentional

Hardcore far-rightwingers have been trying to get public education defunded for some time now. For the most part, they've shamelessly succeeded. It started with a meme some twenty years ago (I remember my dad complaining about it when I was a kid) that teachers get "three whole months off compared to everyone else". It's continued with defunding of "unnecessary" courses such as art and music (not to mention new books that are "too expensive", but only in certain inner city schools), while at the same time increasing funding to athletic programs "to foster a healthy competitive spirit".

Academic programs are getting cut for many of the same reasons: far-righties at their heart need One Authority to turn to, be it government, church, or family. They cannot seem to handle many information sources, nor do they seem to be able to sort out conflicting facts. More to the point, they don't want anyone to have access to sources of information they themselves disapprove of- which is why we see the recent "intelligent" design debate.

Why the schools? They either want to control what the child is taught or let their (good American authority-loving God-fearing Christian) parents teach the kids themselves. Children taught what the righties want to be taught will grow up to never question, to never even know they can question, and to ever accept The Official Line.

A dumb populace is a controllable populace. This is why dictators typically round up the educated, for they perhaps instinctively know the educated know the truth.

[ohtransplant]

23. Agreed.

Don't forget vouchers.

I've always maintained it comes down to how we fund schools. Using local property taxes aggravates the problems you refer to.

My family has many teachers in it so we're aware of the pitfalls. I've always felt that since we rely on them to teach and care for our children, society should place a higher value on them relative to say...a an entertainer or athlete. Yeah,...I know...good luck with that thought.

[Fifth of Five]

30. I have argued this for years

The only ones I have had agree with me are public school teachers who see it happening first hand every day.

No one wants to believe it - who could possibly be against excellent education?

[LiberalFighter]

9. What are the teachers teaching in high school?

[funnymanpants]

10. What we are supposed to

I have been a substitute teacher for 11 years. The teachers try really hard to teach the consitution.

Students are very anti-learning. They don't give a flying f**ck. You can try a million different techniques. They just don't care. They are bored. They don't want to read, and you can't make them! They want their MTV!

We live in an anti-intellectual climate.

[Carolab]

11. Maybe if they had some role models who cared it would change.

Why doesn't the younger generation of "celebrities" make this a cause celebre? Rock the Vote and other movements to engage younger people in politics seemed to be pretty successful. As long as you tie something to their idols in film, music, etc. it seems to get their attention.

[Carolab]

12. The fact that the majority voted for Kerry is telling.

They certainly ARE whores, then aren't they?

[funnymanpants]

13. That might help some

But you have to have *some* basic reading level, and *some* basic interest in learnng something. The students (I mean the ones in general and lower level classes) just do not care at all. They never, ever read a book, and ideas like freedom of speech are as alien to them as the Chinese language. I think people on the DU who have generally done pretty well in school, and are quite interested in learning things, don't understand this.

However, I do agree that getting students to connect politics to the real world (how much they make, their parent's social security check, the park destroyed for a developement) helps. To students, politics is just a bunch of useless facts like algebra.

[Carolab]

15. I wonder if someone could start a campaign.

Round up some of these kids' "heroes" and find out what their educational stories are and what they think the value of basic skills is, in the real world.

[Occulus]

21. they hate to read

This is a mindset many, many, many adults I come in contact with have. They don't like reading; it's boring. They don't "get anything out of it".

They want a product, a toy to play with. Their God-given imaginations aren't good enough.

[MadisonProgressive]

32. I know a guy, about 68 years old - I asked him about politics

he said - "I don't pay any attention to that CRAP! It doesn't affect me anyway"

I dropped the subject...

[LiberalFighter]

34. In Madison?? Geesh

Is he out in the county?

But then again at Christmas time I asked a couple of my cousins who is their US Representative. They thought it was Senator Kohl. And to top it off they didn't even know who was the other Senator.

[MadisonProgressive]

37. Well, he lives in Mc Farland which is about 10ft from Madison

But there are A LOT of people like that all over. They never had to worry before, and so they think there's no reason to think about it now. They have been brainwashed by the media and BushCO.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

24. Unfortunately, the celebrities they adore are even dumber than

they are, for the most part.

The corporate machine would never promote (actually, manufacture) a celebrity who admitted to reading books.

[LiberalFighter]

35. For sure dumber when they are only interested in people

like Paris Hilton, shows like American Idol and other useless drivel.

[Wright Patman]

16. This will ensure

that the generation of Americans in primary and secondary schools right now will live in a Third World cesspool owned by Asians and Europeans for whom they will be working, if they can find work at all.

It didn't help that their parents rah-rahed for an illegal war along with ruinous tax cuts. Those two policies also sort of ensured Third World status.

Seriously, I think if I were a kid today, I'd say "bleep it all" and start making plans to move somewhere with a future.

[me b zola]

17. Many of them are teaching religion in science classrooms

That is a pretty good indicator that our education system is under attack of the anti-inteligensia.

[NVMojo]

14. ...and this is reality news!!!

[SKKY]

18. When was the last time, really, the press reported on anything...

...remotely in line with public opinion? I can't remember back that far.

[killbotfactory]

25. 22% want to live in China

[Charles19]

26. This is how not funding education helps repugs (nt)

[Hobo]

27. Wow and bears shite in woods...

who would have thunk it. :sarcasm:




Hobo

:beer:

[Roland99]

31. "22% say the government should be allowed to censor the press"

:wow: :scared:

[despairing optimist]

33. And 28% can't read the instructions on a Jell-O box

The makers of Jell-O are latte-loving, Birkenstock-wearing, BMW-driving, overeducated, elitist pigs!

BTW, grape Jell-O tastes great in a Starbucks latte Grande.

(kidding)

[UpInArms]

36. related: American Journalists Hazy on Press Freedoms

http://www.arabnews.com/?page=4§ion=0&article=63883&d=17&m=5&y=2005

WASHINGTON, 17 May 2005 — As President Bush and his administration push their vision of democracy throughout the world, they should consider giving refresher courses here at home. It appears that a majority of Americans, and a high percentage of US journalists, are a bit vague on details of the US Constitution.

Only 14 percent of the US public, and 57 percent of American journalists, know that the First Amendment — freedom of speech and the press — is a guaranteed right in the US Constitution, according to a poll released yesterday by the University of Connecticut, which interviewed 1,000 American adults, and 300 television and newspaper journalists for the study.

Written in 1789 by America’s founding fathers, the First Amendment protects the freedom of speech, press, religion and assembly, and the freedom to petition the government for redress of grievances.

“Freedom of the press is at the core of America’s brand of democracy,” said Professor Ken Dautrich who headed the study. “It’s quite surprising that so few Americans can name it as part of the First Amendment. Even more disappointing is the fact that those who use free press rights in their work aren’t more knowledgeable about it.”

Asked to identify the specific rights guaranteed by the First Amendment, “freedom of speech” was most frequently named, at 58 percent; followed by freedom of religion, 16 percent. Even less identifiable than free press was the right to peaceably assemble, 10 percent, and the right to petition government for a redress of grievances.

...more...

we're doomed :(

[Hidden Stillness]

38. Corporations Should Not Be Trusted to Teach

There is a huge gap between the corporate media and the public, it has been there at least 20 years, and it is as wide as the gap between the people on an unemployment line, and a gaggle of worthless rich people frolicking on a yacht. As a matter of fact, that is exactly the difference. I agree with many people on this thread that this has all been brought about because corporations--by way of their media and their increasing takeover of what used to be public school systems, and colleges and universities--want people to be stupid, selfish, to only think about buying things, and to not even think that governments are things worth having. If people are frighteningly ignorant and stupid, it is all the media's fault and intent, because this situation never existed before.

As soon as that bastard Reagan started changing media-ownership laws, anti-trust regulations, the percentage of network TV content that had to be made by independant producers (lowering it), and all other things needed to set this thing up for their people, the entire media consolidated down to its present shape of a very small, extremist/corporate/anti-democratic-government group that now not only does not serve the public good, but treats the open workings of our whole society as its enemy. News coverage was never treated the same way again. The old commonsensical "news reporter's" attitude of documenting the most important news stories for the general audience, so we would know roughly what was going on in the world and be educated, is gone. Now, everything is propaganda and mind-control straight from the advertiser's corporate boardroom. Nothing is even explained from the basics anymore--it was all just "that robbery we told you about," or "the popular diet drug," or of course, "the nuclear option." I don't know how people are supposed to be educated on current events, when they are deliberately not explained from the fundamentals, but only this "insider short-hand" is ever used. Who the hell would ever be able to guess what is now going on in Congress if all you ever heard was "nuclear option," and didn't even know what "filibuster" meant? I believe this is a tactic to bore people away from the issues by portraying them as incoherent, by using jargon and never describing. "News" stories do not have (visual) establishing shots anymore, only extreme, annoying close-ups, and running around like an asshole with the camera. Shots are taken of the same thing from four or five angles or ranges--moneysaver. Nowadays, everything is slant, and the whole "story" may be that "Democrats are being obstructionist," blah blah. Stories are so completely made up of slogans and spin, with no intelligent description, that I would be shocked if anyone ended up being intelligent after all that. They are trying to kill the overall perspective that you need to think with.

Just to take a couple of current examples of how the media tells everything, think about the "Newsweek" Quran story, and a story on the "Supreme Court" deciding that wineries can sell wine by shipping directly, over state lines (vote was 5-4; gee, what does that remind you of?--all the time now). The first story, that interrogators at Guantanamo prison were flushing a Quran down the toilet, had already been verified by many witnesses and several news organizations before the "Newsweek" story--as, yet again, only Keith Olbermann is reporting--yet suddenly, this magazine can be made to pretend that the story was "wrong," after some contacts by Republican, Inc., as a few brave people have been saying for years now. This administration pressures and pressures journalists until they can't stand it anymore, and cave. Then it is presented as "Newsweek was wrong" on the "news," and they ALL go along with it. This is why I do not blame people necessarily for being ignorant after media contact--how can you not be ignorant, when they knowingly lie?
The second story was the trivial-seeming (and this is how they want you to think of it, and fall asleep) wine story: every single media corporation, every single time, cheered it as "choice," "oh, how fun," "we like wine," endless brainless shit. It was only further marketing and the killing of laws, and therefore favorable to them. As you may not have heard, though, the threat is that minors, because they will not have to purchase it face to face, can buy wine now with no age check. This can become yet another terrible problem, but as always, the media cheers and sells, and you never even notice through all this blandness that they are ruthlessly killing all of our legal rights and protections.

No matter how people complain that they want real news and are sick of fluff, the pimps cannot change it, because the whole point to them is to make us totally trivialized, stupid, consuming buyers of products--no citizens, no society, no education. I don't even know how the corporate media, after all of its propaganda, censoring, slant, cutting the budgets of its own news departments, and endless product promotion pretending to be news, can hypocritically pretend to be "shocked" that people who pay attention to this crap are ignorant. Suggestions on this thread that we need to revive Civics classes at school are right to the core of the problem--it would return people to the basic knowledge of what our country, our government is, how it works, why it is so great and why we want to keep every checking-and-balancing part of it, and of course, where threats sometimes come from. The problem is, the threat is here.