Saturday, May 29, 2004
News and opinion junkies understand this concept well - that the prevailing, even so-called "unbiased" news falls into a sort of "narrative" rythm. "They" make sure we know who the good guys are, who the bad guys are and what stories are important. Many of the purveyors of the news may not even understand that they do this - their bias is just the prevailing opinion within their circles. Others are outright liars, activists posing as unbiased conveyors of information.
Many of us see through it, and to a large extent that explains the success of news sources like FOX, and opinion sources like Limbaugh. This British journalist understands. (hat tip: mal)
Telegraph | Opinion | My childish view of a nasty America is still popular
I still think Wheeler is an excellent journalist and a clever man. But what I - and presumably millions of others - were hearing from him and the BBC was a particular narrative about America. This was that there were good, liberal people who believed in civil rights. If they were white, the good ones came from the northern states and never spoke about religion.
If they were black, the good ones came from the southern states and spoke about religion a lot. These good people were fighting oppression, whether of black people or of the people of Vietnam. The hero was Senator Eugene McCarthy, who failed to get the Democratic nomination in 1968.
The oppressors, the bad people, wanted war and racial segregation. They were fat and ugly and always white and liked having guns. The villain was Governor George Wallace of Alabama, who stood as an independent in the same election, and believed in segregation. The pictures of him that appeared always showed his face darkened with what we were supposed to think of as racial hatred...
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