Archive for August, 2008

The Republicans have selected Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska to be their vice presidential nominee. What do you think about their pick? Share your thoughts with us here.

A pregnant woman in Georgia mourns the death-by-airstrike of her husband on the front page of today’s New York Times. Below the heartbreaking picture is the equally gut-wrenching story of unnecessary and painful death in the hands of U.S. immigration authorities. Both are tragic tales which most of us who read the paper every day have relatively little ability to control. Yet Page 1 offers up another infuriating story which we most certainly do have a say in: the latest tale of swiftboating for monetary and political gain.

“Obama Nation” is the latest offering by Jerome R. Corsi, the infamous quasi-journalist who caused irrevocable damage to Senator Kerry’s 2004 campaign with his widely-discredited “Unfit for Command.” As the Times notes, “Several of [Obama Nation's] accusations, in fact, are unsubstantiated, misleading or inaccurate… Nonetheless, it is to make its first appearance on The New York Times best-seller list for nonfiction hardcovers this Sunday — at No. 1.”

Political support for Senator Obama is not the issue here; if a similar book was published making unsubstantiated claims about Senator McCain it would be equally reprehensible. What is at stake is something of far greater significance: the fairness, balance, and ethical standards of our media. “Obama Nation” happens to be published by an imprint of Simon & Schuster, under the direction of Mary Matlin - a Republican woman whom I personally like - but whose decision to print a book containing unchecked and insinuating “facts” is plain wrong. And as consumers, we should demand better.

There’s a Native American saying that goes, “He who tells the stories rules the world.” But I would argue that in the media-soaked 21st century, those who tell the stories only rule if consumers allow them to. In our choice to subscribe to a newspaper or choose a competitor, watch a news show or flip the channel, buy or pass by a book, lies a weighty power: the almighty dollar. With the exception of our vote, we have little immediate control as individuals over the bombings in Georgia or the cruelty of some immigration officials. But what we buy is very much in our control.

This summer, The White House Project, along with the Women’s Media Center and the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education, held a conference entitled “From Soundbites to Solutions: Bias, Punditry, and the Press in the 2008 Election.” From the substantive dialogue amongst the political pundits and media operatives who participated in the conference, a forthcoming report provides meaty solutions to the pressing problem of media bias. Among the solutions proposed in the upcoming “Bias, Punditry, and the Press: Where Do We Go From Here” are a bevy of recommendations for consumers to combat media bias.

They include:

1. Exercise the Power of Your Purse. Don’t like it? Don’t buy it.
2. Email the Advertisers. If it’s on the public airwaves, find out who the advertisers are and write them a note.
3. Call the Television or Radio Newsroom. Tell those in charge what you really think. What the public demands can make a difference.
4. Write the Newspaper or Magazine Editor. See something you don’t like? Let the editor know.
5. Create and Participate in Alternative Media. Digital media and the rise of citizen journalism offer myriad opportunities to democratize the news. Dive in.

At the 2008 Democratic National Convention, this timely discussion will continue in another “Soundbites” panel, featuring speakers from CNN, MSNBC, Salon.com, The Nation and NPR. In the meantime, the next time you turn on cable news or peruse your local bookstore, remember this: partisan lies and shoddy journalism sells - but only if you’re buying.

Last week, the 2008 election brought us a far cry from headlines worthy of a presidential race - say, proposed policy initiatives tackling the escalating deaths in Afghanistan or our rapidly declining economy - and brought us instead to a shameful low: a thoughtless and disrespectful narrative on race. Amidst the usual campaign bickering and mud-throwing that campaigns inevitably (and unfortunately) fall prey to, this particular turn has gone too far, creating a political discourse on race that reduces people’s lives and legacies - often very painful ones - to the strategic playing of a card game.

The old saying about how we need to “play the hand we are dealt” was coined to encourage us to accept the realities of our birth, to acknowledge that there are things in our lives we can’t change, and to make the best of who we are. It’s good advice, and is deeply incorporated into the popular AA injunction to change the things we can, accept what we cannot, and wisely sort out the difference.

But to extend this “card playing” analogy to our public discourse around race or gender - two of the things that we can’t change and both of which come with long legacies of oppression that include slavery, lynching, scientific experimentation, rape, poverty, domestic violence, disempowerment, and political under-representation–is callous. To accuse the bearer of these subject positions of dealing in “cards” - and of “playing” with them, no less - mocks both our history and the sexism and racism that remains alive and well. Allowing such narratives to take root and thrive - most recently against Senator Obama, and previously against Senator Clinton - both trivializes the fact that race and gender continue to be significant markers of discrimination in our society and disgraces those who have experienced and fought against racism and sexism.

The American public should demand better of our media and our candidates. It’s time to ask that they discontinue the “card” narrative, and prevent us from funneling our history of racism and sexism into a storyline of games and strategy.

The fact that people like Senators Obama and Clinton have managed to “thrive” as leaders in a country where only a very small percentage of our leaders are women or people of color, and where racism and sexism is still alive and well, should be celebrated. And along the way, the metaphors with which we craft these narratives should be thoughtfully vetted; they are, in fact, the storylines with which we mark our history, shaping how we see ourselves and each other.