Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, January 18, 1995 TAG: 9501180037
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CAL THOMAS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
He is right. The egos of some television journalists are exceeded only by their inflated salaries. Too many see government officials as journalists' play toys made for career advancement.
Conservatives have long engaged in boycotts of television they don't like. Entire organizations - from Morality in Media to the American Family Association - have sponsored ``blackout'' days during which supporters were urged to boycott certain networks, or not turn on the television at all, or refrain from buying products sold by advertisers who bought time on programs deemed by these groups to be anti-family or anti-religious.
This is the first time, if memory serves, that someone has sought to boycott from within - to deprive the networks of meat for them to chew up. It is a fascinating tactic with tremendous potential to alter the way American media conduct themselves and to force them to be more responsible, fair and accurate in reporting.
Among the major institutions, only the media have refused to accurately read the election results - or decided to ignore them. There have been a few sensible hires: Peggy Weymier as religion reporter for ABC (before the election), conservative columnist Tony Snow for ``Good Morning America,'' and Peggy Noonan for social commentary on NBC's ``Today Show.'' Snow and Noonan will have liberal debating opponents. But essentially nothing has been done to change the way news is covered by the big networks.
The decisions about which stories to cover and how to portray them remain in the hands of people who largely continue to believe in the redemptive power of big government and who regard conservative views and values as racist, homophobic and unworkable. As long as producers, writers and reporters whose ideologies remain mired in the '60s direct the news, Republicans and conservatives will seldom receive a fair hearing and an opportunity to debate their views on a level playing field. Tune in almost any morning to the ``Today Show'' and watch Bryant Gumbel pronounce every perceived evil originating in the Reagan administration as just one example.
As conservative leader Paul Weyrich recently noted, the favored position of the big media is threatened because many of their political friends, with whom they drank and ate and joked, were sent home by the voters. They have no ideological liking for the new bunch, and the feeling is largely mutual. They will try to cozy up to the new leadership, but, as Rush Limbaugh warned incoming freshmen Republicans, they will never be their friends because they hate what these new members stand for - smaller government, less dependency on the state and a reformation in moral and social values.
What if Republicans made a vow (``contract'' has already been used) to boycott the news programs and not to talk to the big networks until their ideas are treated with fairness?
Republicans could seek media outlets that provide respectful coverage to get their views across. That would increase the credibility and visibility of broadcast and print journalists with a serious commitment to their profession and not to their personal political beliefs. Without Republicans to fight against and nitpick, the big media would be left with Democrats, lower ratings and virtually nothing to talk about.
Shortly after the Connie Chung incident with Newt Gingrich's mother, it was reported that CBS' ratings had declined. Surveys have shown that growing numbers of people don't like the the slanted and sensational reporting masquerading as ``news.'' Yet network brass seem to think the problem isn't too much trash, but too little.
So let's expand the Gingrich boycott. It shouldn't take long to shake up the news industry.
- Los Angeles Times Syndicate
by CNB