This article from the Daily Kos proves there is no liberal media by listing the stories almost never mentioned in the major newspaper and TV shows.
Think how little attention the reform wrecking ball has gotten. Only a major scandal like Bennett’s grade-fixing is noticed. No major paper would touch John Merrow’s exposé of cheating under Rhee.
No one in the media cares about the US having the highest poverty rate of any advanced nation.
No one cares about segregation.
Almost no one mentions ALEC.
Almost no media outlet thinks it matters that public education is privatized for fun and profit.
NBC became an outlet for reformy propaganda because of “Education Nation.”
Even Rachel Maddow steers clear of education issues.
Gates, Duncan, and Rhee have had hours and hours of national TV time.
Liberal media bias?
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Yes, I sent this around when I first saw it. And there’s always Eric Alterman’s excellent WHAT LIBERAL MEDIA? for a close analysis of this issue from a little while ago.
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Ignore the media. Register concerns about the misuse of high stakes testing in writing and by calling state legislators. File open records requests for corporate education welfare contracts. Share the testing and database contracts with parents and taxpayers using social media. Organize and vote.
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Too many people still get their “information” from the general media. Social media does not reach all audiences. The media needs to be reformed. The telecommunications act that Clinton signed is partially responsible for all of this, allowing consolidation of owners/”information”.
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AMEN
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Abandon Liberal Media terminology in favor of the accurate, Corporate Media. Eric A and a few others excepted, this is important because it clarifies that we are on our own and must use all available media in preservation of a free public school system.
In 1935 John Dewey dedicated a little book to Jane Addams entitled, Liberalism and Social Action. For he and Jane, the two went hand-in-hand and if not, it wasn’t liberalism.
“Liberalism must bend every energy and exhibit every courage so that the liberty of the human spirit, the opportunity for full development of human powers and free intelligence isn’t temporarily lost but is intensified and expanded here and now.”
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Almost 100% of talk radio is far right wing hate spewers from sea to shining sea. NYC, one of the supposedly most liberal cities in the US, is loaded with far right wing radio jerks. There are a couple of liberal leaning outlets but their signals are weak. The right wingers claim that NPR and PBS represent the liberal viewpoint but that’s bogus. There is absolutely NOT the equivalent of a left wing Limbaugh or Hannity or Michael Savage on NPR or PBS spewing hate and venom for countless hours a day. The only way I can decently listen to a liberal or progressive talker is through the Internet. Liberals have virtually been banned or eliminated from talk radio nationwide. There are plenty of talented liberal/progressive talkers but they are not given a venue by the few companies that control the media, thanks to the elimination of the fairness doctrine and to media consolidation (thanks to Bill Clinton). WABC, 770 AM, in NYC has a very powerful signal and has gone almost 100% right wing for decades, WOR is mostly right wing/libertarian, true liberals and progressives have no voice on these big flame thrower stations. In NJ we have the appalling NJ 101.5, a station that is consistently, crudely and loudly anti-union, anti-teacher and especially anti-teacher union all day, all year for decades. Christie has carte blanche to spew his garbage on this station any time he wants. If anything, Christie is not anti-teacher union enough for these Neanderthals.
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And there’s no “hate” in YOUR post? I would argue that the main stream media are liberal and progressive to the extent that they all (except half-hearted Fox) ignore the crimes of the Democrats in running the country. If that’s not liberal media bias, I don’t know what is.
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There is a little-well actually a minute change on this front. Not a lot, but some. Still not encouraging. But recently, Chris Hayes on All In mentioned corporate backed school reform and interviewed John Merrow. He didn’t touch on Rhee though. Ed on The Ed Show has also mentioned and touched on the problem; ever so gingerly. Melissa Harris-Perry seems conflicted, but she recently cheered on Kaya Henderson and those DCPS ed reforms.
Chris Hayes
http://video.msnbc.msn.com/all-in-/52648266
I remember Ben Bagdikian in the early 1980’s warning us about media consolidation.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/smoke/interviews/bagdikian.html
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Yes, it is all about the corporate bias, zipping their lips if anything gets reported that might mess with their precious unearned $$$$$$$$. As long as those who have the buying power are able to grab up the news services, their behavior won’t be criticized on a national stage. I can tell you that virtually none of the people with whom I associate even know about ALEC (or believe it if they hear about it). So many are oblivious or following some insulated dream that they have no idea what is going on. They don’t even watch enough news to see the similarities that have been popping up. You can mention things at staff meetings, and the eyes either show surprise or boredom. It is pretty scary.
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thanks for posting this; I read Daily Kos first thing every morning but I don’t know how I missed this one. Excellent information. Thanks again
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There is a little-well actually a minute change on this front. Not a lot, but some. Still not encouraging. But recently, Chris Hayes on All In mentioned corporate backed school reform and interviewed John Merrow. He didn’t touch on Rhee though. Ed on The Ed Show has also mentioned and touched on the problem; ever so gingerly. Melissa Harris-Perry seems conflicted, but she recently cheered on Kaya Henderson and those DCPS ed reforms.
Chris Hayes
http://video.msnbc.msn.com/all-in-/52648266
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I remember Ben Bagdikian in the early 1980’s warning us about media consolidation.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/smoke/interviews/bagdikian.html
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I am still hoping that Al Sharpton will get on the bandwagon.
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To do what, discredit your bandwagon? Sharpton has credibility only with ignorant people. Sorry for the implied insult Dellwind.
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We have Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton to thank for consolidation of the media into the hands of a few. This consolidation means we see only the viewpoints of the fewer and fewer owners. The media has always been regarded as the Fourth Estate, which kept Congress and the President in check–it is necessary for democracy to work. Unfortunately, the Federal Communications Commission is staffed with presidential appointees, and we see how well that has worked out.
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The dominant “Theory” at any time, delivered by the “Players” or “Club Members” of the
system, always reflects the interests of Power. Power employs their subjects to continue their power. DUHHH…
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“Almost no media outlet thinks it matters that public education is privatized for fun and profit.”
One interesting story that I just discovered is the rise of “Day care” loans so in order for your children to have a good education you not only have to borrow for college but also for day care when they are still toddlers.
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Of course it is a liberal media. We hear about one white on black crime, but never hear about black on white crimes, and they happen much more frequently. There was just another white man beaten brain dead by a black mob in Minneapolis, but you will never see this on the national news. It doesn’t fit the “script”. It happens all the time, but these stories are never picked up by the national news. Hmm. I wonder why? I am black, by the way, but “truth” is “truth”.
The problem as far as “school reform” goes is that both parties are on board with privatization. Now Chicago is opening lots of charter schools right after the school closings. This is a Democratic city, by the way. We can’t look to the Democrats for help, and as Chris Hedges pointed out the true “Left” has been dead for some time. Both the Democrats and Republicans are united in school reform and this leads me to believe that both parties are controlled by similar business interests. Ironically, Tea Party Republicans who hate the federal government interfering in state affairs may be the only friends we have. Other than that, there is no one to turn to. We will just have to watch this take its course, and help rebuild when it all collapses. The NAACP (national) is too afraid to go against Obama, even if many local leaders are protesting. Shame!
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True words. (I hope my agreeing with you, doesn’t eviscerate your credibility here. I’m considered one of the Tin-Foil Hat crowd, the Right Wing Nut Jobs (RWNJ), the commie under every bush crazies. The CCSC in my view is one of the worst things to come down the education pike in decades, but the radicals here won’t work with others who agree because they aren’t against the CCSC for the right reasons.
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Want to see something crazy, just check out the Broad Foundations website. There’s a line there that states crime is up, when in fact it has actually decreased since the 1990’s.
Had a Broad superintendent, I work in NC for Charlotte-mecklenburg and what a complete mess. He closed schools, basically told us to shut up or lose our jobs. Fun stuff these reformers provide.
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I have been emailing a local newscaster articles from this blog as well as others this summer. I always ask him why we don’t hear about the truth about what is happening with education in North Carolina (as well as the rest of the country) or something similar. Unfortunately, I haven’t received a response all summer. I doubt he has even looked at what I’ve sent. At least I have tried : )
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The more I encounter the intransigent utopianism of most of the posters on this blog, I almost begin to believe that full privatization may be the only way to get such statist thinkers out of the public education system. The backlash against Allende, a communist, apparently, is what allowed Pinochet to gain power and keep it for so long, with the unbalanced, sorry results for Chile which the professor outlines.
Unfortunately, the public school systems chose to worship at the altar of NCLB ten years ago, a false god, which has been dethroned just before it’s time limit ran out when every kid in the country was supposed to be proficient by 2014.
Now, most of the public school systems have EMBRACED, made love to, slobbered all over the CCSCI. Who wouldn’t want to get rid of a public school system that shows such poor judgement.
It would have been better for the public schools to have reformed from within, but they didn’t do it, and now people unsympathetic to education are doing it.
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The Emperor cares NOT if the stitches are made by the right hand or
the left hand. The Emperor has decided on “Private Label” for his
new clothes. It’s the “Free Market” system, isn’t it?
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If there was ever “static thinking” it would be among the anti-intellectual, anti-science, anti-people free market proponents. Tunnel vision: money for me and mine … tough luck for everyone else.
Take a look at the ALEC infiltration of so many states on so many levels. Then look who is behind it. Their only critical thinking skills seem to be “how to get more money by paying less people less money to work harder for us.”
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I know there was a large demonstration against ALEC during their meeting at the Palmer House in Chicago last Thursday. I know it because I read Fred Klonsky. As far as I could see, It was nowhere to be found in the Chicago Tribune or other news outlets. How could such a large demonstration be left out of the news?
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Simple, Diana—- Ka-ching!–news media bought lock, stock & barrel by…ALEC & fiends, er, friends of ALEC.
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Hi everyone,
I’d like to share a talk I recently gave to the School Board of Palm Beach County, FL about the excessive testing going on in our public schools and who is profiting by it.
http://youtu.be/WheNIUTddT0
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