The ABC Debate and the Danger to Democracy

Despairing, disgusting and disheartening – those words are flying around today to describe ABC’s irresponsible Democratic presidential debate Wednesday night. Here’s another one – dangerous.

ABC’s failure to ask tough questions, act as a watchdog and hold our leaders accountable is not an anomaly. It is a testament to our broken media system.

So, why dangerous? Because ABC’s behavior is a precursor for more bad journalism to come under increasing media consolidation. We know that bad journalism equals less civic engagement, less political and corporate accountability, and less democracy. In other words, our journalism is in peril, and so are we.

Last night’s debacle has sparked outrage across the Internet. Tom Shales of the Washington Post called the debate “another step downward for network news,” while Editor and Publisher reprimanded ABC with a “most embarrassing performance by the media in years” award. According to some bloggers, the debate could have been held in a circus tent for its “freak show” factor; another called it “utterly asinine.”

The public has also weighed in, flooding ABC’s debate comment page with nearly 15,000 angry posts by mid-day on Thursday.

Maybe it’s been awhile since we’ve seen something as egregious as Charles Gibson noting Obama’s absent flag pin. But as our media falls into fewer and fewer hands, real journalism is replaced by cheap infotainment and rank sensationalism. Newsrooms are being squeezed, foreign bureaus have been shuttered, and serious issues are simply ignored.

Last night’s debate is just a symptom of a much more serious sickness afflicting our media system. The root of this problem is bad policies that let Big Media get so big.

Let’s take ABC to task. But let’s also remember that gossip and cheap shots outrank serious, challenging and vital journalism pursuits on nearly every news network. ABC and other networks have an obligation to the American people because they use the public airwaves.

So while we jeer and boo Gibson and George Stephanopolous, we should also push for policies that stop Big Media from being the only ones with the power to pose questions to America’s possible future leader.

Take action by signing our petition to demand quality journalism from ABC. Go even further by urging your senators to support the “resolution of disapproval” that would nullify the FCC’s decision to allow for even further media consolidation.

– By Megan Tady

Popularity: 1% [?]

To only one extent is Mike right. These “personality” smear issues are nearly the only ones anyone in the corporatist media has discussed in the last few weeks of the campaign. Sadly, someone like our impressionable Mike has come to think they are therefore important indicators of leadership. He could not possibly be more wrong. I guess I would not be so bothered by this trivia if it was a remotely level playing field, but we never heard any questions asked on bathroom sex of McCain when his campaign chair for Florida tried to pay a cop to perform oral sex on him.

That the corporate television news media and to an only slightly lesser extent the print media is wildly pro republican and does not acknowledge it, that it as the article states has completely trivialized and dumbed things down to he said she said trivial conflict and horserace coverage is a tragedy.

Even worse, they keep opining that the policy differences between the two democratic candidates are so trivial that they are rarely even looked at. The problem is that these issues are difficult to summarize in six seconds if not six minutes, it is not that they don’t exist, it is that they require some analysis. And it just seems that analysis is way too hard for Charlie Gibson. A man whose attempt to gotcha the candidates on capital gains taxes degenerated into repeated mutterings displaying his gross misunderstanding of the issue.

George Stephanopolous is a joke and now we really know he has NO talent for getting to BIG questions answered. Nows the time he should lose his TV spot.
When I want SNL I’ll click my remote to get it. When I want the News and especially a good debate I should be able to click on a Real news channel. ABC you’re a Joke and so is George Stephanopolous for going along with the farce!

The most important difference between the candidates is one’s got a plan and the other “hopes” that someone will tell him what to do.