Editorial - 12 May 2010
Baltimore Sun Losing Battle of Persuasion
W
e’re starting to suspect that the public’s unrest is not limited to incumbent politicians, but extends to the media and other political players as well.
The Sun makes it a point to coordinate online poll questions with editorials. And we’ve noted as of late that the Sun’s editorial board is only rarely successful in
persuading online viewers into accepting it’s political pontifications.
Today, the Sun wrote an editorial giving Governor O’Malley much of the credit for a drop in crime statistics. Yet the online poll is currently showing that ¾ of the
public give him no credit at all, a number unchanged since the editorial came out.
Earlier online polls have indicated that the public differs strongly from the editorial board in overwhelmingly supporting Arizona’s attempt to reign in crime
and illegal immigration, opposing the Obama/Pelosi health care reform bill and opposing bank and auto bailouts using taxpayer money.
It appears to us that the public is no longer willing to give a lot of credence to the editorial boards of liberal, east cost newspapers. Why?
For one thing, these same newspapers sold us a bill of goods with the current president. There was very little securitization of his record prior to anointing him,
and he was presented as a fiscally responsible economic moderate which of course we now know he isn’t. The media lost credibility by not scrutinizing a
president who is now clearly not what was promised and quite a bit in over his head.
For another thing, now that people are paying attention, their instincts tell them that much of what the media’s been telling them just doesn’t make any sense.
And when some things don’t make sense, everything becomes suspect. Despite the claims of the elite media and many liberal politicians, it makes absolutely
no sense to draft any type of comprehensive immigration reform policy before securing the borders. To do so would be every bit as futile as vacuuming up
the water from the carpet before stopping the roof leak. That’s common sense. The entire premise is vacuous, yet promoted on a daily basis by those
with another agenda.
Lastly, there’s no fairness in the media, and people know it, so there’s always the underlying suspicion that a news article (not opinion article) may not
be written in good faith. Undeniable is that Republicans, Christians, Fox News, Tea Party activists and the Southern region are looked upon with a
certain level of disdain, and held to a much different standard than their Democrat, non-Christian, MSNBC loving, anti-war protesting Northern
counterparts. Every one of America’s ten most segregated cities is in the North, but you wouldn’t know that if you rely on an East Coast newspaper
for your knowledge. When people sense unfairness, they tune out. The Sun’s editorial board is biased, and has a leftist agenda, but that alone doesn’t
make it unpersuasive. If the board were liberal and fair, it would still be able to persuade some folks, but for whatever reason can’t seem to bridge that gap.
What it all boils down to is a public recognition that the Baltimore Sun and many other established, liberal media outlets can be counted on for
entertainment and some unbiased news,
but that such organizations certainly shouldn’t be relied upon for guidance or counsel. This recognition is long overdue, and a sign that perhaps
American’s are striving for a new era of cognitive self-reliance and informed, knowledgeable enlightenment.
Editor - bethesite.com
