Tavares, FL Jan. 23, 2014
Today's Daily Commercial touted a biased Florida Education boss's puff front page article on Common Core and is a great example of media reporting bias in avoiding alternative viewpoints.
Here is the comment I posted about the one sided Daily Commercial article on their website (Please SHARE this if you agree):
“The quotes in the article supporting FL State Education Dept. head Pamela Stewart on Common Core are one sided and use the old gobbledegook used by liberals like "state led". The reporter is using quotes around statements apparently taken from Stewart's talking points and they reflect mostly debunked reasons for Common Core. There was no attempt to quote opponents of Common Core or the reasons they cite. For instance, the reporter didn’t discuss the pending Florida legislation HB25 which seeks to prevent Common Core implementation until certain conditions are met. The article also did not discuss that the State is trying to escape visibility by renaming the Common Core standards to another name, even though by law they have to follow the copyrighted Common Core standards. Thus this front page article by the Daily Commercial was a puff piece for Stewart and the Florida Dept. of Education’s draconian version of Common Core.
However, the last half of the article was about the accomplishments of Lake County schools in improving reading skills programs and that is good and should have been in the headlines rather than a one sided puff piece headlines and leading paragraphs on Common Core.”
Here is a different article citing conservative viewpoints about Common Core. It just came out today: http://drrichswier.com/2014/01/20/florida-changes-name-of-common-core-putting-lipstick-on-a-pig/?utm_source=January+21%2C+2014&utm_campaign=Jan+21%2C+2013&utm_medium=email
Below are my comments on the issue of news reporters writing one sided biased puff pieces in the news media, followed by links to fact sheets on alternative viewpoints from a conservative standpoint. Following that is our proposed action plan for you to reduce media bias.
My biggest gripe is that the Daily Commercial (as well as the Lake Sentinel) write these one sided "spot news" puff articles citing government official or liberal viewpoints, but rarely cite balancing viewpoints or alternative solutions. Spot news is a type of journalism that just gets information and quotes from a meeting or source, and publishes it without alternative viewpoints or quotes. Thus a meeting held by officials to tell a one sided story on an issue gets covered without including alternative viewpoints or solutions. (I have a degree in Journalism, among others). You can see the same type of biased reporting abuse when a puff piece article on global warming from just one source is published in the Orlando Sentinel without quoting alternative viewpoints.
That happens for issues with conservative alternative solutions such as Common Core, Agenda 21, Land Use and Comprehensive Land Use Plans, Gun rights, American Laws for American Courts (aka ALAC which limits Sharia and similar non-American or foreign laws), Global warming, Illegal Immigration, Property Rights, Lake County’s South Sector Plan, Taxation, Government “efficiency”, Islamic terrorism & violence, CRA benefits, water issues, endangered species, mining rights, etc. Each issue has some sound, conservative solutions to their effects on the public or Constitutional rights , but the print reporters don’t give space to alternative conservative viewpoints or solutions.
A single example might be that environmentalists demand that property owners halt development or move endangered species and reporters will only quote them. They should also provide unbiased coverage to alternative viewpoints that might ask if the environmentalists are so concerned, why not give the concerned environmentalists a week to collect all the endangered lizards and gopher tortoises on a development site and relocate them, rather than creating legal barriers that reduce the value of a property owner’s land. Or, rather than “TAKING” property rights via restrictions, allow the environmentalists to buy out the land owner at fair market values. Instead, the liberals want the government to tax everyone to pay for the costs.
Now, interestingly, unlike print journalists, some local TV reporters are different and they seek out and give time to opponents of government programs and actions to provide balance to the coverage. And, what is amazing, they may do it all in 1-3 minutes.
The problem is that print reporters and some TV reporters do not seek out and build a network of conservative sources who they contact to provide conservative viewpoints and alternative solutions to an issue.
Thus when you read these one sided government or public policy articles in the Daily Commercial or Orlando Sentinel, write comments on their website asking why they didn’t track down alternative viewpoints and balance the article (even if it was a one sided syndicated article) with opposing viewpoints. Provide them with some conservative viewpoint sources. Ask how the reporters can consider themselves professional when the article is not balanced with different alternatives and viewpoints. Why do they take time to interview politicians or leaders but not track down alternative citizen or property owner viewpoints so the reader can decide rather than the publication decide how the issue should be viewed?
Fact Sheets to Offest Media Bias
As a response to the media bias, I periodically create Fact Sheets showing alternative viewpoints and FACTS on some of these issues. The media many times only presents you with liberal or mainstream leader viewpoints and not the other side of these issues. Not all these fact sheets are up to date. After I create one, it usually has most of the relevant points and I don’t update it.
You can see my fact sheet on many reasons to delay or halt Common Core here: www.tinyurl.com/HaltCommonCoreNow To be up to date, I recommend http://www.flstopcccoalition.org/ .
The fact sheet on Agenda 21 is here: www.tinyurl.com/HaltAgenda21
The fact sheet on what the media is NOT telling you about the dangers of Islam is here: http://tinyurl.com/IslamDangers
The fact sheet on CRA’s is here: http://webworks.typepad.com/lakecountyfiscalrangers/cras-understanding-florida-community-redevlopment-agencies-and-cra-problems-risks.html
Fact Sheet on Voter Fraud issues: http://webworks.typepad.com/lakecountyfiscalrangers/voter-fraud-all-you-want-to-know-about-it-in-lake-county-florida-other-states.html
And, here is Frank Baker’s website on How to Analyze Media Bias: http://www.frankwbaker.com/bias.htm Scroll down to see many links to other publications on media bias.
Our Proposed Action Plan for You to Reduce Media Bias
After you read these, you will get the idea that the media avoids any alternative recommendations on these issues that may be more factual or relevant or conservative in nature. Don’t let them escape responsibility to provide balanced viewpoints by writing comments on their website, Facebook pages, or via emails to the editor. Include links to conservative alternative sources for solutions and viewpoints.
TELL your local reporters and press that you can speak about some of these issues from the conservative viewpoint and you are willing to provide facts, viewpoints and quotes.
Vance Jochim
Lake County Fiscal Rangers
Chief Fiscal Watchdog
Volunteers Searching for Ways to Improve Local Government Fiscal Management, Efficiency & Effectiveness
Tavares, FL 32778 (Lake County)
Mobile: 352-638-3578
