Media distortions / "Starve the Beast"

The Media Research Center offers the Ten Worst Media Distortions of Campaign 2004. (The al-Qaqaa "gotcha" that the media pulled this week was probably too recent to make the cut.) These are just ten (of many) reasons why the blogosphere is important and necessary.

When this election is over and the dust settles a bit, some serious thought must be given toward how to ensure the mainstream news media faces the consequences for their actions.

The Elder at Fraters Libertas offers what seems like the only solution to the bias problem: "Starve the Beast."

The most effective approach to weight loss is not yo-yo dieting, but rather a lifestyle change that includes eating better and exercising. We need to take such an approach to the media. We need to make long lasting media lifestyle changes.

I used to believe that the best way to fight the liberal media was to engage them on their turf. I used to subscribe to the Star Tribune, sent letters to the editor, and submitted commentary pieces.

But now I've reached the conclusion that the proper approach is to delegitimatize and marginalize the most egregious offenders. And the way to do this is to cut them off entirely. The fuel that feeds their fire is advertising revenue. Advertiser revenue that is generated on the belief that consumers are reading, listening, or watching each particular media outlet.

Newspapers and magazines don't make their money on subscriptions. They use (and in some cases, inflate) their subscription base to sell advertising. Television and radio use their ratings to sell advertising.

In order to fight media bias, we must stop feeding the fire. The multi-headed media beast must be starved. I urge you to step back and take an inventory of your media lifestyle. It's time to make some changes.

The comparison to weight-loss and lifestyle change is a great one. Instead of changing the food we consume, we must change the media we consume.