# Our 'liberal' media, vol. 1472 **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 25, 2006, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-liberal-media-vol-1472/374064 "2006-09-25T14:03:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2006, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-liberal-media-vol-1472/374064/1 "2006-09-25T14:03:10Z")
[Go here. Look at left-hand column.](http://msnbc.msn.com/id/14975282/site/newsweek/site/newsweek/) This week’s Newsweek cover: In Europe: Losing Afghanistan - Is Victory Turning to Defeat? In Asia: Losing Afghanistan - Is Victory Turning to Defeat? In Latin America: Losing Afghanistan - Is Victory Turning to Defeat? In the U.S.: My Life in Pictures (Annie Leibovitz) I hope I don’t need to explain why I have a problem with this. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2006, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-liberal-media-vol-1472/374064/2 "2006-09-25T14:07:53Z")
Why do you hate Annie Leibovitz? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2006, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-liberal-media-vol-1472/374064/3 "2006-09-25T14:20:37Z")
Just goes to show that Europe, Asia and Latin America are a bunch of weenies. ---
**Author:** ![myskepticsight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cc9497/32.png) [@myskepticsight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/myskepticsight)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2006, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-liberal-media-vol-1472/374064/4 "2006-09-25T14:21:06Z")
Yeah, Annie Leibovitz is like my idol. No hating on her. And duh our media is crap. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2006, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-liberal-media-vol-1472/374064/5 "2006-09-25T14:52:09Z")
This is that “fuzzy geography” Bush complained about in 2000. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2006, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-liberal-media-vol-1472/374064/6 "2006-09-25T15:22:09Z")
Well, apparently the story is still there, at least. It just doesn’t get headlined. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2006, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-liberal-media-vol-1472/374064/7 "2006-09-25T15:31:01Z")
Typical liberal media. Can’t pass up a chance to feature a counter-culture lesbian unmarried mother on the cover. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2006, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-liberal-media-vol-1472/374064/8 "2006-09-25T16:26:31Z")
[QUOTE=Captain Amazing] Well, apparently the story is still there, at least. It just doesn’t get headlined. [/QUOTE] Yeah, but it sure makes a difference if the story’s on the cover, where you’ll see it on the magazine rack and briefly think, “Oh shit,” even if you’re buying _Sports Illustrated_ or _Penthouse_. Same think as before the Iraq war where what Bush and Cheney said would be front-paged, and the stories debunking their claims would be on page A17. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2006, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-liberal-media-vol-1472/374064/9 "2006-09-26T01:28:02Z")
[QUOTE=RTFirefly] Yeah, but it sure makes a difference if the story’s on the cover, where you’ll see it on the magazine rack and briefly think, “Oh shit,” even if you’re buying _Sports Illustrated_ or _Penthouse_. Same think as before the Iraq war where what Bush and Cheney said would be front-paged, and the stories debunking their claims would be on page A17. [/QUOTE] If you are going to make an argument against there being a liberal bias in the media Newsweek is not a good example for you. For the record I just came from the [MSN](http://www.msn.com/) homepage (of course it may be changed when you view it) where the main field had a large picture of a burning car with a link to the Newsweek [article](http://msnbc.msn.com/id/14975282/site/newsweek/site/newsweek/?GT1=8506) , _Return of the Taliban_. They are not exactly hiding the story. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_One](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/45deac/32.png) [@Evil\_One](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_One)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2006, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-liberal-media-vol-1472/374064/10 "2006-09-26T17:07:07Z")
I think it’s marketing, not an ideological conspiracy. There are not as many people in other parts of the world who know or care who Annie is. Plus, the cover is designed to influence impulse buyers. Perhaps Newsweek thought Annie was more buyer friendly than a taliban fighter. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2006, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-liberal-media-vol-1472/374064/11 "2006-09-26T17:50:26Z")
[QUOTE=Evil One] I think it’s marketing, not an ideological conspiracy. [/QUOTE] Marketing _is_ an ideological conspiracy. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2006, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-liberal-media-vol-1472/374064/12 "2006-09-26T18:02:29Z")
[QUOTE=Squink] Marketing _is_ an ideological conspiracy. [/QUOTE] It can be, but it needn’t be. A lot of times it’s just giving people what they want. In this case, we don’t know if Newsweek changed the cover of the US edition in order to downplay the Afghanistan article or if it changed the cover of the international editions in order to downplay the article on A.L. Since Newsweek has printed many a cover which refects poorly on the administration it’s unreasonable to assume that in this particularl case they were trying to supress that article. I mean, why print it at all if they were trying to do so? They’re certainly not compelled to print **anything** about Afghanistan if they don’t desire to. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2006, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-liberal-media-vol-1472/374064/13 "2006-09-26T19:59:18Z")
[QUOTE=Loach] If you are going to make an argument against there being a liberal bias in the media Newsweek is not a good example for you. For the record I just came from the [MSN](http://www.msn.com/) homepage (of course it may be changed when you view it) where the main field had a large picture of a burning car with a link to the Newsweek [article](http://msnbc.msn.com/id/14975282/site/newsweek/site/newsweek/?GT1=8506) , _Return of the Taliban_. They are not exactly hiding the story. [/QUOTE] 1. Remember that, despite appearances to the contrary, putting something on a website doesn’t exactly impact the electorate in a big way. The covers of the big newsmagazines still get a LOT more eyeballs than the front page of [msn.com](http://msn.com). 2. And it’s the same cover for a week, as opposed to the front page of MSN, which might change every 37 seconds for all we know. Finally, consider the importance of the story. America’s involved in two wars right now - Iraq and Afghanistan. We’d said we won Afghanistan back in December 2001; everybody knows Iraq (which we’d also once said we’d won) is a mess (the only question is, how bad of one), but in the minds of most Americans, Afghanistan had been done except for some nation-building. It’s certainly important for the world to know Afghanistan’s starting to go south, but it’s especially important for America to know it, because we’re the country most deeply involved. This is NEWS; Annie Leibovitz is FLUFF. Putting the fluff story on the cover, and burying the real news inside, is making a statement. It’s saying, if you’re not already paying enough attention to the news to actually read a weekly newsmagazine (a rather hefty chunk of the electorate, I’m sure), we’re not going to trouble you with this story, despite its geopolitical and domestic political implications. A liberal news medium WOULD put this story on the cover here as well as elsewhere. The electorate needs to know about this; an electorate that knows this Administration’s approach to the War on Terror has all but lost us Iraq, and is on the verge of losing Afghanistan too, is going to have some decisions to make. Newsweek is only ‘liberal’ by comparison with Time and US News. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2006, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-liberal-media-vol-1472/374064/14 "2006-09-26T21:14:53Z")
[QUOTE=RTFirefly] Yeah, but it sure makes a difference if the story’s on the cover, where you’ll see it on the magazine rack and briefly think, “Oh shit,” even if you’re buying _Sports Illustrated_ or _Penthouse_. [/QUOTE] Right, but their goal is to sell magazines, not to get people who don’t buy their magazines to think. And they figure that people will buy more magazines if they have a cover story about Anne Liebowitz than about Afghanistan. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2006, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-liberal-media-vol-1472/374064/15 "2006-09-26T21:35:38Z")
[QUOTE=John Mace] > [@](#): > > Originally Posted by **Squink** > Marketing is an ideological conspiracy. It can be, but it needn’t be. A lot of times it’s just giving people what they want. [/QUOTE] Nah, that’s vending. Marketing is **telling** people what they want. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2006, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-liberal-media-vol-1472/374064/16 "2006-09-26T21:50:25Z")
[QUOTE=RTFirefly] Finally, consider the importance of the story. America’s involved in two wars right now - Iraq and Afghanistan. We’d said we won Afghanistan back in December 2001; everybody knows Iraq (which we’d also once said we’d won) is a mess (the only question is, how bad of one), but in the minds of most Americans, Afghanistan had been done except for some nation-building. [/quote] How do you know what is in the minds of most Americans? I’m not being snarky-- is there some polling data or some other info that you’re basing that statment on? > [@](#): > > It’s certainly important for the world to know Afghanistan’s starting to go south, but it’s especially important for America to know it, because we’re the country most deeply involved. What do you mean by “most deeply involved”? I actually think Europe is in more danger of Islamic terrorism than the US is because many countries have a large muslim population that are not well integrated into those societies and are disproportionately poor and unemployed. The muslim population in the US is much more integrated into the overall society. If you mean we’re the guys with boots on the ground, I don’t know if that’s the best assessment either. The operations in Afghanistan have been largely turned over to NATO, and the US is just one player among many-- as it should be. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2006, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-liberal-media-vol-1472/374064/17 "2006-09-26T21:53:12Z")
Actually, it appears that most Americans do think things are going badly in Afghanistan. [Link](http://www.pollingreport.com/afghan.htm). ---
**Author:** ![wring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@wring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wring)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2006, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-liberal-media-vol-1472/374064/18 "2006-09-26T21:54:14Z")
[QUOTE=John Mace] Actually, it appears that most Americans do think things are going badly in Afghanistan. [Link](http://www.pollingreport.com/afghan.htm). [/QUOTE] damn - there’s more ‘merican hatin’ 'mericans than I thought! ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2006, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-liberal-media-vol-1472/374064/19 "2006-09-26T21:54:29Z")
[QUOTE=kaylasdad99] Marketing is **telling** people what they want. [/QUOTE] Nope. That’s only part of it. Good marketing more often starts by finding out what people actually do want. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2006, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-liberal-media-vol-1472/374064/20 "2006-09-26T21:55:32Z")
[QUOTE=wring] damn - there’s more ‘merican hatin’ 'mericans than I thought! [/QUOTE] Don’t worry. They probably think things are bad for the wrong reasons. 🙂 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-liberal-media-vol-1472/374064.md?page=2)