| My favorite blogger is Glenn Greenwald, at Salon.
I try to emulate his approach in holding NJ media accountable.
So here's a story I'd like to share.
After publishing my Op-Ed piece "No Teeth In 'Tough" Pollution Law" in October 2006, (see: http://www.peer.org/docs/nj/07... ) Star Ledger editors invited me to blog at their site, NJ Voices.
I published scores of stories there that focused on environmental issues. Several posts were critical of media coverage of environmental issues, particularly for failure to cover policy stories out of Trenton and hold DEP accountable. (see: http://blog.nj.com/njv_bill_wo... ).
So you could say I stepped on a lot of toes.
But my NJ Voices blog was terminated by Star Ledger editors without warning in June 2009 after posting about the debate on the Lieberman bill and Obama efforts to suppress the torture photo's. Editors agreed that I had not violated the user agreement, copyright laws, or posted inappropriate material. They explained the termination as related to trust and my failure to seek the pre-publication review of controversial material - even though pre-publication review was not even mentioned in the user agreement. This was obviously a pretext, so I think much more was going on, and that this controversial post was the last straw.
Well yesterday, after posting the below comment, I was banned from even posting comments there.
As you can see, all I was trying to do was emulate Greenwald's approach in holding media accountable - ironically, my post was on a column about searching for voices of reason in the health care debate:
Posted by nohesitation on 08/25/09 at 8:06PM
Perhaps the media has a responsibility and a role to evaluate the various "claims" against facts in search of truth. Oh, but this might take some real work and anger powerful interests (insurance, big Pharma, et al).
Instead, seeking "balance", the media portrays the debate" as a "he said she said". The "intelligent design" advocates and global warming denial "science" claims fit this dynamic - they manufacture false debates - e.g. claiming there is a valid scientific debate on evolution.
The media has abdicated its responsiblity. This enables lies and propaganda to flourish.
The swiftboat operation of the anti-health care forces is a sophisticated campaign - Town Hells. There are plenty of facts already in the public record to support the fact that organized economic forces are inhtentionally poisoning and polarizing the debate to scare and manipulate well meaning but poorly informed people (e.g. the death panels, et al)
Yet, media can't seem to call them out for it.
This column is a perfect illustration of this failure.
Very "balanced".
Highly irresponsible.
http://blog.nj.com/njv_mark_di...
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