commentaries

Seriously? Mr. Polman, after years of political writing you have just discovered this? What country's politics have you been studying for the last 12 years, Mr. Polman? Certainly not the United States'.

Are you talking about the "Doctored" tape of Mit Romney?? ... The one with all the cut and pastes and several minutes left out??? .... THAT TAPE??? ........ We've sure never seen THAT before from the liberal side, have we?? .... Like NBC doctoring the 911 call in the trayvon martin case, and CBS doctoring up a phony document about President Bush's military service. You are WAAAY off base on this vetting thing Mr. Polman from the philadelphia "National" enquirer. Your own newspaper with its left-wing journalists does nothing but bash Mit Romney and distort everything that comes out of his mouth 24/7, while openly campaigning for obama and spinning nothing but positive propaganda on the president. Please tell me .......... Who is vetting the "National" enquirer???

The bought-and-paid-for media has never been more in the tank for the American left. And it's only going to get more pronounced between now and November.

Because American media is largely advertising-supported, they'll do pretty much anything that increases ratings. That translates to more ad sales revenue. Not rocket surgery, is it?

@ stpauloldies: That "doctored" tape is now released in its entirety. Would you care to address "Jeff Gannon" or James O'Keefe in your next screed?

When have you ever heard a quote or information attributed to a "White House aid" and thought it to be uncensored or crafted politically for public consumption. That's how our system works. The bigger problem with today's journalists is that they feel all view points must be given equal time and equal credibility. How else would climate denial gain such traction. It was picked up by the Republicans and used as a wedge to solidify their party opposition to democrats and environmentalists. Journalists, because Republicans and conservatives simply advocated the denial of climate change, reported on it and refused to pass judgement even though the overwhelming scientific evidence and research contradicts it. With respect to Polman's editorial, journalists don't get access if they present the official in a bad light, duh. Stupid editorial.

I'm pretty sure that traditional news staff have been decimated by the switch from paper to electronic, the cash from advertising has been cut off and printing costs have risen. Mostly we see recycled or as this writer points out "compromised" articles, like this one from Philadelphia. It's the easiest way to fill a newspaper.

What I really miss is the good local reporting, especially the in-depth political stories. I think we're hurting because those are gone now.

Re: "Not rocket surgery, is it?" This inadvertent mixing of metaphors would have delivered a more powerful message in the unmixed version. Journalism controlled by a few "owners" and faux journalism in general do function as brain surgery performed on the low-information segment of the Electorate.

There is a free press in America,but you have to look for it.The electronic media today is what was called yellow journalism a hundred years ago.Both Fox and MSNBC are openly one sided.They have their loyal followers.People do have to devote time and effort to find objective news.Thank goodness for the internet,however,I refuse to spend all day on my computer.Some do.