Frankwolftown asked me a great question on my blog at thefutureofnews.com in regards to this article, and I’d like to place this Q&A here.
He commented, “I can’t seem to understand how openly biased news will improve anything. People seem pissed off enough as it is where does this help? It’s like the article recently published here that Yellow Journalism is a good thing. Can someone tell me what I’m missing here?”
My answer:
“Thomas Jefferson believed in a country in which freedom was preserved by a multitude of voices competing in a freewheeling marketplace of ideas. He particularly liked the process of “attack and defense,” which in a letter to George Washington he supported by claiming that “Nature has given to man no other means of sifting out the truth whether in religion, law, or politics.” Debating and arguing is very American, a way to preserve our individual rights. Now compare that to what we have now…mainstream media that in fact is giving us a monolithic partisan position — center-left — while claiming it to be “truth” and denying others with opposing views the dignity of acknowledging there are other reasonable alternative positions. In my mind, that is the main reason why people are so “pissed off” now. It is out of frustration. We will all have the satisfaction of expressing our views, and greater tolerance for others’ views, in a world of free expression. Who can deny that this is what the First Amendment is all about?”
