People who know me know that I tend to get very pissed off about the media advancing false arguments in the name of “fairness.” This is the common practice of the 24 hour news networks to have someone on from both sides of an issue to fight it out on air. The problem of course is that sometimes, one side is factually correct, and the other is not, and by giving both sides air time, the media lends legitimacy to an argument that is demonstrably false.
So in today’s Washington Post article about Rachel Maddow, I was quite happy to read this:
But she is determined to avoid the left-right pairings that sustain much of cable news. ”It creates fake balance,” she says. “I’m sorry — we’re going to have a debate about whether or not the Earth is flat? It doesn’t make sense to have a debate about whether offshore drilling is going to bring down gas prices. You know what? It’s not. The fact that it’s false ought to be reported, or you’re advancing a lie.”
I can’t wait for her show to start!
