Time for a media strike

Everyone seems to be wringing their hands about how reporters have become trapped by their need for access. This has led to lousy reporting by even the most prestigious media outlets. Almost all have found themselves co-opted into being nothing more than a straight channel for the administration. What our media have either forgotten (or chosen to ignore) is that this trap cuts both ways. They have forgotten that the administration needs them as much as the media need access. Administration officials have said to the media, “If you write bad things about us, we will stop talking to you.” This has, so far, successfully cowed them into compliance. It’s time for our reporters to say, “If you burn me by giving me misinformation, I will stop allowing you to use my resources to spread your message.” Our media has lost its awareness of its own power in dealing with officialdom. Only when both sides have a proper appreciation of the balance of power they hold in their hands can we hope to have properly balanced output from both. It’s time our media restore the lost balance by calling the administration’s bluff. It would be telling if McClellan held a press conference and the only reporters there were from the Talon News and Fox while the rest of the media were out there digging up the truth instead.