Review of Media Malpractice

So, I finally sat down and watched Media Malpractice, a film by John Ziegler who followed the media's coverage of Obama through both the primaries and the general election. Here are my thoughts on it.

To start out, to contrast documentaries of the past that contained a political subject, this movie was not partisan in the same way one might view Michael Moore's movies. The movie in no way attempted to promote a political philosophy, rather it was a step by step coverage of the media roll in the last election cycle. It might seem like the movie was overly kind to Sarah Palin, but only because Ziegler attempts to shed light on the press-based attacks on Sarah and her family. When it comes to Mrs. Palin, Ziegler never says anything that he doesn't back up with another video or news story.

My initial impressions when I saw the trailers and promos for the movie could best be described as a "Tell me something I don't know" attitude. Having the 20/20 vision that is hindsight, any person can go back and see the blatant cheer leading that the news media put forth for Mr. Obama. However, this movie does an excellent job of showing just how egregious it truly was. I found myself calling for and showing my wife--who is a big Palin supporter--clips of the movie that left her with that wide eyed and disappointed expression that she gives when she truly could not believe what she just heard. I couldn't believe half of what I saw.

This movie does give me a new respect and feelings toward talk radio. In his movie, Zielger makes no reference to talk radio, a medium that was overly supportive of McCain/Palin. Lately, there have been stories of talk from Senators and bureaucrats saying that the need for a fairness doctrine on talk radio. Media Malpractice screams in response that a fairness doctrine should, if enacted, also encapsulate the television news media, newspapers, and alike. There is definitely bias in these mediums as well. The only difference is that talk radio admits the are bias. While the other mediums hold their objectivity up as a badge of honor and attacks any who dare say otherwise.

Overall, it is water under the bridge. Obama is president. That is change we can't believe in. But, with the economy being what it is, I am curious if any of those in the media who carried the man to the top of the mountain now regret any of what they did. After all, they have pensions and 401k's as well. We'll never know for sure, but my curiosity remains.