Lauren Wimer | Senior photographer
Former media pundit Jeff Cohen speaks about the myth of liberal media Thursday night in the Lillis Business Complex.
Media expert expounds
myths of news coverage
Jeff Cohen also called for more citizen involvement
in trying to reform the mainstream media outlets
BY MEGHANN M. CUNIFF
SENIOR NEWS REPORTER
The myth of the liberal media is
so great that it threatens to com
pletely squash fair and balanced re
porting and the state of democracy
in general, a media expert said
Thursday night.
Jeff Cohen, co-founder of the me
dia watchdog group Fairness & Ac
curacy in Reporting and a former
media pundit for FOX and MSNBC,
spoke to a crowd of about 75 peo
ple, detailing the myths surrounding
media outlets and their news cover
age and calling for more involve
ment from citizens in trying to re
form mainstream media.
“They take the public’s airwaves
and restrict the flow of informa
tion,” Cohen said about the main
stream media.
Cohen, who was the communica
tion director for Dennis Kucinich’s
campaign for presidency in 2004,
used his experiences working for
FOX and for MSNBC as fodder for his
argument in favor of a greater inde
pendent media movement.
“I have a history of hanging out
with right-wingers — it was my job,”
Cohen said during a question-and
answer session.
Cohen said the “gigantic myth of
the liberal media” is exemplified by
the blatant right-wing agenda
of those who control the main
stream media.
“The number-one fear is the fear
of doing anything that would get
you and your outlet accused of be
ing liberal,” Cohen said.
Cohen gave a brief history of his
career with the media and said it was
very obvious that people with left
wing views were intended to be over
shadowed by right-wingers, describ
ing tactics within the networks
involving a mandated ratio of liberal
opinions to conservative opinions.
Media conglomeration does not
get the attention it deserves because
the only outlets equipped to report on
the issue are at the center of the is
sue, Cohen said.
“Most censorship in our country is
corporate,” Cohen said.
Other countries see their informa
tion and news outlets censored by the
government, but in the United States,
corporate control is such that corpo
rations and the government are basi
cally one and the same, Cohen said.
“The owners of the media would
rather have us be inactive citizens”
than informed citizens, Cohen said.
The rise of independent media is
possible and is needed now more
than ever before, Cohen said.
Cohen outlined three action
points citizens can take to try to
fight independent journalism’s
downfall and the rise of corporate
control of information.
The first calls for involvement in
activist organizations such as FAIR,
the second proposes greater activism
efforts to produce more independent
media outlets and the third asks citi
zens to actively pursue policy reform
at the national level concerning the
need for media diversity and less
conglomerated mainstream media.
“It’s so much easier to build inde
pendent media, promote it and dis
tribute it than ever before,” Cohen
said, citing the decrease in equip
ment costs the past few years have
brought. “Those of us who are infor
mation-rich have a duty to those of
us that are information-poor.”
Eugene citizen Richard Glauber,
who said he has two brothers who
write for mainstream media outlets,
attended Cohen’s speech and said he
was particularly struck by his speak
ing skills and his overall message.
“He’s like a messenger of how to
get more knowledge,” Glauber said.
meghanncu.niff@dailyememld.com
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