The Media Is The Rightful Antagonist

So, it has been a week or so now and the riots over Newsweek have settled down. I thought I would write about this with a clearer head. There were far too many emotions about this story early on. First, it was all about "how dare..." the US military do what they did. It was a totally believable story since we all know what they did in Abu Ghraib, Afghanistanian Prisons and GITMO previously. Soldiers have staged mock executions so flushing the Quran down the toilet was totally believable. Today, we see pictures of Saddam in his jail cell in his underwear, most likely taken and distributed by the US military. What Newsweek was reporting was not all that unbelievable.

Then, when it came out that Newsweek retracted the story, my faith in the media was deflated. How could they let this happen? How could they not check this story? It was a "here we go again" story where a venerable media institution tried to "get the story" before everyone else so they went fast but not carefully.

However, I have had time to think now and therefore I can post what I believe. Most bloggers will post immediately after a story; I am guilty of the same. This story, however, deserved some reflection. I have read the many blogs but Dadmanly summed up the outrage from the right/Milbloggers. And he also reinvigorated my belief that I want Newsweek to continue even if they make a few mistakes.

In his rant on the media, he says that that media does not support him or understand him. To this I say, correct, and, moreover, I do not want the media to support him. Not because I do not want the media to support the military but because I want the media to distrust everything about the powerful.  I want the media to play their natural role in a democracy as an antagonist of the state. Our founding fathers taught us to be skeptical of power. We should be very skeptical of absolute power which is what the Republicans have today (see: Daily KOs for more information on absolute power). Yes, the media will get it wrong sometimes but even that is a function of the antagonistic arrangement between those in power and those who are trying to find out what the powerful are up to.

Perhaps the military and the US Government should reflect on their own behavior first before ripping on the press. Perhaps if Abu Ghraib, My Lai, or Watergate had not happened then people would not feel a need to be skeptical. Perhaps if the Government would admit they were wrong about WMDs and come clean with the American people about why we are in Iraq and why 1600+ young men and women have lost their lives we would not need investigative journalism to be so bold.

Joseph Farah gets in right in his article, "The role of the Watchdog". The media is supposed to be the watchdog. Both when the liberal media "cozies" up to Clinton or when the Bush fan club (FOX News) cozies up to the Conservatives I am sickened and, yes, the media has forgot their place in the world in both instances. Farah says,

"It [media] can assume its proper role in society all the time - giving government grief and holding it accountable for fraud, waste abuse, and corruption no matter who is in office"

It is the media's job to be the watchdog. It is the media's job to be antagonistic towards the Government and the powerful. It is the media's job to uncover everything it can then report it to the American people. Don't worry too much. The Government will do a good job fighting back with its own propaganda machine as with staged "Town hall" meetings and Government announcements  that deceive by looking like news reports. This is the natural tension in a Democracy. This is a good thing. Hail the media and hail them giving the Government trouble at every turn!

Finally, for those who are skeptical of the media, it has its own watchdog as well. Go to Media Matters and watch how they keep an eye on the untruths spoken on both liberal and conservative media shows.

All in all, I would rather have an aggressive media who gets it wrong every now and then (Conservatives, similar to the death penalty?) then to have the Government, which already has absolute power, rule the newslines as well. I trust the media in the aggregate more than I trust the Government.

UPDATES FOLLOW:

1. An interesting story on Soldiers for Truth. This article, "A Tale of Two Gaffes" discusses the comparisons between mistakes made at Newsweek and the constant mistakes being made by the Pentagon in the "Global War on Terrorism". In both cases, no one seems to be held accountable. [UPDATE: May 22, 2005]