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It is that time of year again, you know the one, where the news media will rightfully report the shocking heat wave, rising gas prices, and (one can only hope) single shark attack that will mark the official start of sharkmageddon 2010.

I, for one, welcome the change of pace. Though I am still concerned about the size of Kim Kardashian’s butt and which common household item could kill me if applied to the ear – but that is neither here nor there; what is really important is that the news media will still report the issues that matter most.

Never mind the immigration debate or the environmental disasters taking place in Alaska and the Gulf Coast.  I know it is a bit of a downer to think about how instability in the Middle East may lead to higher energy prices or how domestic terrorism is on the rise. No, no, don’t burden me news media with issues that might actually affect me and my family.

Although, to be fair, I will admit that when news programs talk about these issues, they do a bang-up job of showing flashy graphics and yelling at people who have different view points from those approved by the network.  That does provide some level of entertainment but, come on, SHARKMAGEDDON!

Aw, who am I kidding – I don’t want to watch the news in the first place, TLC has a show about little people who bake cakes and were attacked by killer bees. Now that’s news!

As Glenn Beck’s “9/12” project seemed to exemplify, there are different styles and ways that the media can report on a story. Furthermore, it is becoming increasingly obvious that factions of the media are out-and-out lying about its content – in the case of the 9/12 protests, estimates of turnout ranged from 60,000 to two million, depending on who you talk to. That is a rather large difference in opinion, to say the least, and some media outlets/pundits went so far as to publish purposefully misleading photos to push their agenda.

This is just one example of how the media has become bloated and out of control. Phrases such as “liberal media” only exemplify this fact, if only because it proves that “the facts we use” are more important that all of the facts.

It is a fact that Fox News, Rush Limbaugh, and the gang tout a very conservative viewpoint that is not representative of the American people. Likewise MSNBC, Maureen Dowd, et al are very liberal and do not represent the American people.

And people are starting to notice.

The Pew Research Center recently reported that only 29% of Americans trust the mainstream media, down 10% in 2007. The principal cause for this distrust? The media is dominated by special interests that make their reporting inherently bias. To further this point, “fake” news, such as The Daily Show and The Colbert Report are much more trusted – presumably because viewers know where the news ends and the jokes (read lies) begin.

But, despite the obvious disharmony between fact and statement, people still complain about the “liberal media” running the show, and enough people parrot this “fact” to create a perception that conservatives have no say in the political discussion (the discussion of death panels, Obama’s place of birth, the legitimacy of torture, and other various right wing topics aside). In politics, and reporting, perception is reality – the myth of the liberal media lives on and our country takes a step backwards because the media allows it to.

And we see this over and over again. The media will latch on to some convoluted story that an intern picked up on the internet and run with it…even after it has long since been discredited by other outlets. The source that reported this obviously false fact will simply claim that “you won’t see this on the other networks” to cover their tails, and the network simply allows the story to run until they no longer make money off of it. In many ways, modern “journalism” is not far removed from modern tabloids.

The simple fact of the matter is that media is amazingly polarized. Yes, there is a liberal media…but there is also a powerful conservative media at play in American politics. One thing that should be agreed upon is that it is harmful to our democracy. Media has always been for profit, however corporate media and the 24 hour news cycle have created a monster that has mutated the fourth branch of government into a monster, and its power to persuade the masses only makes it a greater threat to our freedoms.

We all recall the recent dust up regarding the Public Safety Building (PSB) being located on Library Square. Mayor Becker, seeing the writing on the wall, backed down from this plan in what I feel was a win for his transparent government style.  Not ignoring the fact that we do, in fact, need a PSB, Mayor Becker has now backing an idea that would place the PSB on the east side of 300 East, across the street from the Main Library.

Now, if you were reading the Salt Lake Tribune, you would think that this was the first time Becker ever even considered this option – bowing to the whims of public pressure and showing weakness as he does it.  Furthermore, if you were to read the comments on the article (I don’t know why I put myself through this stuff but I do), you would see people up in arms that it is not being placed somewhere else and that they are under the impression that Becker is just throwing darts on a map of Downtown Salt Lake to pick a site.

This…makes my head hurt.

Six weeks ago I wrote my first post about the PSB and, sure enough, it mentioned all of the main proposals Mayor Becker wished to put forward – including two on the east side of 300 East! In other words, Becker already had this plan! True, he did back the Library Square option, but that does not mean that he ruled out others.

But does the Trib, in its increasingly lackluster reporting, discuss this? Nope.  All they want to do is take advantage of the passions associated with the original proposal.

Oh well, I have said it before and I will say it again:  I support and see the need for a PSB in Downtown; the idea of a “civics campus” appeals to me, conservatives (who wouldn’t give away a single dime even if it saved their mothers life) will oppose it, and Becker needs to make sure he does a good job communicating his ideas to a unfocused yet passionate public.

6:07 – I am employed!

6:09 – Don’t be drunk, or be drunk while voting!

6:12 – Talking about other liquor laws, and host is busting out his ID just to make me look bad.

6:14 – Glen points out that drinking is like robbing a house! Drinking is basically a moral issue.

6:17 – Glen and I flirt with FCC regulations.

6:20 – First caller!

6:26 – Talking about Buttars

6:30 – Commercial Break

6:34 – GRAMA Laws

6:39 – Do legislators have daddy issues?

6:40 – Buttars and Common Grounds Initiative.

6:42 – School funding!

6:46 – What is the common good? Future blog post?

6:51 – Give me my Crackberry!

6:53 – Guns in cars

6:58 – How to get involved.

7:00 – End of show.

KRCL FM 90.9 this Tuesday, March 3rd from 6-7 PM
or listen online at krcl.org

Discussion will focus on the oh so fantastic Utah State Legislature

Jeff Bell and I complain until the cows come home.