Reporters -The Next Generation
By Anne Dachel
On Sept 9, 2012, I found the news report, CARLSBAD:
Award-winning broadcast class tackles documentary on vaccines,
from the North County Times in Escondido,
CA. HERE
Award-winning broadcast class tackles documentary on vaccines, from the North County Times in Escondido, CA. HERE
I was hopeful that a class in broadcast journalism might actually tackle this issue an ethical and balanced manner. Sadly, it was clear from what I read that these students were being taught to report on questions of vaccine safety in the same one-sided manner the mainstream media has for years. This class assignment was a HOW-TO GUIDE on how to deceive the public by covering up relevant facts about a major issue.
First of all, from the photos shown, these students are getting access to real broadcasting experience. We can see students with lights, cameras and sound equipment and newsroom settings.
Here was assignment:
“The 16-student crew tackled the issue of immunizations in North County, an area with the second lowest compliance rate for vaccinations in the state of California.
“We are looking at why,” said Camille Posard, who graduated in June from Carlsbad High and helped produce the documentary.”
‘”The whole point (of each documentary) is to educate the public about something,’ said Brad Streicher, 12th-grade lead reporter. ‘Our goal with this film is to make sure we are educating people on the reality of vaccinations.’”
Despite these statements, the class clearly wasn’t really interested in WHY PARENTS WEREN’T VACCINATING. They started with the premise that vaccines are safe and parents should vaccinate. In the end, they produced a documentary to support their viewpoint.
Just like the mainstream media, they put a parent up against doctors, they ignored the reality of what autism is doing to our children and they claimed to do it in the name ethical journalism.
Teacher Doug Green said, ‘I think the students see that film making is so powerful, because you have a potential to move people and affect change. And I think that’s really fantastic.’
Affect change? How about present the issue fairly from both sides and let people make up their own minds?
Actually, Green’s wrong. This documentary won’t change anyone’s thinking on this issue. What was produced here was propaganda. People everywhere (especially parents) will recognize the bias. They’ve heard it all before. There is too much information available on the Internet to challenge what was said by the vaccine promoters interviewed for this film.
Twenty comments were posted on this story. (Seven of them were mine.) I would hope that the teacher and the class looked into the criticism of their film. I cited legitimate news stories from CBS and included the links:
CBS News 2008, “How Independent Are Vaccine Defenders?” HERE
CBS News 2010: “Family to Receive $1.5M+ in First-Ever Vaccine-Autism Court Award.” HERE
CBS News 2008: “The ‘Open Question’ On Vaccines and Autism” Sharyl Attkisson interviews Dr. Bernadine Healy. HERE
I included the Pace Law School story on 83 cases of vaccine injury/autism compensated by the federal government as shown on HDNet TV.
I posted the trailer to the new international award-winning film, “The Greater Good” HERE where experts ON BOTH SIDES were included and an interview with the producer, Leslie Manookian, of The Greater Good by Darrin McBree. HERE.
Someone else put these links in their comment:
Andrew Wakefield’s interview on FOX with Alisyn Camerota in 2011 HERE
And JB Handley on “The Doctors” in 2009 HERE along with Jim Carrey and Jenny McCarthy on Larry King in 2009 HERE .
There was criticism in the comments about the failure of the class to
present a balanced report on the vaccine issue. I hope that the teacher and the
class learned something from this experience. Producing another generation of
broadcast journalists who do nothing but promote the interests of those
profiting from an unsafe, unchecked vaccine schedule won’t change anyone’s
viewpoint. What’s being covered up in films like this is well known by now.
When news people produce propaganda pieces like this it only serves to make the
mainstream press increasingly less credible and more irrelevant. It creates
public distrust of the media and that’s something that is hard to regain once it’s
lost.
Anne Dachel is Media Editor for Age of Autism. You can subscribe to her newsfeed at AnneDachel.com
Jake that kind of money don't just talk it shouts!
And
Cherry -- This young man has "Paid" to be taught that -- poor thing.
Posted by: Benedetta | September 21, 2012 at 12:16 AM
Please watch:
http://www.brasschecktv.com/videos/the-secret-government-1/dumb-by-design.html
Posted by: bev | September 20, 2012 at 06:51 PM
Well , Im delighted to have the opportunity to tell you all about my first hand, very recent experience with a young student, who was once a four year old in my nursery school. Visiting my school with his uncle, after so many years, he overheard me mention autism, and proceeded to tell us that he had studied autism and what it was was "brain wiring " that was wrong and then when the child got into a growth spurt the autism emerged ! That's a new one , thought I.
(This he had learned during his three years at Dartmouth)
Autism- so natural- so inevitable - No wonder no one bothers about your kids.
Posted by: Cherry Sperlin Misra | September 20, 2012 at 03:52 PM
Per......
Freedom of the press and free speech were a bit different before the internet. Before the net, the "other little voices" could only be heard & spread by the use of a letter and lots of stamps.
The mainstream media "cannot stand it" that someone can now demand an answer to a simple question, or state a simple fact that can easily be seen by millions.
Posted by: cmo | September 19, 2012 at 09:02 AM
I agree.
The Internet has become the new balance for all things involving politics, vaccines and vaccine safety. Since the Internet started in the early 1990s, I find myself using it more and ignoring the "mainstream media" to the point it is not a factor for me. The Internet is more investigative and democratic with a small "d" than is the "mainstream media" outlets and that is fine with me.
Posted by: Raymond Gallup | September 20, 2012 at 08:05 AM
Doing a story without having read anything about one side of it or making any real attempt to get informed? Great move. Gee one of these kids could grow up to be the next Anderson Cooper!
Posted by: Lisa | September 19, 2012 at 08:08 PM
What you all said.
But, to sum up:
The old media is propaganda. Period. Nothing else.
The new media is US, and can be as accurate as WE make it.
Schools are 50% to 100% propaganda/brainwashing, but useful in the early years for learning reading, writing, and math. Art and music.
History classes, civics, etc.=propaganda.
Now--how fast can we move online? With news like AOA? With forums on FB? With joining people who have discovered other truths, similar to what we all now know about vaccines and autism?
See you on FB, blogs, etc.
Posted by: Terri Lewis | September 19, 2012 at 03:03 PM
Here is a link to a short history of American schooling by former NY teacher of the year, John Taylor Gatto, where he illustrates corporate and government influence, motivation and goals: http://www.johntaylorgatto.com/historytour/history1.htm
Posted by: Linda | September 19, 2012 at 03:02 PM
When you take a really close look at the materials used in public schools, this should come as no surprise. We have many examples of it:
My son was off sick this week and his social teacher had posted the homework online which included a video they were to watch about the different economic systems. A few minutes into the video the presenter gives his thoughts on the downside of a lassez-faire system, one of which is people won't get flu shots. WTF?
Well this just lead to a conversation about social engineering with my son so thanks for that!
Last year in my other son's science text book there was a piece on GM foods and it stated though there is controversy there are no problems with GM foods.
And then there was the teacher who told my son that fluoride was essential blah blah blah, when I had told them not to refill his water bottle with the fluoridated water at the school.
I totally get why people homeschool; unfortunately not a viable option for us. We do subscribe to Mark Twain's "don't let your schooling get in the way of your education". It's tough to know exactly what is being taught at all times but we try to peruse the materials every so often to counter balance the engineering. But I would like to know who really is paying for this one sided material to get in these text books.
Posted by: samaxtics | September 19, 2012 at 12:23 PM
Oh what a shock that reporting school is run the same way as med school. You're not taught how to do the job. You're formed like putty into a component to fit in the machine. If you can't be molded, you don't even make it into the machine. That's what higher education is for. There's a place for you in the machine as long as you mesh well with it and don't interfere with its operation. Do your job properly and you get Wakefielded. Ejected from the machine and thrown in the trash.
Higher education, like governement, isn't what we're told it is. It is just another tool in the profit toolbox of big Pharma, big food, big oil etc.
Posted by: Carter's Daddy | September 19, 2012 at 12:12 PM
Ahhh goodness. I started out as the most trusting little human being and believed all I was told.
Through the years it has all slowly been stripped away.
Vaccines are safe was about the first to go and my trust in medical doctors.
But really the first thing that should have gone out the door was my trust, faith, worship and love of higher education.
So much trouble seems to orginate from there!
All this mess started with the corruption of the schools
These three men did know what they were talking about!
“I think schools generally do an effective and terribly damaging job of teaching children to be infantile, dependent, intellectually dishonest, passive and disrespectful to their own developmental capacities.” ~ Seymour Papert
"The whole educational and professional training system is a very elaborate filter, which just weeds out people who are too independent, and who think for themselves, and who don't know how to be submissive, and so on – because they're dysfunctional to the institutions." ~ Noam Chomsky
"Schools have not necessarily much to do with education...they are mainly institutions of control where certain basic habits must be inculcated in the young. Education is quite different and has little place in school." ~ Winston Churchill
Univerisity professors and student do they know what they are doing with this assignment is going againest these quotes?
“Withholding information is the essence of tyranny. Control of the flow of information is the tool of the dictatorship.”
― Bruce Coville
“Enlighten the people generally, and tyranny and opressions of the body and mind will vanish like evil spirits at the dawn of day.”
― Thomas Jefferson
Posted by: Benedetta | September 19, 2012 at 10:44 AM
Like the media and other institutions, our educational system has not escaped corporate influence. "Business partners" contribute marketing and propaganda laced curriculum as well as funding to schools and universities willing to hand over impressionable minds and willing to refrain from activities which would threaten corporate profits. Forbidden activities include actually educating students, encouraging them to think for themselves, and to do honest, thorough, open-ended research.
Posted by: Linda | September 19, 2012 at 09:38 AM
"I think the students see that film making is so powerful, because you have a potential to move people and affect change. And I think that’s really fantastic."
This teacher's attitude is the problem. In my day, journalism class taught students to ask who, what, when, where, why and how. There was NEVER a discussion as to how "to move people and affect change". Which is why so many people have problems with media today - whatever they are doing, it isn't journalism. When value judgements are more important than journalism, our so-called journalists are no better than those at Pravda during the Soviet Union years. "Just the facts, ma'am."
Posted by: Vicki Hill | September 19, 2012 at 09:11 AM
Freedom of the press and free speech were a bit different before the internet. Before the net, the "other little voices" could only be heard & spread by the use of a letter and lots of stamps.
The mainstream media "cannot stand it" that someone can now demand an answer to a simple question, or state a simple fact that can easily be seen by millions.
Posted by: cmo | September 19, 2012 at 09:02 AM
The comment, "Teach children how to think, not what to think," was recently posted on my Facebook. Isn't that a teacher's job, especially in a journalism class? Teach students to question and to verify information.
(And that includes the blanket claim by officials and people with a lot of credentials that more and more toxic vaccines can't possibly harm you.)
Anne Dachel, Media
Posted by: Anne McElroy Dachel | September 19, 2012 at 08:54 AM
It is very exciting for young people to learn how to boss people around. I recall the chapter from Michael Fitzpatrick's book in which people concerned about vaccine safety are reduced to a sociological class to be eliminated. I also once recalled the happiness of a young lady journalist I was being interviewed by for a local newspaper, who'd just written another story which had caught someone's eye in a PR office of the Department of Education and had been nationally syndicated.
Of course, in one sense Ray is right, it is all just garbage and not worth a moment's thought - in another sense we have to focus on the machinery of lies as well, in order to be able to do anything about it.
Posted by: John Stone | September 19, 2012 at 08:44 AM
Personally I ignore the "mainstream media" (nothing mainstream about them) on political issues and likewise on vaccines and vaccine safety. There is nothing balanced about them and therefore by ignoring them I realize I have no false expectations.
Posted by: Raymond Gallup | September 19, 2012 at 07:26 AM