ID Theft Coverage

The mainstream media is taking a lot of flak these days. It's become a cliche to criticize them for their biases and distortions of the news.

Unfortunately, this is a cliche that is true, more often than not. First off, let me say again (I think I've said it here before) the media is biased, but not on the left-right axiom; they're biased toward what will sell papers (or get more viewers, listeners, subscribers, etc.)

A huge downside of this is that news cycles get into fads. A story might still be ongoing, in fact, might still be vital, but the media will simply stop reporting it and move on to the next shiny thing that they think will draw in paying readers.

For instance, the Kelo V. New London case, the most important case the Supreme Court has heard in years is still ongoing (see my last post), yet the media is done with it. They're moving on.

Same with ID theft. The problem continues, and in fact is getting worse, yet you hear about it less and less in the media. They've moved on, for the moment. (Yeah, they'll be back to Identity Theft, but only in cycles. They won't stay with the problem until a solution [like credit freezes] is found.) These days, you hear more about ID theft in AOL commercials than you do in the news.

Check out Bizzyblog's post from 8/10 about a new ID theft case that has been underreported and shows that serous action is needed to address this still-growing problem. Tom continues to make an excellent case for credit freezes, and the media continues to give the problem only lip service as it rushes to Memphis to cover an escaped convict or to Aruba to learn nothing new about whatever it is that's going on there.

That's why blogs are where it's at. Guys like Tom Blumer cover what really matters, and they're independent enough to tell the truth, without fear of aggravating advertisers or corporate media owners. Maybe the news media has some interesting fluff to keep you distracted for another day, but if you want a sense of what's truly important in our society right now, stick with blogs.

Comments

[Tom Blumer]

Thanks for the nice words. Remember on the Kelo people, I would never have known a thing about it without your coverage.

The attention span thing is a problem everywhere, even in the blogosphere, though individuals can in a sense break ranks with the pack and stick with something like glue. But, there is only so much time and attention any one person or group has, even when independent.