Inside Story Americas: Is the US Media Holding Politicians Accountable?

October 06, 2012 from Al Jazeera English

Much of what Mitt Romney said in the first presidential debate was found untrue, yet the US media was quick to declare him the debate's winner. What exactly is the US media's role in the election? Does the US media properly hold politicians to account? Guests: Matt Butler, the president of Media Matters; Amy Goodman, a host and executive producer of Democracy Now; and David Westin, who served as president of ABC News between 1997 and 2010.

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Mitt Romney

Willard Mitt Romney is an American businessman and politician who served as the 70th Governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007. He was the Republican Party's nominee for President of the United States in the 2012 election. Raised in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, by his parents... Explore this topic

US presidential election, 2012

The United States presidential election of 2012 was the 57th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012. The Democratic nominee, incumbent President Barack Obama, and his running mate, Vice President Joe Biden, were re-elected to a second term,... Explore this topic

Media of the United States

Media of the United States consist of several different types of communications media: television, radio, cinema, newspapers, magazines, and Internet-based Web sites. The U.S. also has a strong music industry. Many of the media are controlled by large for-profit corporations w... Explore this topic

Barack Obama

Barack Hussein Obama II (/bəˈrɑːk huːˈseɪn oʊˈbɑːmə/; born August 4, 1961) is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama served as a U.S. Senator representing the state of Illinois from January 2005 to Novemb... Explore this topic

Media

The news media are those elements of the mass media that focus on delivering news to the general public or a target public. These include print media, broadcast news, and more recently the Internet. Explore this topic

United States

The United States of America, commonly called the United States and America, is a federal republic consisting of fifty states and a federal district. The 48 contiguous states and the federal district of Washington, D.C. are in central North America between Canada and Mexico. T... Explore this topic

Media bias

Media bias is the bias or perceived bias of journalists and news producers within the mass media in the selection of events and stories that are reported and how they are covered. The term "media bias" implies a pervasive or widespread bias contravening the standards of journa... Explore this topic

Amy Goodman

Amy Goodman is an American broadcast journalist, syndicated columnist, investigative reporter and author. Goodman is the host of Democracy Now!, an independent global news program broadcast daily on radio, television and the Internet. Explore this topic

David Westin

David Westin is an Advisor to NewsRight, where he served as President and CEO from 2011 to 2012. Before that, he was president of ABC News, responsible for all aspects of ABC News’ television broadcasts, including World News with Diane Sawyer, Nightline, Good Morning America, ... Explore this topic

Democracy Now!

Democracy Now! is a United States daily progressive, nonprofit, independently syndicated program of news, analysis, and opinion, aired by more than 1000 radio, television, satellite and cable TV networks in North America. The award-winning one hour War and Peace Report is host... Explore this topic

Also See

Mitt Romney

US presidential election, 2012

Media of the United States

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