One of the more challenging issues for journalism is to report on itself. In the case of media owned by diversified corporations, that poses an even larger challenge.
The Washington Post noted this week that the top-rated NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams was one of the few major media organizations not to report that General Electric had not paid any corporate taxes this year. GE is NBC's parent company.
NBC indicated this was not a conscious decision to avoid news about its owners, but simply a matter of an editorial selection process that happened not to focus on the story.
The Post drew on the Fairness and Accuracy in Media organization to argue that several GE-related stories have been underplayed by NBC over the years and that tax-avoidance stories had made the newscast when others were involved.
The Washington Post noted this week that the top-rated NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams was one of the few major media organizations not to report that General Electric had not paid any corporate taxes this year. GE is NBC's parent company.
NBC indicated this was not a conscious decision to avoid news about its owners, but simply a matter of an editorial selection process that happened not to focus on the story.
The Post drew on the Fairness and Accuracy in Media organization to argue that several GE-related stories have been underplayed by NBC over the years and that tax-avoidance stories had made the newscast when others were involved.
