Shapiro Blasts Media for Bailout Coverage

Consumer Electronics Association President Gary Shapiro says the media were complicit in "our national conspiracy to ignore financial reality," and said that "while the First Amendment is alive legally, it is an unnoticed, underused and often forgotten tool whose spirit has shifted from traditional media to YouTube and blogs." According to a copy of a speech to be given at The Media Institute in Washington Tuesday Shapiro said the press has "failed" the country by underreporting, and perhaps more importantly, insufficiently analyzing some big stories. "It has been mostly reactive, favoring the politics and the battles between the political parties rather than independently reviewing the big issues," he said, most recently the bailout packages for Wall Street, and more recently Main Street. "Has the media been so decimated by the economy and new media that thoughtful analysis of these immense proposals is off the table?" he asked.