Frontline

This show came from a time when people mostly got their information from TV, there were few alternatives other than print media after all, and so on subjects the viewer wasn't familiar with, they were easily persuaded by its authoritative tone. Almost no one before the age of google had the ability to easily fact check this show, and so it carries a legacy it doesn't deserve. Now since the 2016 election its become ever more clear what it is, and I question what else I grew up watching on this show wasn't actually as portrayed.

The show is a demonstration of the techniques of effective propaganda. Voice of god narration by an actor who sounds like some kind of government authority backed by ominous music to set the tone, and then you are fed narratives by chosen talking heads who launder lies, these are after all not the words of the producers, just third parties, its how its done on all such media. On the "Policing the police" episode a talking head states that she knows the police are biased just against black people because of all the white arrests she sees on cops, when the reality is the producer of Cops admitted on tape that their show was deliberately skewing things to show disproportionately more white arrests to be politically correct. This is easily fact checked, but its the kind of thing that never is as it fits their chosen narrative. So as politics becomes ever more radicalized, manipulative shows like this have proven they can no longer be trusted, and frankly they never should have been.

I use to rate this program highly. It had at least at one time, a lot of integrity, and fairly strong investigative reporting. However like a lot of modern media, it has now become little more than biased political propaganda. In their most recent episode, I noticed not only blatant and important pieces of information entirely ignored, but also the other side of the story mostly just glossed over, especially in the last hour of the program. They try to somewhat make it look legit, as if it isn't just a hit piece. However if you follow the stories closely yourself from all sides, don't be surprised to see that these days even this show is now extremely compromised. It's not a wonder that many more independently minded podcasts are now taking over a large portion of the media audience. Television journalism with integrity is essentially dead, the same could mostly be said for newspapers and radio. Science has shown us that fear slows the mind. For us as humans to be focusing on fear over facts, seems to be among the most unscientific things we could possibly be doing. Yet it's exactly this, and the beloved buzzword of the times, 'misinformation' that most media outlets continue to embrace and push.

My old rating of this program - 7.5/10

My rating of the modern program, and this rating may even be somewhat generous I feel. - 2/10.

The systems and politicians didn't do enough for them despite the nice speeches. I appreciated seeing this perspective of the American story. It resonates strongly for so many of us. So many of us played by the rules and still came out with a basket half empty. Debt, poor health and expensive insurance and the only option for retirement is no retirement and continued working until the end. Regardless of how much we pay for taxes. I wish the best for all of us who are looking for options as we age. The American dream is now a hope to survive. Whe previously we had dreams of thriving and building legacies for our families.

I've watched Frontline nearly since its debut in 1983. Specifically I remember watching a program on a clash in Greensboro, North Carolina, between communist labor organizers and white supremacists. That program focused on a white-supremacist informant, and how the police treated and used his information. It was a documentary that, for myself, for the first time didn't take sides. It presented testimony by the participants, and made no attempt to guide the thoughts and feelings of the viewers. It was the first time I'd ever seen a prgram that let me think and feel the way I wanted to about a subject. That was twenty years ago, and Frontline has continued to produce fantastic in-depth documanteries to this day.

Frontline's programs have ranged from geo-politics to so-called "adult films," to equal rights, to the battle in Mogadishu, to whatever intriguing subject one can think of. And it's all done with the aim of informing and educating the viewer on how said subject is treated and perceived by those involved.

Unlike other documentaries Frontline merely reports the facts without pushing an agenda (unlike so many other one shot documentaries). Frontline lets you make up your own mind by presenting testimony of the people involved. It's a program whose narration isn't filled with conclusions worded to sound like fact (again, unlike many other documentaries). Instead it relies heavily on an interview format, where the answer to questions by the people involved are presented without being edited or otherwise spun.

If you're looking for a program that will inform you on complicated topics by presenting testimony, and not processed narration, then Frontline is the program to watch. Not all of its documentary reports will appeal to everyone, but rest assured each one is as thurough as possible at the time it airs.

Frontline is a great supplement to any news program for those who want more information.

Hammered Bush for 8 years, made Obama look like a prince for 8, and now... Trump could cure cancer and these producers would find a way to put a negative spin on it.