All you right wing bloggers are just a bunch of big mean bullies who pick on poor little reporters who are too lazy to get their facts straight.
That’s not my opinion. That’s the opinion of one Edward Wasserman who gets real pissy when he gets fact checked.
…It’s hard now even to write for publication without being uncomfortably aware of just how thoroughly what you say is going to be inspected for any trace of undesirable political tilt and denounced by a free-floating cadre of rightist warriors.
If that’s apparent to me as a mere columnist, I can only imagine the current mind-set of supervising editors: If we give prominence to this story of carnage in Iraq, will we be accused of anti-administration bias? And — here it gets interesting — will we therefore owe our readers an offsetting story, perhaps an inspirational tale of Marines teaching young Iraqis how to play softball?
Now, both stories may well be integral to news of Iraq. If so, both should be told. The problem arises when the softball story is nothing but a Pentagon publicist’s brainstorm seized on by right-wing bloggers — and the pressure to tell it comes not from a principled desire to deliver a factual account that is broadly emblematic of significant happenings in Iraq, but from a gutless attempt to buy off a hostile and suspicious fragment of the audience base.
You are right Mr. Wasserman. I’m hostile. Real hostile.
I’m hostile that CBS just perpetrated a massive fraud against the President.
I’m more hostile that your paper also joined the bandwagon devoid of all facts. (and you criticized us!)
I’m hostile that The NY Times is wrong so often I have to apologize for correcting them.
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It looks to me like Lame Stream Media is getting scared that they are actually being held accountable. They have many problems but I don’t think their obvious extreme left wing tilt is the biggest issue they have to come to terms with. NO, the real issue they are struggling with is incompetence. Journalists write stories about anything under the sun whether they have any direct knowledge of the subject matter. They fail to understand their limitations. Within the blogosphere issues can be discussed by people with much stronger credentials. Media can’t compete. Would you rather have an appellate court ruling explained by a blogger with 15 years experience as a lawyer or a guy who majored in using spell check in J school.
But, Paul, didn’t Kerry already give back all his medals (including his PH) when he tossed them over the fence?… or it was ribbons?… or it was some other person’s?… It just gets so nuanced…
Bravo, Paul!
But Wasserman may be right, you know. We are part of a Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy dedicated to exposing the Vast Left-Wing Conspiracy.
We ought to be ashamed of ourselves.
W00T! I hope I’m one of those geeks you’re talking about!!
Could forgerygate be the sea change event that swings the 4th column back into midstream. Getting them to report ‘just facts with no bias’?
Doubtful – I think they will hang on with tooth and nail and risk implosion rather than ‘become poisoned’ by shifting away from the left and speak to the center (hellooo…. ever heard of a bell curve?).
The big question of the day is, if the MSM is risking implosion to save the Democratic party – what if the onslaught and the demand overrun the MSM’s position? Could the Democratic party implode as well? Scary thought.
Sharpie, you qualify, trust me.
I’m just real freaking annoyed this guy made the argument “They want us to report the news without spinning it, we can’t do that!”
Letter to CBS 09/10/04
I call for CBS to immediately fire Mr. Dan Rather for attempting to once again besmirch the reputation and public image of a sitting POTUS. The shoddy, lazy, sloppy reporting done 2 nights ago were over the top in bias reporting. It is not the function of Dan Rather to get his candidate elected using public airways. It is not the function of CBS to consistently brow beat a POTUS over such elementary school sniping and (now I can say) TRUMPED UP charges.
I am writing a letter to the FTC (Federal Trade Commission)to complain about the blantant lies disguised as “breaking” news stories, or as “George W. Bush character revealed”. You have only revealed your own characters! You are a commercial entity that is self-promoting and as such, you are still required to meet the basic minimums of advertising. Lies and deception in order to obtain a goal are not just despicable but are illegal.
I am filing a complaint with the Federal Election Commission because you are not a 527 but a corporation involved in falsely advertising and airing statements about a candidate for POTUS. Too bad for you that you did not do your sh***y (and sir, I do not use tha word lightly)little escapade last week, when Mr. Bush had NOT FORMALLY BECOME THE CANDIDATE. You are now tettering on the edge of collusion and illegal activity during a presidental campaign that is less than 60 days from the election.
Again, I demand, at the very least, a full apology to the American people and to Mr. George W. Bush, and the immediate retirement (in shame) of Dan Rather.
Cynthea Sabolich
Westlake, OH
It only took me a few minutes to scout out this information and I am not a full fledged reporter, just an old lady.
Credit to Instapundit http://instapundit.com/
After training, Bush kept flying, racking up hundreds of hours in F-102 jets. As he did, he accumulated points toward his National Guard service requirements. At the time, guardsmen were required to accumulate a minimum of 50 points to meet their yearly obligation.
According to records released earlier this year, Bush earned 253 points in his first year, May 1968 to May 1969 (since he joined in May 1968, his service thereafter was measured on a May-to-May basis).
Bush earned 340 points in 1969-1970. He earned 137 points in 1970-1971. And he earned 112 points in 1971-1972. . . .
That brings the story to May 1972
Well, said.
Headzero, the dolts in the news media won’t get it. Look at the Bozos at NBC. They’re going to interview Kitty Kelly about Bush for three straight days. One of her claims — that Bush snorted cocaine — has been refuted by the very person she uses as a source. The Dems have become unhinged and deranged and that includes the members of the press.
The issue is job security. It’s become clear over the last year or two that journalism isn’t a profession that requires a great deal of specialized training of skill. Most people are capable of creating commentary on current events that rivals the “professionals” for quality and accuracy.
Hey Cynthea, I used to live in Westlake,OH, just by Crocker and Basset in the little apartment complex next to the McDonalds there…small world…
It seems with Dan Rather the rot has really set in. He is now proclaiming to be correct against the mountain of evidence to the contrary. The question is whether CBS will drop him fast enough, or at least remedy the situation before the he takes them down with him.
To be honest, I don’t believe this will go anywhere. For years through Bush’s presidency the media have slanted their reporting against him, no matter how much their reports are refuted, they will still appear a week or a month later. It’s almost 1984-ish.
Hey Paul
Give em’ “Zell”! way to rant. Right up his “asser-man!”