State Dept email shows how they influenced 60 Minute interview with Assange

[dixiegrrrrl]

the key sections reads:
"60 Minutes assures me they ( in the completed interview) raised the issues/questions WE PLANTED WITH THEM"
.
.
.




Source:
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-10-02/meet-your-independent-media-america

[Shandris]

1. LOL (in a sick, disgusted manner)

Yeah, we saw about 600,000 of these during Gamergate. The media is so unbelievably corrupt it isn't even worth discussing, really, except...there'd be no point if we didn't discuss something.

Nothing is in the mainstream media, nothing becomes popular, and nothing trends on Twitter without it being explicitly allowed to (outside of local trends, obviously). And since it's allowed to...well, then you know someone with more money than you wants you to believe it.

[Fred Sanders]

2. No. It does not. If folks would take off the blinders and engage all the frontal lobe neurons.

[jeff47]

5. Why don't you tell everyone what it really means then? (nt)

[cherokeeprogressive]

8. He has absolutely no intention of doing that. n/t

[erronis]

15. All quiet on that front. Do you think it has been asked to shut up?

[cherokeeprogressive]

18. Could be. n/t

[riderinthestorm]

20. I've noticed when the Assange and Snowden threads are too close for comfort

they become radioactive and the usual posse studiously ignores them so they drop....

You'll see them post on any other thread but that one.

That the State Dept took a direct and active role in massaging the 60 Minutes Assange interview falls into that category imo.

Too hard to spin as unimportant, especially as this email is directed to Hillary herself - that's the highest level of involvement in message/damage control.

[cherokeeprogressive]

22. I've noticed that too. I also see how FS is suddenly absent from the thread. n/t

[Truprogressive85]

3. Dont you love State Dept

When someone is trying to tell the truth

discredit them by any means

[840high]

4. ...+1

[Zorra]

6. jeepers, do ya think Julian could possibly have been framed?

Part 1

http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/wikileaks-julian-assange-pt-1/

Part 2

http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/wikileaks-julian-assange-pt-2/

[riderinthestorm]

7. Been told over and over that the U.S. doesn't care about Assange

He's nobody.

Old news...

Desperately trying to stay relevant...

Wonder how someone so irrelevant merits State Dept damage and message control over something as silly as a 60 Minutes interview...?

[struggle4progress]

9. Quelle horreur!

60 Minutes planned to interview that guy who released hundreds of thousands of sensitive State Department documents; the State Department thought some issues should be addressed and suggested some other people 60 Minutes might want to interview in addition; 60 Minutes told the State Department they would only broadcast the interview with that one guy; and so the Secretary of State got an email about it

Scary! Scary! Scary!

[DirkGently]

11. Sounds like it was the State Department that was

"scared."

/

[struggle4progress]

14. The State Department regularly talks to the press, because all sorts of people read:

foreign government officials read; US politicians read; people interested in doing business abroad read ...

[DirkGently]

17. Except this was State "suggesting" surrogates to put forward

its preferred point of view. That is an entirely different thing than speaking on its own behalf. Instead of making arguments of its own, State tried to shoehorn in some conveniently sympathetic voices for -- and this is super funny-- "balance."

It is laughable that any journalistic outlet would air the views of an interested parties' self-selected surrogates in order to achieve "balance."

That's not the way reporting is done. It is the way powerful entities try to exert influence over the truth behind the scenes, however.

[struggle4progress]

25. I suppose nothing obliges you to support the ideal of international diplomacy

though many of us think it is better to have it than not

There seems to be widespread agreement, around the world, that embassies can only exist if governments and their embassies have some ability to communicate frankly, without the threat of constant public embarrassment; and this is why international treaties recognize the sanctity of embassies and of diplomatic pouches

Perhaps even former US ambassadors are capable of addressing such issues, which would be a good reason to suggest them as potential sources to news media, when there are public discussions about a massive release of State Department documents

[DirkGently]

36. Or, in this case, "International Duplicitous Ass-Covering?"

Trying to plant sources in a news story doesn't really conflate with "international diplomacy."

Weird spin attempt.

Does not hold water.

[dixiegrrrrl]

31. It is more than that and I think you know it.

It is what i pointed out in the OP...

60 minutes claims to be an independent news magazine
The State Dept. admits 60 minutes used their "planted" questions in the interview.

[struggle4progress]

32. I think you're grasping at straws

[whereisjustice]

10. "concerns and suggestions we PLANTED with them" Are we sick of this shit yet...?

Does everything have to be an angle, a huge manipulation, a giant cluster fuck at our expense?

[Dustlawyer]

12. We really need to get Bernie elected and help him bust

up the media Oligopoly. The propaganda is used to control as many as possible and appears to be working considering Donald Trump has a large following. The poor public education system is working for them as well for the same reason as well as their inability to grasp science like Climate Change and the fact that they are being used and manipulated.

60 minutes used to be tough, even on big corporations. Now with new(er) on air talent who must have either no clout or no morals, they regularly air segments paid for by industry or political propaganda mandated by the network.

Think things are bad now, if Bernie fails and fails to inspire a new wave of populist candidates, better memorize Orwell's 1984, because that's what is coming except with severe pollutions, food and water shortages, no privacy and no freedom. A lot can happen to prevent this dystopian any authoritarian future, but it gets a lot less likely.

[AtomicKitten]

13. Although expected, this kind of inappropriate media manipulation is still shocking in black & white.

[erronis]

16. Hey, be careful. If you ever want a job with the US patriotic government.

All your comments belong to US. They will be held against you, perhaps, but you won't know.

It's almost too much work to GAS (give-a-shit) about governments (USSR, USA, etc.) that spend several billions of dollars on mis-information. And that's the way they want it. Back to bed, comrade.

[dixiegrrrrl]

19. One of the joys of being retired, don't ya know.....

Worked for years under indirect Gov. contracts ( Federal/state agency funds) and was expected to be non-politic.

[kelliekat44]

21. Oh, please...what would you expect? nt

[cherokeeprogressive]

23. Nothing less.

[riderinthestorm]

24. Personally, I'm pretty interested that Hillary was involved

How many people rate that kind of scrutiny/involvement for message/damage control?

Assange is clearly far higher on their radar than some DUers purport...

[dixiegrrrrl]

28. Email was addressed to her

Subject matter seemed important enough
and normal enough
to be sent by her staff to her.

[Recursion]

26. And?

State wanted 60 Minutes to interview some other people in addition to Assange; 60 Minutes said no.

Did you post the right email?

[dixiegrrrrl]

27. Comprehension fail.

As i clearly stated in the OP:

the key sections reads:
"60 Minutes assures me they ( in the completed interview) raised the issues/questions WE PLANTED WITH THEM"

CBS did the interveiw with" the issues/questions WE
(the Satte Dept)
PLANTED WITH THEM"

NOT an independent news show doing its own investigation and questions.

[Recursion]

29. OK. And?

Can you explain the problem? I'm missing what's wrong with a public affairs officer suggesting questions for a journalist.

Is the word "plant" bothering you? I've used it in private sector PR before so I would imagine public sector PR also uses it.

[joshcryer]

30. Common scare quotes.

State Departments do stuff like this all the damn time. It's a general function of upper level government. That people think this stuff doesn't happen is a testament to their ignorance of the political and administrative processes we live under.

[Enrique]

33. the media doesn't have to play along

there are journalists who will not do PR for government agencies.

[joshcryer]

44. They "plant" controversial questions.

The media doesn't have to play along but it does so because the questions "planted" are good gotchas or questions that they can use in clickbait articles.

It's not the State's fault the media has no integrity and is instead going after big headlines and controversy.

That's why it's easy to "plant" questions.

[randome]

34. It IS the word 'plant'. People read what's in front of them without dispassionate evaluation.

[hr][font color="blue"][center]Treat your body like a machine. Your mind like a castle.[/center][/font][hr]

[Zorra]

35. ^

[Octafish]

37. WikiLeaks exposed secret government warmongering and insider warprofiteering.

Wikileaks Release Suggests Stratfor Inside Info Plan with Goldman Sachs Exec

By Ryan Villarreal: Subscribe to Ryan's RSS feed
IBTimes.com
February 27, 2012 6:26 PM EST

WikiLeaks released more than 5 million e-mails Monday hacked from U.S.-based global intelligence firm Strategy Forecasting Inc. (Stratfor), revealing an alleged plan between the firm's CEO and a Goldman Sachs executive to set up an investment fund that would rely on inside information gathered by the company.

A September 2011 company-wide e-mail composed by Stratfor CEO George Friedman indicates that Goldman Sachs financial adviser and former Managing Director Shea Morenz was directly involved in the establishment of the investment fund StratCap.

"Shea Morenz provided us with two opportunities," wrote Friedman.

"First, he made an investment in Stratfor designed to give us the capital needed to build our staff and our marketing. Second, he proposed a new venture, StratCap, which would allow us to utilize the intelligence we were gathering about the world in a new but related venue -- an investment fund. Where we had previously advised other hedge funds. We would now have our own, itself fully funded by Shea."

CONTINUED...

http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/305532/20120227/wikileaks-stratfor-stratcap-goldman-sachs-fund-julian.htm

When money trumps peace, what chance does democracy have?

[SidDithers]

38. The right hates Hillary. The fringe left hates Hillary...

and they're both having a glorious time, sifting through her e-mails, using any little detail to attack her.

Sid

[mhatrw]

41. so much hate, both rational and irrational.

she's the perfect storm of a losing candidate.

[Octafish]

42. The 'right' and the 'fringe left.' Interesting choice of terms.

Seeing how you can't vote for her, why do you care?

[riderinthestorm]

43. This OP isn't an attack on Hillary. You know that right?

The emails are a demonstration of message/damage control of Assange at the very highest levels of the State Dept.

That's not a slam on Hillary - it indicates that this Administration isn't nearly as sanguine @ Assange as many DUers like to purport. In other words, he matters. A lot. Enough to warrant personal supervision by the SOS and her top aides of a 60 Minutes interview.

It's also hard evidence that journalists are functioning as little more than PR departments for the government.

[GummyBearz]

39. Amazing!

This guy Crowley some how managed to send an email from his official state dept. email account, AND properly marked it as unclassified. I thought this was impossible to do during HRC's tenure as secretary of state??

[LittleBlue]

40. American media = Pravda of the west

Trust nothing they say.