CSPAN: Media Coverage of Presidential Campaign

[buycitgo]

on the dais, Judy (ExoSkeletor), Rather, Jennings, Brokaw, and host Alex Jones.....no, not THAT Alex Jones

this looks like a huge, stinking POS, but I'm not listening, cause

JoeBobBriggs is on the radio, talking about Born Losers, Billy Jack, etc., and why Tom Laughlin won't release them on Video.

[thebigidea]

1. so, don't hold us in suspense. Why won't Laughlin release 'em?

I never saw the one where he goes to Washington.

[buycitgo]

2. he's very protective of his oeuvre

that's all they said about it

Joe Bob DID ask TL if he could still kick as high as another man's eye, though, which is, after all, the most important thing, isn't it?

I couldn't watch the Washington movie

and Born Losers is by FAR the best of his, in which he shoots Jeremy Slate between the eyes, while Slate is wearing a pair of white-framed shades in the shape of twin hearts

ever seen that? high quality dialogue, among other priceless attributes

he was also in South Pacific
!!!!!

[indigobusiness]

3. You don't like Alex?

[buycitgo]

4. not sure; he needs some Boudreaux's I think

kinda tin foil hatty, but it's hard to know what to beliveve these days, isn't it?

[indigobusiness]

5. Yep

but I admire balls to the wall sincerity. Alex is a stand-up guy, but he goes where I'd fear to tread.



http://www.buttpaste.com

edit to add-

Everybody, at both Conventions, could use some Boudreaux's...I figure.

[buycitgo]

6. that's true; one of the teachers at shool has some of his tapes

she's something else

and NOW, Peter Jennings talks about conservative concerns about the LIBERAL media

it's because the WING NUTS are so VOCAL! he's making that point and illustrating with ONE personal experience he had on a plane.

they also mention all the nasty mail they get, AND groups like MRC!!!!

they are SO OUT of touch

can't wait to see what Exogal has to say

Rather denying ANY corporate pressure, EVER, to do liberal bidding

how bout the OTHER way, Danno?

[indigobusiness]

9. I'm hoping for somekind of "What's the frequency, Kenneth"...episode.

Old Dan's heart probably couldn't take it, butI can hope, can't I?

[buycitgo]

10. he's the most honest of the three main guys

Judy hasn't opened her mandibles yet

[buycitgo]

7. this really is important, as it shows how completely OUT OF IT

they are, like Brokaw maintaining that the college campus unrest of the 60s somehow made the media, or reflected the media being LIBERAL then.

right, tom. read some history

and DAN is quoting Kristol as saying the liberal media is not that powerful, etc. famous quote

Dan is ready to face reality

good for him

[buycitgo]

8. al franken is in the audience!

now, Lehrer is "spuing" BS about no matter who the pres is, the media goes after him, citing how they did Clinton, then talking only about generic pug presidents

how bout the crap you;ve pulled THIS year alone, with your 'fairness' crap, huh?

and how bout those amazingly biases questions you asked Gore during the debates?

[indigobusiness]

11. OK...I tuned it in...

damn you.

[buycitgo]

13. this is IMPORTANT, cause these guys represent the FACE

of BIG BROTHER

they help shape what most benighted news consumers think

Exogirl finally speaks up, saying SOTU speeches are just as prepackaged infomercials as these conventions, which Jennings just said is the reason they aren't covering them in any depth anymore

[indigobusiness]

14. nonononononoooooo they don't represent the face of Big Brother

They may be manipulated at times, but they, for all their faults, are part of our flimsy defense shield.

They walk a tightrope...it ain't easy.

[buycitgo]

18. nononononononononooooooooo. who signs their checks?

Viacom

GE

Disney

nuff said?

[indigobusiness]

22. No, not nuff...

Big Brother is real and must be seen clearly to be dealt with effectively.

Many great forces in the world have been sponsored by not so good forces.

Franken worked for NBC...is he the face of Big Brother?

Be careful.

[buycitgo]

25. wait.....will explain shortly.....still watching BS

you're making a fallacious connection there

[indigobusiness]

34. No, just saying they aren't lap-dogs

of their paymasters.

[Jim Sagle]

48. I'm saying they are. They internalize the requirements.

[buycitgo]

51. It's TRANSPARENTLY OBVIOUS that one does not

become a success in ANY bureaucracy by going against the wishes of those who wield power over that person

simple as that

and it's been PROVEN that these gigantic companies have NEVER, EVER had the peoples' interest at heart

maybe it wasn't as bad years ago, but with the advent of each new facet of communications technology, there was an initial burst of free exchange of ideas, but very quickly concentration occurre

read Rich Media, Poor Democracy for an extensive history of this, and an explanation of how difficult it's going to be to change things

it really does follow dialectical analysis, unfortuntately

[indigobusiness]

60. One doesn't rise to the top of anything by being a brown-nosing

suckup.

Even weasels are disgusted by that.

But I can't believe I'm forced into the devil's advocate role here, I'm usually on the other side of this. I just think you have oversold your arguement.

[Jim Sagle]

38. The only one who even TRIES to walk that tightrope is Dan Rather.

The more I see of him, the more I like him. Whatever institutional blinders he has on, he tries to compensate for. He's the only one that doesn't seem arrogant, the one who seems to care that things have drifted off course.

[buycitgo]

41. agreed about Rather, and Jennings is doing it again

Arrogantly INSISTING that ABC did its job OK during the run up, THEN says they could use the KERRY EXCUSE!!!!!!

unbeLEEEEVable

he said that they went to the state department and listened to what they said, basically admitting that all they are is a BUNCH of STENOGRAPHERS

too bad you're so out of it that you don't even realize how much of a WHORE you;ve become

[indigobusiness]

49. They did drop the ball leading up to the war...

But is it their job to rally a comfortably numb America?

They are just reporters.

[buycitgo]

53. missing point here

their JOB is to report the TRUTH

what's really happening, IOW

they REFUSED to do that, from the time Carter took office until now

there was a brief span of time when a small group of reporters, starting with, say, Halberstam, Sheehan, even Morley Safer, and ending, pretty much with Bernstein, that was ALLOWED to get the message across, despite intense opposition

things changed as a result

since then, though, the RW conspiracy has learned its lesson, and went after Carter with a vengeance, from the Pug Party, to the Committee for a Clear and Present Danger, to the corporate media, to even the democratic leadership.

do a little research on what happened to Carter, and you'll see what I mean

try readint Liberty Under Seige, by Walter Karp

the RW revolution really began under Carter, and was cemented into place during Reagan, which is the era this book covers

Bill Clinton affirmed what I said on CSPAN II tonight, when he said the pugs could not BELIEVE he won. they expected that there would NOT be a dem president in anyone's LIFETIME, and that Carter's election was an aberration caused by Watergate

very very chilling quote, that

[indigobusiness]

55. I didn't miss it...

just not as rabidly convinced.

Lot of interpretation of motives going on.

[buycitgo]

57. and I'm not as rabidly unconvinced, see?

has nothing to do with their rallying troops to see the light, unless you mean see it the other way, which I don't think you do

indeed, rallying the troops (public?), is what they DID, by ignoring the difficult, to them, questions they shoulda put to those in power

they ADMITTED they bowed to the office, using 911 as an excuse, btw

a very lame and tawdry one, if I may

they couldn't have been more transparent in their complicity, despite their delusional denials

another book that supports this idea, and provides the bridge between Karp and, say, Robert Parry's Fooling America, is On Bended Knee, by Mark Hertsgaard, which details how utterly and completely the press gave in to Reagan's PR/propaganda machine

[indigobusiness]

64. NO, I meant what I said. I agree that there is a lot to answer for.

But I don't believe in the sinister motives you imply, nor do I believe they are delusional. I think the business is more complicated than it looks from this side, and they played a difficult hand badly and it became a trend. I'm not sure how the news business became so lame, but it surely is.


sp

[buycitgo]

66. so we disagree

that's fine

I think there's MORE than enough evidence to demonstrate the corporate media will NEVER allow presentation of stories inimical to maintenance of power

why do you think they turned so viciously, instanTANEOUSLY, on Dean, after treating him as their darling?

cause he started talking about media concentration

from that moment he was toast.

there are lots more examples like that

Take Robert Parry, who was the reporter to discover Ollie North

he was FIRED from both the AP and Newsweek for refusing to drop the Iran Contra story

legislators at the time talked about how, at the end of committee hearings they had STACKS of on the record notes, evidence, etc., and that NOT ONE reporter would EVER take any of this stuff, and use it to find out what was really going on

two exceptions: Robert Parry, and one other guy.......might've been Ray Bonnner; can't remember

they DON;t WANT to know, cause their BOSSES don't want to know

it threatens the power structure

it's that simple

[indigobusiness]

70. I just think it is a little more complex. Like in Govt, there are powerful

elements at work from both sides. It is a dynamic in flux.

[indigobusiness]

56. By the way...I voted for Carter...did you? In fact, I voted for McGovern.

I was in the thick of it during the shit hitting the fan.

I remember it well. don't require reminding.

[buycitgo]

58. same here

not reminding

pointing out just how BAD the media have been

I didn't know it at the time

took some waking up to realize just how complicit they are with those who pull everybody's strings

[indigobusiness]

59. I can't argue with that

just saying the criticism should be kept in perspective.

The fishbowl affects big media...it is the nature of the beast...sadly.

[buycitgo]

61. fishbowl? you mean public scrutiny/response?

you're right, if that's what you mean

cause they wussied out on that tonight, WHINING about all the pressure they get from wingnuts

Eric Alterman dealt SPECIFICALLY with that in his question, calling it a thirty plus year WAR on the media by the Right Wing

that's EXACTLY the time frame I'm talking about

it goes back to something written by a Nixon appointed SCOTUS justice, which was the genesis for William Simon's brainstorm: the vast RW conspiracy, expressed initially by the startup of wingnut "thinktanks," branching out into universities and media pressure groups, then into the media itself


they have almost all the money, and they realized how effectively they could put it use

and they did, getting more and more "subtle," as years passed, at least to most peoples' perception

[indigobusiness]

68. I meant that and the rarified culture of the Gotham media milleu

Media did let the RW flourish and for that they are all probably damned to eternal torment. Or something. But the real villains are elsewhere.

[buycitgo]

12. this is important: I haven't seen ONE question about

CONSERVATIVE bias in the media

[indigobusiness]

15. When this group retires

it's gonna get worse, not better.

[buycitgo]

20. probly..... definitely when known FREEPER Brian Williams

takes over

but the point really is that these guys are just NEWS READERS, and their real power comes as producers, who decide what to cover, and much more importantly what NOT to cover

that's why things suck as badly as they do

think of all the garbage about Bush they REFUSED to cover about Bush during the selection campaign

had they covered just ONE story like Harken, or AWOL, he'd never even gotten nominated, much less chosen

[indigobusiness]

29. They deserve their share of the blame for things sucking so badly

but they do deserve credit for things not sucking worse.

Things could be better...and could be worse. Dan stood up and challenged every Preseident that had it coming. He had the nuts to ask Saddam hard questions on his own turf. I admire that...whatever the frequency.

[buycitgo]

32. when did ANY of them ask Bush a difficult question, or follow

up, which is the key, cause that weeze is inCApable of answering any question honestly, unless it involves killing

[indigobusiness]

62. Bushco fended off questioning...& Bush never did press conferences.

He left an oil slick wherever he went. Nobody could get a grip.

[buycitgo]

63. they all interviewed him....TRAVELLED with him

during the 2000 campaign

they were MUCH easier on him than they were Gore

who knows why?

[indigobusiness]

65. Bush was busy hanging himself with his own rope

they just let him do it.

Bush lost the race.

The press isn't to blame for the coup.

[buycitgo]

67. course they were

he hung himself, but the press forgot to cover it

even what little they DID let through should have been enough to nail him, but damaging stories about him had NO shelf life, unlike the constant barrage of Gore lies stories, which, mostly untrue, dogged him throughout the campaign

this is EXACTLY like the Kerry waffles, has no integrity stories that have succeeded wildly in painting him untruthfully as a man who'll say/do anything to get elected, when anyone with half a brain knows that the converse is true

they're getting away with almost the same thing they did four years ago, and those jagoffs, with the slight exception of Rather, REFUSE to admit that that's what's going on again

[indigobusiness]

71. The lies are so thin, they know they will be seen through

and the bs falls by its own weight. The bullshit has other sources.

The RW has tightened its grip on things, but the good guys in the media can't square-off against them or be branded ideologues as well.

[Jim Sagle]

16. Eric Alterman asked what the media thought of how it helped sell the

Iraq war based on false pretenses. The panel blew him off with a 30-second non-answer.

[indigobusiness]

17. Yeah, but it was a great question

and he managed to insult Harvard in the process.

[thebigidea]

19. which explains why Jones looked peeved and skipped over him

How DAAAARE he mock Haaaaarvard...

[buycitgo]

23. and LIED about it. All Peter Jennings, who claimed they

did a LOT of stories that showed the NONconnection of Saddam to 911

Yeah

Sure

WHEN did you do them?

BEFORE the war?

not bloody likely. otherwise people might have NOT fallen for your repetition WITHOUT comment the junta's CONSTANT concatenation of Saddam with 911

too bad there were no followups

what a fricking LIAR!!!!

[Jim Sagle]

28. Say, didja ever notice that they never DO follow-ups?

[buycitgo]

30. ONLY if they're questioning Joe Wilson or Richard Clarke

you know

[Jim Sagle]

33. Or Teraaaaaaayza.

They're taking her suggestion personally as well they should. They should also implement it (if they can find any takers).

[Jim Sagle]

21. Note that Brokaw and Woodruff have the same smirk w has.

It's the sneer of upper-crust leeches, and its message is, "I'm worthless and proud of it because I get paid so well."

[buycitgo]

24. jennings, too. he's coming off he worst.

So insultingly elite

did you catch the part where he held up the Shorenstein Center's 11 suggestions to media, regarding the election

he said he'd do ten, NOT the one where they asked media to ENCOURAGE people to vote.

shoulda seen the smug look on his face as he said it was their RIGHT NOT to vote

hahahahahahahha

talking about Comedy Central, and how Stewart is troubled that people watch him to get their news

[Jim Sagle]

31. He may be troubled but they obviously aren't. It's all lobster and

creampuffs for them.

[Jim Sagle]

26. Someone asked about media concentration.

Jennings basically said it was mainly a perception problem. He also said that since everyone knows news is a bottom-line op, that's not a problem either.

[buycitgo]

27. missed that THATs the real problem

can you amplify

pretty soon there's going to be one network

just wait

[Jim Sagle]

35. He needs a good kick in the head from Billy Jack.

He basically said media concentration does not lower news quality, but that it leads to public cynicism.

[indigobusiness]

36. And why Alterman, Corn, Conason etal

are gaining a stronger voice.

[indigobusiness]

39. Now that's just plain scary.

Revolution would ensue.

[buycitgo]

37. what could you have done better in the run up to the war

DR: ask more follow up questions; ask MORE questions, follow up more

WHY DIDNT you?

heavy prejudice, he says, to give pres the benefit of the doubt

OH.......like you did CLINTON?

what a bunch of total B frickin SSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!

we couldn't go to Iraq and see if they had WMDs!!!!!

huh? how come MILLIONS of people all over the WORLD knew they were being lied to, and YOU DIDN"T?

Judy of all people says the OTHER voices were not listened to.

WHY NOT, again, you skankala? she's using the 911 excuse.

Congresswoman asking these questions, and asks if they're ARMORING themselves now, to see if they'll quit being such pussies

NOW Brokaw is spreading the lie about other countries thinking Saddam had WMDs. well, how COME they didn't think we should INVADE, you ASS?????

[thebigidea]

40. Jennings congratulates himself on how tough he was prewar!

I'd love to hear Brokaw's "real" voice - probably a high-pitched lisp. His "newsman" voice is so exaggerated, he's a parody of himself.

[buycitgo]

44. yep. they really really don't have a single clue, do they?

completely delusional

who was that congresswoman who stuck it to them at the end, about the war pussiness?

and did you hear Franken bring down the house, when Brokaw tried to diss him?

[indigobusiness]

46. I missed the last part...damnit

the rarified air got to me.

I'll have to watch it agsain. But I was thinking what she said, I figure.

What did Franken say?

[buycitgo]

47. Brokaw was answering some slobbering question about the

three of them being icons, and as he was beating himself off, he said "| see Al Franken, dismissively rolling his eyes out there as I speak," something like that....rolling eyes was definitely in there.

they cut to Al, who, very quickly said, "I wasn't listening"

rarely have I seen such immediate, exPLOSIVE laughter

it was the BEST!

I think I caught that part on tape, too

completely unexpected. shows why OReilly got his clock cleaned last year

that was worth the entire show

[indigobusiness]

50. Cool as hell...

Way to go Al. LOL

[buycitgo]

54. Really....... that was the BEST!

Jon Stewart, do you have this?

I do, and will gladly burn it to DVD, and send it overnite, if you want

[indigobusiness]

43. More fucking guts...

yes, would've been nice then...and now.

[Jim Sagle]

42. Piece of shit fuckface slobbermouth Jennings brings down da house

with a couple asshole quips about Democratic elitism.

Hey Jennings, eat my shit.

[buycitgo]

45. I was typing.....wasn't it Brokaw?

makes me feel better if it had been Jennings

he really showed his stripes on that show

too bad Stuttering John wasn't there

[Jim Sagle]

52. You know, I'm not sure which it was. Those upper-crust vampires all look

and talk alike.

/classism off

Too bad Howard Dean didn't show up.

[buycitgo]

69. gotta go

[indigobusiness]

72. bye