Dear MSNBC

[ejbr]

Dear MSNBC:

I am sending you this correspondence out of concern for the ethical standards of your company. I realize that there is a need to compete with the market place, as well as a demand for much of the “news” you report. However, I am shocked by the recent behavior and statements I have seen and heard from representatives of your station.

First, there was David Gregory dancing -- dancing, mind you -- with Karl Rove. Had Mr. Gregory been a former news reporter, I could see the purpose of possibly “making nice” with the people in power. However, to see this behavior from someone who is presumably reporting objective facts about Karl Rove and others is quite troubling. How on earth is anyone supposed to believe ANYTHING that David Gregory has to say about this administration, good or bad? Will his positive spin be an over-reach? Will any dire predictions be an understatement? We’ll never know, now will we?

Then there is the Virginia Tech video that your station took it upon itself to broadcast. This morning, I heard Mr. Gregory and another host go on and on about it being news and how studying him may give us clues as to why he did what he did. They may have said more, but I shut off my television in disgust. I am unconvinced that these arguments would stand up to closer scrutiny. Where do you draw the line between news and public safety? Profit and patriotism?

By broadcasting this garbage, you are not only “playing into this lunatic’s hands”, but also giving inspiration to the next lunatic who might not have considered killing dozens of students in order to get his poppycock message out to the masses. But thanks to you and other stations, Lord knows how many nuts are now out there making their videos for broadcast as they consider where they should kill for maximum effect.

You are playing this video (or now, “excerpts”) for the entire world to “study” in order to see what makes this guy tick? That is probably the lamest excuse to jeopardize the lives of your fellow citizens. How I or Aunt Mable will be able to analyze the ranting of a madman in order to determine what made him tick is beyond me. Instead of giving Mr. Screw Is Loose a platform, as he desired, and future assailants inspiration, why not have Dr. Phil review the tape in private, then disclose what he thinks is the case?

And now, I have an even more frightening thought: could you actually want another shooter to take many lives in order to increase your ratings? Could this indifference to public safety actually be a calculated plan? Considering Mr. Gregory’s closeness with the White House who started a war in order to stay in power, this would not shock me at all. I hope your newscasters enjoy their Correspondence Dinner; it will give them a chance to have friendly conversations with people who are undeniably crooks, torturers, liars, cheaters, usurpers of the constitution and murderers. Tinfoil hat or not, if you would just report the news and not schmooze with those you might need to take out to the woodshed, others might come to the same conclusions.

To claim that I am irritated with your station would not do my emotions justice. Between your coddling of the criminals in the White House and now your unbelievably superficial considerations of the effects of broadcasting a madman’s manifesto, I would not be surprised if these poor decisions come back to bite you in the ass(es).

I was only a child during the news services of the 1970s, but I certainly do remember that they presented it with significantly more integrity than you care to even consider (save Keith Olberman). Between you, ABC, CBS, CNN and FOX, may God help us all.


Sincerely,
Someone whose eyes can see through wool

These people are really starting to piss me off! :mad:

Okay, so I was already near the boiling point.:argh:

[Crazy Dave]

1. I'm not decided on the VT videos

If not them then it's Youtube. I speculated about Saddam's "secret execution" being on Youtube before it even happened.

[ejbr]

2. Yes, youtube is available

but there are many, many, many things on youtube that major news organizations wouldn't even think about putting on their stations for whatever reason. I find the cons to outweigh the pros on this one. But thanks for reminding me of that.

[AndyA]

3. David Gregory's credibility took a nosedive when he got up on stage to

dance with KKKarl Rove.

What we have happening in our government right now is very, very serious. And to help these Nazis make fun of it is criminal.

Rove joked about the investigations and questionable conduct, which is an insult to justice.

I don't think the images of the VT shooter should have been aired. That is exactly what he wanted, and it will encourage others to do the same thing for their moment of fame. Of course, they'll have to do it bigger and better.

And with our lax gun laws in this land, there are a lot of disturbed people out there with them.

[ejbr]

4. Exactly n/t

[NYCGirl]

5. He was on stage BEFORE Karl Rove. You might think that Gregory should've

started a row and run off stage while kicking Rove in the ass, but sometimes you get stuck.

[ejbr]

8. He shouldn't have been sharing the same room with Rove n/t

[NYCGirl]

9. That would make him a pretty bad White House correspondent, wouldn't it? NT

[ejbr]

12. Oh PLEASE! Since when are journalists supposed to party

with the politicians they cover? He's an ass. deal with it.

[AndyA]

11. Well, I believe he could have just shook his head, laughed, and then returned to his seat,

as if he were too embarrassed to perform.

He should have been too embarrassed, and it seems like it went on for a very long time.

[gratuitous]

6. If I were the head of NBC News . . .

The videotape comes in and lands on my desk. I look at it. I then call in everyone who knows that it arrived. I tell them in no uncertain terms that while this video has some news value, and that we will air it some time soon, perhaps in the next couple of weeks, we are in no way going to run it while the victims' bodies are still above ground, and nobody is going to know that we have it. If word that we have this information leaks out, and we, the people in this room are the only folks who know about this, at least one of you is going to get fired.

[ejbr]

7. That is what troubles me

The collision of providing news and jeopardizing the lives of others.

[ChiciB1]

10. I Don't Want To Alarm Anymore Than Necessary, But I Have Been

a C-Span junky for more years than I'd like to admit, and I try to watch Washington Journal EVERY morning.

For quite some time now, many of the Bushites who call in are getting more and more hateful! The venom almost comes right through my TV and I fear we are headed toward some sort of eruption or meltdown in the not so distant future.

This morning there was a man who called in who was especially vengeful and Brian questioned him and he just got worse. I can't remember the exact word he kept using to describe us, but he most certainly didn't back down and you could tell he was more than serious about his belief!!!

[ejbr]

13. He's one of the 37% who are completely lost n/t

[Rydz777]

14. Sadly

I think you are correct. I think this country is so deeply divided that no conceivable candidate elected President in 2008 will be able to unite us. The new Democratic President supported by a Democratic House and Senate will have a monumental job trying to clean up the mess Bush leaves behind - and will be under constant attack from both the MSM and what's left of the GOP. It's an unsettling prospect.

[ejbr]

15. We can only hope that the public

will catch on and n ot believe a word from the GOP and become suspicious of any news sources that promote their bullshit.