I'm starting to like NBC more and more

[CatWoman]

first, for Keith.

and second, for this:

But recently, a new conservative group called Freedom’s Watch, which is backed by prominent Republicans, has been challenging the anti-war groups with its own pressure campaign. Freedom’s Watch began a $15 million advertising effort on Aug. 22 meant to shore up support for the president’s Iraq policy among lawmakers who might be wavering.

The group planned to broadcast television and radio ads, which will air in 60 Congressional districts, to coincide with the run-up to the release of a report from Gen. David Petraeus that will evaluate progress in Iraq. But, it appears that not every network is willing to run the spots.

Just today, John Hinderaker of the conservative Power Line blog, noted that the group “placed its ads on Fox and CNN, but CNBC and MSNBC have refused to run” them. Bradley A. Blakeman, the president of Freedom’s Watch, send a letter to NBC asking for an explanation.

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/08/28/groups-continue-to-pressure-lawmakers-on-iraq/

[gatorboy]

1. Is that the ad where a soldier says that Iraq hit us first?

[TornadoTN]

2. The very same

No offense to the solider, but they are playing to the lowest common denominator.

[CatWoman]

3. yes it is

and it's also the soldier who has lost his limbs, of whom Ari Fleisher couldn't remember his name.

[gatorboy]

4. That's weird. I saw that very ad during a commercial break for the Today show.

I've got a thread bitching about it somewhere around here. Maybe NBC decided to stop running them...

[havocmom]

9. Perhaps it was the decision of the local affiliate?

Doesn't some of the commercial time for each program go to the local stations for revenue? There are decisions at local level which are NOT the same as the parent NBC. According to reports on DU, some local NBC affiliates did not run the Sunday version of KO's Countdown the other evening. So, some of the affiliate stations may have more RW owners?

[gatorboy]

10. It's possible. Arkansas did just turn blue.

And I can see them trying to sway folks for the next election.

[MADem]

14. If not the affiliate, the CABLE or SATELLITE provider. They have blocks of time that they can sell

on their own, without consulting the main networks. It's why you get goofy local ads with your national programming.

[spanone]

5. government propaganda....when i was a kid, only the evil Russians did this kind of thing.

[CatWoman]

8. same here, Spanone

same here..............

[MADem]

15. Well, that's what they TOLD us. The only difference, really, is that their propaganda was

dull, boring, obvious, pounding and clumsy, while ours was subtle, amusing, enjoyable to watch, and usually had a few pretty girls in it, too! And the conventional wisdom said that if there was a pretty girl in it, why, it couldn't POSSIBLY be propaganda!!!

[dipsydoodle]

24. And therein lies the difference

between the USA and the UK - we, ie the population, didn't quite fall for it hook, liner and sinker, here in the UK.

I've wondered if that was the reason that Fleming didn't use the Russians as the main bad guys in the Bond books.

[MethuenProgressive]

6. They play over and over and over on NH's Channel 9 (ABC).

[dipsydoodle]

7. This may be of interest to you.

Shortly after George W. Bush declared his candidacy for president in June of 1999, General Electric Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jack Welch was contacted by Bush political advisor Karl Rove. Welch later informed associates that Rove told him a Bush administration would initiate comprehensive deregulation of the broadcast industry. Rove guaranteed that deregulation would be implemented in a way that would create phenomenal profits for conglomerates with significant media holdings, like GE. Rove forcefully argued that General Electric and the other media giants had a compelling financial interest to see Bush become president.

Welch told several people at GE that the conversation with Rove convinced him that a Bush presidency would ultimately result in billions of dollars of additional profits for General Electric. Welch believed that it was his responsibility to operate in the best interest of GE shareholders, and that now meant using the full power of the world’s biggest corporation to get Bush into the White House.

Toward that end, Welch said that he would finally deal with a longstanding grievance of his: the ludicrous idea that news organizations should be allowed to operate in conflict with the best interests of the corporations that own them.
>
Specifically, NBC News was an asset owned by the shareholders of General Electric. It existed to make profits and to serve the interests of those who owned GE stock. Period.

http://makethemaccountable.com/coverup/Part_04.htm

[CatWoman]

11. Hi Edward,

:hi:

I knew that GE and Bush were in cahoots, which is why I'm really surprised by the story of them not running the ads.

Randi Rhodes and Mike Malloy hipped me to GE long ago.

Thanks for the link!! :)

[dipsydoodle]

18. and in other news

a girlie friend of mine is about to pick up three Maine Coon/English shorthair crossbred kittens to add to her two Persians and two cute little Pug dogs.:hi:

[CatWoman]

19. I simply ADORE Maine Coons

:loveya:

I hope to own one (or two) one day :)

[havocmom]

12. Corporate interests over country sovereignty. Is is fascism yet?

The CORPORATION operates by means of the PUBLIC airways, but only the stockholders matter. What about the PUBLIC'S best interests? Too bad for John Q. Only the shareholders benefit from the use of PUBLIC resource.

That is more corporate welfare, to the point of leaning on the side of fascism.

[dipsydoodle]

16. Tip of the iceberg

Top 25 Censored
news stories of 2007

#1 Future of Internet Debate Ignored by Media

#2 Halliburton Charged with Selling Nuclear Technologies to Iran

#3 Oceans of the World in Extreme Danger

#4 Hunger and Homelessness Increasing in the US

#5 High-Tech Genocide in Congo

#6 Federal Whistleblower Protection in Jeopardy

# 7 US Operatives Torture Detainees to Death in Afghanistan and Iraq

#8 Pentagon Exempt from Freedom of Information Act

#9 The World Bank Funds Israel-Palestine Wall

#10 Expanded Air War in Iraq Kills More Civilians

#11 Dangers of Genetically Modified Food Confirmed

#12 Pentagon Plans to Build New Landmines

#13 New Evidence Establishes Dangers of Roundup

#14 Homeland Security Contracts KBR to Build Detention Centers in the US

#15 Chemical Industry is EPA’s Primary Research Partner

#16 Ecuador and Mexico Defy US on International Criminal Court

#17 Iraq Invasion Promotes OPEC Agenda

#18 Physicist Challenges Official 9-11 Story

#19 Destruction of Rainforests Worst Ever

#20 Bottled Water: A Global Environmental Problem

#21 Gold Mining Threatens Ancient Andean Glaciers

#22 $Billions in Homeland Security Spending Undisclosed

#23 US Oil Targets Kyoto in Europe

#24 Cheney’s Halliburton Stock Rose Over 3000 Percent Last Year

#25 US Military in Paraguay Threatens Region

http://www.projectcensored.org/

[havocmom]

17. And that's just the stuff we know about that is being ignored

Those who accuse others of wearing tin foil must live in some comfy Delusion Land colony.

[dipsydoodle]

20. I first came across this issue

on the subject of Steve Wilson and Jane Akre.

Jane Akre and her husband Steve Wilson are former employees of Fox owned-and-operated station WTVT in Tampa, Florida. In 1997, they were fired from Fox News after refusing to include knowingly false information in their report concerning the Monsanto Corporation's production of RBGH, a drug designed to make cows produce more milk than what is natural. Side effects of the drug include a 25% greater chance of mastitis (infection of the udders). They successfully sued under Florida's whistle blower law and were awarded a US$425,000 settlement by jury decision. However, Fox appealed to an appellate court and won, after the court declared that the FCC policy against falsification that Fox violated was just a policy and not a "law, rule, or regulation", and so the whistle blower law did not apply.

In 2001, Jane Akre and her husband won the Goldman Environmental Prize as a recognition for their report on RBGH. <1>

FOX did not dispute that it tried to force Akre to broadcast a false story, but argued that, under the First Amendment, broadcasters have the right to lie or deliberately distort news reports. This would be the sixth time that Fox had used this argument in court.

PLEASE NOTE THE LAST PARAGRAPH ABOVE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Akre

[havocmom]

22. That news item made my blood pressure go up so high I nearly passed out

when I read about it at the time. I ranted. I railed. I screamed. I cried. People called me insane for worrying about 'such a trivial matter'.

Granddad was a newspaperman

Great-Granddad was a newspaperman

Great-Great Granddad was a newspaperman

This scion weeps for all their work, their dedication to a free and honest press, now gone to ruin as the America they served goes down the shit-hole of media complicity with fascists.

[dipsydoodle]

23. The most profound recent statement

on the subject in general but especially war was from John Pilger at Kos '07.
He said that "the first casualty of war is truth" is not quite correct should be "the first casualty of war is journalism"

[MADem]

13. Just remember who owns them--GE, one of the Top Ten Pentagon contractors.

Don't be fooled because they're "getting ahead of the curve." They don't deserve credit, they're just reading the handwriting on the wall. They want to be what Faux has been during BushCo for the next administration, because there's money to be made.

[dipsydoodle]

21. See post #7 above

and as they used to say at school - read and inwardly digest......lol.

Were they one of the top ten prior to the Chimp ?

[MADem]

25. GE has always been a Pentagon powerhouse--but GE didn't ALWAYS own the NBC family.

They make all those engines, along with a shit load of other goods. And they are a worldwide force as well.

They bought NBC during the REAGAN YEARS. And they quickly figured out how to use it to their best advantage, which became more important to them when their sitcom and primetime programming started going to shit. They figured hey, it's a propaganda tool--it's why you see so many of those fucked-up GE ads during Meet the Potatohead and other Sunday news shows. Jack Welch was onboard when the RCA/NBC purchase was made, too...

[grasswire]

26. Ari Fleischer is managing that ad campaign

Goddam propagandist, still.