"...a pot-smoking loner..." (AP spin)

[villager]

So you can see the narrative forming by the MSM -- desperate to avoid any implication of their obeisance to rightwing extremism.

AP makes sure you know he's "pot-smoking," and, of course, a "loner" -- who couldn't possibly have any connection to the current political climate!

Several paragraphs later, there's a mention of a, you know, possible connection to a White Supremacist group.

But it's the pot-smoking that makes the lead paragraph.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110110/ap_on_re_us/us_congresswoman_shot

[Kurovski]

1. Just as at least one DUer predicted on a thread by EarlG.

[Swamp Rat]

4. Kurovski!!

:hi: :hug:

[Kurovski]

7. I thought, I thought...

I Thought...you...didn't like me...anymore! :cry:

:rofl: :rofl:

I said "hey" to you last week. ( I shoulda PMed you instead)

:hug: Good to see you my talented friend! :loveya:

[Swamp Rat]

11. Sorry I missed you!

I spent my holiday free time looking at funny YouTube videos of babies and animals. The 'news' has been too depressing. x(

See a funny baby here: :D

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x9595278

[Kurovski]

14. It's a "missing module"

Whatever the crap that means.

Babies are cool. They don't register as Republicans.

[Swamp Rat]

15. oops! I edited after you saw my reply... try again. eom

[Kurovski]

16. You fucker.

:rofl: :rofl: I'm going to wake the whole unit.

That babeee's neck is VERY well oiled!

[Swamp Rat]

33. LOL!!

I just wanted to spread a little levity for the needy. :D

[Swamp Rat]

2. ... a teabagging republican...

He reminds me of a typical right wing nut who listens to Clear Channel all day while polishing his penis proxies.

[nadinbrzezinski]

3. Ok who was hiding the Ding Dongs?

Pot head, this started to form yesterday at the Ministry of Truth, during Rivera's hosting of the show...

So it is not the AP that creates this, but FOX.

[pacalo]

5. Well, they should mention any alcohol use, as well, if they want to get into that area.

[Matariki]

6. I was told by a conservative this evening White Supremacist groups aren't necessarily right wing

The mental gymnastics she was going through to maintain the 'he was a liberal' meme was astonishing.

[Ghost in the Machine]

12. Some aren't... but that's beside the point...

The hardcore groups are anti-government, actually anti-ZOG (Zionist Occupied Government) and especially hate neocons... akin to the fundies who look forward to the rapture, these groups look forward to "the day of the rope", which is when they 'take back the government from the ZOG'.


All that aside, painting this guy as a 'pot smoker' is really fucked up.. i would bet his only moments of lucidity came *while* he was smoking. I've never seen a violent, or angry, pothead... and I know a LOT of potheads lol

[Vickers]

8. I've smoked pounds of pot and never once did I want to kill anyone.

I did like naps, though.

[jillan]

9. The only thing I wanted to kill was a bag of Doritos.

Nacho Cheese Doritos to be exact.

[Twinguard]

13. Yes

Just, yes.

:)

[Kurovski]

18. RIP: Hundreds of gallons of cereal and soy milk.

[Tunkamerica]

10. 2 birds 1 stone

[HEyHEY]

17. I read a shitload of AP copy off the wire service last night at work

They had many articles mentioning the possibility of right wing radio being what fed this man's hate. Spin? You've cherry picked the one article that describes this man from what AP could certify after talking to people and started saying they're part of some conspiracy to hide their supposed responsibility.

AP is some of the most toned down neutral stuff around. You wanna blame Beck and all these guys, go ahead. But AP? Reuters? These places make their money off BUSINESS and for that they have to be as neutral as possible so that BUSINESS people trust what they're saying because millions of dollars in investment depends on knowing what is really happening.

[villager]

19. Cherry picked? It's the headline on Yahoo news...

And I didn't cherry pick the "pot-smoking" lead that AP obviously approved...

[Name removed]

22. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[villager]

25. You an AP employee? You're getting quite inflamed on their behalf.

To the part where you've begun swearing and snarking.

Nonetheless -- the lead emphasized "pot-smoking," which made it viable as a Yahoo headline.

I didn't "cherry pick" -- your CAPS and f-bombs notwithstanding -- since I saw it as a headline, with the "pot smoking" emphasized in the subhead.

Of course, you may some definition of "cherry pick" that's different than the commonly accepted one.

[HEyHEY]

28. No, but I am a journalist

ANd get sick and tired of the bullshit "conspiracy" talk always coming from people who have no idea that we really don't care. Guess what? We don't sit there at stories meetings saying "How can we spin this." Least of all wire services. In fact, most reporters I have worked with either hate everyone or are more likely to be liberals.

[Webster Green]

20. AP certified nothing.

Half the fucking country probably smokes pot.

Describing someone as a "pothead" is spin. It is meant to mean dirty, lazy hippie leftist.

AP sucks donkey balls BTW. Too bad they're so widely syndicated. Neutral, my ass!

[HEyHEY]

21. That's what they know about him. He was a loner who liked to smoke weed

It's called a fucking lead, it has nothing to do with "spin."

[Webster Green]

26. It isn't a lead to anywhere, as it's meaningless.

Did he drink beer? Eat pizza?

WTF?! It's bullshit spin.

[villager]

27. Exactly. Actual journalists know there's no such thing as "neutral" journalism.

What you choose to emphasize says everything.

[HEyHEY]

30. Yes there is.

There's lazy journalism too. If you don't believe me, you need to spend more time reading wire copy.

[HEyHEY]

29. So, I guess you don't know what a lead is?

The writer was trying to add a human element to the story to satisfy people's curiousity about him, that's the only piece of information they had - they used it.

If they only had that he ate pizza, or collected trains that would have been used.

[villager]

31. "pot smoking" is a signifier. Most journalists -- I'm one too -- would know that.

n/t

[HEyHEY]

34. Well, eight years in the business

Including three with the CBC and I've never come across "pot smoker" being seen as a "signifier."

But I guess I was left out of the meetings at the death star when they told us about these nefarious plots.

[villager]

36. well, 16 years in the business, and I have.

You should ask to be included in more meetings.

[HEyHEY]

37. Most people I worked with

Smoked weed all the time. I actually remember sharing a j with Mark Emery and a couple other reporters at a film feast once. I just think you're blowing it out of proportion and not concentrating on the rest of the article enough.

[villager]

44. Then there's this:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x161501


No accident.

[Webster Green]

35. Not likely.

It just doesn't quite do it like "pothead". Hell, the media can never resist a pot angle in any story.

"Twas ever thus." - Mr. Natural

"Don't mean shit". - also Mr. Natural :hippie:

[old mark]

23. Damn violent pot smokers...that's is pretty stupid, really, unless we are talking

violent snacking...


mark

[RaleighNCDUer]

24. Of course, it fits their narrative,

because "pot smoker" = "liberal" - EVERYBODY knows that.

[rbrnmw]

32. Well of course a Republican never smokes pot ever!!!

:sarcasm:

[reggie the dog]

38. well that is apolitical at best

pot smoking is just as much right wing as it is left wing. so he is a reefer smoking white supremacist... seems solidly right wing to me. hell, i smoke with republicans.... i see this more as anti reefer propaganda than anything else.... it is the devil weed that made him do it!!

[droidamus2]

39. Sure that works,

Okay so how stupid can they really get. I've known quite a few CONSERVATIVES that smoke pot so them using 'pot smoking' as an indication that he must be a 'librul' is just ridiculous on it's face. It does show the mindset they have. Their whole existence is based on symbolism and bumper sticker slogans there is no depth to anything they say.

[ehrnst]

40. According to NYT interview with a friend, he gave up the stuff at least in 2009. (nt)

[Odin2005]

41. This shit is so predictable.

[Cetacea]

43. +1k

Real journalism is essentially dead, at least in terms of MSM outlets.

[bullwinkle428]

42. Lazy-ass AP - it's like straight out of central casting ("pot-smoking Libertarian")