Ridiculous quote from Brokaw on pre-war news coverage

[underpants]

"If you do a fair review, we gave a very vigorous accounting of what was known and what was not known at the time. ... The American news networks and the newspapers, for the most part, did as well as they could under the circumstances."

The whole part of the story is:

Brokaw seemed particularly peeved by "9/11." When asked about the film by a West Coast TV critic, he asked if the critic thought Moore's movie to be an accurate portrayal. The critic said yes. "Of what?" Brokaw shot back.

"It's really easy to turn back the clock now and say, 'Oh, it was the fault , especially of the electronic media, that we went to war because they jumped on the bandwagon,' " Brokaw said. "If you do a fair review, we gave a very vigorous accounting of what was known and what was not known at the time. ... The American news networks and the newspapers, for the most part, did as well as they could under the circumstances."

Koppel, Stephanopoulos, and Jennings all come to the rescue of the American media and try to put down F9/11 (which really didn't illustrate how BAD or the lack of actual coverage pre-war)

See also Robbien's thread in Editorials and Other Articles

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=103&topic_id=62222&mesg_id=62222

[truthspeaker]

1. How many times did you interview Blix or Ritter, Tom?

Repeating what a White House spokesman tells you is not "reporting what was known", Tommy Boy.

[Zeke]

9. Brokaw is Hopeless...

Brokaw, Rather, et al: these fools are GOP adjuncts, singing what fodder the WH gives them

None of them ask questions and I don't think they know what questions to ask---they're stupid---and that makes them perfect "reporters."

[vi5]

2. My argument is, if I could go on the internet and find......

...ample proof either outright debunking or at the very least majorly calling into question things that politicians were feeding the media that they didn't question or do anything other than report directly, then there is no excuse for paid reporters to not do the exact same thing and report on it.

[GiovanniC]

8. I Agree With That Wholeheartedly

And I feel much the same way about Democrats who took everything the administration said at face value, also.

If I had the good sense to oppose this war from the beginning based on my own extensive research, then the Senators and Representatives I send to Washington had damned well better be able to do the same.

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

10. Say what you will about NPR, but their pre war coverage

was pretty extensive, regarding the "spinning" of the CIA reports, the questions about WMD's and the lack of a post combat plan. In fact, I'm looking like some kind of prophetic genius to my less informed family and friends, since I pretty accurately predicted this mess...it was just that I didn't rely on the mainstream media for information.
F9/11 only scratched the surface of the lack of true journalists and reporters in our highest profile news organizations. MKJ

[underpants]

16. "Well......yeah.....you were right on that one"

I know the feeling I have heard that from all but the most loyal W supporters I know.

It really is amazing how every single argument against the war has come true (aside from full scale civil war in Iraq), sad too.

[Wright Patman]

3. NBC is part of a huge corporation

called GE. That factor in itself is the elephant in Brokaw's objectivity living room.

But, aside from that, there is a mob out here being whipped up by the far-right talk-show crowd who have put intense (and successful) pressure on the so-called "lib'rul" networks and caused the latter not to cover anything that is not flag-waving, frothing-at-the-mouth, last-refuge-of-a-scoundrel patriotism.

[GiovanniC]

4. That Would Be General Electric

A long-standing top-ten military contractor.

Things that make you go... goddammit!

[lefty_mcduff]

12. Well, considering that a war

is a televised catalog of GE weaponry, as well as a ready-made market for the use, and subsequent, replenishment of these weapons, any news coverage be any organization connected to GE should be obviously be supsect.

It's a slam dunk on ANY objectivity when you factor in increased viewership due to war coverage. The networks had NO GAIN in failry reporting the news, and ONLY GAIN in rah-rahing for the war. One could argue that there's nothing wrong with that (hey, it's the Republican way) but these news networks continue to hide behind their 'Fair and Balanced' mantras.

Whores.

[el_gato]

5. the right wing mob aside, the corporate networks have an agenda

So it is not so much the pressure from right-wing nut jobs as it is
the pursuit of a the self service corporate control of America.

[kentuck]

6. It makes it nearly impossible to be objective...

for anyone working for GE...Shh-hh-hhhh.. don't mention th elephant in the room...

[displacedtexan]

7. It's the "war" of the headlines!

I just covered this on my blog this morning!

Headlines sell, whether it's print, radio, or TV.

Most people don't care much about the actual story or whether or not the writer speaks truth to power.

Take a look at these headlines from the NYTimes:

Kerry Takes a Slight Lead in Pennsylvania
Medicare Law Is Seen Leading to Cuts in Drug Benefits for Retirees
Strategy: In Bush's War Room, the Gloves Are Always Off
Gay-Marriage Ban Faces Loss in Early Vote
Schwarzenegger's Match: Getting a Budget Passed
***

Kerry leads by 5% (outside the MOE, which is +/- 2.5$ among registered voters).

I also posted this:


Today's assignment:

Rewrite the above headlines, speaking truth to power.
***

The links to the headlines are posted on my log:

http://ascrivenerslament.blogspot.com/

[Warpy]

11. Moore deserves our deepest gratitude for rubbing the noses

of the lying mass media in the shit they produced in an attempt to please their corporate masters by pushing Bush propaganda. If he does nothing else, awakening the public to the fact that the mass media are a bunch of completely compromised jerks who are concerned only with image and have abandoned their responsibility to inform the US public is Medal of Freedom level stuff.

[sendero]

13. If you do a fair review...

... you find that at worst the media were a bunch of complicit liars and at best a bunch of lap dogs and schills. Telling one side of a story, repeating spoon-fed talking points is not journalism nor will it ever be.

Keep denying reality you stupid fuck, the court of public opinion will soon render a verdict that puts you in your rightful sorry place in history.

[underpants]

14. For instance the "LIBERAL"NYT's Judith Miller paraphrased quote

I can't find the actual quote but she said ~"It is not my job to evaluate what I am told it is my job to report on what the administration tells me"

Something like that.

No honey, it IS your job to at least try to find someone who can give a different side to what is being said and it was real easy to find opinions (from knowledgeable people) that were in direct contrast to the simplistic shrunk-for-mass-consumption arguments for the war.

[gratuitous]

15. I think it was FAIR or CJR

In the run-up to Lil George's Excellent Illegal Invasion, the popular media had something like 643 guests on to comment on the war and its prospects. I believe the number was less than 20 of the commentators were classed as anti-war. I'll check around, but I think it was either Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting or the Columbia Journalism Review that did the survey.

The question to "shoot" back at Mr. Brokaw is, "How many times did you have interviews with administration figures telling us what a swell idea invading Iraq was? And how many times did you have interviews with responsible anti-war persons?"

[underpants]

17. Shelf life

What is the shelf life of ________?

The WMD discussion was so lacking from ANY dissenting viewpoint that I would say 97% of Americans have no idea that chem and bio weapons don't last forever let alone how long they last.

Boy that slapped THAT label on Ritter pretty damned quick didn't they?