ABC WNT gives Bush propaganda a look (aired last night)

[underpants]

This is not the full report-it was a bit of a soft touch IMHO. This mentions that Clinton did it Clinton did it but the report last night stated that such video packages under Clinton clearly stated where they came from. They never mention who these "local stations" are but I'd bet money they are Sinclair Broadcasting.

Government Blurring the Line on News?

http://www.abcnews.go.com/WNT/Politics/story?id=587288&page=1

WASHINGTON, March 16, 2005 — President Bush today defended his administration's use of video news releases packaged as news stories, which have been sent to local television stations across the country and sometimes broadcast with no indication they were made by the government.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office — the investigative arm of Congress — ruled last month at least two of the broadcast reports — ones about Medicare and illegal narcotics — were "covert propaganda" and illegal.

"There is a Justice Department opinion that says these pieces are OK so long as they're based upon facts, not advocacy," said Bush. "And I expect our agencies to adhere to that ruling."

But the GAO investigation found the prepackaged news stories did not always stick to the facts.

"Some of the materials that we've seen clearly are advocacy so, by definition, they violate their own guidance," Walker said.

[zanne]

1. Where do I go to see one of these videos?

I want to know what they look like, so I'll know what I'm watching on the evening news. Is there a website I can go to?

[itzamirakul]

2. Welcome to DU...

Why would you believe ANYTHING that is on the news broadcasts these days?

Unless they are reporting on a neighborhood fire or robbery, I believe absolutely NOTHING that any of them have to say about our government or world affairs. Are you still gullible enough to believe them? Like Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny? :)

[newyawker99]

7. Hi zanne!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[zbdent]

3. You know that they're at the end of their rope and desperate to save

their own asses when they start saying "Well, Clinton did/said it too!"

When did a Republican call Clinton anything but a person who couldn't tell the truth to save his own life, but now they believe him? :eyes:

[underpants]

4. Oh yeah the ultimate irony

Actually the ultimate insulting irony is the difference in how terrorist attacks (specifically the WTC attackS) were handled

Was there a sudden power grab by the Executive Branch after
WTC1? OKC? The Embassies?The Cole?

February 26, 1993 WTC 1 occurs. Have you EVER, ONCE heard any Clinton official blame the Poppa Bush administration? EVER? No you haven't. They dealt with it. Have you ever seen ONE article or news item even putting that attack into context of time (5 WEEKS into the first Clinton administration)? I doubt it.

Bush

Sometimes coincidences are just too delicious to ignore. The day that National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice testified that the administration did all it could to prevent 9/11 in the "233 days" it had been on the job also happened to be the 233rd day Bush had spent on vacation during his presidency.

http://dougmcdaniel.blogspot.com/2004/04/233-days-you-cant-make-this-shit-up.html

[tsuki]

5. Which brings to my mind...I will never trust TeeVee news until they

explain to me how all the networks and cable news stations ended up with the same doctored footage of the "Dean Scream." Either they all had the same supplier (the government?) or 4 networks and 3 cable companies doctored the same tape? Which was it guys?

And I have been asking.

Apparently, my coworker said that CNN was showing "the scream" as late as January, but it now seems to have disappeared off CNN.

[underpants]

6. Speaking of which-ABC actually reported on "the scream"

Not that I am defending ABC although I do think it is the best network national news broadcast.

Diane Sawyer did a report on "the scream" for 20/20 or one of those shows.

They explained that Dean had a mic that cut out crowd noise and showed/played several handheld videos/audios taped from, at max, 15 feet away-you couldn't hear anything Dean was saying the crowd was that loud.

Want to guess how many times that report got replayed anywhere?

Never it only aired once as far as I have been able to find.

YEEEEEEAAAARGH!

[sandnsea]

8. It wasn't doctored

There are two ways to distribute a live event. One is with the crowd noise, the other is without. In order for people watching at home to be able to hear Dr. Dean, they filtered out the crowd noise. I watched it live at home, that night, and that is exactly how it came out. It was never changed afterwards, which is what doctored implies. Some sort of change to make something different from the original. It never happened. People tried to make it some sort of C-Span conspiracy against Dean, but the other option was not to hear him at all, which also would have been called a conspiracy against Dean.

Having said that, it got entirely too much air play and I'm glad he's turned it all into a joke.