Why hasn't BP been called liar? ...by media?

[Stuart G]

A Congressman called BP a liar? Big deal. Saw it in this story at the Huffington Post:
"Ed Markey (D-Mass.), chairman of a House energy committee investigating the oil spill, slammed BP's response to the disaster in an appearance on "Face The Nation" Sunday morning"

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/30/ed-markey-bp-lying-or-inc_n_594800.html

But there are not many stories in the main stream media about the lies, and how BP has lied from the beginning.

The media has rolled over for BP in my opinion.

Yes, there are many exceptions.

But how many BP execs have been questioned openly about their lies by the media? How many headlines say, "BP lies again"?

Lots of blame to go around, but the media for the most part has sided with BP. It was odd that it took so much in the interviewe to get the Congressman to call BP a liar. Corporations lie. That is what they do.

[NNN0LHI]

1. Because if you haven't noticed the media has been lying too

[RKP5637]

2. Because the MSM is yet another bunch of corporate conglomerates roiled into about

5 companies controlling everything thing you see and hear, and cut out of the same piece of cloth. A few people in MSM try to get the facts out, but by and large most in MSM are airheads parroting what they heard or have been told to say. It is now akin to the cold war propaganda merged with disinformation and clueless airheads yakking away.

[jp11]

3. Maybe they don't want to sour the well of BP's future ad campaigns about how they were there

cleaning up their mess and being all responsible. But that sounds kind of paranoid on my part, maybe they fear legal action from an angry beast in *crosses fingers* death throws?

[Jamastiene]

4. Greed n/t

[time_has_come]

5. One word: defamation.

The media has reported what's been happening. They reported the varying flow estimates (yeah, many stuck with the 5000 barrels for too long, but now they're using the a higher estimate), the blow-up circumstances, and CNN even jumped all over the BP CEO when he told a cameraman to get away from some oil.

Are you wanting the op-ed pages to say BP has been lying? They might be more likely. The danger of libel/defamation diminishes as you reach those pages. There's more leeway.

But understand that journalists will never sling the label of "liar" onto the media unless they feel completely protected. One defense against defamation is the truth, so if some unassailable evidence emerges that BP has lied about something then we may see it.

Pretty much everything we know about this disaster and the response is thanks to the media. So, if we believe BP is lying that means the media has provided us with the information to reach that conclusion. We're smart enough to see the truth, we don't need the media to come up with "BP lies again" headlines to tell us what it is.

[DrDan]

6. not sure what you read or watch, but

I have read multiple times about the errors/lies in estimates.

So, imho, not sure your claim is valid.

one example - an AP story

"The stakes were higher than ever as public frustration over the spill grew and a team of government scientists said the oil has been flowing at a rate 2½ to five times higher than what BP and the Coast Guard previously estimated."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37371732

[tularetom]

7. Nobody hates the media more than I do but I have to defend them here

I'm pretty sure I have heard the term "liar" used, but only by the "usual suspects" (Ed Schultz, Olbermann, maybe Rachel Maddow), but almost every report I've heard on TV has conveyed the very distinct message that BP has been less than truthful in their handling of the mess they caused.

Of course I never watch CNN or Fox so maybe I'm giving them too much credit.

[DailyGrind51]

8. "Sponsored by BP"

The Media doesn't bite the hand that feeds it!"

[The Gunslinger]

9. because it would take time away from Obama bashing. nt

[KharmaTrain]

10. Words Mean Little, The Pictures Show It All...

What is it with people and the word "liar"...seems like one of the most dangerous and/or forbidden words. We're told we were "misled" or "improperly informed". After all the publicity this disaster is getting and the hammering BP is getting, people can decide for themselves the credibility of what BP says. The visuals of the slick lapping on the marshlands says it all...

The corporate media is loathe to go after a major advertiser. And BP has done its best to manage and control all media coverage. Honestly I don't think these people care what names you call them...all that matters are the Benjamins...

[meow mix]

11. "gulf oil spill" they refuse to call it the bp oil spill

for the most part.. drives me nuts

[Stuart G]

13. That's it, says it all...".BP OIL SPILL".... NT...

[RKP5637]

15. Good catch! You're right. They do usually say "gulf oil spill." n/t

[spanone]

12. the media protects cheney and the oil barons, why? who the fuck knows.

[spanone]

14. it's much easier for the media to blame Obama.....cheney/bu$h* are the real criminals here.