Archive for May, 2010
No Criticism Allowed, Apparently
by Don Zeigler on May.31, 2010, under My Opinion
Our local paper, the Bluefield Daily Telegraph, loves them some right-wing columnists. Check out the alarmist crap below:
"One wonders if liberals believe there is any element of our lives that would not be better under government control. But imagine what a nightmare it will be if things devolve to the point where government chooses who can report news in a newspaper, or on radio, television or the Internet.
"Defeating this power grab depends upon the free flow of reliable information, which is a significant challenge, given the degree to which the mainstream media has abandoned its duty to produce balanced and accurate reporting to keep the citizenry well informed.
"Barack Obama believes there is too much information available to people and that they can’t tell the good from the bad. That’s insulting. The answer is more information, not less, and less information is what we’ll have with government management of the news."
Writer James "Smokey" Shott's entire column is here.
Now, as I've done probably 6 or 7 times before, after reading Smokey's latest rant I fired off a letter to the editor in response. Do you think it ever saw print? No.
The Bluefield Daily Telegraph seems to be very selective which letters to the editor they choose to print. If it's from a conservative reader, it sees publication. If it's from anyone who leans to the left, forget it.
Here is my unprinted letter to the editor, written in response to Shott's column referenced above:
Leave it to a right-wing pundit to dream up a conspiracy by the Obama administration where there is none.
In a Tuesday, May 25 opinion column published in the Bluefield Daily Telegraph, the writer, referring to a "left wing" report titled New Public Media: A Plan for Action, said, "See how it works? First, the government took certain steps that helped newspapers and later helped broadcasting. But then it formed public broadcasting networks, and now there’s the suggestion it take control of the news media by making it a public entity."
There is no such suggestion in the report. What it actually states is that public broadcast networks should play more of a role in reporting community news. The bugaboo of government control in public broadcasting is nonexistent, and indeed laughable.
In public opinion surveys, public broadcasting consistently ranks ahead of the military, the courts and Congress in terms of public trust and is considered to be one of the best uses of taxpayer dollars year after year. Public broadcasting maintains this status despite partisan pressure from Washington, coming from both sides of the aisle.
The authors of the report seek additional funding for public media, and yes, they mention turning to the government for help. Does this equate government control? Hardly. What they envision is a network that "could engage with their audiences in more meaningful ways — covering important local events, opening their doors to collaborate with a wide range of media producers and community institutions, and encouraging public dialogue and debate."
How anyone can see this vision of a media with no agenda of its own, or loyalty to any party, as a government conspiracy is beyond me. Do we currently see "government controlled" content on our existing public networks – NPR, PBS, others?
The title of the report’s opening section, Crisis and Opportunity, is given sinister connotations due to a philosophy supposedly espoused by White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel: “Never let a serious crisis go to waste.” The column's writer then throws in, "And if there isn’t a convenient crisis afoot, make one up."
So, we are apparently supposed to believe that the sinister administration is actively pursuing a plan to take over the news media, based on some pretty flimsy (actually nonexistent) evidence and a vague similarity between a title in the report in question, and a remark made by Emanuel. While we're at it, why not believe the government is responsible for the state of today's news media? It's all part of the plan, you know!
Oops! National Enquirer Backpedals on Obama “Scandal” Story
by Don Zeigler on May.07, 2010, under My Opinion
No one’s going to ignore the National Enquirer’s reporting on political sex scandals. It is at the height of its prestige now, having been talked about as a serious Pulitzer Prize contender for its coverage of the John Edwards scandal.
The tabloid has cred. (Well, until now it did) And some conservatives and anti-Obama liberals are complaining about the media’s refusal to “cover” the Enquirer’s web splashes about then-Senate candidate Obama’s alleged extramarital affair with a finance staffer, Vera Baker. The lead reads: “PRESIDENT OBAMA in a shocking cheating scandal after being caught in a D.C. hotel with a former campaign aide.”
Is the media covering for Obama? Are they too afraid to ask the question, fearing ridicule from their peers?
Whatever collective motivations may be operating on this story, there is a simpler explanation for the lack of coverage: the story has no legs. It doesn’t even have thighs. It is, as Slate’s John Dickerson said, an “investigation about an alleged rumor,” but we don’t know who is doing the investigating and what precisely ought to be investigated.
Also, when this rumor came up during the campaign, mainstream news organizations did investigate, and found that there was no evidence to support the charge. There are no new developments to speak of, and the Enquirer has already revised its claim about “an alleged surveillance tape.” Says the Enquirer: “Now, the investigators are searching for a hotel surveillance videotape”.
Investigators? That implies something criminal. No, no. We learn that these investigators are “top anti-Obama operatives” who are offering a million dollars for solid evidence.
This “affair” is destined to become a white whale for right-wing haters and nutcases who have no other impulse than to bring down a president they “know” in their hearts is illegitimate. It’s the birth certificate, all over again.
