Bias, a CBS Insider Exposes How the Medi a Distort

“Sorry Ped, but if the media had portrayed our troops the same way in World War II...we would never have crossed the Rhine.”

“So Sarge - you are saying this was live and unedited?”

“No, I'm saying that they were surprised by the reality, and STILL tried to spin it into a negative. They can't finish a positive without a "butt" or a phoney "because".”

““Sorry Ped, but if the media had portrayed our troops the same way in World War II...we would never have crossed the Rhine.”
XL400236
10:11:57 AM
5/24/06

You missed on three major points.

First: the issue is not the portrayal of the troops. The guys at the top are always hiding behind the troops. Nothing I've seen suggests to me that there is a problem with troops. In a prolonged and intensely contested occupation there are going to be some f-ups. It seems to me that the troops have done remarkably well under the circumstances.

Second: The American people are smart enough to distinguish between a war of necessity and a war of choice. They know the difference between a triumphal regime blowing across borders, occupying other countries bombing still others and trying to control Atlantic shipping and a crippled angry regime hobbled by sanctions, no fly zones and a newly re-imposed inspection regime. Even if people thought the prosecution of the war under FDR was incompetent, the necessity would have been fully understood.

Third: mistakes were made in WWII - but nothing approaches the incredible incompetence with which the Iraq war and occupation were prosecuted. I've had a chance to hear a chance to hear what a number of high level Republican analysts have thought, when they've come into town to participate in Harvard think tanks - and a lot of them are, rightfully, depressed and embarassed.”

“... all mistakenly under the assumption that our job in Iraq is to get in, take out Saddam, get out ... The Iraq war is over folks. There are 2 kinds of people. Ones that get that, ones that don't.”

“"The Iraq war is over"

Sarge


OK................

Flying monkeys......the whole bit”

“There's one that don't.”

“If,if,if,if,if,if??????”

“Ped...
Third: mistakes were made in WWII - but nothing approaches the incredible incompetence with which the Iraq war and occupation were prosecuted. I've had a chance to hear a chance to hear what a number of high level Republican analysts have thought, when they've come into town to participate in Harvard think tanks - and a lot of them are, rightfully, depressed and embarassed.”
pedxing


ARE YOU NUTS..want to talk Tarawa? 1000 + marines and sailors killed due to Crappy information, Want to talk the break out from Normandy? US BOMBERS hit the American lines so hard they ahd to postpone the break out.
Want to talk about the Arnhem Expidition that WASTED troops to Give Montgomery his last hurrah? I can go on. My God, there was the Po River valley in Italy where an entire division was literally WIPED out for almost NOTHING.

The difference is the Media would NEVER have been allowed to print it. Now you read the CRAP that LIFE magazine put out in 1946 (I have copied it here) and you see the same pessimistic crap we are seeing in the Iraq.

Sorry Ped, I respect your opinion but it does not fly. I know (knew) too many military from WWII. I knew Marines and Soldiers and Airmen and Sailors who could tell you some horror stories of blithering mistakes that cost lives.”

“XL - First off you are comparing tactical mistakes and field decisions in WWII (remember, it was a massive all out war against a very capable enemy) vs. the kinds of strategic errors made by the Bush team.

Secondly, my other points still stand as well.”

“Lay guilty on all counts.”

“Tactical stupidity and field stupidity vs. strategic stupidity...

A rose by any other name.”

“i so smart - ewebody more dumber than me and i like to say it ober and ober - i so smart - and i quote shakes-pear witch make me so smart - if i tell enuff peple how they stupid itl make me so smart”

“A night after ABC anchor Elizabeth Vargas hyperbolically led "with a major development in a Washington bribery scandal" in "a story with potentially major political implications" and Brian Ross asserted that "federal officials tell us the congressional bribery investigation now includes the Speaker of the House, Dennis Hastert," which George Stephanopoulos called "potentially seismic," Ross acknowledged that the "Department of Justice issued two separate denials of our report," yet he stood by his story. Ross asserted on Thursday's World News Tonight: "As for the facts of our story itself, here is what our sources have confirmed today:" Ross then recited facts that didn't sound as ominous as his Wednesday hype: How "the FBI interrogation of convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff included specific and repeated questions about his relationship with Speaker Hastert" and how "although Hastert is not a formal target, the FBI has been looking into a letter Hastert and others sent to the Secretary of the Interior" about an Indian casino. "Not a formal target" is a step back from the "bribery investigation now includes" Hastert.

~ mrc.org”

“Anybody remeber Brian Ross's last Famous expose? THink Sidesaddle Fuel Tanks rocket engines and NIGHTLINE.

Personally I want to see Hastert PERP WALKED OUT...and then put in with the sex offenders.”

“GDP Soars and Unemployment Drops; CBS:
"Economy is Slowing Down"

A week after ignoring the announcement of a roaring 5.3 percent GDP growth rate in the first quarter, and on the day unemployment fell a tenth of a point to 4.6 percent -- the lowest level since July of 2001 -- the CBS Evening News decided to lead Friday with how, as anchor Russ Mitchell put it: "There are new signs this evening that the economy is slowing down." Reporter Anthony Mason asserted that "rising interest rates and rising gas prices are beginning to put the brakes on the U.S. economy." Mason laid out the bad news: "The newest numbers, just 75,000 jobs were added to the economy last month, well below forecasts. Manufacturing lost 14,000 jobs. But retail took the biggest hit, losing more than 27,000" and "the other hammer to the economy came from the once-booming construction sector. It came to a standstill in May." Mason concluded with his own domino theory: "One major builder reported a nearly 30 percent drop in new orders for the past two months. Now that ripples right through the economy. Buying slows, then building slows, then hiring slows. And that, Russ, is why the economy is slowing."

http://www.mrc.org/cyberalerts/2006/cyb20060605.asp#1”

“Of course Wall Street agreed that these were possible signs of a slight slowing down, distancing the prospect of further interest rate increases - and the dow came up late last week in response.

Maybe we can find a right-wing blogger to start talking about the left-wing bias on Wall Street.”

“...from the Media Research Center - yep... no bias there. Nosiree!”

“violin - Do you dispute any of the facts presented?”

“No, not at all. Your conservative media watchdog group is completely without bias.

Rave on.”

“Sarge - do you dispute that Wall Street initially took the jobs numbers as an indication that the economy may be cooling enough to stave off further interest rate increases?”

“Glad you admit the facts are correct Violin.

Interestingly enough, when the major media outlets present a story fairly (both sides of a story), MRC is quick to point it out.”

“So would you or wouldn't you Sarge? - All those Liberals on Wall Street, it's just like Kalifornia and Hollywood.”

“that's "Hollyweird"”

“A new ABC News poll found that by a 22-point margin -- 58 to 36 percent -- a solid majority of Americans believe "same-sex marriage should be illegal," yet, on Monday's World News Tonight, ABC anchor Charles Gibson declared that "the polls show Americans are fairly evenly split on this issue."

From MRC”

“More nutso right wing spin. I can't believe how stupid they think people are.

The issue he said we are "fairly evenly split on" is the constitutional amendment. In fact most polls show more people oppose it. The poll results you and the right wingers cite deal with who what the law should say. Very different issues, as the poll results show.

If you ask about a constitutional amendment, there is a pretty even split with a slight lead for the opposition. If you ask should their be a federal consitutional amendment or should the states decide you get a strong majority against the amendment.

http://www.pollingreport.com/civil.htm”

“It's ABC who was spinning ...

(more from the same MRC article)

The ABC News survey determined the public is a bit closer on the proposed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriages, with 42 percent in support compared to 51 percent who prefer the issue be left to the states. But Gibson didn't appear to be referring to that when he contended that "the polls show Americans are fairly evenly split on this issue," especially since Stephanopoulos responded with poll findings about the level of public opposition to same-sex marriage, not the specific amendment. Filling in the ratio alluded to by Stephanopoulos in outlining the intensity of views on whether same-sex marriage should be illegal or legal, the PDF of the poll results recounted how "people who 'strongly' oppose gay marriage -- 51 percent of the public -- outnumber strong supporters by 2-1."”

“No, because if you look at the follow-up question you see he was focused on the amendment.

Gibson: "Why, if the votes are not there for this constitutional amendment, does the Senate spend three days on this issue when there are a lot of issues that perhaps they could do something about?"”

“pedxing - Are we supposed to put words into his mouth and assume what he meant? He's a reporter, and he's misleading. If he meant people are split on the amendment, he should have said it. But, he didn't. This is a report on what he said, not what he "meant" to say.”

“Ann Coulter took me home last night-------------------------------------------------------------------------------with her pants off she looks like R onni reagan witouetthdsdvaa hhhaier ccuuttt.”

“CBS Touts Dem Takeover of House Seat,
But Silent After GOP Win

On Tuesday, the day of the election in California's 50th Congressional District to replace imprisoned Republican Randy "Duke" Cunningham, the CBS Evening News ran a story touting a potential Democratic takeover of the seat as reporter Jerry Bowen described the race "as a referendum on both the Republican Congress and the Republican President, whose popularity is sinking." But after the Republican won, the newscast was silent about it Wednesday night.

http://www.mrc.org/cyberalerts/2006/cyb20060608.asp#2”

“"Here's a lovely example of liberal media bias," James Taranto commended in his Tuesday "Best of the Web" e-mail for OpinionJournal.com as he outlined how "a CBS poll finds that 60 percent of Americans say it's likely 'that the United States will ultimately find success in Iraq,'" up five points from a survey a month earlier, "and more than 50 percent say 'Iraq will eventually become a stable democracy.' So is the headline, 'Majority of Americans Foresee Success in Iraq'? Nope, it's 'Poll: Zarqawi Death Has Little Impact.'" Taranto's report stuck to the CBS News Web posting, but Monday's CBS Evening News reported only one finding from the poll: How the killing of Zarqawi didn't give an approval bounce to President Bush.

http://www.mrc.org/cyberalerts/2006/cyb20060615.asp#3”

“Chancellor Adolf Hitler of Germany, in the years leading up to World War II, accused newspapers of Marxist bias, an accusation echoed by pro-German media in England and the United States.

Politicians who favored the United States entering World War II on the German side asserted that the international media were controlled by Jews, and that reports of German mistreatment of Jews were biased and without foundation. Hollywood was said to be a hotbed of Jewish bias, and films such as Charlie Chaplin’s The Great Dictator were offered as proof.

In the 1980s, the government of South Africa accused newspapers of liberal bias and instituted government censorship. In 1989, the newspaper New Nation was closed by the government for three months for publishing anti-apartheid propaganda. Other newspapers were not closed, but were extensively censored. Some published the censored sections blacked out, to demonstrate the extent of government censorship.

In America during the Civil Rights movement, Southern politicians often accused the media of being biased against Southern Whites. Film and television media were accused of bias in favor of mixing of the races, and many television programs with racially mixed casts, such as I Spy and Star Trek, were not aired on Southern stations.

During the war between the United States and North Vietnam, Vice President Spiro Agnew accused newspapers of anti-American bias, and in a famous speech delivered in San Diego in 1970, called anti-war protesters “The nattering nabobs of negativism.”

It is very common for members of political movements to express the belief that media coverage is biased against their ideology, even on opposing sides in a conflict; for example, it is a common belief that Western media coverage is consistently biased against Israel, glossing over Palestinian crimes, but similarly it is also an equally common belief among supporters of the Palestinians that Western media coverage is consistently biased against the Palestinians, glossing over Israeli crimes.

Not all accusations of bias are political. Science writer Martin Gardner has accused the entertainment media of anti-science bias. He claimed that television programs such as The X-Files promote superstition. Carl Sagan made a similar claim about The Flintstones.

Link to more”

“Phaedrus - If you want to get around to commenting on a specific argument that was made, please do, but your trying to link one criticism to another is a fallicious argument.”

“You might try reading the whole thread, Sarge.”

“Carl Sagan is anti-Flinstones?

WTF?”

“

”

“Well if he is plagarizing stories...I am sure the Washington Post or the NY Times will pick him up. (LOL)”

“What's the big deal Coulter is an insane liar?”

“How so?”

“Read Al Franken's book, Lying Liars, etc.

Al employed a team of fact-checkers.

Read it yourself, XL-ency.”

“OH AL frankentwit...yeah there is accuracy in reporting (LOL)

try http://www.frankenlies.com/ pretty instructive. Franken used HARVARD checkers...there is a joke, like claiming you used the PRAVDA to fact check.
last edited: 10/11/06 10:10:32 AM”

“LOL!

Harvard is now a seething pool of liberal conspiracy.

ROFL”

“Pretty much (LOL).”

“Wait a minute, you're using Al Franken and HIS book as an authority on whether or not Ann Coulter is a liar? Well, that explains a lot of your posts.”

“Read the book smart fellers, its all footnoted so you can find the facts yourself.

Coulter is a stinkin' liar and she can't sue Franken because he be tellin' the truth.”

“MarkO displays what blazing intellect and integrity he has yet again.
LOL”

“Franken/truth now there's two words that don't go together.”

“Man, I am so glad you are reading, Marko.

And being an open-minded fellow, we all know that you’re not just reading stuff that agrees with your preconceived notions. We know that in your search for knowledge, not bigoted propaganda, you want to examine all the information.


Say, what did you think of these books?

Press Bias and Politics: How the Media Frame Controversial Issues
Bias
What Liberal Media
A Measure of Media Bias
Give me a Break
Setting the Agenda: The Mass Media and Public Opinion


You have, no doubt, a well rounded view of the subject and I would be interested in discussing some excerpts, from the books above, that you find particularly insightful.”

“I heard a great suggestion, make all the newsreporters list their political affiliation under their names.”