Posted on 03/05/2004 2:03:55 PM PST by HJH207
As a general rule of thumb, you should start to get VERY suspicious when the mainstream media runs "anecdotal stories". I say that because you can find a handful of people who believe JUST ABOUT ANYTHING. That means it's very easy to decide what sort of story you want write, get a few juicy quotes, and then imply that the people you spoke to represent a majority.
If you want to see a perfect example of how this is done, just look at the "Bush is exploiting 9/11 stories" that the media is playing right now. 9/11 was not only the defining event of the last 4 years, it was one of defining events of the last hundred years. It has been talked about, analyzed, studied, & debated every single day since it happened and it has had a profound effect on America. Yet, Bush runs an ad with a very minimal amount of footage in it from 9/11 & we hear hysterical cries of "exploitation, exploitation"!
But you see, we're hearing that story because that is the story the media wants to tell you. They could have just as easily done anecdotal stories that said "family members of 9/11 victims like Bush ads" or "family members of 9/11 victims have no strong opinion about Bush ads," but that doesn't fit their agenda.
Let me show you a little evidence that'll back-up what I'm saying. I went through an AP article entitled 9/11 Victims' Kin Angered by Bush Ads that features 9/11 relatives who are "outraged" over Bush's ads and I googled every person who had an angry reaction. Interestingly enough, 5 out of the 6 people interviewed had an ax to grind with George Bush. The people who trashed Bush in this one are...
-- Coleen Kelly who is a member of an anti-war group called "Peaceful Tomorrows" & spoke at an anti-war rally with Susan Sarandon.
-- Jeff Zack & Harold Schaitberger are the spokesman and president of the International Association of Fire Fighters Union who "gave Kerry an early endorsement in the presidential race".
-- I found no previous attacks on Bush by Barbara Minervino who "questioned whether Bush was "capitalizing on the event"'.
-- Like Colleen Kelly, David Potorti is part of an anti-war group called Peaceful Tomorrows. Here's a quote from an interview he did at Buzzflash back in October of 2003,
"I feel like the foreign policy of the Bush Administration is almost like a second assault on us. We had this terrorist attack and now it's almost like we have this other attack from our own government which is doing things which clearly are not in our interests, and clearly are not reducing the chances of another terrorist attack happening again. Sometimes I feel quite assaulted from all quarters. And it's just a very odd place to be -- to feel like your own government is not operating in your best interest."
-- Kristen Breitweiser has been claiming for quite a while that the Bush administration is covering up/refusing to investigate 9/11. Read more about it in this 2003 article called "Four 9/11 Moms Battle Bush" -- and yes, Breitweiser is one of the moms battling Bush.
Come on folks, this article is a joke! We don't have any polling data, we don't know how the reporters chose these people to quote, we don't know how many pro-Bush quotes weren't included, all we have are 5 out of 6 people who the reporters MUST HAVE KNOWN were going to trash Bush before they even talked to them.
This piece is liberal bias at its worst and if AP had any integrity, they'd issue a public apology for putting out this sort of slanted bilge.
***Update #1***: The plot thickens! It seems that one of the people criticizing Bush in this article has actually campaigned for Kerry. From "Schaitberger Stumps for Kerry"...
"After Kerry’s surprise victory in Iowa, IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger spent the last week in New Hampshire on the campaign trail helping to keep Kerry’s momentum going.
"I spent a week here in New Hampshire because John Kerry represents our future. In my thirty plus years on the line, no Presidential candidate has ever embraced the fire service and the IAFF like John Kerry. He is our Real Deal," said General President Schaitberger.
...As co-chair of the Kerry for President campaign and President of the first union to endorse John Kerry, Schaitberger’s visit generated significant press coverage.
So they're quoting a "co-chair of the Kerry for President campaign" in the article without even telling their readers about it? Could AP be any more deceptive?
Hat tip to Little Green Footballs for finding this.
John Hawkins | 12:02 AM | Comments (58
For general questions and comments: info@ap.org
AP HEADQUARTERS MAIN NUMBER: 212-621-1500 General/National Desk: 212-621-1600 THE ASSOCIATED PRESS International Headquarters 50 Rockefeller Plaza New York, N.Y. 10020 MAIN NUMBER 212-621-1500
Many people may not realize this, but the actions of some of these 9/11 family members over the last couple of years have convinced many people that these family members are nothing more than neurotic malcontents. It started back when some of them began making highly-publicized complaints that the 9/11 relief fund was reducing the amount of money that some of the families were "owed" (on the grounds that the family of a victim who had a substantial insurance policy did not need as much as the family of a victim who didn't).
The public response to these ingrates was pretty amazing -- to the point where many contributors to various relief efforts reneged on pledges and even demanded a refund on money they had already given.
The audacity of these morons is breathtaking -- as if being the family member of a 9/11 victim somehow gives them title to the land at Ground Zero, veto power over campaign ads, etc.
Yep, there's definitely a strong current of disgust with these professional victims, particularly in the tri-state area. There's only so many times you can hear the same people say that every little thing is a "slap in the face" before you want to slap them yourself!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.