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Exclusive: Sharyl Attkisson on Journalism’s Very Dangerous Trend
DailySignal/Drudge ^ | 3 Jun 2014 | Rob Bluey

Posted on 06/03/2014 7:43:53 AM PDT by shove_it

Sharyl Attkisson, an award-winning investigative reporter who resigned from CBS News earlier this year, says the news media are heading down a dangerous path with attempts to “censor or block stories” that don’t align with their preferred agenda.

“There’s a tendency in the news media, on the part of some managers, to censor or block stories that don’t fall in line with the message they want sent to the viewers,” Attkisson said in an exclusive interview with The Daily Signal. “I think that’s really a very dangerous perspective to have.”

In the first of three segments, Attkisson shared her views on journalism and life after CBS News. Her newest investigative report—about oxygen trials conducted on premature babies—was published by The Daily Signal today. She will serve as a senior independent contributor to the news organization, which made its debut Tuesday.

Attkisson made headlines in March when she left CBS News after a 20-year career at the TV network. In subsequent interviews, she cited her inability to get her stories on the air.

“What I’m seeking out now,” Attkisson said, “is the opportunity to bring under-served stories to a broad audience through an editorial process that doesn’t censor, that doesn’t try to direct a story to go in a certain unnatural direction.”

Attkisson is writing a book, due out later this year, called “Stonewalled: My Fight for Truth Against the Forces of Obstruction, Intimidation, and Harassment in Obama’s Washington.” She has criticized the administration’s lack of transparency surrounding the Benghazi terrorist attack.

Her critique of the White House is shared by other journalists, including from former New York Times editor Jill Abramson and Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter James Risen, who faces jail time over a dispute with the Obama administration.

In the interview, Attkisson explained what was troubling about the news business and why she agreed to contribute to The Daily Signal:

The Daily Signal promised to be a good outlet for an under-served story—in this case, the one about the baby oxygen trials—in a way that the story could naturally tell itself. And in a fearless way because there are people who do want to shy away from these types of stories that are critical of government or powers that be. I think those are some of the most important stories that need to be told today.


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Extended News; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: attkisson; media; press; presstitutes; sharylattkisson

1 posted on 06/03/2014 7:43:53 AM PDT by shove_it
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To: shove_it; All

The Emperor Wears No Clothes is beginning to leak out.


2 posted on 06/03/2014 7:48:54 AM PDT by shove_it (long ago Orwell and Rand warned us of Obama's America)
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To: shove_it

trend/trending means, “go/going that way,”... i would say it is beyond trend... it is already there... already that way...


3 posted on 06/03/2014 7:51:03 AM PDT by latina4dubya (when i have money i buy books... if i have anything left, i buy 6-inch heels and a bottle of wine...)
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To: shove_it

Since 95% or so of today’s ‘journalists’ are rabidly liberal, they have no problem with this state of affairs and sleep like babies with love in their hearts for the socialist religion.


4 posted on 06/03/2014 7:57:32 AM PDT by ArtDodger
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To: shove_it
Good for Attkisson!

"It behooves every man who values liberty of conscience for himself, to resist invasions of it in the case of others; or their case may, by change of circumstances, become his own. It behooves him, too, in his own case, to give no example of concession, betraying the common right of independent opinion . . . ." --Thomas Jefferson to Benjamin Rush, 1803.

"The basis of our governments being the opinion of the people, the very first object should be to keep that right; and were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter." --Thomas Jefferson to Edward Carrington, 1787.

There is a truly principled argument to be made for the Founders' Constitution's protection of free speech and freedom of the press.

When one dimension of liberty is threatened, then all are at risk, and the blatant example of unconstitutional use of government power provided by this "battle" deserves a more competent argument than is currently being provided by either Fox or other "conservative" organizations.

It's time for a long overdue history and civics lessons, especially for the young! Tell them about why Thomas Jefferson, who was criticized by the press of his day, was so outspoken on the idea of a free press! Bet they've never heard it in school.

Claim a larger battleground--a battle of ideas. Contrast those ideas with those of dictatorships and totalitarian governments which have oppressed their citizens and controlled the marketplace of ideas by restricting the press!

Stop playing in the Administration's playpen. Force it onto an unfamiliar battleground where the ideas of liberty are presented versus the ideas of tyranny. Contrast the 200-year history of America with that of every totalitatian regime, and future generations will mark this as a turning point for freedom.

"Our liberty cannot be guarded but by the freedom of the press, nor that be limited without danger of losing it." --Thomas Jefferson to John Jay, 1786.

"No experiment can be more interesting than that we are now trying, and which we trust will end in establishing the fact, that man may be governed by reason and truth. Our first object should therefore be, to leave open to him all the avenues to truth. The most effectual hitherto found, is the freedom of the press. It is, therefore, the first shut up by those who fear the investigation of their actions."(Underlining added for emphasis) --Thomas Jefferson to John Tyler, 1804. ME 11:33

5 posted on 06/03/2014 7:58:20 AM PDT by loveliberty2
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To: shove_it
What is dangerous is to convince the public that the press is objective and lacks any agenda beyond informing the public. Every piece of news should be viewed with the sort of skepticism one views political campaign literature, the National Enquirer, and MAD magazine. The press is emphatically biased, and one of its functions is to persuade people to adopt the press's preferred view.

It has always been so. The notion that the press is unbiased is a fiction, recently created by the press in order to advance its goal of manipulation of public sentiment.

6 posted on 06/03/2014 8:02:18 AM PDT by Cboldt
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To: shove_it

Sharyl Attkisson is correct!!!


7 posted on 06/03/2014 8:05:07 AM PDT by no-to-illegals (Scrutinize our government and Secure the Blessing of Freedom and Justice)
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To: ArtDodger
‘journalists’that sleep like babies with love in their hearts for the socialist religion
endanger All Americans, including themselves and theirs. May they awake.
8 posted on 06/03/2014 8:09:07 AM PDT by no-to-illegals (Scrutinize our government and Secure the Blessing of Freedom and Justice)
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To: shove_it
An insider spills the beans. The MSM will ignore her if they can and smear her if they can't.
9 posted on 06/03/2014 8:48:37 AM PDT by ConservingFreedom (A goverrnment strong enough to impose your standards is strong enough to ban them.)
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To: shove_it
Stonewalled: My Fight for Truth Against the Forces of Obstruction, Intimidation, and Harassment in Obama’s Washington

Frankly, I am skeptical of Sharyl Attkisson. She was on the receiving end of this bias, more like corruption, for some time. Now, she is speaking out because she can cash in on it. Time will tell, but only if she gives names and dates.

10 posted on 06/03/2014 8:49:30 AM PDT by VRW Conspirator (Global Warming is caused by illegal immigrants!)
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To: loveliberty2
She's just a privileged, white lady racist and so what she says doesn't matter; and, the quotes for the so-called founding fathers are from former slave holding white men, so no matter what they said doesn't count. 0bummer is just setting things straight.
11 posted on 06/03/2014 9:04:22 AM PDT by CincyRichieRich (Refuse to remain silent.)
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To: shove_it

Presstitites ping


12 posted on 06/03/2014 9:52:45 AM PDT by TurboZamboni (Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.-JFK)
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To: shove_it

Trend? How hopelessly naive can one be?

Big media does not report anything not vetted by the one world shadow over-lords.


13 posted on 06/03/2014 11:22:19 AM PDT by subterfuge (Hey NSA snoop, get a real job you idiot!)
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To: Cboldt

BTTT


14 posted on 06/03/2014 11:38:05 AM PDT by shove_it (long ago Orwell and Rand warned us of Obama's America)
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To: All

15 posted on 06/03/2014 11:40:29 AM PDT by musicman (Until I see the REAL Long Form Vault BC, he's just "PRES__ENT" Obama = Without "ID")
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To: loveliberty2

The First Amendment is important as highlighted by your post and the quotes from Jefferson. It is ironic however, that one of the early founders that most abused the alleged independence of journalists was Jefferson who had mouth-piece newspapermen he utilized in his fights with Adams, Hamilton and others.


16 posted on 06/03/2014 11:46:49 AM PDT by KC Burke (Gowdy for Supreme Court)
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