Posted on 09/13/2004 8:43:24 PM PDT by Joe Republc
I'm asking as a devil's advocate...
Why should I trust Free Republic?
If someone pokes around here, can one reasonably discern what is truth vs. rumor? Can someone recognize here partisan conservative hype vs. unreported truth not covered by MSM?
If Free Republic is reliable, how come? What's working here that is not working in media, or even other web sites?
I have some of my own ideas, but I'm stirring the pot here to get your thoughts. I've been a Freeper for a few years now, and this week has been startling in terms of my own realization of what news we can rely upon and why.
-- Joe
All articles are sourced. Think for yourself.
Would I lie to you?
"Freerepublic.com" is your reading room, not the source of most of the news here.
You should be skeptical of any source and verify everything. FR is a great source to find the latest news and discuss them, and possibly have some influence.
If we have many more of these Vanities, we wont have to worry about it, the server will go down.
Here's why:
Free Republic and the New Media
Self | 09/12/2004 | Chris Davis
Posted on 09/12/2004 4:54:35 PM PDT by writer33
It all started in 1988. President Ronald Reagan’s second term was ending, Americans were ready to launch the presidency of George H.W. Bush, and in Sacramento, California, a “loveable little fuzzball” stepped behind a microphone, replacing Morton Downey, Jr, and giving us his brand of conservative truth. It was astonishing. It was exhilarating. And it was unheard at the time. Before 1988, Americans had been treated with the nightly news from the “Big Media.”
The “Big Media” owned the airwaves of our televisions. Every morning, noon, and night we were fed stories, pictures, and commentary from a leftist press. A media content in spreading the truth that served its purpose, giving us little tidbits of salacious information, but not reporting the full story. Facts had been withheld to give the unaware their view of the world and how it should be. Their mission: Save the world by keeping people ignorant of the truth. And just like the song, “Along Came Mary,” along came Limbaugh.
Limbaugh perforated our eardrums with common sense and startling commentary. His sharp wit and sarcastic humor brought a smile on our faces. His love of country and support of our troops spurred a belief that was held in the majority of Americans’ minds. America loved it. They loved Limbaugh. They loved the truth. In fact, America loved the truth so much they gave him his own television show in 1992. This opened the door to audiences that had never heard from Limbaugh before. A chance to spread “a disease caused by casual contact.” A chance to open American eyes to the “Big Media.” CBS, NBC, ABC, and CNN hadn’t seen the like of it. They were in shock and awe. They were furious. They were overwhelmed at the number of stations Limbaugh overtook. They didn’t know how to respond to this “loveable little fuzzball.” So they did what they always do: Manipulate the facts and distort the truth about Limbaugh. Before long, his books were on shelves, spreading more conservative views on topics of interest to Americans, topics such as National Security, Feminism, Abortion, and Liberalism. Now, even more Americans had become aware of Rush Limbaugh. Suddenly, the “Big Media” had to compete for the attention of the American people. As Rush said before, “There wasn’t any of this fifteen years ago. I know. I was there at the creation.” He was. And we are forever grateful.
Through all of this, a cable news channel was created. Fox News, a channel that reported the whole story. They were young and brash, and in 1996, they gave a young, fire-breather his debut on Hannity & Colmes. Sean Hannity began to slice and dice liberalism on a cable news network. His efforts in broadcast journalism led him to his own radio show on September 10, 2001. Not only does he reach millions on his television show, but is second only to Rush Limbaugh in talk radio with nearly 400 stations across the nation. As conservatives, we were starting to get a stranglehold on the old monopoly of the “Big Media.” We were fighting mad and it was showing.
And there would be more to follow. More talk show hosts to come. More conservative news, exposing the truth of the spin in the “Big Media.” There would be the internet, the new age of conservative news, opinions, commentary, and information throughout the globe. Soon, a gutsy, young journalist would risk it all and shake the foundations of the White House from the internet. Matt Drudge risked his entire reputation, career, and livelihood by breaking the Monica Lewinsky story. This no nonsense conservative uncovered what no “Big Media” would uncover. He would expose the corruption and debauchery under the desk in the Oval Office.
Matt Drudge was the beginning of the internet and the new media. Now, Americans of all stripes of red, white, and blue could access news. In the last year, Drudge has had nearly three billion visitors to his site, which is broadcast every Sunday from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. eastern standard time. Drudge began the wave of the conservative future. No longer did conservatives have to call in to their favorite talk radio program to express their frustration of the liberal media. No longer did they have to sit idly by their televisions throwing pillows at the television while ranting and raving at the blatant media partisanship. Now they had a new outlet. They had a forum called Free Republic.
Through the brainchild of Jim Robinson, a forum was created where Americans of all flavors could rant, rave, and could even continue the pursuit of conservatism while crushing the socialistic tyranny of the “Big Media.” In a statement on their website, Jim Robinson states, “In our continuing fight for freedom, for America and our constitution and against totalitarianism, socialism, tyranny, terrorism, etc., Free Republic stands firmly on the side of right, i.e., the conservative side.” And in that statement, sums up the mission of conservatism and Free Republic. Now we’re dangerous to the “Big Media.” Now we’re available to everyone. We’re in homes, in offices, and in laptop computers. We’ve become an infectious disease that will debilitate the Democratic Party and liberalism’s veined effort to garnish power. We’re putting a stranglehold on a defunct enterprise known as CBS, NBC, ABC, and CNN.
From Anchorage, AK to Miami, FL, we’re spread across the United States in search of one crushing blow to end the “Big Media’s” tyranny over the news, to stop the lies, and end the oppression of facts from news commentary, such as 60 Minutes. We’re here to mobilize and stop the incestuous relationship with the Democratic Party and their socialistic tendencies. In a nutshell, we are here to end liberalism’s final, desperate grip on a media that has become so partisan they’ve lost all objectivity. Free Republic, this group of “amateurs” has put their testicles in a vice and tightened ‘em down.
But the media doesn’t know the full power of Free Republic. The media doesn’t know it is made of up individuals across the globe. “Amateurs” of all walks of life, willing to make the leap in refuting liberal terrorism in the press. From housewives to airline pilots, from ministers to talk show hosts, and from architects to engineers, comprise diversity so great that the media’s group of so-called experts can’t keep up. We even have our own range of military personnel from every branch of service, willing to battle lies and distortions within the media elite. And as much as we hate to admit it, we have lawyers that lurk, lawyers that Freep, and lawyers that make sure no lawsuit is left behind.
From our makeup, we are Americans: Conservative Americans. Americans united in one common goal: We won’t stop till the mission is complete. For we are the new media. We are the new truth in America. We are the amateurs that have rocked the status quo. These merry bands of amateurs, known as Freepers, have shown their expertise at exposing the truth. This forum called Free Republic will supercede the admonishment of the liberal media and conquer all those that oppose us. After all, we are the best in the world. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: “Free Republic is made up of some of the finest minds I’ll ever know.” And for that, I am forever grateful for their expertise. I am forever grateful for this new media.
How could you not trust people named Big Bad Easter Bunny or Pukin Dog?
Courage.
Would you rather trust Rather?
Go over to DU and do a comparison. Just make sure you bathe well before you come back.
The news articles are from news sites. I don't solely trust Free Republic. I also use Drudge Report and FOX News Channel.
There are too many people. If someone posts something bogus, it takes about 15 seconds for 50 or so freepers to flame the thread. If the posted piece is somehow technical, there are usually a sufficient number of experts in the pool to debunk.
With 10,000 to 20,000 people looking at the posts, it is impossible to have everyone, or even a majority, drinking the koolaid on a particular story.
The other reason is that you don't have to be here very long to realize that on the Net, credibility is everything. Where anyone can post anything, we all end up with skeptical eye. I believe that is just part of the online experience in general.
Collaborative editing. One person posts the story and then many people read it, evaluate it, debunk it as necessary. Of course if the original source is Al Jazerra or Debka or NYTimes treat such articles with due suspicion.
Just do your own research on everything you find on here. Check all the sources the person lists for their article. Most importantley, if it is intended to not be a editorial and their are no sources listed, it's probably nothin but a load of crap and it might not even be worth checking into.
Which reminds me, if anyone is going to write a actuall news story that is not a editorial, you better list your sources down to the direct website for credibility reasons.
It's also a good source of humor (satire, parodies), and generally a repository of just about any kind of information you may wish to search for.
lol!
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