Posted on 09/05/2004 10:58:13 PM PDT by crushelits
This headline has been on Yahoo.com more than 18 hours. Bush's National Guard file missing records.
Remember the AP article: The Associated Press, a powerful worldwide news source owned by its member daily newspapers, has perpetrated a vile and slanderous lie about President Bush and his supporters, and been caught read-handed. The smoking gun exists safe and sound in the cache memory of countless blog sites. The AP's reporter wrote a dispatch claiming that when President Bush told a rally of his supporters in West Allis, Wisconsin that President Clinton had been hospitalized, “the audience "of thousands booed. Bush did nothing to stop them."
Within seconds, the AP dispatch went around the world, and the lie was repeated. In point of fact, eyewitnesses and listeners to radio and television reports could hear that there was no audible booing, but there was supportive applause when the President called on everyone to pray for ex-President Clinton’s recovery.
Unfortunately for the AP, we live in the age of the blogosphere. Almost as quickly as the lie was spread, bloggers started work documenting the report and its factual refutation. Recordings of the crowd's reaction, contradicting the AP, are avilable to anyone on the web, courtesy of America's blogforce.
Caught, the AP behaved disgracefully. They pulled the byline appearing on the report, one Tom Hays, who appears to work in New York, and issued a corrected report, changing “boos” to “oohs,” perhaps to protect itself and claim an innocent mistake. Of course, that would not explain the “Bush did nothing to stop them” slander.
Even more tellingly, AP moved to cover its tracks, pulling the original report from the Lexis/Nexis database, effectively throwing it into Orwell’s Memory Hole. Jonathan Last summarized its behavior as follows:
First of all, good for the AP for fixing the faulty reporting and including what seems to be an accurate description of the Republican crowd's reaction to bad news about President Clinton's health.
You've answered your own question!
"...,it's the only local one we have,..."
The advertisers in the area have no other recourse. Think about it. Just the classified ads alone would keep the leftist, anti-American rag afloat.
Conservatives need to start up or buy their own publications and other media outlets. The sheeple don't read blogs or FR, but they do subscribe to the local fishrap, and they DO vote, unfortunately.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1200739/posts?page=5#5
A lot of good information found here.
"There isn't much that can be done about "freedom" of the press, as it's protected in the constitution. "
You are wrong. There is something that can be done about freedom of the press. It is called removing press credentials. The press has an ethical responsibility to report fairly and accurately. That is what freedom of the press is. You can go ahead and criticize. However it must be accurate and non bias. In this sense the media has failed miserably and should be held accountable.
Call the "wire editror" or if they don't have that position, the "national editor" of your paper and tell them that inaccurate or unfair AP articles reflects on their paper and influences your decision to buy at the newsstand.
Also, AP's National Desk in their HQ is 212-621-1600.
EARTHLINK uses the AP for their News/Start page. The same story has been front and center all labor day weekend.
What's a newspaper?
I watched it live on tv and I didn't hear any booing.
Frankly I'm relieved that Clinton is okay and didn't just keel over dead with a heart attack. Bush wouldn't be able to get his message out, and the democrats no doubt would have had a field day mourning away the rest of the campaign for the old adulterous goat.
Hell, I want Bill to live! :-)
Thanks for mentioning that -- the AP doesn't own or publish newspapers, or write headlines for that matter. Its only function is to provide newspapers and other media with news from its many worldwide bureaus. Some is provided by other member newspapers, some is 'enterprised' by AP staffers themselves. Each newspaper writes its own headline even though the identical story may be published in hundreds of newspapers with different heads.
Wire and national editors are merely flunkies on most papers. To make complaints count ask for the executive editor, the managing editor or simply the editor -- the titles differ from paper to paper. These are the people who actually make decisions and have power.
Yahoo is so.... 90's...
forget them...
Don't be confused! Note that after Yahoo saw fit to leave an untrue headline up for a day which maligned Bush, then replace it with another headline which casts aspersions on Bush. Also note that there are no negative references to Kerry in said headlines.
Why are Bush records relevant while Kerry records are not? Why not have a headline about Kerry campaign shake-up? For months we were treated to headlines about Kerry leading Bush in Polls. Where are they?
I have noticed for a year that Yahoo's choice of headlines on Reuter's and AP stories seems quite biased. Of course, in the case of Reuters, they don't have much balance to choose from.
Slow Job Market Greets Workers Labor Day
More pap inside the article.
Not true. I'm looking at it right now:
2. The Associated Press State & Local Wire, September 3, 2004, Friday, BC cycle, State and Regional, 125 words, Audience boos as Bush offers best wishes for Clinton's recovery, WEST ALLIS, Wis.
Sure there is.
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