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Well said, Meek!
Posted on 09/11/2004 7:26:18 PM PDT by Pukin Dog
Edited on 09/11/2004 9:23:55 PM PDT by Admin Moderator. [history]
Open Letter to the Main Stream Media: We are not amateurs and we are going to kick your butts.
We have watched you for years try to tell us how to think, what to think, who to vote for and what to believe based solely on your own agenda. In past years, you have come to think of yourselves as the fourth branch of government, the movers and shapers of opinion and the arbiters of truth.
In case you have not been watching, America is sick and tired of you. We are turning away from you in record numbers. Your audience and readership is declining faster than you can say the word 'bias', and instead of recognizing the trend, you have only become further entrenched and determined to force society to play by your rules.
Technology has allowed us to ignore you, and in many cases, replace you altogether. I grew up watching Walter Cronkite every night, not yet aware of his agenda, his bias and his overwhelming desire to turn the nation against its leaders unless they agreed with him. I saw him replaced by the most dishonest, agenda-driven anchorman this nation has ever produced. That Dan Rather is one of you should be enough to make you feel dirty.
You believe yourselves to be solely qualified to pontificate on the day-to-day events going on around the world as if journalism school gives you a special insight into the truth. When I was in college, people went to J-school only if they flunked out of business school and did not want to become teachers.
Well guess what?
The world is on to you.
Persons with knowledge and experience are not only ignoring you, but replacing you as sources of information. These sources, which don't need anything but their personal experiences and skills when sharing information with the public; persons who have spent more time learning and doing than you ever will, are generally more accurate and informative than you know how to be.
The Internet and Blogosphere would scare you, if you were smart enough or honest enough to know better.
People with practical knowledge and experience discussing current and historical events with more ability than you, are sharing more factual and in-depth information, and at a rate which you could never compete. We are relegating many of you to overpaid gossip mongers, while you don't want to acknowledge that we are eating your lunch.
You take polls, trying to convince us of what people are thinking as you have always done, but now, knowledgeable people are analyzing your methodology, your weighing and sampling and pointing out if your polls are to be believed. You can no longer expect what you say to be taken for gospel, because we are no longer amateurs about information. Someone, somewhere on a little web site is going to smoke you out, report your biases, and make you less believable than you once were. Count on it.
You can tell us that Swift Boat Veterans for truth are liars, and NOBODY is going to believe you just because you say it. Have you checked the Non Fiction Best Sellers lists lately? But even then, we know enough now to notice when book sales are based on giveaways, fund-raisers, pre-orders and the like, to notice when you want to push sales of your favorite liberal author when their book sheds no light, tells no truth, shares no facts, but only advances what you want us all to think about you and yours. We are not buying it anymore.
I'm writing this, because I know you are watching. Just as you watched last week when one of us 'amateurs' beat you at your own game. It happens here all the time. Free Republic is not a group of 'amateurs' or nutcases, as you like to think of us. This board is a slice of America, filled with people from all walks of life, whose cumulative knowledge dwarfs that of you and your 'hired experts'. I was offended to read your reaction to people here and at the Blogs who shared what started here regarding your fraudulent flunky Dan Rather, and his attempt to pass off what was clearly a forged document as legitimate news.
You attempted to deride us, not take us seriously, dismiss us as partisans (which is apparently only a bad thing if one is conservative) and generally ignore the wealth of information we passed along to the public about one of yours trying to pull the wool over our eyes. We nailed Dan Rather, not you, and you can't stand it.
Last week, you tried to suggest that Republicans booed Bill Clinton after Bush wished him well. We caught you. We got in your face and made you take it back, because you lied. Don't you hate that? We Internet-based losers made you back down, when you felt totally free to mislead the nation about the behavior of some you don't agree with.
It is only going to get worse for you.
You can no longer tell us anything, and expect to be believed without question. You can no longer mix your agendas into your 'news' and expect to get away with it. We may not catch you every time, but eventually we will, and then many of you are going to have to get real jobs. And when you do, you are going to need more than the ability to mislead, lie, slander and ignore people who don't agree with you. In the future, expect for Blogs like Instapundit and others to be on you like a fly on stink when you attempt to mislead us.
Yesterday, you attempted to paint the young LT. Bush as a poor pilot, because he attempted multiple landings a few times while flying a training jet. Stories like this are the reason why Network News has lost half of its audience over the last 10 years. Could not one of you pampered info-princes figure out that a military pilot WANTS to practice landings as much has he/she possibly can? I guess not, when you are blinded by ideology to the degree that any information you receive can only be interpreted in the negative.
You want to call Bush AWOL, but you don't want to talk about his hundreds of flying hours in a jet that has killed lesser aviators, you only want to discuss what furthers your agenda, because you know that when Democrats win, YOU are in charge. You don't want to talk about our President's Master's Degree from Harvard while at the same time Al Gore could not hack Divinity school.
Don't you wish you could regulate us? We know you spend your nights praying to the gods of the Fairness Doctrine, hoping to silence us. Sorry, but we are here, and we are not going anywhere. Too bad we can't say the same for you. It is you who is being silenced as your audience is paying more attention to us, and tuning you OUT. Fox News is in 50 million fewer homes, but they managed to beat you silly during the Republican Convention. How did that happen? US; that's how. Because of us, the Internet, the Blogosphere, Talk Radio and others, the nation no longer see you as the gatekeepers of information.
Take a lesson MSM, though it hurts, try a little fairness. Give balance a shot, and stop being a mouthpiece for the liberal agenda. Pretend if you must, that Conservatives are not Neanderthals long enough to get through a news segment. I know it must hurt to not be able to prove your superiority to us in all that you do and say, but try it.
Finally, just embrace the horror, folks. You might actually learn something from us merry bands of 'amateur' journalists. You see, we don't have an audience to please. We don't have to sell ad-space, or get face-lifts to keep our jobs. That leaves us free to share information on the subjects we might know a little something about without angering our liberal masters. On Free Republic, you can at times find as many threads angry at Republicans as you can Democrats. We don't have to hire experts, if we don't know something, we can ask a fellow FReeper or use Google, much faster than you can pay someone to tell you what you want to hear.
On Free Republic alone, there are experts in many fields. We have writers, poets, engineers, aviators, artists, journalists, (they keep that on the down-low), lawyers, historians, teachers, politicians, current and former members of all branches of the military; all who actually know what they are talking about without having a script (or DNC talking points) shoved in their face.
The choice is yours, MSM. You can join us in working to share information with a hungry audience, or you can be replaced. We don't need Nielson, just a web site and an idea. Instead of insulting the remainder of your dwindling viewers, readers and listeners, why don't you just agree to cut the crap, stop the parroting of the NY Times long enough to do your own work, and finally decide to become REAL journalists again.
I'm not saying we are journalists; we have jobs and careers beyond 'he-said-she-said'. We do like to share what we know, and we don't even get it right every time. However, the truth is in the numbers. We have them and they are growing, while yours are shrinking more rapidly every day. If you don't change your ways and soon, you are going to become irrelevant before this decade is over. Many of you already are. We only tune in to 'Petah' Jennings to watch him bravely strain to keep his composure whenever he has to report a Democrat election defeat. On a good night Chris Matthews total viewership barely equals the number of viewers on the Oxygen network.
The trends are in our favor. If you don't wise up, we will kick your agenda-driven ass.
I'm Pukin Dog.
I will be sending this on. Why do I get the feeling this could end up in a history book, something in the (not-too-distant, I hope) future?
These guys from the opposition are SOOOO DEEEEP with such well-thought-out arguments, aren't they? We must be having SOME impact. Listen to how they put us down.
Well said, Meek!
Dems and CBS have a lot to lose -- and they're desperate. CBS might not be honest or honorable, but they know the game and how to cheat the game. And how to take us down -- they've turned manipulation of public opinion into the art form. And they hate us. They'll use every dirty trick they have. I fear the "th" thing might be a set up. The other parts are solid and probably beyond what they had considered. But let's be ready for their "gotcha". If we're right on a thousand points, and they're right on one point, that "one" will be the only story. We need to be ready.
Somewhere in my memory is a typewriter with the "th" on one key. I'm thinking Smith Corona - home model - light blue. The kind of machine rich liberal parents would give their kids as they went off to college in the 60's or early 70's. I wouldn't bet my life on this vague memory, but this whole CBS thing could be a twofer -- to discredit the new media - and to cast doubt on Bush. We can be thankful our guys discovered more than just the "th". The truth will hold.
Don't you wish you could regulate us? We know you spend your nights praying to the gods of the Fairness Doctrine, hoping to silence us. Sorry, but we are here, and we are not going anywhere. Too bad we can't say the same for you. It is you who is being silenced as your audience is paying more attention to us, and tuning you OUT. Fox News is in 50 million fewer homes, but they managed to beat you silly during the Republican Convention. How did that happen? US; that's how. Because of us, the Internet, the Blogosphere, Talk Radio and others, the nation no longer see you as the gatekeepers of information.
Let me second that. Nobody better mess with Peach, or they will answer to the Dog. Peach is Peachy.
Thanks for the 'rant'. Never before have I read completely through a thread this long. Never before have my own thoughts of the MSM been expressed as well as you have. I will do my part in getting this the greatest possible distribution.
You deserve a good ole southern 'Atta Boy'.
Well said, but a little long winded. I am surprised I read it all. Only comment, "In the future, ... for Blogs like Instapundit and others." Change to In the future, ... for Blogs like FreeRepublic and others.
It was great to note that the term MSM, Main Steam Media, was picked up by FOX. I would like to think that the revolt flamed by the bloggers here caused MSM to give rise to FOX which airs both sides and thus exposes the rst of MSM for their bias.
Thansk PUKIN DOG and thank FOX, and I do not mean PUKIN FOX.
Rock on, brother, rock on!
Normally when a Pukin Dog vents it isn't something you want any part of! But this vent is as sweet smelling as a rose to this Freeper.
marker
Should there be FreeRepublic merchandise as a premium for support, etc., I would die for an official FR bathrobe. I'd even settle for an iron-on patch to modify my own!
Forgive the rant?!! No way!! That was just awesome, PD!!
Hey, I want one,too! A FR bathrobe would be excellent! Terry,flannel, t-shirt fabric?
Personally, I want a navy blue terry with a tasteful red, white & blue insignia.
P.S.You can make that patch, you know, with iron on fabric that can be printed by your computer.
Wasn't it fulfilling to do so? You'll have to try it more often my friend. Although it can be time-consuming, it's often time well spent!
Thank you, PD. I also sent emails to LLBean, Iams and Campbell Soup stating I would not purchase any of their products until Dan Rather retracts the story and declares the documents as forgeries.
I've been here for awhile, and I'm still learning about 'the media.'
More now than when I first showed up.
Back during the the heady days when we had Drudge coming in giving us the details of his scoop on the site as they happened.
The thread had the editors at the post, and producers at CNN.com and MSNBC quivering in their boots and hand wringing all night.
I would participate in the thread, and watch it be re-discussed in detail on the cable TV air..
No credit to FR offered on the cable/public air..
Not really caring anyway. Because they know and I know the real story behind the story...
Yesterday Rush Limbaugh said he's the original member of the 'new media.'
I fully agree..
Because before I ever heard of the internet, I heard him describe on the radio why he thought that e-mail was a very important tool...
I checked it out, and by golly he nailed that one right out of the park.
Many important things have happened here.
When those things happened, I declared the thread associated those things as the best ever etc.
This one ranks right up there..
Think Global Act Local
The punks that came up with the bumper sticker probably didn't have Freerepublic.com in mind..
Oh well.....
It is what we are, in a very pure form..
Freerepublic.com will be available soon on a digital TV near you...
Various US Senators will try to stop it or slow it down this year..
We will not let them do it in the dark..
That's a good thing IMHO.
ciao
TT
Les Batards!
I would loan you my tool belt, but I see you already nailed it.
I love this place!
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