Robin, I think we will have to change into our pajamas for this caper.
Posted on 10/09/2004 1:04:02 AM PDT by Cableguy
ABC News was under fire last night after an internal memo surfaced suggesting President Bush should be held more accountable for his statements than John Kerry.
The memo to staffers from the network's powerful political director, Marc Halperin, noted that while both campaigns are distorting the truth, Kerry's bending of the facts shouldn't be hit as hard.
"Kerry distorts, takes out of context, and mistakes all the time, but these are not central to his efforts to win," Halperin wrote.
But "the current Bush attacks on Kerry involve distortions and taking things out of context in a way that goes beyond what Kerry has done," Halperin added.
Halperin further advised the ABC staff to keep that in mind when reporting.
"We have a responsibility to hold both sides accountable to the public interest, but that doesn't mean we reflexively and artificially hold both sides 'equally' accountable when the facts don't warrant that," the memo continued.
"It's up to Kerry to defend himself, of course. But as one of the few news organizations with the skill and strength to help voters evaluate what the candidates are saying to serve the public interest, now is the time for all of us to step up and do that right."
A spokesman for ABC news insisted "we are not interested in taking sides, we are only interested in getting at the truth."
Halperin plays a mostly behind-the-scenes role at ABC, and is known as the father of "The Note," a daily political memo that is read by thousands of D.C. insiders, political players and journalists.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Robin, I think we will have to change into our pajamas for this caper.
When I saw how they had lost the Vietnam war and impeached Nixon (who they hated because he brought down Alger Hiss) I knew it was over. Now's hypocrisy about Clinton was just the icing on the cake.
Shouldn't the headline be:
"Kerry distorts, takes out of context, and makes mistakes all the time.. - Halperin, ABC News"
That's how they would write it about a Republican.
Everone with a Ping list--please note this article.
This scandal has different dynamics than the one involving CBS memos. This will never be reported on ABC, CBS or NBC....Now, I have to question FOX's commitment to be fair and balanced as well.
We need to get this out. Letters to editors, calls to talk shows, and pressure on FOX to stand up to media bias--not to join it,
If it wasn't for Monday night football, I'd never bother watching ABC. Their *cough* news division is nothing more than an illegal 527 group coordinating with the Kerry campaign.
This story should not be allowed to die.
Fox did report on it prior to the debate last night.
Nixon. That was what did it for me. He was railroaded by the media and Kronkite led the assault. I've never gotten over it. I wish Nixon had not been such a gentleman. I think he and most of America at the time believed that they couldn't fight the media. It was viewed as the arbiter of "truth".
ABC done that long ago.......
I admire the recipient who had the guts to leak it!
Actually that would make a great add.
The whole memo ought to be a campaign add buy. The RNC should then add listen with a critical ear when you listen to the news , it just may be made up.
Hi, Free Trapper:
After reading the NY Post's article regarding the 'Accountabilty' memo. I couldn't help thinking of it as a suicide note pinned to Halperin's corpse. Detailing that ABC killed Professor Plum in the Library with the Candelabra.
This one's gonna hurt!
Jack.
"It's up to Kerry to defend himself, of course. But as one of the few news organizations with the skill and strength to help voters evaluate what the candidates are saying to serve the public interest, now is the time for all of us to step up and do that right."
So.......ABC feels that it is up to them to evaluate what the candidates are saying eh? How kind of you to offer to do my thinking for me. However, I'm not sure that your "truth" aligns with my "truth". If you don't mind, I believe I will do my own thinking. Hitler, Mein Kampf " The task of propaganda does not lie in a scientific education of the individual but in pointing out to the masses definite facts, processes, necessities, etc., the significance of which in this way is first to be brought within the masses' range of vision. " SOUND FAMILIAR? You are pathethic, and I am sincere in my disgust, signed..
This scandal has different dynamics than the one involving CBS memos. This will never be reported on ABC, CBS or NBC....Now, I have to question FOX's commitment to be fair and balanced as well.
We need to get this out. Letters to editors, calls to talk shows, and pressure on FOX to stand up to media bias--not to join it
Fox News just mentioned the ABC memo in a news teaser...more to come.
Thank God for Fox !
Rebecca Peters almost single-handely brought gun confiscation to Australia and to England and is now the most feared gun-banner in the world. With more than 500 gun control organizations under her command worldwide, and with the unlimited financial backing of George Soros, she's determined to make gun confiscation a reality here in the United States----through a U.N. backed treaty that would be binding on every American citizen.
I doubt that they needed to be told, they were doing it anyway. They wouldn't have jobs there if they weren't stark raving liberals. Halperin was just rallying the troops. Sounds like he had a dissenter or two, though. I'll bet he's pissed that this memo got out.
I'll never forget the looks of glee on their faces when Reagan was shot. They tried to disguise it but you could tell they *wanted* so badly to report Reagan was dead. ABC even announced James Brady was dead when it turned out to be untrue.
It's possible some reporters saw it as a way to instantly elevate their careers as some did during JFK's murder but you couldn't miss the fact that they were cheerleading for the death of the President of the United States.
To this day, I think many Democrats would have suggested a national holiday for Hinckley if his aim had only been better.
The first time that I ever heard Rush was on a late Saturday afternoon about 13 or 14 years ago. The program was obviously taped I later discerned but I still remember the first thing that I ever heard him say.
"For those of you on the welfare rolls who are just getting out of bed here is what is happening today....
Well that is not exact I am certain but that was the essence of it. I was relieved to finally hear someone actually express opinions which seemed rational to me. I do not listen to Rush very often but I came to appreciate the dynamics of what he represented in the Media.
The Internet now allows rational thinking persons to come together. Rush was in my opinion a catalyst for great change in politics. ABC and the rest of the liberal media are simply anachronisms and they will all fall by the wayside. Rather was only the first serious public casualty. In truth they have been bleeding internally for a long while and the end for the propagandists is quite nigh.
To add to your excellent analysis, I guess it doesn't matter to the Dims (and the Media wing of the DNC)that one of the "senior statesmen" of the U.S. Senate was a grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan (Robert KKK Byrd, D-WV), back when black people really WERE disenfranchised, oftentimes murderously so.
Nothing to see here...move along...
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