Posted on 11/01/2004 11:43:11 AM PST by Ahriman
That 377 tons of high explosives went missing from an Iraqi munitions facility 30 miles south of Baghdad is a legitimate story.
But did it deserve to be the front-page, two-column headline lead in The New York Times? Did it merit being featured on "60 Minutes," 30 hours before Election Day, as CBS News planned? Or were these twin media mastodons colluding as conscious agents of the Kerry campaign?
If a paper or news outlet (like 60 minutes,NYTimes,etc...) Runs a story that is weak on facts or not research fully etc.. and is designed to try to political or finacially damage someone... that is called Yellow journalism... so on this one I am going to have to disagree... since they do not know when the explosives disapeared and it is appearing more and more that based on eyewitness accounts and soldier that were near the base after the invasion that the explosives were gone and some were destroyed so... once again the MSM is putting politics in front of its core job.
If a paper or news outlet (like 60 minutes,NYTimes,etc...) Runs a story that is weak on facts or not research fully etc.. and is designed to try to political or finacially damage someone... that is called Yellow journalism... so on this one I am going to have to disagree... since they do not know when the explosives disapeared and it is appearing more and more that based on eyewitness accounts and soldier that were near the base after the invasion that the explosives were gone and some were destroyed so... once again the MSM is putting politics in front of its core job.
After reading this article, for the second time in one year I have been forced to agree with Pat Buchanan. I feel so...bad.
Did you read the entire article?
From your comments it isn't clear to me that you did, since the author makes many of the same points you do.
I did read the entire article and as much as I hate to admit it.. I do agree with Pat Buchannan... I was just disagree with the assertion that is the entire explosives story is a legitimate story...
"I was just disagree with the assertion that is the entire explosives story is a legitimate story..."
Well, it is a legitimate story in the sense that the explosives DID disappear, are gone, no longer there etc. It was an even more legitimate story last year. By legitimate story i mean an event which actually happened, or is believed likely to have occured. This meets that test.
What is being reported now is simply gross distortion of the available information for political propaganda purposes, and has very little to do with factual reporting of the fact that a miniscule % of available ordinance in iraq went missing before the invasion.
if you are going to base the legitamecy on weather the explosives went missing that is true yes.. .there are explosives missing that the IAEA document and the UN inspectors that are now not there... that is correct as for whether it was breaking news as it was portrayed is a different story. I just think that this was an issue that got to much news time when the facts are still unfounded....
I think you and I are on the same page with just different definitions of 'legitimate'
Obviously the legitimacy of any explosives story is worlds apart from what has been done the last week by NYT et al.
In reasonable proportion to its importance the actual story might merit a page A16 2-paragraph mention at this point.
I think you are correct... This was used as a political tool.. instead of where it was a news in passing article...
What I really dread are the usual post-election Big Media panel discussions and specials on 'bias in the newsroom', replete with examples of how innocent media were manipulated by BOTH SIDES(wink) and vows to never allow either part(wink, snicker) to ever abuse America's stalwart defenders of the 1st Amendment again. Ever.
All done to keep the focus off Kerry's traitorous actions in Vietnam and after
His refusal to sign form 180
And most of all ...misdirection to keep people from taking a long hard look at Kerry's record
as a U.S. Senator...
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