Posted on 12/11/2007 7:32:27 AM PST by ConservativeMajority
Would Network Air Comedian’s Troop Shows Today?
NBC sank to a new low last week when it rejected ads thanking American troops for their sacrifice and offering them Christmas greetings. A network official deemed the spots produced by Freedom’s Watch, a pro-troop organization to be “too political.” The ensuing backlash from patriotic Americans convinced an adult at NBC to reverse the decision after a few days.
The controversy underscored the liberal bias of the Old Media that can no longer be hidden or denied. The mindset that perceives a message of gratitude and support for American troops as "too political" defies any other plausible explanation. The ideological leanings once concealed by a monopoly of three similar television networks and a handful of major newspapers stand naked in the vast expanse of the new media universe and the marketplace of free ideas.
As a child growing up in front of the television during the 1960s, I watched the legendary Bob Hope entertaining the troops fighting for freedom in faraway lands during the Vietnam War on NBC. When my father served in the Army during the Korean War, Bob Hope came to where he was stationed to bring a bit of comfort, joy and encouragement from home. Hope’s last wartime performance for American troops came during the Gulf War.
If Bob Hope was alive and well today, it is almost certain that he would be traveling to Afghanistan and Iraq to entertain the troops. However, it is not clear that NBC would broadcast the show. It seems that anything that can be construed to suggest support for the war in Iraq is taboo on the Peacock network. Even positive news about Iraq appears to be verboten. The Media Research Center charted the direct relationship between declining Old Media coverage of the war in Iraq and the reduction of violence and U. S. troop deaths as a result of the “surge.” During the period from September 1 through November 30, stories broadcast by ABC, CBS and NBC about Iraq dropped 60 percent, matching a decrease in the number of soldiers killed.
This phenomenon goes beyond the adage that “if it bleeds, it leads” to indicate an agenda at work that denies progress in Iraq. A similar ploy during the Vietnam War handed the enemy a victory in the media that it could not win on the battlefield. Witness the attention paid to Democratic “hawk” John Murtha since he declared the Iraq War “unwinnable” in 2004. For over three years, the Old Media, especially MSNBC’s Chris Matthews, fawned over Murtha, uncritically accepting and repeating his pronouncements – until the Pennsylvania Democrat returned from a Thanksgiving trip to Iraq and admitted military progress was taking place.
In April 2006, retired Army Major General John Batiste led a small group of former military officers into the politics of the Iraq War writing an op-ed for The New York Times calling for the resignation of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. The Old Media instantly elevated Batiste to expert status. The retired general retained that exalted position, even while campaigning for antiwar Democrats as part of the MoveOn.org front group, VoteVets.org. However, his departure from the group and subsequent op-ed published in The Washington Post that suggested the current strategy employed by Gen. David Petraeus was working has been virtually ignored by the Old Media.
During a program last week at Columbia University, the moderator incredulously asked me if I actually believed that the Old Media wants the United States to lose the war in Iraq. My reply: Of course it does! The Old Media is not necessarily anti-American, but it sees failure in Iraq as something that would help its soulmates in the Democratic Party achieve electoral success and is willing to help that come about. Like the DailyKos, MoveOn.org, Code Pink radicals that have taken over the Democratic Party, the Old Media is willing to lose a war in order to gain political power.
Some would call that treason.
To be fair to NBC, the commercial was offensive to terrorists.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
Jeff Gannon?
I bet his favorite conservative Senator is Larry Craig....
No doubt it is clearly what once would have been considered to be Treason. However, after so many years of Fonda, Kerry, clinton and now the Bush Globalist Agenda the concept of Treason has been lost.
You know they’re in bad shape when Bin Laden cancels his ad.
I’ll bet not.
Actually, bin Laden did not cancel the ad. But he is one of those receiving a refund from NBC for not being able to deliver the ratings they promised him for his ad slot.
During the period from September 1 through November 30, stories broadcast by ABC, CBS and NBC about Iraq dropped 60 percent, matching a decrease in the number of soldiers killed.
Very interesting. I had read about the decrease of coverage, but had not heard the corresponding percentage.
the moderator incredulously asked me if I actually believed that the Old Media wants the United States to lose the war in Iraq. My reply: Of course it does!
Bravo! Good for you, Jeff!!!
The Old Media is not necessarily anti-American,
On this point I disagree, at least in an America as we know it way. Perhaps they are not anti-American as they visualize it in the way they WANT it to be.
Yeah.
Um, ok. I must have him confused with the “other” Jeff Gannon.
But is his favorite (former) pastor Ted Haggard?
What about his writing would make you think that?
If you are not familiar with the “Jeff Gannon” controversy, check out the wikipedia article about him. That pretty well summarizes his career.
Bin Ladin applauds NBC....
So your point is what?
I don’t think the conservative movement is best led by people who have no stake in the next generation b/c of their lifestyle which obviously precludes marriage and children. (not to mention the other unsavory activities attributed to “Jeff Gannon”).
No "almost certain" about it. The most popular comedians of the day as well as any number of well-known actors have been doing any number of shows in Afghanistan for some number of years now.
I don’t think Gannon’s leading a movement - it looks like he’s providing commentary on the treasonous media.
My dad went to a Bob Hope show during one of his tours in Vietnam. He always appreciated that he came. Troops need more of that support. Hollywood and the media aren’t providing it. NBC needs life support! Good post Conservative Majority.
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