Posted on 02/06/2008 5:07:59 AM PST by doug from upland
HIT PIECE ON "FACT" CHECK DOT ORG
For those who had not seen it, a former TIME MAG journalist (she got canned) named Viveca Novak did a hit piece on HILLARY! UNCENSORED: Banned by the Media.
As you can see by the incendiary headline and sub-headline, there was clearly an agenda. It wasn't a "fact" check; it was an editorial to dismiss the film, dismiss the importance of the lawsuit, and do some damage control. Perhaps Hillary is mildly concerned. After it appeared on "fact" check dot org, it was placed on Newsweek's website. While purporting to be non-partisan, it is clear that the piece was designed to do damage to the film whose unedited 13-minute segment on Google Videos and YouTube has been seen by four million people.
Pursuant to Novak's boss, Brooks Jackson, yesterday I submitted a 12-page response which he promised to place on his website if it was not a rant. It was a reasoned piece and definitely not a rant. I have made contact with someone at Newsweek and am awaiting their promise to allow me to answer.
Now, on to Dave Schippers. Here is what the "non-partisan" Novak told her readers in her hit piece:
Many of the individuals and groups helping Paul have long histories of Clinton-bashing or attacks on other Democrats. David Schippers, for example, who appears on the tape, is the former chief investigative counsel for the Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee during the 1998 Clinton impeachment hearings.
That's fair and non-partisan, right? Here is my response to that journalistic equivalent of a drive-by shooting:
Of all the conclusions in the entire piece, perhaps more than any others, this is the most unfair. Dave Schippers is a great American. It is a shame that the above description is the only reference to him. Schippers worked in the Kennedy Justice Department and helped take down the Chicago Mob. He is a lifelong Democrat. And perhaps most importantly, Novak failed to mention that he twice voted for Bill Clinton. No one can dispute that such background information about Schippers is important.
While discussing on the phone what Novak did to him, I suggested to Schippers that it might be appropriate to demand an apology and retraction from Novak. He thought that such might be a good idea. Here is hoping he takes the time to do it.
What Novak did regarding Lucianne Goldberg shows more about her journalist integrity:
Another character from that era who is involved in this story is Lucianne Goldberg.
The response:
Yes, it was on Goldberg’s site that the link on Google Videos was leaked to her readers. But there was no conspiracy here. The rough-cut segment on Google Videos was unpublished and for our internal use and that of journalists. Someone who saw it apparently alerted Goldberg to the URL. She simply put the URL on her website so others could see it. That was her role, and it was done without any direction from those involved with our film, including Paul. It wasn’t sinister at all. I find it curious that some kind of conspiratorial link was created here. As an aside, and since the CLINTON CHRONICLES was mentioned in Novak‘s analysis, a comment is necessary. Many of you came to know that documentary as the “Falwell video.” Did you know that Jerry Falwell had absolutely nothing to do with the production or editing of that documentary? He simply became one of the distributors and generated revenue through distribution. His name was used in an attempt to discredit the film. I will raise the question here. Was an association made with the “Clinton basher“ Goldberg an attempt to taint or diminish the work we have done for HILLARY! UNCENSORED? The readers can make that determination.
On another interesting note, Novak, who admitted that she only reviewed the 13-minute unedited rough-cut segment, actually described Peter Paul as the narrator of the film. That is a mistake that someone supposedly doing a thoughtful piece would not make. It requires a suspension of disbelief.
When(or if) Jackson publishes the response, I will bring it here. If he doesn't, you'll see it anyway, and we will try to find a way to give him some grief on the net and on YouTube.
Hang in there Doug.
Feb. 21 status conference in Los Angeles to set trial date and open way for discovery.
BTTT
BTTT
p i n g
Good luck, Doug.
ping
yes, hang in there Doug. The Clinton Machine is in action....
BTTT
bttt for follow up...
West Virgina proves that the only reason Huckabee is staying in is to lock the nomination for McCain.
I want an apology for that, newbie.
Waiting.
You are calling me a liar, and I want an apology.
Brooks Jackson received my 12-page response late yesterday. He responded this morning that he will look it over today will report back to me as soon as he can.
BTTT
NEWSWEEK says that it has no responsibility. They merely host the factcheck material on their site Oh, really?
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