[ewing]

Is she on the outs? (hopefully)

[The Wizard]

another crusty supporter gets hammered ashley banfield was never a reporter, but a shove the mike in your face type who always seemed to want to PMS's Geraldo....without Geraldo's talents

[Servant of the Nine]

She is gonna learn that she isn't famous enough to get away with badmouthing her employer.
You gotta carry a lot more heft than a Geraldo to get away with it.

So9

[OldFriend]

Am surprised anyone would take Ashlee Banshee seriously.

[aardvark1]

I think Ashley will become the Dixie Chicks press agent after NBC sends her packing. Isn't there an adage about "biting the hand that feeds you"?

[bart99]

In a later part of the article she was blasted by Savage for her interviews with "martyrs". Her response was....

"Banfield said it was vital to present the Arabs' viewpoint because of a lack of understanding among them and Americans in what has driven them to such violence."

Not that Savage said about her was right, but...... she reminded me of Arnett's reporting in Baghdad..... making sure the americans understood the "Iraqi position". I liked Ashley, but...... she did exploit her own 'access' for some sensationalistic reporting. I'm not sure that was really 'objective'.

And...... Fox succeeded not just because they were 'conservative' and gung-ho, but because the others were so liberal THEY were not reporting fairly. We have choices on which channels to watch..... too bad ashley can't accept that.

[rintense]

I have never been a Savage fan. Never will. I lost any shred of respect for him when I saw him on Talk Back Live. Charles Barkley made more sense than Savage. It was embarrasing.

[Oldeconomybuyer]

I guess Ashleigh never learned about capitalism. Her pMSNBC show failed because it wasn't generating enough revenue to justify the costs. NBC News is a for-profit organization owned by GE.

If she wants an outlet for her brand of "journalism" not tainted by the need to generate an audience or turn a profit, she should go to work for CUBA-TV.

[William Terrell]

The whole article

---

Banfield Lashes Out at Own Network

By Andrew Grossman

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - NBC News correspondent Ashleigh Banfield has ripped television news networks, including her own, for their "glorious" coverage of the Iraqi war and a lack of focus on international news overall.

In a speech Thursday at Kansas State University, she also attacked NBC News for hiring right-wing radio talk-show host Michael Savage to do a show on MSNBC. Savage recently called Banfield a "slut" after her reports portraying the radical Arab point of view.

Banfield, who won her first notoriety for her coverage from the World Trade Center on 9/11, might be in some trouble for her comments. In a statement issued on Friday, NBC News said, "Ms. Banfield does not speak for NBC News. We are deeply disappointed and troubled by her remarks, and will review her comments with her. In the meantime, we want to emphasize how proud we are of the journalism produced by NBC News and of the men and women who worked around the clock, even risking their lives, to bring this story to the American public."

War coverage is an especially sensitive subject inside NBC News, whose embedded reporter David Bloom died in Iraq.

Her comments, coincidentally, came on the same day that Greg Dyke, director general of the BBC, ripped American radio and TV networks for their "shocking," and "gung-ho" coverage of the Iraqi war, according to British newspaper reports.

Banfield, who hosted an unsuccessful talk show on MSNBC last year and is now reporting for both MSNBC and NBC News, criticized the networks for showing a bloodless war that gave a skewed picture which glossed over the horrors of battle. She did not report from Iraq during the war, but has been stationed overseas in the past.

"It was a glorious and wonderful picture that had a lot of people watching and a lot of advertisers excited about cable news," she said at the college's annual Landon Lecture in Manhattan. "But it wasn't journalism because I'm not so sure we in America are hesitant to do this again, to fight another war ... because it looked like a glorious and courageous and so successfully terrific endeavor."

What was wrong with the coverage?

"You did not see where those bullets landed. You didn't see what happened when the mortars landed. A puff of smoke is not what a mortar looks like when it explodes, believe me," Banfield said.

She ripped NBC for putting Savage on the air saying, "He was so taken aback by my daring to speak to martyrs ... for being prepared to sacrifice themselves, he chose to label me a slut on the air, and that's not all, as a porn star and an accessory to the murder of Jewish children. These are the ramifications for simply bringing the message in the Arab world."

Banfield said it was vital to present the Arabs' viewpoint because of a lack of understanding among them and Americans in what has driven them to such violence.

She blamed the networks for failing to air enough international news except after 9/11 and during wars and pointed to the lack of stories emanating from Afghanistan these days as an example of the networks' lack of focus overseas.

She said NBC was preparing to close its Kabul bureau, a statement that NBC News denied.

"If we had paid more attention to Afghanistan in the '80s, we might not have had 9/11," she said.

In the past week, she noted, cable networks with an eye on their declining ratings since the war has wound down have devoted extensive coverage to the Laci Peterson murder case and less to the chaotic situation in Iraq.

But Banfield also exonerated the networks to some degree by blaming viewers for being more interested in titillating crime stories than vital international news.

"It's critical to our security that you be interested in this," Banfield urged the audience. "Because when you are interested, I can respond. If I put this on the air right now, you'll turn it off and we'll lose our numbers as we're finding out now."

Banfield also criticized Fox News Channel for merging entertainment value with news, saying the network has risen to the top by targeting conservative viewers. "Fox has taken so many viewers away from CNN and MSNBC because of their agenda and because of their target marketing of cable news viewers. I'm afraid there's not a really big place in cable for news," she said.

She added that networks like MSNBC have tried to compete by aping Fox's format. "You can see the big hires on other networks, right-wing hires to try and chase after this effect," she added.

Fox declined to comment on Banfield's comments.

---

[mhking]

Ashleigh must not want a job anymore.

"Hold muh beer 'n watch this!" PING....

If you want on or off this list, please let me know!

[Hatteras]

"Banfield, who first won notoriety for her coverage from the World Trade Center on 9/11..."

She won notoriety with me alright. Interviewing victims as they emerged from the rubble she asked one victim a very poignant question as she cinched those wretched glasses back up on her beak...What did you see in there? Did you have to step over any bodies?

Give her the crook!

[Blue Screen of Death]

In a just and fair world, Ashleigh will be doing commercials for Lady Clairol by Fall.

[TracyPA]

I saw the real Ashleigh on 9/11, reporting on the street in New York. Now granted it was a scary scene. Ashleigh was interviewing a lady when one of the towers fell and that big cloud of white dust came rolling right toward her. Well Banfield nearly trampled the poor woman trying to get herself to safety. It was just like "I'm going to save myself, and the hell with you lady!"

[al_c]

I just hope she doesn't come back to do local Dallas news.

[N. Theknow]

Banfield, who first won notoriety for her coverage from the World Trade Center on 9/11

Reuters doesn't even understand the meaning of the word "notoriety". What a bunch of pretentious bubbleheads.

[HamiltonJay]

Is this the bimbo MSNBC is trying to pretend is a star? The square glasses broad who was on the ground in afghanistan? Didn't take long for her nonimportance to go to her head if it is.

[HamiltonJay]

Banfield said it was vital to present the Arabs' viewpoint because of a lack of understanding among them and Americans in what has driven them to such violence.

Bullplop you ignorant slut! They are driven to violence because they are uneducated dupes, being manipulated by equally ignorant leaders who find it more politically advantageous to blame others for their pathetic lot in life, then to actually get off their lazy asses, face the fact that they are in the situation they are in because of their own ineptitude and engage in hard and difficult work to change it.

Their leaders are the Jessie Jacksons of the middle east... wearing $10,000 suits and telling the rabble what they want to hear, rather than telling them the truth and forcing them to actually improve their lives.

[votelife]

I remember Banfield at Jeb Bush's victory party in Miami...I have a feeling that there were other stories she would have rather reported that night. When things were going so good that night me and some friends turned our signs for Jeb towards the media. It was basically like freeping the media. Lot's of fun. That Hummer guy from CNN was there too.

[The Great Satan]

She's that chick with the "intellectual girl" glasses, right?

[Saundra Duffy]

LOL! Go, Savage Nation. (Michael Savage thrives on this stuff.) For victory & freedom!!!

[finnman69]

Big Barbee the troll bites the dust....deservedly so.