'Balance' in a Spinning World: Are the media's truth-squadding troops ganging up on Bush?

Wash Post ^ | 10/18/04 | Howard Kurtz

[Cableguy]

Are the media's truth-squadding troops ganging up on George W. Bush? And if so, does he deserve it?

In articles, columns and one internal ABC News memo, some journalists have argued that the president has engaged in far more serious distortions than John Kerry has, and that media outlets should blow the whistle on these falsehoods.

"Your instinct is that if we say bad things about one side you have to say bad things about the other side," says Adam Nagourney, the New York Times's chief political reporter. "You want to give equal scrutiny to both sides, but I don't think you should impose a false equivalence that doesn't exist."

The Bush team, which issued a release slamming a recent Nagourney story, is pushing back. "The Bush campaign should be able to make an argument without having it reflexively dismissed as distorted or inaccurate by the biggest papers in the country," says spokesman Steve Schmidt.

[endthematrix]

Gee, and a while back the MSM was attempting to justify that wearing American flag pins would be offense to the enemy. Funny they were talking about themselves!

[bayourod]

"Whatever their orientation, journalists are the last line of defense against public deception."

Until they cross to the dark side and become the source of public deception.

"You were had, Ted."

[weegee]

Media Schadenfreude and Media Shenanigans PING

[QandA]

As for the MSM, now when I have occasion to address them, such as a letter to the editor or similar, I call them the 'establishment media', and outlets like 'freerepublic' or 'powerline' I call the 'anti-establishment media.' It makes them nuts.

[Drammach]

It is the media's responsibility to nit-pick whatever administration is in power..
It is their established role, and as long as they do it honestly, I have no complaint..

I can even put up with some political bias, especially in an election year..

What I don't like is limiting the voice of the press by buying up large blocks of the Main stream Media, thereby shutting out any and all dissenting opinion..

Luckily, the New Free Press is here on the internet, ready, willing, and eager to watch the watchers..
And, report what we find..

[Prophet in the Wilderess]

And it looks like the ( NEW FREE PRESS ) is here to stay .


THE AMERICAN PEOPLE HAS MADE THEIR VOICES HEARD.

WE WANT THE NEW FREE PRESS.
( the only legitimate news source of news ) ( AND FREE VOICE )

THE OLD MAIN STREAM ( MAYHEM ) MEDIA IS GOING THE WAY OF THE HORSE AND BUGGY . We will read them as history ( FOOTNOTE ) as the ( FOOLS THAT DECIEVED THE AMERICAN PUBLIC FAR TO LONG ) THE AMERICAN PEOPLE STOOD THEIR GROUND, and SAID TO THE ( OLD MAIN STREAM ( MAYHEM ) MEDIA ) NO !!! WE ARE NOT GOING TO TAKE YOUR LIES ANYMORE , WE ARE HOLDING YOU ACCOUNTABLE TO ALL OF YOUR LIES. ( THE MAIN STREAM ( MAYHEM ) MEDIA ) HAS BECOME A IRREVERENT NEWS SOURCES )
There is no legitimacy in these news sources PERIOD !! ABC , CBS , NBC , CNN , PBS , etc.

[Bandaneira]

Those who make their money by spinning the truth and telling lies just might find themselves without a job in the not-too-distant future when everyone gets fed up with the crap they write. It's quite comforting to know that all the lies that have been spewed out by the mass media will one day be exhumed from the archives and people will laugh at the folly of these so-called "journalists". It doesn't matter what anyone thinks, we will all know the truth and what is correct in the end.

[Bandaneira]

I hope you will be able to visit the Third Temple/House for All Nations in Jerusalem soon.

[Grampa Dave]

Howard Kurtz is the poster Girly Boy of a Whining Woosey Rat pretending to be an oped writer.

[jwalsh07]

Howard Kurtz has got to be kidding. He quotes 6 left leaning reporters, 1 guy on the right and Paul Krugman, a far left whackjob who once was an economist.

He then goes on to skewer the Wash Times and Fox with nary a word about the NY Times, CBS, NBC or ABC news coverage that is blatantly biased toward Kerry and the left with the excpetion of the Halperin memo which he attempts to excuse.

I don't know why they just don't come out and say, "Hey some pigs are more equal than others and those are our pigs" and be done with it.

[weegee]

Buggy Whip Media is more like it. Their day has passed.

The "information age" has made it easier to spot the details that an editor chooses to omit from a wire story, to compare the headlines that different editors give the same wire story, to find the details that wire services like AP and Reuters never gave.

Letters to the editor are passe. Editors rarely voice an answer in print to the letters to the editor anymore. Why must the readers' letters be rejected for content and pruned for print? On FR we can discuss the content of a news article and point out logic flaws and factual errors.

[EdReform]

BTTT