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After 10 Years of Investigating the Penn State Scandal, Here Is What the Case Taught Me About the Modern Media
Mediaite ^ | November 8, 2021 | John Ziegler

Posted on 11/13/2021 2:43:48 PM PST by TBP

For most of the past decade, I have been, almost entirely on my own, deeply investigating the entire case, to the point where it is not an exaggeration to say I know more about it than anyone, including Sandusky himself. What I have found has been the most shocking, depressing, and excruciating experience of my already eventful career, because I eventually became, very much against my own self-interest, completely convinced that, believe it or not, the media got this story catastrophically wrong and that those convicted at Penn State, including Sandusky himself, should not have been.

This column is not about trying to convince anyone of this conclusion. I have co-hosted a podcast called, “With the Benefit of Hindsight,” which features at least 25 hours of often mind-blowing, raw and exclusive interviews with many of the primary figures in the case, including two of the administrators who went to jail (the podcast was inspired in part by author Malcom Gladwell writing a chapter in his best-selling book, “Talking to Strangers,” which largely focused on my work).

My purpose here is to document some of the important things I have learned about the news media throughout this ordeal. Here are those lessons, many of which have served me well in evaluating both the Trump and Covid media eras, and may be more significant and relevant than even the massive injustice which I am positive occurred in this Greek tragedy.

(Excerpt) Read more at mediaite.com ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Editorial; Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: media; pennstate
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To: ConservativeInPA

We just don’t agree on acceptable. I “understand” your point, just can’t accept it.

A General is responsible for all of his men, and their conduct, on his base, so is a millionaire social figure.


61 posted on 11/13/2021 7:17:52 PM PST by EEGator
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To: EEGator

I always like the line from “A Bug’s Life”: “First Rule of Leadership: Everything is your fault!”


62 posted on 11/13/2021 7:18:51 PM PST by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: cgbg
I do not think Paterno saw it as his job, so he had nothing to follow up on. If someone who worked for you saw a murder or insert any crime, and you had nothing to do with the victim or the perp, would you think it was your job to follow up on your employee going to the police? Remember Paterno fired Sandusky. Sandusky was not with the football program, and Paterno didn't like or get along with Sandusky. In other words, Paterno thought it was the responsibility of the police, not his.

Perhaps I am supposing too much. Bottom line for me is I don't know what was in Paterno's heart or mind. No one on FR does. The media never did. As a rule, I don't condemn people unless they have been tried and convicted (I even have exceptions to that these days). Look at the way Kyle Rittenhouse has been treated and that is with plenty of video for all to see. But he's been condemned by the media and even resident Brandon. With Paterno there was no video, just piss poor reporting from the media, based on rumors and I suspect somethings that were just made up. I wouldn't under play the hatred many had for Paterno simply because he was a conservative and involved in politics in PA.

63 posted on 11/13/2021 7:49:12 PM PST by ConservativeInPA ("Goats are like mushrooms. Because if you shoot a duck, I'm afraid of toasters." - Joe Biden)
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To: ConservativeInPA
If someone who worked for you saw a murder or insert any crime, and you had nothing to do with the victim or the perp, would you think it was your job to follow up on your employee going to the police?

If someone who worked for you saw a child sexually assaulted in your workplace murder or insert any crime, and you had nothing to do with the victim or the perp, who also used to work for you, kept showing up at your workplace, with other children in tow, would you think it was your job to follow up on your employee to the police?

Yes.

64 posted on 11/13/2021 8:12:17 PM PST by Pilsner
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To: Pilsner

Right. And you know all the details about what was going on. And you trust everything printed by the media. FYI, Penn State is huge, and there over 30,000 people there, some their workplace, and others where they went to school. You just want to hate on Paterno when you don’t even know what happened.


65 posted on 11/13/2021 9:30:58 PM PST by ConservativeInPA ("Goats are like mushrooms. Because if you shoot a duck, I'm afraid of toasters." - Joe Biden)
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To: Scarlett156
He doesn’t really get into details about why these guys were wrongly accused. I guess you have to buy the book...?

Ziegler discusses the findings of his investigation in this podcast:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-fifteen-the-perfect-storm/id1562078872?i=1000526391289
66 posted on 11/13/2021 10:42:17 PM PST by Right_Wing_Madman
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To: Pilsner

kept showing up at your workplace, with other children in tow,


Well, except that he wasn’t showing up at the workplace after the accusations - either with or without children.


67 posted on 11/14/2021 12:58:09 AM PST by lepton ("It is useless to attempt to reason a man out of a thing he was never reasoned into"--Jonathan Swift)
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To: tired&retired
"He may have been guilty of Old Age"

I have not researched nor am going to research about the Penn St debacle...

but Joe Paterno reminded me of my own father....willing to not believe the worse in people...hoping to God that everything was alright....

68 posted on 11/14/2021 1:03:42 AM PST by cherry
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To: cgbg

apparently there exists a email between one of the coaches who had some testimony and the DA stating that what was being presented was not right...and the Da basically said to do nothing....


69 posted on 11/14/2021 1:12:29 AM PST by cherry
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To: EEGator
Paterno sent an email about it, then didn’t follow up.

No he didn't.

70 posted on 11/14/2021 4:33:30 AM PST by JonPreston (Q: Never have so many, been so wrong, so often)
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To: ConservativeInPA

Your take on the matter is similar to mine. The degree of media damage on this issue is remarkable and this is among people who distrust the media.


71 posted on 11/14/2021 4:37:01 AM PST by JonPreston (Q: Never have so many, been so wrong, so often)
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To: Right_Wing_Madman

Thank you!


72 posted on 11/14/2021 6:06:51 AM PST by Scarlett156 (11/11/2021 Thank you, veterans! )
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To: Chewbarkah

What you believe to be reasonable is again based on the narrative. You reasoned that a woman in that circumstance was intimidated and controlled. Was that stated as part of any facts?


73 posted on 11/14/2021 6:35:56 AM PST by LoveUSA (God employs Man's strength; Satan exploits Man's weakness.)
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To: cherry

There is a reason why his football team had one of the highest GPA and graduation percentages in college football.


74 posted on 11/14/2021 7:31:11 AM PST by tired&retired (Blessings )
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To: tired&retired

My son lived in the same dorm with the football players for a summer.
Joe was strict. The players were required to live in the dorm. Required curfew and study times.

Joe monitored their grades and pushed them to succeed.

At another university where I taught the pressure to pass the athletes was very high.


75 posted on 11/14/2021 7:35:04 AM PST by tired&retired (Blessings )
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To: LoveUSA

Your post begs a question of why Sandusky’s wife and adopted son were not “implicated”, etc. My comment is an explanation of why. It’s not based on “the narrative”, nor is it offered as the absolute truth of the matter (which neither you nor I know). It’s a plausible take on human nature that any prosecutor would have to overcome with a confession or evidence, such as her own writings or recordings, statements she made to third parties, claims by the victims that they had told her, etc., to have any legal basis for charging her. To my knowledge, no such evidence emerged.

That does not make her morally innocent. My personal sense at the time was that S’s wife knew what her husband was up to, and abetted his depredations through turning a blind eye.


76 posted on 11/14/2021 7:46:40 AM PST by Chewbarkah
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.

The only way you get total unanimity of perspective in this era is if it is happening due to corrosive artificial factors.

Profound.

77 posted on 11/14/2021 7:59:18 AM PST by Mr.Unique (My boss wants me to sign up for a 401K. No way I'm running that far! )
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To: TBP
.

The Modern Media Would Have Backed the Salem Witch Trials:

I've said recently that I now understand how Nazi Germany happened.

“Experts” Are Often Very Conflicted and Wrong:

Recent example:


78 posted on 11/14/2021 8:04:49 AM PST by Mr.Unique (My boss wants me to sign up for a 401K. No way I'm running that far! )
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To: Scarlett156

He;s writen about why they’re wrongly accused for years.


79 posted on 11/29/2021 9:22:44 PM PST by TBP (Decent people cannot fathom the amoral cruelty of the Biden regime.)
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To: TBP

That was the first I had heard of it, however. I appreciate your comment after all this time! Readers on this forum really pay attention. (Not being sarcastic! I think it’s great.)


80 posted on 11/30/2021 4:49:56 AM PST by Scarlett156 (We the men of the mind are on strike )
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