-
Website
http://www.americablog.com/ -
Original page
http://www.americablog.com/2008/04/more-less-than-exceptional-acceptable.html -
Subscribe
All Comments -
Community
-
-
Top Commenters
-
Popular Threads
All Comments
Think about it - ABC certainly had reporters covering the campaigns and interviewing people in Pennsylvania. The network also has six affiliates in the state, all in different geographical locations. Surely the local stations were interviewing different people as the campaigns toured around the state. Instead, ABC News chose an easy subject that was already covered in the New York Times and who had received some media play in some other publications, like the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Somehow they managed to find the same person (surprise) and get her question on camera.
Now every Democrat knows that the whole flag lapel bullshit is something that has been floating around conservative and right wing blogs for months. . .it just didn't have any legs - and for good reason. This was ABC's way of giving it legs, much in the same way they picked up the Rev. Wright story after the wingnuts whined for months about the "anti-American" "separatist" church Obama attended in Chicago. Once ABC decided their "investigation" of some 20 years of sermons produced two or three little edited snippets to create a wingnut-inspired smear "story," the network certainly spent more time on it than they EVER spent on the Pat Robertson "nuke the State Department" statements.
Journalistically (and I say this as someone who has worked in the business, has a master's in the profession and is finishing a PhD) the moment ABC decided to put Stephanopoulos as the moderator was a potential conflict of interest - and the network certainly knew it as well. Their research wasn't thorough, the questions were not appropriate nor a reflection of anything an audience wanted to know (beyond right wing smear artists trying to get their old mud to stick). What ABC was aiming for was reinforcing their own manufactured stories creating "controversy" - and that is where their journalism arrogance comes into play here - the network obviously believes it is not only entitled to manufacture the "news," but to decide what is an "issue" to the American people.
The network used the debates to make themselves more the "news" than the positions of the candidates. And the bullshit about "character" doesn't fly, because we all know ABC has had plenty of opportunities to hold John McCain to the same sort of standard - and it hasn't even tried.
When you couple the Nash debacle with the Sean Hannity-inspired questioning, it indicates that ABC News has to answer to the public about its own integrity - and for reasons that are different than the trashy Fox News. ABC uses the public airwaves, and violations of journalism ethics this blatant are not things that professionals let go of - meaning their peers are not happy with this performance. There were several journalism professionals posting comments on ABC's site - along with journalism professors at some prestigious schools - and all of them criticized George and Charlie for an obviously biased display.
But this is also something I don't think we can afford to let go of - because when we do let go of it, they just do it again -and are worse. We need to let Steph and Charlie know that we are, apparently, more willing and more capable to be better journalists than their own network. And then we need to ask why they hate America and the flag so much that they'd attempt to interfere with the election process of the American people.
Excellent summary. Yes, we need to hold ABC, Stephanopoulos and Gibson accountable. The issue goes beyond the debate itself. Because as you point out, the corporate media believes it can tell the American people what is or isn't important, without bothering to do any legwork. The trivial line of questions, the focus on trash and gossip, the introduction of Nash McCabe and Sean Hannity's/GOP question[s], showed a total disregard for facts and a disrespect for the electoral process and for their viewing audience. That's why viewers were so angry, and it didn't matter whether they were Republican or Democrat or supported Obama or Clinton. Reading through dozens of the comments left on ABC's website: The overriding feeling I got reading them was that viewers felt had. They had tuned in to hear the issues presented and debated. What they got instead was a big f**k you from ABC.
What do you want to bet, however, that ABC treats McCain to a virtual love fest, with a positive spin on trivialities?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BC_B3OBmb0Y&feat...
http://www.americablog.com/2008/04/real-issues-...
You're kidding me right? No one this stupid could exist right? She apparently just got fired from her job and the number 1 priority for her is a fucking flag pin?
.......... This defies normal stupidity. This takes the plane from Stupidville and crash lands into Dumbfuckington with population Nash McCabe (and probably anyone who still thinks Bush is doing a swell job).
And, one might imagine, a price to be paid by the perps other than a pouty Op Ed justification.
Though he's losing his ephebe looks fast, I'd give Stephie a severe tweezing, falsies and an angora sweater and force him to co-host The View for a month at the very least.
The Republicans have TRULY succeeded in dumbing our electorate down to being the most stupid people on earth!
Is it only men who are required to display their patriotism every waking hour?
Why has no one asked Senator Clinton why she doesn't wear one?
Thank you so much for the superb calm and reasoned coverage of the whole sorry mess reagrding ABC,(Disney), Stephanopoulos, and Gibson.
Clearly, the pressure needs to be applied and if need increased until the two goons are fired and ABC-Disney issues a meaningful apology. Anything short of these will surely consign the network to the stinking gutter of political PR agencies along with Fauxnews. People need to boycott Disney products in all areas. Hitting them in the pocketbook will have a much greater effect as they have already shown they have NO moral concerns about what is right or proper. Gibson has always been a spineless milquetoast; Stephanopoulos has always been an untrustworthy weasel. We were all probably partially at fault to think that they would be anything different in such influential positions. It has been encouraging to see how the decent community of real journalists have come out against them and their tawdy work.