California Chooses: Arnold or Mr. Technocrat (unbelievable real headline!)

[Democat]

California Chooses: Arnold or Mr. Technocrat

California's recall election looked too close to call hours from the start of polling on Tuesday in a race for governor in which Republican muscleman-turned-Hollywood-film-star Arnold Schwarzenegger sought to unseat technocrat Democrat Gray Davis.

Polls open at 7 a.m. PDT as Californians decide whether to oust Davis, famous for his lack of charisma and dedication to fund-raising, then pick from an assortment of 135 replacement candidates, including the actor.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=578&e=1&u=/nm/20031007/ts_nm/politics_california_dc

This is the story under the "Top Stories from Reuters" headline on Yahoo.

Can you believe the bullshit the right wing media is pulling to try to get Arnold elected?

[KharmaTrain]

1. I'd Rather See Citizen Kane

I think it was Will Pitt the other day who drew this picture...maybe this is the Arnold Foster Kane version...

There's the Gripinator, Maria and Ahnold' Manager (played by Karl Rove) deciding which headline to print the day after the election.

Now after a weekend of being told that this election is all but a done deal, why bother to vote, are you surprised to see this whore headline?

[Piperay]

2. "Technocrat"????

is that supposed to be a bad thing, they make it sound like it is a dirty word or something. :wtf:

[transeo]

25. From John Saul

and yes, it is meant negatively. John Saul writes extensively about "technocrats" - people who are so specialized in what they do that they have their own vocabulary for their work that excludes others formbeing a part of their group. The use that to keep themselves in their power positions. It is much more complicated than that, but I can't come up with any concise definition. I suggest reading "Voltaire's Bastards" for more information.

I have never seen the word used elsewhere, so I am assuming the reporter means the same thing as Saul.

:hi:

[Piperay]

30. Thanks for that information

I didn't know that, it sure is maddening that they are so blatent with an insult. :argh:

[madmax]

26. Look what they did to Al Gore

He was too 'smart' to be President. We need empty headed, pliable puppets who will do the bidding of big bidness. :mad:

They won't be pushing Wes Clark around, I'd bet my house on that.

[davhill]

32. A cross between a geek and a bureaucrat

Horrors!

[ReadTomPaine]

3. Angry now? Just wait till those are presidential race headlines in '04

In many ways this is a media dry run for the '04 campaign. If progressives win anything like a plurality in government, the lesson should be a revival of the fairness doctrine. I can’t think of a better example of why it’s needed than what we are seeing now. It'll require more than just winning the presidency to get it passed again, however.

[Zhade]

4. This is another piece of the set-up for the blackboxed vote tomorrow.

As sure as the sky is above us and the earth below, this vote is going to be rigged six thousand ways from Sunday.

All of this "too close to call" preconditioning sets the tone that the Reich wants for the aftermath of Project Recall - namely, a general belief that the race will be so close that it will come down to the wire.

We've seen it all before. This will be a repeat in miniature of Coup 2K, with California filling in for Florida. The major difference is the assumed advantage the cabal will wring out of a general "not this nonsense again!" mood among Californians.

The question yet to be determined: will we forget what we learned from the last overthrow?

This election is going to be blackboxed by DREs, tilted by the corporate press, and tweaked through the use of every dirty trick in Nixon's collection. Be prepared for it, because it's going to start coming down hard tomorrow.

Get ready to rumble.

[moondust]

5. Here's a link to send feedback

to a Reuters editor regarding news or photos:

http://reuters-com.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/reuters_com.cfg/php/enduser/site_fdbck.php

[kayell]

7. Thank you for the link

I am sending my message now. I couldn't believe that headline when I saw it. The US media has definately dropped to the old Soviet Pravda level now.

Added: here is my message. "I can not believe the headline - California Chooses: Arnold or Mr. Technocrat - that your staff assigned to your story on the California recall vote. It appears that you are trying to influence the outcome of a state election in your news articles, rather than in an editorial.

Reuters has always had a reputation for choosing non-loaded language in their news reporting. This has in the past given me more reason to trust your organization over other news sources. It appears that the policy against non-loaded language is a thing of the past, and so too is my trust. "

[0rganism]

29. My feedback to the editor...

I rarely write to wire services or editorial boards, but the article regarding the California recall election Reuters apparently snagged from Capitol Blue, originally headlined "California Chooses: Arnold or Mr. Technocrat", is sufficiently biased that even in this age of chartreuse journalism, I'm shocked you'd include it in your lineup.

I'm quite confident that your usually competent editorial staff can go through the article at a later less emotional time and see why language such as "voters jammed polling stations to decide unpopular Gov. Gray Davis's political future" and "Republican muscleman-turned-Hollywood-film-star Arnold Schwarzenegger sought to unseat technocrat Democrat Gray Davis" goes a step beyond the typical role of event reporting. However, on the bright side, you've done wonders to shatter any remainder of the myth of objective reporting, let alone "liberal media". Thanks for putting an editorial on your news page. Next time tell the world how you really feel.

Concernedly yours,
********

[TecnoCrat]

6. I resent that.

Using anything technological as if it were bad or evil on it's face.

Stupid stupid.

And I've been using this name for 5 years now. Theiving bastards.

[newyawker99]

27. Hi TecnoCrat!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[ixion]

8. lack of charisma and dedication to fund-raising??

There's only one person this brings to mind:

[SammyWinstonJack]

31. Right?

Fits him to a tee.

[zanana]

9. Arnold could be recalled in six months.

According to what I read on the CNN "crawl" this morning, a recall can proceed six months after a new governor is elected. As we now know, all it takes is one person with alot of bucks and enough fanatics to sign a petition. The bar has been set very low.

[Democat]

10. From what I read, Arnold can be recalled right away

Only if Davis wins is there a 6 month window - at least that's what some articles have said.

[zanana]

11. Do you mean

If Davis isn't recalled, they can try AGAIN in six months?

[slackmaster]

16. That's correct

[FauxNewsBlues]

12. Correct

If Davis beats the recall, he has a 6 month grace period where a recall can't be tried again. If anybody else wins, a recall petition can be started up the day they are sworn into office.

The other fun fact is that the Sec of State has a month to certify the election.

[demdave]

13. Does that make the Doonesbury petitions invalid??

I saw the Doonesbury cartoon a week before last Sunday that had a recall Arnold petition as the last 2 panels. Are you saying that these will be invalid because they would have all been dated before the election. The language that was used on them even stated that the election had not taken place.

[kskiska]

15. I remember hearing them on TV talking about recalling Davis

just 3 months after he was elected. It seems longer because of the time involved in collecting the signatures, but it was an almost immediate plan after the election.

[TahitiNut]

14. Excellent example of editorial bias and cynicism, imho.

This story originated with (and is copyrighted by) Capitol Hill Blue:

From Capitol Hill Blue

Total Recall
A Recall That's Tough to Call
By GINA KEATING and ADAM TANNER
Oct 7, 2003, 04:32

California's recall election looked too close to call hours from the start of polling on Tuesday in a race for governor in which Republican muscleman-turned-Hollywood-film-star Arnold Schwarzenegger sought to unseat technocrat Democrat Gray Davis.
<snip>
© Copyright 2003 by Capitol Hill Blue

It should be noted that the reporters were balanced, characterizing Schwarzenegger as "muscleman-turned-Hollywood-film-star" and Davis as a "technocrat."

When this is picked up by the Reuters wire service it's mangled,

California Chooses: Schwarzenegger or Mr Technocrat
Tue October 7, 2003 08:18 AM ET
By Adam Tanner and Gina Keating

LOS ANGELES/SACRAMENTO, California (Reuters) - California's recall election looked too close to call hours from the start of polling on Tuesday in a race for governor in which Republican muscleman-turned-Hollywood-film-star Arnold Schwarzenegger sought to unseat Democrat Gray Davis.
<snip>

... where they select the noun-modifier 'technocrat,' prepend it with "Mr." (instead of the honorific "Governor"), and peddle it in the headline. (Design of headlines are an editorial function, not a reporting function.)

On edit: It should be noted that an earlier version peddled by Reuters still had the noun-modifier 'technocrat' in the first paragraph. The editors took another hack at it and released an updated version.

[Kitsune]

17. Gray Davis = Technocrat?

Must be some sort of crazy interConvention rivalry going on out there in Cali, then, because Enron's manipulation of the California energy market is vintage Syndicate.

Well, this headline alone would get me to vote to keep Davis (if I wasn't already there, that is). The Technocracy is sooooooo much more fun to play than the Traditions. XD

[robbedvoter]

18. Next year: Vote: Dubya or slimy Demonrat

Remember: whatever they get away with this time, will be amplified next time.
Found the feedback at reuters.com. This is what I sent:

"California Chooses: Arnold or Mr. Technocrat"

Wow! What a headline!
You forgot to put "Slimy,stiff, unliked" before "Mr Technocrat"
Your objectivity astounds me! I can only picture the headlines next November: "Your choice - God annointed Dubya or some hell spawn Demonrat."... Well, I am sure you don't need my ideas, you seem to be doing fine on your own!

[Tempest]

19. Headline has been changed

New headline: California Race Too Close to Call as Polls Open

[TahitiNut]

21. Watching wire service headlines morph ...

... with each 'revision' of the article is quite interesting. It was particularly interesting, as you and I probably remember on Usenet, to watch AP's headlines change during the Election 2000 Recount debacle. (Hi, Temp! :hi: It's your fault I'm here. ;-))

[Tempest]

22. Yahoo is the worst offender of morphing headlines

It's a good thing Google caches all the web pages. You can go back and watch as Yahoo stories change over time. Quite amusing.

My fault? My fault! You should be thanking me. Hell, everyone should be thanking me!

You've been an excellent source of information and insight. DU is a much more informed place with you here.

BTW, we miss you in the newsgroup. It just hasn't been the same.

[TahitiNut]

23. (grin) Yahoo! seemed to merely pass through the revised headlines.

In the last 2-3 years, I get the sense they might be doing more edition, but once upon a time they responded to my query and claimed they only passed on the headlines as presented by their various feeds.

The most interesting thing about headline composition is it betrays the political bias of the management of the wire service or other source -- since news management (including editors) are who're doing it. What the reporters submit is often mangled by rewrite and editors, often in opposite directions.

Yes, I mostly use Google for news -- I like it better than Yahoo (my 2nd source) or Excite.

Thanks for the kind words -- each DUer will see it from their own perspective and (as I clumsily try to moderate) those perspectives are sure to be quite varied. :silly:

[Snellius]

20. Drudge just linked to this headline:

Drudge's tag is "Judgment Day" and when you click on the link you get "California Chooses: Schwarzenegger or Mr Technocrat". Subtle.

[AntiCoup2K4]

24. Now that's a little odd....

...One might think Drudge was opposing Arnie, with all the mudslinging he's had on his site recently. Guess when it comes right down to it, Mattilda will stick with the 'Puke most likely to steal the election - no matter how unqualified. Kinda like the rest of the GOP establishment in recent years

[Democat]

28. They should say it's Arnold vs. Cruz - the election is not Arnold vs. Gray

The bias in the article, as well as in all of the coverage, is astounding.

The press has treated this like it was Davis against Arnold from day one, even when Cruz was leading the entire field, including Arnold. It's actually rare that they even mention Davis or Cruz by name at all. It's usually all Arnold all the time.

The right wing media has done no less than trying to overturn the last legal election in California.