I'm dedicating this post to newer DU members and those who have only recently begun following the events of the past four years...Hannah Storm tells Michael Moore journalists try to tell both sides of the story?
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=1888271I find it interesting that many facets of the media are going after Moore on this - as though they are offended at Moore's "attack on the president and his policies."
Where were these howls of protest when Richard Melon Scaife (
http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1998/04/27/scaife.profile/) payed hit men like David Brock to write lies about Bill Clinton (lies Brock later recanted in his book "Blinded By The Right."?) (
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1400047285/ref=pd_pym_ka//104-4632295-0321523?v=glance)
Where were they when nationally syndicated columnist Ann Coulter wrote that she didn't know what was best for Bill Clinton - impeachment or assassination?
Where were they when bestselling rightwing book after bestselling rightwing book openly cozied up to the legacy of Joseph McCarthy, called Democrats "treasonous" and put liberalism on equal footing with terrorism and despotism?
Where was the so-called "liberal media" (what a fucking joke!) when thousands of African American voters were disenfranchised in Florida during the 2000 election?
The media has so betrayed the American people that listening to a representative of one like Hannah Storm of CBS News lecture Michael Moore about giving both sides of the story is lunacy.
Who can forget that MSNBC canceled "Donahue," not for bad ratings as they claimed, but because a study they conducted revealed Donahue presented a "difficult public face for NBC in a time of war......He seems to delight in presenting guests who are anti-war, anti-Bush and skeptical of the administration's motives." The report went on to outline a possible nightmare scenario where the show becomes "a home for the liberal antiwar agenda at the same time that our competitors are waving the flag at every opportunity."?
http://www.allyourtv.com/0203season/news/02252003donahue.htmlWho can forget that CNN's top war correspondent and respected journalist Christiane Amanpour, during the Iraq war, said: ""I think the press was muzzled, and I think the press self-muzzled. I'm sorry to say, but certainly television and, perhaps, to a certain extent, my station was intimidated by the administration and its foot soldiers at Fox News. And it did, in fact, put a climate of fear and self-censorship, in my view, in terms of the kind of broadcast work we did."
http://www.usatoday.com/life/columnist/mediamix/2003-09-14-media-mix_x.htmDriving this point home, how about this: As the Iraq war started, CNN moved the retooled political debate show, Crossfire, to 4:30 - safely out of it's prime time slot of 7PM and effectively ensuring working Americans couldn't see the show.
This was a blow to those who "prefer both sides of the story" because Crossfire features (on the "left") former Clinton campaign gurus James Carville and Paul Begala. They're sort of the anti-Bill Press and Alan Colmes if you know what I mean!
Before Crossfire was moved out of prime time, interesting enough, the April 15, 2002 edition of US News and World Report reported Republicans were blackballing the show - refusing to appear as guests!
Hmmm...
And who can forget Peter Arnett, who won a Pulitzer Prize reporting in Vietnam for The Associated Press, and garnered much of his prominence from covering the 1991 Gulf War for CNN, and was fired for simply saying "the American-led coalition's war plan had failed because of Iraq's resistance and said strategists are "trying to write another war plan."" ?
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&safe=off&q=Peter+Arnett+fired&spell=1Don't remember those stories? It's probably because the media refused to give "both sides of the story!"
Now, in my city, a popular Top40 radio station has stated they intend to post a rebuttal to Fahrenheit 911 on their website. Think they're pissed that Moore confirmed to us that Brittney Spears is, indeed, a ditz?