What the hell is wrong with Howie Kurtz?

[CatWoman]

He's cranking out good stories lately -- specifically, blowing the whistle on paid journalists shilling for *.

What the hell happened?

[meegbear]

1. The WH must have cut him off the payroll.

[KarenS]

7. My thoughts exactly !!

or he found out the others were making more than him !!!!

[FrenchieCat]

9. Doesn't his wife work or worked

for the Bush admin.....

Thought I read that somewhere.

[meegbear]

11. She worked on ahnold's gov campaign

not sure if she's doing anything with *.

[RaleighNCDUer]

22. Maybe she had an encounter with the Gropenator

and it pissed Howie off.

[pmbryant]

2. Normal for him to do this kind of thing periodically

But he inevitably lapses into his normal state of uselessness.

:shrug:

--Peter

[cally]

12. Hi Peter

I haven't seen you post much lately. I hope all is well with you.

[pmbryant]

16. Hi cally

Been posting periodically, but mostly down in the Science forum. All is well.

Hope the same for you.

:hi:

Peter

[moggie12]

3. I think many in the media are finally waking up

For one thing, Bush's Inaugural speech scared everybody half to death. For example, Chris Matthews has been very outspoken lately regarding Iraq. It may take a little time, but I'm hoping they're finally realizing that "the emperor has no clothes".

[Warren Stupidity]

5. yeah now that its safe

and the selection is over they are exercising a little bit 'off the leash'. But they will all be back on message shilling for the right while posing as 'libruls' as soon as the '06 campaign begins.

When I start hearing Chrissy-boy calling * a liar, or otherwise irrevocably committing himself to the opposition, I'll reconsider. Meanwhile he is just another sycophant shilling for the state.

Watch how the Iraqi-election narrative goes. If the MSM lines up on 'its a great success, the dawn of freedom in Iraq' you will know that they are all still blowing it out their prodigious asses.

[moggie12]

13. Okay, I admit I'm pretty naive in general, BUT:

I honestly think the media people are not as "corporate-controlled" as everybody thinks (quit snickering). I swear, I really think this whole country has been in a mass state of hysteria and delusion since 9/11, specifically encouraged and abetted by Bush, Rove and the GOP RW nuts. They've used a bunch of flag-waving patriotic hoo-haa to convince everyone their "pro-USA, bomb the bad guys" stuff is the way to go.

I honestly, truly think Chris Matthews suddenly woke up and saw the light when he heard Bush's Inaug speech. I was watching the Inaug coverage and he literally looked pale and shaken. It's not surprising that the media is whooping it up with the election coverage (after all, it is pretty brave of any poor target-on their-head Iraqis to even THINK of going to the polls). We'll see what happens after Sunday.

In the meantime, I'm on a quixotic quest to try to influence the media, specifically targeting Tweety since I really do think he might be "turning around".

I have this feeling you think this is a waste of time, but in case your open to something like this, here's a post I wrote earlier today asking people to write to Tweety to ask him to focus on the neocons and PNAC during his Iraqi election coverage:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x1541363

[Warren Stupidity]

18. its worth a shot (nt)

[moggie12]

20. That's the spirit -- give the post a kick if you can???

Three people said they'd do it -- need about a 100 or so more.......

[Zhade]

21. Please read The Daily Howler, especially the archives.

This stuff has been going on since way before 9/11, and oh yes, the media is VERY corporate-controlled. Don't believe me? Just look at the tiny handful of companies that own the media in the U.S.

[moggie12]

23. oh yeah, I wasn't saying it's not corporate controlled

It certainly is and the consolidation in recent years has had horrendous consequences. Forget about incluencing Sinclair and the ones like that, but AOL/TW, GE, e.g., give a lot of leeway to their media outlets on content. That's where we still can have impact.

[jrthin]

6. If I were you,

I wouldn't hold my breath. The corporate media is so corrupt, there is no saving it. It has to be destroyed. I think some bait and switch stuff is going on.

[KittyWampus]

4. It's One Method Of Maintaining A Veneer Of Crediblity.

[grasswire]

8. His wife's job is payola?

Think about it. That would be an excellent way for the WH to pay journos off. Everyone's spouse in D.C. works for lobbyists or think tanks or whatever.

Someone needs to start looking at that aspect.

[cybildisobedience]

10. Excellent point!

If money coming into a househould (via spouse's salary) is from a Republican source, isn't it natural to assume that the other spouse wouldn't want to jeopardize that cash stream?
And as much as I'm glad this payola practice is getting some exposure, who is Kurtz to be pointing an accusing finger? Isn't he just as guilty for feasting on the bounty from the Republican cash machine?

[CatWoman]

14. hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

you are wise, grasshopper!!! :D

[FrenchieCat]

15. That's what I am thinking....

He's keeping us Strung out, sorta speak...while the wife continues to pass GO and continues to collect GOP Cash.

Maybe he is just rehabilitating himself for the time being, to avert eyes from staring too much at his own portfolio (he who screams the loudest, may scream to divert attention from himself).

After he lulls us into a false sense of comfort.....he'll be making that U-turn again....on that, you can bet the house.

[GalleryGod]

17. Maybe A Twofer? Maybe he's Dying?

:evilgrin:

[Vinnie From Indy]

19. To me it is very similar to Herpes

Once you got it, it ain't goin' away. Kurtz is a media whore plain and simple. One can only hope history accurately records the almost wholesale abandonment of journalistic ethics by vast swaths of the media and the media "elite" in America. I, for one, will never forget people like Matthews, Russert, Kurtz, Judith Miller and their ilk. Guys like PigBoy Oxy-Rush Limbaugh and the other hate radio jerk-wads are actually more tolerable than the above mentioned group because those folks are up front about their political leanings. Kurtz is an insidious evil because he still has a very thin veneer of credibility as being an honest broker of news, which he is not by a long shot.

[VolcanoJen]

24. Oh c'mon. Give the guy a chance to become a RW shill again!

Ye of little faith, Catwoman! He was practically peeing himself about Clinton vs. Bush Presidential Library coverage only eight weeks ago...

http://mediamatters.org/archives/search.html?string=howard+kurtz