Did anyone see Richard Perle on "The Lehrer Newshour" last night

[coalition_unwilling]

on PBS? I am really upset at Margaret Warner (the moderator's) behavior. During a point-counterpoint on Iran between Perle and Morton Halperin (of Nixon's NSC fame), Perle said Seymour Hersh had published numerous inaccurate things recently and Warner just let this slander on one of her journalistic colleagues go completely unremarked.

I had long ago decided never to contribute again to the Pentagon Broadcasting Service, after the way they shamelessly joined the drumbeat for war (with the exception of "NOW with Bill Moyers"), and have already let my local affiliate (KCET in Los Angeles) know in no uncertain terms during those interminable fund drives.

So calling them to say I'm boycotting, while emotionally cathartic, may not be particularly effective. Anyone have any good strategies for battling PBS when they allow Seymour Hersh to be so vilely slandered by one of the war criminals?

[stubtoe]

1. Warner is a suck-up to the Right.

[Supersedeas]

22. That's my impression too.

[rodeodance]

2. pass your comments onto MediaMatters

[coalition_unwilling]

3. To what end? Not saying I won't, just not sure what good it will do (eom)

[TexasLawyer]

4. Hersh got the major goods on Richard Perle

Perle is mad that he was outed as a cold-blooded, traitorous war-profiteer.

Read this if you haven't already. It's absolutely mind-blowing!


LUNCH WITH THE CHAIRMAN
Why was Richard Perle meeting with Adnan Khashoggi?
by SEYMOUR M. HERSH
Issue of 2003-03-17
Posted 2003-03-10


http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/?030317fa_fact

[coalition_unwilling]

7. Oh, wow, I had totally forgotten that. Thanks for reminding me

It was absolutely incredible watching Warner just let Perle sit there and slander Hersh. The guy has won a Pulitzer Prize, for chrissakes. That used to mean something in the journalism world.

Halperin was great, altho my wife said he looked\sounded like Mr. McGoo. I thought he would take at least one shot at BFEE warrantless wiretapping (given his experiences on Kissinger's NSC), but no dice. He came across as serious and incredibly responsible, nonetheless. I almost thought he was itching to call the nuclear option "nuts."

[CatWoman]

16. why don't you send Warner an email?

[coalition_unwilling]

18. Awesome suggestion. I think I'll do that right now, while I'm hot!

Not that it will make one iota of difference, other than catharsis.

[CatWoman]

19. yeah

but It will make you feel better!! :hi:

[Wetzelbill]

11. I was just going to say that

Perle threatened to sue Sy and everything, which he never did because he would have gotten laughed at of court. He said Sy was the "closest thing American journalism has to a terrorist." Something like that. He got caught with his hand in the cookie jar and doesn't exactly like the guy who caught him. Pretty childish, in all honesty. :)

[Demit]

5. I think of NewsHour as being a lost cause. I don't bother to watch anymore

My dogs run under the sofa when I scream at the tv. I think of Jim Lehrer, Margaret Warner, and Jeffrey I forget his name as just being helpless hostages to the Republican PBS coup. (Gwen Awful being an eager collaborator.) I think they are under STRICT instruction to not challenge the administration types. It's a shame. Maybe the coup will end before they retire, and they can go back to being inquiring journalists again.

[Owlet]

6. It beats me...

..why PBS is so enamored of Richard Perle. There are any number of legitimate spokesmen for his side, and why Lehrer and Warner keep trotting out this weasly neocon is just one of a number of reasons why I no longer contribute to PBS or, for that matter, watch the New Hour every night. Too bad. There was a time not too long ago when it was the best source of news on TV. Now it's one of the worst.

[Armstead]

8. I think you're giving her a bum rap

I think she's a good news inerviewer.

It's not her job to argue with guests. We've been so conditioned by the "personality interviewers" that it may seem like a reporter is not doing their job if they don't argue with guests.

Suppose the guest had been a lefty who said "It is clear that Sadaam did not have significant WMD's" would you want her to attack him with right-wing spin?

[coalition_unwilling]

9. They never have "lefty[s]" on the show, so I'm not sure

the hypothetical is a propos. Don't you think a journalist, acting professionally, would have stopped Perle in his tracks and said words to this effect: "You've alleged that Hersh has published inaccuracies. Could you please give us an example?"

How is that "arguing" with a guest? Make no mistake about it, Perle slandered Hersh and Warner let it happen. Absolutely shameful.

[Tracer]

15. That's a ridiculous statement. (No "lefties").

In EVERY segment where there are talking heads, one is ALWAYS from the LEFT and one is ALWAYS from the RIGHT.

Apparently you don't watch the show very often.

(I couldn't stomach the sight of Perle, and didn't watch that particular segment).

[coalition_unwilling]

17. Not sure if you're being ironic or serious. The last time

I saw a "lefty" on "The Newshour" was, ironically, another apperance by Richard Perle when he appeared opposite Jodi Evans of Code Pink. She fed Perle a shit sandwich --beautiful to watch. Most of the time, the commentators are hard-right and moderate-right, certainly not left wing.

I watch almost every night, altho I've started screaming at the TV so much that my wife won't let me watch it as much.

[Armstead]

20. I'll agree that the choice of guests is too narrow

They do hve the occasional progressive on, but for the most part, their idea of "left" is mildly left of center.

However, I stand by my defense of her. If the interview had been about Sy Hersch's record as a reporter, you'd have a point. However they were talking about large policy issues. It would be a diversion and a waste of time to make it into the fued between Pearl and Hersch.

[coalition_unwilling]

24. Heard on Randi Rhodes yesterday that Perle was out

yesterday on other talk shows continuing the slander of Hersh, although I didn't hear or see any of them myself. Perle may be BFEE's designated hitter for this issue.

[xchrom]

10. pbs doesn't have real, in your face, well informed

leftist commentators/journalists,policy wonks on their program.

no mass media outlet that i know of does.

you have NOW with david brancacio and democracy now and that's about it.

[coalition_unwilling]

12. Yes, I agree. My point, though, is that slander is slander

and you would think that professional journalists owe a colleague (who has won the Pulitzer Prize, for chrissakes) the courtesy of defending them against slander. It was absolutely incredible watching Perle's simpering smirking slander. I've seldom seen anything like it on PBS before.

[Wetzelbill]

13. she's ok, it's just that most people who conduct

interviews nowadays are benign. At least most people who actually consider themselves journalists. These moderators don't get into arguments like that. I think they shouldn't necessarily, but if they are chairing an interview between two sides they should have the expertise to call bullshit when someone says something like Perle did. A classic example I always utilize is in Fall 2004, John McCain was on Face The Nation and Bob Schieffer asked him if Saddam had anything to do with 9-11. McCain said we didn't know yet. Ok, saying that was so ridiculous, either McCain was lying to protect Bush during the election, or he was so ignorant about the situation he didn't even know. Bob Schieffer should have challenged that, I know I nearly went through the roof at home watching. Well, Scheef just nodded dumbly at him and moved on. Later on I heard Scheef on some late night talk show, saying that sometimes politicians lie when he is interviewing them and it makes him mad, but as a journalist he keeps his emotions in check and moves on. I was like "WTF?" When somebody lies, it isn't their job to move on, it's their job to call them on it and get the truth. Well, that's the mentality they all have nowadays. To a lot of these reporters, journalism is glancing at a few polls and sitting around with other "journalists" and talking about this stuff. It's not about giving tough interviews or digging for facts, it's pretty toothless nowadays.

[coalition_unwilling]

14. Yes, I agree with your assessments, but to allow

slander of a Pulitzer-prize winning journalist to go unchecked seems to me to signal the absolute nadir of American journalism. Friggin' unbelievable. It was so bad I kept half-expecting Halperin to say something in Hersh's defense. Interview ended before Warner had a chance to get his take on Perle's slander.

[Jim Warren]

21. Tar me and feather me,

Tar me and feather me,
take my girl
I never voted for Richard Perle.....


http://www.yikesmcgee.com/PNAC%20lyrics.htm

[wordpix]

23. Frontline will have "Inside the Iraq Insurgency" next week

PBS has some very good programs. Margaret Warner is not the best interviewer in the world. I prefer Olbermann. Let's see Olbermann ask Perle some questions next time.

[coalition_unwilling]

25. Yeah, I saw that Frontline special the first time it aired. It was

awesome reportage. I don't have cable, so I'm not sure I've ever seen Olbermann, although I know the name.

I say we need a forum where Hersh and Perle go head to head. That would be something to see. Maybe Jodi Evans (of Code Pink) could moderate :)