Now THIS is journalism. No mention of Magic Eric's bullet

[Cetacea]

LAS VEGAS (AP) — "Tea party" activists want to turn conservative anger over the health care overhaul into political muscle in November elections as they call thousands to the hardscrabble desert town that is home to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

Sarah Palin is headlining the event Saturday in Searchlight, about 60 miles from Las Vegas, and a strong turnout could help affirm the popularity of the loosely organized tea party movement and build momentum against Reid and other Democratic candidates who backed health care reform.

America's media will be focused on the former mining town, sending images across the country. Some worry it has the potential for violence: Bricks have been hurled through Democrats' windows and at least 10 members of Congress who voted for the bill have received threats. In the run-up to the health care vote, racial epithets aimed at black members of Congress were heard at protests attended by at least some tea party members..."

Full story,USA Today:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-03-27-tea-party-rally_N.htm?csp=24&RM_Exclude=Juno

[Demit]

1. Very standard journalism as it's practiced today, I'm afraid.

"...as they call thousands to the hardscrabble desert town..."

"'You can plan a rally for 5,000 people...'"

"The crowd at the so-called conservative Woodstock could exceed Searchlight's under-1,000 population by tenfold..."




Lots of conditionals in there. Not facts, but look how determined the writer is in planting numbers of strength in your mind. Two things he did get right:

"No one is certain how many people will show up..."

But

"America's media will be focused on the former mining town, sending images across the country."

[rfranklin]

2. and those images will be carefully edited so as not to reveal...

how pitifully small this astroturf operation really is.

[Cetacea]

3. The article nails the Tea Party's voilence and threats

It doesn't dilute the past week's event's with Cantor's mostly successful attempt of taking airtime away from what these creeps have been doing.

[Demit]

4. You are so focused on what the piece doesn't do that you miss what it is doing.

Which is full-scale hyping of the tea party's importance.


You are clinging to the article's not mentioning Cantor's claim of vandalism as proof that it is 'real journalism'. But why would it? Cantor's ridiculous claim was disproved before this article was even written.
And what would airtime have to do with a newspaper piece anyway?

Real journalism, in contemplating possible attendance of this event, would be sticking to reporting what the organizers hoped to get and that's all. This writer goes far beyond that.

It's something, but it ain't journalism.

[Cetacea]

5. It's quite factual, actually.

A few things: I am a huge media critic/observer. I am disgusted with the long-ago blurred line between journalism and editorializing, between equal time and it's abuse. Which brings me to Cantor. His story was meant to be a distraction by shrewdly calculating that media would be forced to not only run with it, but give it equal time despite the fact that his alleged incident was only one instance brought upon only one republican.

The writer does calculate that major media will be paying close attention to any references to violence and so forth. I do not see how that paints the tea partiers in anything but a negative light. And it is true that major media WILL be looking for that type of behavior.

While I appreciate your observations regarding the story, I feel that you underestimate the importance of the Cantor effect. This is the only story I have come across all week that doesn't mention him, no less lead with him.

I am sorry that I did not put "air time" in quotes or add "as a manner of speaking".

[Demit]

6. The Cantor story was disproved by the time this story was written, therefore, no relevance.

That's why it doesn't mention him. The Cantor story was over. Because it had been discredited, there was nothing about it to say.


Air time is not 'a manner of speaking' for print inches. It is a different medium entirely. Cable bloviators are different from print reporters. You as a huge media critic should understand that.

[Cetacea]

7. And it continues to be reported on, and will be on Sunday

Look, I am not here to go anal on fellow dems.