AP wakes up in middle of speech to produce headline
I was able to listen to nearly all of Bush's speech in Philidelphia today. He took the time to explain the entire process since Saddam was toppled including the times when the Iraqis wanted things done differently and the US revised their plan. While I am sure there will be rebuttal to various aspects of the speech by those on the opposite side of the aisle, I was shocked when I saw the headline the AP put on the story covering the speech. Due to a 1 line piece of information given in the speech, AP titled their story:
There is freedom of speech and freedom of the press in this country, so the AP can do as they wish. That does not mean that such mean-spirited, out of touch, partisanship in a news source that I am sure would claim to be objective is immune from the disdain they deserve. This line could have been quoted in the story, but to bypass 99.9% of the theme of the speech in order to make an anti-war statement in the title leaves AP clueless and grasping for any remaining credibility they have so squandered away over the years.
Bush Estimates That 30,000 Iraqis Killed
There is freedom of speech and freedom of the press in this country, so the AP can do as they wish. That does not mean that such mean-spirited, out of touch, partisanship in a news source that I am sure would claim to be objective is immune from the disdain they deserve. This line could have been quoted in the story, but to bypass 99.9% of the theme of the speech in order to make an anti-war statement in the title leaves AP clueless and grasping for any remaining credibility they have so squandered away over the years.
posted by All_I_Can_Stands @ 2:31 PM
4 Comments:
At 3:49 PM,
LA Sunset said…
The media is the media. Since the days of Nixon, they have felt a sense of empowerment that has caused them to develop an overly collective ego. They justify their actions and reactions with the principle of "as long as it's true, it's okay to publish it. It's nothing more than a feeble attempt to manipulate the populace.
Those that are weak-minded will buy whatever they say, but those that understand it, won't be swayed.
Several years ago I worked for the state, in middle management. I was privy to a lot of information. One situation got some media attention, I participated in the intitial internal investigation. I read all of the media accounts of what transpired, but what they reported was not what transpired. The headline was true, but everything else was written by someone that listened to the wrong sources. So the vast majority of what was being printed was hearsay and poor quality hearsay, at that.
So anything they have to say at this point of my life, I always consider suspect. It may be true, it may not.
But more than anything, the primary motive behind anything the media does, always has been and always will be, sales. If it bleeds, it leads. They will do anything to get you to buy, listen to, or watch whatever they have to offer. Distorted headlines is the oldest trick in the book, to do just that.
Good job, sir.
At 5:04 PM,
All_I_Can_Stands said…
I can acknowledge what you are saying intellectually, but inwardly I can never come to grips with either purposeful distortion or extreme negligence or laziness. I am one who hungers for knowledge I can trust. It is frustrating to go through life picking through a pile of garbage to find nuggets of truth.
"But more than anything, the primary motive behind anything the media does, always has been and always will be, sales."
As I have posted many times, you would think that sales were their primary motive. However, in the last few years I question if sales are their primary motive since they say things that hurt their sales so often.
Thanks for your continued interest and support.
At 6:14 PM,
LA Sunset said…
"It is frustrating to go through life picking through a pile of garbage to find nuggets of truth."
That's precisely how the prospectors of old had to pan for gold. Unfortunately, that's what he we have to do with news, but you are smart enough to know BS when you here it.
"Thanks for your continued interest and support."
You are welcome. Thanks for putting out good stuff.
At 6:16 PM,
LA Sunset said…
Correction. It should read: ....to know BS when you HEAR it.
(Brain is fried this time of evening.)
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