Lazy Media Bastards
Friday, August 07, 2009
Or, maybe I should say lazy Bloggers. We had a good discussion over on Mr. F's site about media bias. One thing we did agree on was that the media could be really lazy at times and just not put forth any effort at corrobarating a story. While checking out one of the blogs I frequent, Boing Boing, I came across this article: Former French President says Bush invaded Iraq to thwart Gog and Magog's apocalyptic mission. Despite Bush's antics and BS reasons for going to war, my BS detector was going overtime. I wasn't the only one. Boing Boing's commenters tend to mostly be from the left and not fans of Bush, so if they are skeptical, then I had to pause.
It turns out that this was the first time this story was presented. Daily Kos ran the same story back in May. While reading the comments in another thread, I came across a post of the source article, a French University news magazine (here is the English tranlation). From what I gather, the author talks about a man that was contacted by another group that said former French President Chirac contacted them with an inquiry about Gog and Magog, which deals with some kind of prophecy from the Book of Ezekiel.
Kos and Boing Boing have interpreted this inquiry to mean (from Kos):
This is a distinct case of Bush referencing Biblical End-of-Days prophecies as a rationale for war in the Middle East. Stated to another head of state, no less.
It is? We have hearsay within hearsay and the best I can tell is that Bush may have made this case, but we don't really know. I think it is safe to assume that Gog and Magog came up somewhere in the conversation, but we don't know the context, nor do we have any statements from anyone that was art of the actual discussion. I know that Kos and Boing Boing aren't the MSM, but (in the case of Kos) some are often quoted by other news sources and bloggers are becoming major sources of news for many people.
I guess it wouldn't be fair to say either of those sources are biased, but I think it is reasonable to say they are lazy. Kudos to the other lazy bastards in the media that had the good sense to avoid this story.
11 comments:
As a preemptive measure, I know there are plenty of lazy bastards in the right wing media. I could post a link to every single story from WorldNutDaily and it would be fair to say they are lazy. I picked the Kos and Boing Boing story because I just read it.
Um. I cannot get riled up about this because I know Kos kinda sucks.
That said, I don't see him as "media". I see that as a place where liberals go to congregate, just like Red State. If a liberal goes to Kos and then actually repeats something he read there as fact, he deserves to be considered a fool. Kos is not, and should not be a single source of information.
That said, the difference between sites like Red State or Kos and a network like FOX is that Red State and Kos really don’t pretend to be anything other than a source of biased information. Fox on the other hand, pretends to be unbiased, which is why people call them liars.
I do agree with Mr. Furious statement that Fox is biased and the rest are lazy. Talking to “both” sides is lazy media. Both sides? What about a third side? What about the factual side?
Yep. Generally speaking, the MSM is made up of lazy people who aren’t that bright.
Case in point:
From time to time I have worked the press for a politician or two. My goal when I contacted print media, wasn’t to get them to publish A story, my goal was to get the lazy asses to publish the story I wrote vertbatim. (With the exception of their name on it.) It happens. Sometimes, I even took the photos. The bigger papers were less likely to do this, but often their stories read a lot like my release.
Speaking of Kos... did you know that continents rest on tectonic plates? And that those plates drift? And that at one point there was one super-continent (we'll call it "all-Earth", or "Pangea" for short)?
If you knew these things, you would be a minority within the Republican Party.
You can't make this stuff up.
My goal when I contacted print media, wasn’t to get them to publish A story, my goal was to get the lazy asses to publish the story I wrote vertbatim.
Ah, memories. I actually made the front page of the Saline Reporter and the Chelsea Standard. I did not receive a print credit. Lazy AND stingy bastards.
BTW- Never congratulated BMac on the wedding. I heard it was a good time.
Bob, I don't see them as the same as Fox, CNN, or MSNBC, but the fact is that many people get their news from sources like this.
Fox is biased and the rest of the media is just lazy? Do you really believe that the only example of bias in the media is Fox? If so, then I don't agree. Do you think it could possibly be a matter of perspective? How much news on Fox do you watch? Like I said before, the non-commentary news on Fox seems pretty factual to me. Once you get into the evening shows (Hannity and O'Reilly) you have more commentary and opinions, but I don't think anyone thinks they are unbiased.
Personally, I don't think it is possible to be completely unbiased. The best you can do is to get your news from a variety of sources, in the hope you get a complete picture.
You can't make this stuff up.
It is from a Kos poll, so I wouldn't doubt they made it up.
BTW, congrats on the wedding.
"Do you really believe that the only example of bias in the media is Fox?"
No just the worst, most hateful example. That said, I forgot to mention MSNBC, which is a close second in the bias factor. I think they realized that Fox was onto something, making money off a targeted audience and realized they could do the same on the left.
No just the worst, most hateful example.
Fair enough. I don't know that I agree, but I think one can make a good argument, especially now that moron Glenn Beck has a show.
You know, there really might be a difference, it seems that Fox is now acting as a political organizer. That would be a new wrinkle.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32338375/ns/politics-the_new_york_times/
Steves,
There's been ample documentation of orders from on high to present stories as favorable to Republicans as possible at FOX. In many cases they are not even shy about the fact that they are actively trying to counterbalance the percieved liberal bias of the rest of the media.
Your supposed "Straight" newscasters are reading carefully framed scripts with pics over their shoulder misidentifying wayward Republicans as Democrats. They are often licensed to editorialize or add their own chuckling comments at the end of segments...occassionaly this swings the other way (I'm thinking Shep Smith) but in 99% of cases FOX can be relied on for the GOP party line.
It gets worse on Sunday mornings, ridiculous on weekday mornings, and downright insane once it hits prime time.
MSNBC certainly has partisans like Olbermann and Maddow, but I'd argue both stick closer to the truth than the average FOX anchor, never mind pundit. And neither is afraid to call their own party or PResident to the mat.
MSNBC also gives ample airtime to Scarborough, Buchanan and a host of other conservatives and treats them far differently than, say, Alan Colmes.
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