Having a few hours of spare time...and having been away from ehmac for a while...I thought I'd go back over the thread list to see what had been active while I was away.
One of the threads I took notice of was initated by my old buddy CubaMark, and it noted that the National Post had been the subject of some derision for misquoting a few facts. I was interested by this, since the National Post is, by far, the most popular newspaper on this progressive leftist greenie island. It is usually sold out before noon each day around here BTW.
Interesting thread. A bit slanted by the bitterly dissappointed left. But it was quickly straightened out by cooler minds.... and then died out suddenly.
However...
I noted NOTHING about a MUCH bigger story that occurred at the very same time! One that has dominated the worldwide news media and that has shaken one of the biggest of the US news network offices to it's very core!!
How come no one here mentioned it, I wondered? Why did CubaMark take the time out from his important thesis to start a thread about a minor inaccuracy at the Canadian National Post...while totally ignoring a major scandal about a fake story at the very TOP of one of the most influential American News networks?
Maybe because this major inaccuracy involved a failed attempt to smear the reputation of George W Bush perhaps?
Geee...do ya think?
CBS NEWS, which is totally reponsible for the industry leading "Sixty Minutes"...and which was once known as the "Tiffany Network" by its news peers (for both its far reaching influence and it's unassailable accuracy) ...
CBS NEWS has just summarily FIRED five of it's highest NEWS officials. Including a Vice President, no less!!
And the long-term CBS NEWS anchorman, Dan Rather, has ALSO announced his sudden departure from this former oracle of indisputeable fact.
This is BIG NEWS! Quite a shakeup, indeed!
And all because of a fake story about George W. Bush's military record. One that is now proven to be a total fabrication. But no one at CBS bothered to check on that. They hated George W so much that they were ready to buy into any sort of bad news...no matter how shaky it looked...and were ready to report it as FACT to all of their loyal viewers.
Pretty scary when a trusted news service suspends all reality and publishes what they all WANT to believe, instead of what's real.
And it's pretty sad when some of the most comitted lefties around here instantly buy into this fable and repeat it as factual in order to discredit their hated enemy. And then ignore the real fact that this story has now been exposed as a total lie. And also ignore the fact that the people who published it have now been removed from their jobs for lying.
Best NOT to take time out from one's multi-year "thesis" in order to expose the unprecedented fall from grace of a bunch of committed left/lib news types. Who are, by the by, major players on the world stage. Especially if you've quoted their august scribblings on several occasions here at ehmac as though they were cast in stone. Best just to take a few moments out from this never ending quest for a distant degree to report on a small discrepancy within the upper staff of the National Post...and hope like hell that none of the rest of us actually notice the much bigger story.
Nice try Mark. Too bad it didn't work.
You know...I'd have much more respect for you if you weren't so biased on this, by the way. If you want to make a point about one news groups shortcomings, then you really do need to spend the time to report the other news groups total fabrications and firings. Especially when it's a story that's more than a hundred times bigger. A story that made the headlines all over the planet...and is still shaking up newsrooms all over the world.
This is especially true if you are going to continually use the "thesis" as an excuse for not having "enough time" to reply to threads.
You got time to talk about one...then you CERTAINLY got time to talk about the other! Especially when it's far bigger and more earthshaking!
Choose not to...or use the "thesis" as an excuse...and you will fall into the same sort of irrelevance that many of the CBS NEWS types now find themselves suffering with. A Michael Moore type of limbo, where no one really takes you very seriously anymore...because of the selective reporting of certain facts while ignoring others. Or because of the outright lies.
Try not to fall into that left/lib hole Mark, old buddy. It's a nasty dark place...and there's no real way out, once you are down there. It's permanent. A kind of public exile. No one will take you seriously any more. On any subject.
You don't want to go there.
Trust me on this.
Last edited by MacNutt; Jan 17th, 2005 at 02:46 AM.
If FOX NEWS ever managed to come close to the sort of respect that CBS NEWS used to have amongst the viewing public, then maybe this would be a valid question...
They haven't, they won't and it isn't.
Now..back to the totally disgraced CBS NEWS and how far they have fallen in public opinion...
One of the threads I took notice of was initated by my old buddy CubaMark, and it noted that the National Post had been the subject of some derision for misquoting a few facts. I was interested by this, since the National Post is, by far, the most popular newspaper on this progressive leftist greenie island. It is usually sold out before noon each day around here BTW.
Sold out by noon? Anecdotal evidence of a few issues being sold out does not really prove anything. I think that a study on the absorbency of the rag and its effectiveness as fish wrapping might go just as far in explaining its popularity.
As for misquoting a few facts...well, that surely pales to deliberately changing words to mislead readers:
Would that be the National Post's former medical reporter Brad Evenson who made up fictional people, quotes and sources for his stories?
Or would it be The National Post's former columnist Elizabeth Nickson who was twice caught plagarizing columnists from other publications?
Or perhaps the National Post's former "gossip" columnist Gillian Cosgrove who made "a number of fundamental errors and intentional misrepresentations" to suggest an between GG Adrienne Clarkson and Iceland's ambassador to Canada?
MacNutt, when it comes to credibility....
First, it is 4, not 5 that were fired.
And CBS did some self-correcting, I'd like to see some right-wing windbags do the same...
The report took a rather hard look at CBS news and it's conclusions were fair.
That said, yes, you are right, we should of given this more attention.
That said, yes, you are right, we should of given this more attention.
well, i say could have and not should have.
this is the "everything else" forum on a canadian mac users message board. why is it a given that we should drop everything to discuss uninteresting news at cbs?
it's a shame they didn't check their facts before going public with the story. however, i understand how it is in the news world where everyone fights to be the first to break a story. they erred here, and i am not suggesting that their lack of backing up of facts should be overlooked. personally, i would have loved to see gw go down in flames. perhaps all this about "faked reports" is the cover up of all cover ups from the white house. who knows?
my point, and i do have one, is that you've brought it up now, and we can discuss it, but why the big deal about not having brought it up until now?
Getting a little nasty, today, Gerry. Wake up on the wrong side of the island?
Quote:
And all because of a fake story about George W. Bush's military record. One that is now proven to be a total fabrication.
Huh. And all along I thought that the hubbub was about the inability to confirm the authenticity of the documents, not that they have been proven to be fakes. I'll have a look around to see what's out there.
Sorry that I didn't have time to cover every single incident that you found important last year. CBS News is not very high on my radar - they're just one more of the corporate news rags that rarely bother to investigate anymore - and when they do, they screw it up.
What I find hilarious are the righties out there who wave the flag and talk about "honour" and "duty" - and these are the guys who are so solidly behind that son of privilege, he who avoided the war with family / political connections, he who paid little more than lip service to his "duty" in the Guard. The word "hypocritical" comes to mind.
I shall endeavour in the future to more rapidly address the issues that trouble your mind. The thesis is finished. Are you ready for this?
Fake Story?
Bush & Texas Air National Guard
Linear Mode
