August 21, 2009
Pressure Mounts Against MSNBC's Faked Racial Conspiracy
By now you've all heard about how MSNBC doctored video in order to push the fabricated narrative that open carry advocates at health care events were racially motived. MSNBC had tightly cropped an African-American open carry advocate with a Carbon-15 rifle slung over his shoulder so that you could not see his race, in order to argue that "white people showing up with guns" brought racial overtones to these protests.
Americans for Limited Government called for those involved in "a blatantly racist broadcast" to be fired on Tuesday, at which point MSNBC offered a pathetically weak non-apology attempting to claim that they were talking open carry advocates generally, even though the shot was focused on the carefully cropped image of an African American man the majority of the time.
Brent Bozell of the Media Resource Center added his thoughts today, stating that MSNBC must apologize for fomenting racial discord:
"This goes beyond 'sloppy' reporting by MSNBC. This was a deliberate effort to brand conservatives as racists – and now as violent racists."Since the beginning of the presidential campaign, this so-called 'news' network has tried desperately to convince viewers that opposition to Barack Obama must be race-based. Now they are actually producing deliberately misleading stories to push that agenda. As a 'news' network, MSNBC is a disgrace.
"MSNBC owes this man and the tens of thousands of protestors a public apology. It should also extend that apology to its tens of thousands of viewers."
MSNBC is guilty of attempting to incite racial strife. They obviously hoped find some sort of political silver lining in labeling opponents as white racists, even when those that oppose them are black.
I do think Bozell must have misstated MSNBC's appeal, however.
Do they really have tens of thousands of viewers?
Bozell is counting all the masochistic, conservative bloggers who tune in to MSNBC so as not to miss the next big FUBAR train wreck.
Otherwise, it would be in the twos of thousands.
Posted by: armadillo at August 21, 2009 02:29 PMWhat is the next rock bottom the media will hit?
Posted by: usinkorea at August 21, 2009 02:47 PMIn this day and age; what with the electronic blogging "media" on board, it's ridiculous to even think you might get away with such an incredible scam. Heads should roll; but, they won't.
Posted by: Dell at August 21, 2009 04:22 PMMSNBC has tens of viewers, I think he meant.
Tens of viewers, whose lips move when they read stop signs.
Posted by: JIm at August 21, 2009 05:12 PMI don't understand it, either. It's as mind boggling as it is shameful that MSNBC would try to pass such tripe off as "news".
What's REALLY mind boggling to me is that when you look at who owns what in America, it appears as if ALL of the big media outlets are owned by corporations that one would think would not approve of the dissemination of such garbage as the so called news story in question.
Furthermore, it seems as if they intentionally want to distract the American public by playing pitting us against each other, liberal vs conservative, for example.
Here's a link that shows the ownership of the MSM outlets in our country:
http://la.indymedia.org/news/2003/04/47530_comment.php
To be fair, the info to be found at the above page seems to have been put together by a Bush basher. That doesn't make the ownership information any less true, much of which can be referenced from this page:
http://www.cjr.org/resources/
I encourage people to do their research so that we can discover exactly what a tangled web has been woven in regards to who actually controls the media in this country.
Thank God for the internet! I quit watching television years ago. Don't miss it a bit, either. Still, one must be diligent in one's search for the truth among the millions of websites that offer "news". Most of the internet "news" sites also have an agenda other than simply reporting the facts. Nevertheless, I feel that I have a better chance of finding the facts on the net than I do by watching so called "news" on television.
I start with the premise that they all are lying to me, both liberal and conservative 'news' sites. Then, it's MY responsibility to do my best to sort out the truth the best that I can. It's not a task for the timid or the lazy.
As for the people who are responsible for this edited MSNBC footage in question and the talking heads who implied that this guy was a white racist, off with their heads, the lot of them!
In case there's any doubt in anyone's mind that this film was doctored, you can see CNN footage showing the same gentleman, clearly a black man:
Go to the well known tube site and enter this phrase:
man carrying guns at presidential event
Bottom line, my opinion: It's foolish to open carry guns to political protests, legal or not simply for the purpose of making a point. That's just my opinion. It's even worse when a media outlet intentionally presents biased, edited footage to promote an "agenda".
Posted by: Dude at August 21, 2009 06:04 PM"Do they really have tens of thousands of viewers?" You're kidding right? They are second only to Fox News and only behind Fox News by a few points. Thar means as they don't have as many viewers as Fox News, there is only a difference of a few hundred thousand but both networks carry viewers in the millions. Obviously, CNN is in third place.
It's truly an uneducated and dimwitted human being that believes that either network champions any causes for any cause. "Liberal Media"? Who really is that stupid? Fortunately for our country, not enough thank God. There are no Liberals that own MSNBC. There are no Conservatives that own Fox News. Both networks are owned by corporations and major corporations at that. Both corporations provide a product for money. Bright shiny baubles for those who cannot think for themselves and they make billions of dollars doing it. Adolph Hilter once said, "If you divide people against each other, you can conquer them all." American capitalists have figured out a way to take that logic and make a profit from it. A formula that has been in place for years and is working reliably with those who need bright shiny baubles to keep their minds occupied.
If the owner of Fox News and also the largest distributor or printed and online Liberal media outlets, News Corp was to realize more profit could be garnered turning Liberal, by this time tomorrow night you'd be watching the No Spin Zone with Keith Olbermann. And if GE was to realize more money could be made turning MSNBC Conservative, Keith Olbermann would be Today's Worst Person In The World on Countdown with Bill O'Reilly.
Welcome to the wonderful world of corporate media. Why is it so harsh on Sarah Palin? BECAUSE THERE IS MONEY TO BE MADE, THAT'S WHY!
Posted by: Lipiwitz at August 21, 2009 08:28 PMSo Dude, you claim that open carry, in accordance with a Constitutionally protected right, is worse than the media fabricating stories about it? Where would you place exercising one's First Amendment rights at these rallies? As bad, worse, or not so bad?
I have misgivings about carrying to make a political point (although none of the people carrying were actually AT any events attended by the President), but that's a disagreement on tactics, to my mind. The deliberate fabrication of "evidence" to advance a false narrative is something else entirely.
But to paraphrase Evan (Obama is God) Thomas, right narrative, wrong facts.
Posted by: Steve Skubinna at August 21, 2009 08:35 PMIf you're interested in discovering the truth about what's going on in this country, I suggest going to foreign media outlets that are not "puppets for profits" like what we have in America. It's sad but unfortunately it's true. Our mainstream media is romper room for dummies.
Posted by: Lipiwitz at August 21, 2009 08:36 PMMSNBC is in second? I don't think so.
It isn't even very close.
Posted by: Confederate Yankee at August 21, 2009 08:53 PMSo Dude, you claim that open carry, in accordance with a Constitutionally protected right, is worse than the media fabricating stories about it?
Steve: No, that is NOT what I said. You misread my statement. Please read it again. What I said was:
It's even worse when a media outlet intentionally presents biased, edited footage to promote an "agenda".
To be perfectly clear, I think it's foolish to open carry at a political event. I think it's grossly dishonest when a media outlet intentionally presents biased, edited footage to promote an "agenda", as it appears that MSNBC did in this so called "news" story.
Both networks are owned by corporations and major corporations at that. Both corporations provide a product for money. Bright shiny baubles for those who cannot think for themselves and they make billions of dollars doing it. Adolph Hilter once said, "If you divide people against each other, you can conquer them all." American capitalists have figured out a way to take that logic and make a profit from it. A formula that has been in place for years and is working reliably with those who need bright shiny baubles to keep their minds occupied.
You've nailed it Lipiwitz.
Fox is #1, followed by MSNBC with CNN coming in 3rd. That's the way it stacks up for cable news anyway.
Truthfully, Fox is the only major television news outlet with a "conservative" slant. It has no competition for people that want to watch their kind of shiny baubles, as Lipiwitz accurately describes the product. Fox has a clear advantage in the ratings war simply because no other outlet offers up their particular type of slop on their menus.
On the other hand, people who want to watch "liberal" slanted shiny baubles, served up as news, have several choices, thus diluting the ratings among several outlets. In other words, that particular type of slop is offered on the menus of several networks.
I haven't done the research to know for sure but I wonder how the combined ratings of CNN, MSNBC, etc. stack up against Fox.
Ratings as of May 2009:
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/277946-Cable_News_Ratings_Fox_News_Channel_Still_On_Top.php
Posted by: Dude at August 21, 2009 10:19 PMYeah, FOXNEWS typically has a few more viewers than CNN & MSNBC COMBINED.
Maybe it was "tenths of thousands"?
Posted by: RicardoVerde at August 21, 2009 11:03 PMOkay, dude, sorry. I read your last line as "It's even worse THAN when..." So disregard my diatribe. Or else pretend it was directed at some other guy, also named Dude, who said what I thought I had read rather than what you actually wrote.
Posted by: Steve Skubinna at August 22, 2009 10:39 AMSteve: No Problem and apology accepted. Sometimes, I too misread things.
Fact is, on many "political" issues you and I probably do disagree. That's OK. To me, this particular issue isn't so much about politics as it is integrity. When MSNBC, or any other media outlet, is dishonest and deceitful when presenting so called "news", that shouldn't be a conservative vs liberal issue. That's an issue of decency and crossing the line of professional standards. Period.
CY: Thanks for the other link showing the ratings of the News Channels. I wasn't aware of that website and it's a good one to know about in our search for the elusive "Truth".
Now, if only I can make sense of their ratings compared to other sites who also show ratings!
Respectfully,
Dude
Posted by: Dude at August 22, 2009 01:54 PM
'Do they really have tens of thousands of viewers?" You're kidding right? They are second only to Fox News and only behind Fox News by a few points. Thar means as they don't have as many viewers as Fox News, there is only a difference of a few hundred thousand but both networks carry viewers in the millions. Obviously, CNN is in third place.
It's truly an uneducated and dimwitted human being that believes that either network champions any causes for any cause. "Liberal Media"? Who really is that stupid? Fortunately for our country, not enough thank God. There are no Liberals that own MSNBC. There are no Conservatives that own Fox News. Both networks are owned by corporations and major corporations at that. Both corporations provide a product for money. Bright shiny baubles for those who cannot think for themselves and they make billions of dollars doing it. Adolph Hilter once said, "If you divide people against each other, you can conquer them all." American capitalists have figured out a way to take that logic and make a profit from it. A formula that has been in place for years and is working reliably with those who need bright shiny baubles to keep their minds occupied.
If the owner of Fox News and also the largest distributor or printed and online Liberal media outlets, News Corp was to realize more profit could be garnered turning Liberal, by this time tomorrow night you'd be watching the No Spin Zone with Keith Olbermann. And if GE was to realize more money could be made turning MSNBC Conservative, Keith Olbermann would be Today's Worst Person In The World on Countdown with Bill O'Reilly.
Welcome to the wonderful world of corporate media. Why is it so harsh on Sarah Palin? BECAUSE THERE IS MONEY TO BE MADE, THAT'S WHY!
Posted by Lipiwitz at August 21, 2009 08:28 PM"
Dude if a bullet entered your skull how long would it orbit before it hit something?
The fact the Fox has an average audience equal to all of the other cable news channels combined disproves your theory. If making money was the prime concern there would be no leftist cable news channels by now. Indeed all leftist news media is cratering. Maybe the market is saying no one wants that crap anymore. The only rational reason for GE to put up with this crap (aside from unbelievable incompetence at the top, always a real possibility) is that their cable networks are a loss leader for the parent company; to ingratiate themselves with these new age communists in congress and in the white house to get massive government contracts and derivative contracts from 'green" legislation. Old style politics, reward your friends and punish your enemies, the Chicago Way.
If republicans had any brains, they would seize the opportunity now by making implied threats the GE would be shit canned from any government contracts when the congress changes hands as it will next year. But then again the only reason the democratic party exists as a national player is due to the infinite stupidity of the RNC.
Posted by: cubanbob at August 22, 2009 04:52 PMMedia bias seems a lot like an addiction ...
... and the left-leaning MSM is oblivious to that addiction. Their denial of bias IS genuine, as is the denial stage of ANY addiction. It doesn't matter how obvious that bias is to others, they honestly do not believe the problem exists (though they are quick to point fingers when they believe OTHERS are biased, and, of course, others are always somehow "worse," as if that justifies theirs).
What they need is some kind of twelve-step program to rid themselves of bias. However, even if they WERE to admit they have a problem in the first place (some media outlets have reached that stage), much of the public has done what must eventually be done when dealing with an self-destructive addict who refuses to seek help, we've turned out backs on them.
As they spiral further into ever more clearly biased reporting, even to the point of being bizarrley so (eg., cropping pictures to influence the political impact), ever more disingenuous denials, and fewer and fewer customers willing to support their biased output, they'll either work to get the help they need (we hope), or eventually hit bottom (go out of business -- which is beginning to happen all too frequently).
Posted by: DoorHold at August 23, 2009 12:22 PMThe NBC brand is the best recruiter for the Tea Party movement. The constant parade of race-baiting nuts attacking Real Americans over policy disagreements is marginalizing their position. Real America isn't as dumb as these people think. The word "racist" has lost its sting.
edgycater.blogspot.com
Posted by: Edgycater at August 25, 2009 08:03 PM"They are second only to Fox News and only behind Fox News by a few points."
I think that the only reason they are second to Fox is because they are on every TV in every airport that I have been to in this nation.
So, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. millions of people going through the airports every day, and only three people watching them at home.
Posted by: Tuf Gut at August 27, 2009 12:16 PM
