Nice Planet, Part 2: A-holes on parade

[Old Pio]

Re: Nice Planet, Part 2: A-holes on parade

It skips a generation.

Okay, the milk came out of my nose.

 

[Old Pio]

Re: Nice Planet, Part 2: A-holes on parade

First it was Andres Cerano inverting a crucifix in a bowl of his own urine (a piece he charmingly titled "P*ss Christ"). Not to be outdone, some other "artist" created a painting of the Virgin Mary out of dung. Both of these "works of art" were in part paid for by taxpayers. You know, those poor b*stards these "artsts" condemn as rubes (except when they're picking their pockets). Now an "artist" has created a painting made from the ash of victims of the crematoria at an extermination camp. A defender of this dreck says he sees "no moral flaws" in the piece. I'd imagine some husky young grand children or great grandchildren of victims could point out a flaw or two. Maybe the JDL could pay this ghoul a visit.

http://www.jpost.com/JewishWorld/JewishNews/Article.aspx?id=294897

 

[Old Pio]

Re: Nice Planet, Part 2: A-holes on parade

George Zimmerman is suing NBC for deliberately and fraudulently editing audio tape to make him seem racist. Normally I'm not a big fan of claiming "emotional distress" in lawsuits. But if this is what it takes to make those unethical b*stards pay, then good luck to him. I hope a jury gives NBC 9 inches of sandpaper dik. It's more than just pandering, what NBC did tended to make an inflamed situation worse. No defense. No excuse.


http://news.yahoo.com/george-zimmerman-sues-nbc-reporters-221734555.html

 

[FlagDUDE08]

Re: Nice Planet, Part 2: A-holes on parade

George Zimmerman is suing NBC for deliberately and fraudulently editing audio tape to make him seem racist. Normally I'm not a big fan of claiming "emotional distress" in lawsuits. But if this is what it takes to make those unethical b*stards pay, then good luck to him. I hope a jury gives NBC 9 inches of sandpaper dik. It's more than just pandering, what NBC did tended to make an inflamed situation worse. No defense. No excuse.


http://news.yahoo.com/george-zimmerman-sues-nbc-reporters-221734555.html

Then how about defamation?

 

[Old Pio]

Re: Nice Planet, Part 2: A-holes on parade

Then how about defamation?

Well, you'd have to check with one of our lib lawyers. But to make overt suggestions that a guy is a racist killer based substantially on faked "evidence" would qualify as defamation in Old Pio world. You have to remember some of these same people claimed Bill Clinton's lies under oath weren't perjury. So, go figure. My dislike for "inflicting emotional distress" is that it's almost entirely subjective. Sort of like punitive damages, where you can collect a huge pile of money by playing on the ignorance and prejudices of dummies in the jury box.

In this case, I set aside whatever preconcieved notions I have about civil actions. I was repulsed by NBC's action here, based in no small part on my decades working in radio news. No excuse. No defense.

 

[DrDemento]

Re: Nice Planet, Part 2: A-holes on parade

Well, you'd have to check with one of our lib lawyers. But to make overt suggestions that a guy is a racist killer based substantially on faked "evidence" would qualify as defamation in Old Pio world. You have to remember some of these same people claimed Bill Clinton's lies under oath weren't perjury. So, go figure. My dislike for "inflicting emotional distress" is that it's almost entirely subjective. Sort of like punitive damages, where you can collect a huge pile of money by playing on the ignorance and prejudices of dummies in the jury box.

In this case, I set aside whatever preconcieved notions I have about civil actions. I was repulsed by NBC's action here, based in no small part on my decades working in radio news. No excuse. No defense.

Based on your experience-do you think this is an isolated case or does this kind of thing happens far more often than we realize?

 

[FadeToBlack&Gold]

Re: Nice Planet, Part 2: A-holes on parade

It skips a generation.

OK, you got me there.

 

[UncleRay]

Re: Nice Planet, Part 2: A-holes on parade

First it was Andres Cerano inverting a crucifix in a bowl of his own urine (a piece he charmingly titled "P*ss Christ"). Not to be outdone, some other "artist" created a painting of the Virgin Mary out of dung. Both of these "works of art" were in part paid for by taxpayers. You know, those poor b*stards these "artsts" condemn as rubes (except when they're picking their pockets). Now an "artist" has created a painting made from the ash of victims of the crematoria at an extermination camp. A defender of this dreck says he sees "no moral flaws" in the piece. I'd imagine some husky young grand children or great grandchildren of victims could point out a flaw or two. Maybe the JDL could pay this ghoul a visit.

http://www.jpost.com/JewishWorld/JewishNews/Article.aspx?id=294897

In a text published by the gallery, the artist is quoted as saying: “The ash has followed me, always been there ... as if the ash contains energies or memories or souls of people ... people tortured, tormented and murdered by other people in one of the 19th century’s most ruthless wars.”

First, it hasn't followed you anywhere, you've been carrying it with you. Second, I'm pretty sure it was a 20th century war. Dumba55.

OK, you got me there.

Yeah, it was sitting on a tee. I took a swing. Didn't hit it far, but I got a good piece of it.

 

[Old Pio]

Re: Nice Planet, Part 2: A-holes on parade

Based on your experience-do you think this is an isolated case or does this kind of thing happens far more often than we realize?

I have zero tolerance for deliberate distortions of "news." And there have been far too many examples over the years. I'm by no means an expert. But NBC putting explosives in the "controversial" side saddle tanks on GMC trucks to "help" them explode is a classic example. The claim was the tanks were prone to exploding in accidents. And perhaps they were, but NBC couldn't get them to explode in multiple attempts without a little assistance.

In a documentary called "Hunger in America" CBS showed the corpse of an infant it claimed had died of starvaton. The baby was the son of a prominent young Latino doctor in San Antonio, and most certainly had not died of malnutrition. The ends do not justify the means. If babies are dying from malnutrition, find one and photograph it.

Daniel Schorr of CBS implied Barry Goldwater was going to link up with Nazis on a trip the Senator made to Germany after he'd been nominated. The reference to "Hitler's old stomping ground at Bertchesgaden" was way below the belt.

When US diplomat Felix Bloch was accused of spying, ABC ran video of a shadowy figure apparantly making a dead drop with another spy. They neglected to mention it was a dramatization, and not actual surveilance footage.

Those are some of the ones I recall. And none are even remotely justified. Except in the minds of people who have an ax to grind. Our broadcasting environment is much more competitive these days. And NBC's felony of deliberately editing audio tape to give it a meaning it did not have was almost immediately reported and NBC was justly pranged for it. In the old days, they might have been able to get away with it. So, to answer your question, I can't say for sure whether it's happening as much as in the old days and whether it's as outrageous. But it's definitely a riskier proposition.

And it's not just the electronic media where this happens. We've seen numerous examples of deliberately false stories in the print media: Stephen Glass, Jayson Blair, Janet Cooke and Walter Duranty just to name a few.

We correctly draw a distinction between "news" and "opinion." Unfortunately these days that distinction is too often blurred.

 

[Old Pio]

Re: Nice Planet, Part 2: A-holes on parade

In a text published by the gallery, the artist is quoted as saying: “The ash has followed me, always been there ... as if the ash contains energies or memories or souls of people ... people tortured, tormented and murdered by other people in one of the 19th century’s most ruthless wars.” First, it hasn't followed you anywhere, you've been carrying it with you. Second, I'm pretty sure it was a 20th century war. Dumba55.


Yeah, it was sitting on a tee. I took a swing. Didn't hit it far, but I got a good piece of it.

As I say, two or three great grandsons of Holocaust survivors (or victims) built like duffle bags full of bowling balls should drop in on this turkey to explain to him how the cow ate the cabbage.

 

[FlagDUDE08]

Re: Nice Planet, Part 2: A-holes on parade

As I say, two or three great grandsons of Holocaust survivors (or victims) built like duffle bags full of bowling balls should drop in on this turkey to explain to him how the cow ate the cabbage.

I think Ralph usually sticks to the association and tLodge threads.

 

[DrDemento]

Re: Nice Planet, Part 2: A-holes on parade

I have zero tolerance for deliberate distortions of "news." And there have been far too many examples over the years. I'm by no means an expert. But NBC putting explosives in the "controversial" side saddle tanks on GMC trucks to "help" them explode is a classic example. The claim was the tanks were prone to exploding in accidents. And perhaps they were, but NBC couldn't get them to explode in multiple attempts without a little assistance.

In a documentary called "Hunger in America" CBS showed the corpse of an infant it claimed had died of starvaton. The baby was the son of a prominent young Latino doctor in San Antonio, and most certainly had not died of malnutrition. The ends do not justify the means. If babies are dying from malnutrition, find one and photograph it.

Daniel Schorr of CBS implied Barry Goldwater was going to link up with Nazis on a trip the Senator made to Germany after he'd been nominated. The reference to "Hitler's old stomping ground at Bertchesgaden" was way below the belt.

When US diplomat Felix Bloch was accused of spying, ABC ran video of a shadowy figure apparantly making a dead drop with another spy. They neglected to mention it was a dramatization, and not actual surveilance footage.

Those are some of the ones I recall. And none are even remotely justified. Except in the minds of people who have an ax to grind. Our broadcasting environment is much more competitive these days. And NBC's felony of deliberately editing audio tape to give it a meaning it did not have was almost immediately reported and NBC was justly pranged for it. In the old days, they might have been able to get away with it. So, to answer your question, I can't say for sure whether it's happening as much as in the old days and whether it's as outrageous. But it's definitely a riskier proposition.

And it's not just the electronic media where this happens. We've seen numerous examples of deliberately false stories in the print media: Stephen Glass, Jayson Blair, Janet Cooke and Walter Duranty just to name a few.

We correctly draw a distinction between "news" and "opinion." Unfortunately these days that distinction is too often blurred.

This has all been a big problem for me. I just have felt that the news as reported on TV media is mostly not news any more. It is more flavored and colored and opinionized. It seems that every news reader has to make a little side comment or a little smirk or facial expression to accentuate what is felt to be the message. I suppose it has always been there to an extent, but I just do not recall Huntley/Brinkley or Cronkite or Jennings doing it to the extent that I see it now. I have a difficult time discerning what is the news from what is opinion and entertainment.

 

[FlagDUDE08]

Re: Nice Planet, Part 2: A-holes on parade

This has all been a big problem for me. I just have felt that the news as reported on TV media is mostly not news any more. It is more flavored and colored and opinionized. It seems that every news reader has to make a little side comment or a little smirk or facial expression to accentuate what is felt to be the message. I suppose it has always been there to an extent, but I just do not recall Huntley/Brinkley or Cronkite or Jennings doing it to the extent that I see it now. I have a difficult time discerning what is the news from what is opinion and entertainment.

Even back then, at least in the clips I have seen, there has been some colour added; it was just more subtle. How, do you ask? How about through the selection of stories that the journalists and producers wish to cover. Not only in what they cover, but when they cover it. If you want to make sure a certain message gets out there and everyone sees it, do you put it on the front page, or on page 9? We can also see subtle spin through how the story is described in the couple of sentences the journalist writes. Take Jessica Savitch's report on the Iran hostage situation. Now let's reverse the roles. Do you think she's going to simply reverse the roles and have the exact same words elsewise?

If anything, the older reporters were much more dangerous than the newer ones. They were subtle. You REALLY had to read between lines to figure out what they were really saying.

 

[Old Pio]

Re: Nice Planet, Part 2: A-holes on parade

Even back then, at least in the clips I have seen, there has been some colour added; it was just more subtle. How, do you ask? How about through the selection of stories that the journalists and producers wish to cover. Not only in what they cover, but when they cover it. If you want to make sure a certain message gets out there and everyone sees it, do you put it on the front page, or on page 9? We can also see subtle spin through how the story is described in the couple of sentences the journalist writes. Take Jessica Savitch's report on the Iran hostage situation. Now let's reverse the roles. Do you think she's going to simply reverse the roles and have the exact same words elsewise?

If anything, the older reporters were much more dangerous than the newer ones. They were subtle. You REALLY had to read between lines to figure out what they were really saying.

It all seems rather quaint now. But for years, the vast majority of Americans' primary source for news was a half hour broadcast by one of the three networks at the same time, every evening. All of the networks were headquartered in NYC and all of the news bosses read the NYT. The Times front page was the jumping off point for assignments as well as perspective. This was the same paper that employed a reporter who assured us no Ukrainians had died in Stalin's terror famine. Turns out millions died. A crime worse than the Holocaust in terms of numbers. This same paper also employed a reporter who ostentatiously assured us that not only was Fidel Castro not a Communist, he was, in fact, anti-Communist. Oops. That same paper is now reporting the Muslim Brotherhood is "moderate." We'll see.

As Doc and others have suggested, we've seen a tabloidization of news in recent years. Take the rape trial of that Kennedy cousin in Florida. Florida permits TV cameras in courtrooms. And when the victim was testifying, her face was covered by an electronic blue dot and her identity was kept secret. However, a tabloid got her name and image and published it. The NYT then "reported" what the tabloid had done, which naturally included outing the lady. Thus, in the guise of "news" the Times had done exactly what the tabloid did.

Local TV news (except for the biggest markets) is generally awful. Filled with poorly researched, poorly reported, feel good stories. When technology allowed TV to broadcast live from remote sites, it gave them the ability to cover breaking news in a way not previously seen. This technology has now become a laughable clilche. Now the anchor tosses it "live" to a reporter who is standing up outside of an empty building, where earlier in the day, something important happened. And here's our taped report on that. BFD.

Local TV news operations are now consumed with mindless slogans like "on your side" (what the h*ll does that mean?) and story selections reflect it. It's not so much a matter of liberal vs. conservative. More of a soft focus pandering to varous percieved constituencies. All rather harmless. But almost none of it is actually "news." Among other things, this is the result of "News consultants" who are hired at great expense to tell local TV news operations how to "sell" their product. Local news coverage can be enormously profitable. Let me give you an example. Many years ago (when I was Young Pio), I was employed by the only TV station in Lake Charles, LA. They had 20 commercial availabilities in every half hour newscast. Those commercials sold for $250.00. They had just two newscasts in those days, 6 and 10PM. Let's to the math: 20X250=the revenue generated by one broadcast. Times 2 was the revenue generated in one night. Times 5=equals the revenue generated in a week. Times 52 was the annual revenue generated by those two half hours (just M-F BTW) on a little sh*tball TV station in a very small Louisiana city. Decades ago. Try to imagine the amount of money generated by major market news organizations. That's why nowdays so many local stations have "news" programs starting at 4 or 4:30. These things make a lot of money. However, they don't necessarily inform.

The nature of reporting local news requires decisions on which stories to cover, how they're covered, their placement in the newscast and so on. Much of that is influenced by who you've "got." Who is available to discuss the situation. And what he/she actually says. And whether or not what you've "got" is exclusive. What you worry about as a news director is the competition beating you on a story you should have had. It's of no particular consequence if you don't have a report on the lady who won a blue ribbon at the Iowa State Fair with her cow made out of butter. But the indictment of the mayor for kiddy diddling is a story you really don't want to miss, especialy if the competition has it. Determining what is and is not "news" on any given day and how important it is, is fluid. What may be a big news story today, your lead in fact, may not even make it to air tomorrow. None of this is related to political bias. But instead an indication of the daily reality people covering local news face. Whenever my newsroom got something nobody else had and the local paper wanted the audio, I was only too willing to share with them, provided they printed our call letters.

Here's a little tipoff: when you see MOS stories (man on the street) or the cliche visit to the local radio talk show with shots of lights flashing on the telephone on your local TV station--you are dealing with lazy, incompetent people who have no earthly idea how to report a story. It's the equivalent of waving a white flag.

 

[Twitch Boy]

Re: Nice Planet, Part 2: A-holes on parade

Hey, you Australian DJs who prank called Kate Middleton's hospital pretending to be the queen and got confidential information from the staff?

The nurse that took the call just killed herself. Hope you guys are happy.

 

[DrDemento]

Re: Nice Planet, Part 2: A-holes on parade

Big thanks to Old Pio and Flagdude. Every point you both made is exactly what I have been seeing and feeling. It is certainly no coincidence that when i flip between the 3 major networs in the NY area-whether it be the local news or the national news-they invariably have the same stories running at the same time and of course take their commercial breaks at the same time. As a former psychiatry resident i very much understnad how the sequence of stories shown affects the viewer. I am sure Vance Packard(the Hidden Persuaders)would have a lot to say about all of this. Back in the 60's and early 70's the advertising firms hired us as consultants for determining the psychological impact of their ads on consumers and I am willing to wager the news media do a very similar thing. I guess it has been going on a long time and perhaps i am just becoming more sensitive and intolerant to it as I age.

 

[FlagDUDE08]

Re: Nice Planet, Part 2: A-holes on parade

Big thanks to Old Pio and Flagdude. Every point you both made is exactly what I have been seeing and feeling. It is certainly no coincidence that when i flip between the 3 major networs in the NY area-whether it be the local news or the national news-they invariably have the same stories running at the same time and of course take their commercial breaks at the same time. As a former psychiatry resident i very much understnad how the sequence of stories shown affects the viewer. I am sure Vance Packard(the Hidden Persuaders)would have a lot to say about all of this. Back in the 60's and early 70's the advertising firms hired us as consultants for determining the psychological impact of their ads on consumers and I am willing to wager the news media do a very similar thing. I guess it has been going on a long time and perhaps i am just becoming more sensitive and intolerant to it as I age.

Actually, at least in mid-major markets (Syracuse NY being an example, I think Hattiesburg MS does something similar), local news stations have consolidated. The NBC, CBS, and CW stations here are all under the same management and are in the same building. They have two broadcast sets (not sure if CW has a third), but obviously everything is under one roof.

 

[UncleRay]

Re: Nice Planet, Part 2: A-holes on parade

I have zero tolerance for deliberate distortions of "news." And there have been far too many examples over the years....

You couldn't list them all, but the one that stands out to me is Dan Rather and W's National Guard service.

 

[SteveP]

Re: Nice Planet, Part 2: A-holes on parade

If anything, the older reporters were much more dangerous than the newer ones. They were subtle. You REALLY had to read between lines to figure out what they were really saying.

They also did not have the new media (ie: guys in PJ's in the mom's basement ) who now catch the Jayson Blairs of the world making their patently false reports and call them out on it.

Media bias is not restricted to the US. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation has long been tilted to the left. During the 2011 federal election campaign, the CBC took it one step further as Toronto Sun columnist Ezra Levant reported:

The CBC has sponsored a website they claim will tell you what party you best fit into. On Wednesday night, the CBC's Peter Mansbridge went further, telling viewers the website is how to "find out where you stand" in the election.

So now the CBC is in the business of telling Canadians what party they stand for. Thanks, but that's called campaigning, not reporting.

The CBC scheme uses a website, www.votecompass.ca that asks questions about your views, and then a magic formula pigeonholes you into a party.

And -- surprise, surprise -- the Liberal Party is the default setting if you are at all wishy-washy about anything. So, Vote Compass helps you out.

By telling you to vote Liberal.

Not exactly shocking, coming from the CBC that gorges on a billion tax dollars a year.

To be fair, Levant is an avowed conservative. He is one of many conservative commentators and Conservative MP's who have been after the CBC for reports on the profligate spending by the broadcaster, which is doing its best to block those reports altogether.

 

[UncleRay]

Re: Nice Planet, Part 2: A-holes on parade

To be fair, Levant is an avowed conservative. He is one of many conservative commentators and Conservative MP's who have been after the CBC for reports on the profligate spending by the broadcaster, which is doing its best to block those reports altogether.

You didn't think a liberal would have outed that scheme, do you??