In the light of KoranGate and the meme of "Fake but Plausible" we should take a moment to reflect on the story that blew the top on fraud in Journalism, RatherGate. Yes, that story where obviously forged documents were used to try to discredit the President during an election (you know, the ones that had P.O. Box 12345 in the header). CBS took seriously the allegations as well did the rest of the journalistic community.
Today, the journalistic community has expressed its righteous indignation that one journalist has so given into the Democrats that he ran a false story by awarding Dan Rather the Peabody Award. It's good to know that media organizations take bias and fraud seriously.
This entry first appeared at Ravings of John C. A. Bambenek here
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Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Temple Stark
Can your Peabrain figure out that the award wasn't for the same story?
You aren't listening to anybody? Why, again, should we listen to you?
After all, would you really want your last few posts here to reflect on your total body of work?
Pretty sad attempt at Google-bombing, too.
2 - Temple Stark
Peabody. Peabrain. Sorry couldn't resist.
3 - John Bambenek
I know full well it was for a different story, but I don't think no matter what David Duke does philanthropically he won't be honored anytime soon because he's a racist bastard. Same true here.
4 - Bennett
Dan Rather was a leader of the KKK? Really? Holy Crap!
When you write "because he's a racist bastard. Same true here." do you mean that you are a racist bastard? Who is a racist bastard?
Man, I'm confused. What's google bombing?
5 - John Bambenek
Dan Rather is biased trash. He's violated journalistic ethics completely by running on a forged story and he CONTINUES to prop up Mary Mapes knowing what she did. Being honored with an award for journalism is like awarding the author of the Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion with the Peace Prize.
Google Bombing is when you link to a website with a specific word or phrase so that the site shows up first with the search. If you google "miserable failure" you get George Bush, for instance.
6 - Eric Berlin
I think it would be kind of cool to be known as the Google Bomber, especially if you were somehow up to some kind of non-violent, ultra-hip adventuring that everyone could dig on.
7 - Aaman
You could do well to leave out the personal name-calling unless you intend to be classed as a low person whose opinion has no merit.
8 - Temple Stark
If that's about me, I did already apologize. As I said, too good to resist. Sorry again.
9 - Eric Berlin
I think Aaman is talking about the Rather as "trash" comment and not you, Temple.
10 - Bennett
"cool to be known as the Google Bomber"
Yeah it would Eric, but it would definitely get you onto the "No Fly" list.
11 - Eric Berlin
Any Bomber is not so good nowadays, I guess.
12 - BillB
It's kinda funny how lost in all the Dan Rather forged memo stuff were the accounts of witnesses who maintained that while the documents were forgeries, their contents were accurate. No doubt that CBS was sloppy.
Check here:
http://mediamatters.org/items/200409150007
Makes you wonder what the real issues really are.
There are also plenty of eye witness accounts that detail previous mistreatment of the Koran at Gitmo.
Don't tell Scott McClellan that Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Richard Myers has a different take on the cause of all the violence. It might shake his non-reality based world view.
13 - Dave Nalle
The thing this and the RatherGate silliness have in common is that in both cases the story reported was probably essentially accurate, but in both cases the specific information reported was not substantiated. In the Rather case it was fraudulent info. In the Koran case it was basically rumor reported as fact.
The other thing the two journalistic missteps have in common is that both of the supposedly shocking issues they were exposing are basically trivial and not actually controversial at all - excep that someone capitalized on the Newsweek story to start a fatal riot. The information about Bush exposed in RatherGate was old news of no real relevance to the election and certainly not a black enough spot on his record for anyone to really care 30 years later. In the same way, how a few copies of the Koran were treated in Gitmo isn't a matter of great concern to most people either. The prisoners are lucky we let them have Korans at all, really.
So what we have is trivailities, incorrectly and misleadingly reported, blown up into huge bubbles of shock and horror, and then popped and deflated as the truth of how they were manipulated is revealed. The question is, which is worse - promulgating bogus news stories, or trying to present these basically lame stories as great journalistic revelations.
Dave
14 - Shark
re. John Bambenek
Oh goody! Yet another frothing, angry, powerless, marginalized [NOT!] right-wing motard "writer" on Blogcritics!
We're so glad to have your insightful, 100-or-so-word personal hallucinagenic rants as part of the intellectual explorations hereabouts!
DaveNalle must be celebrating right about now, since it appears I'll have to divide my valuable time tossing verbal cream pies in the face of at least two pissed off neo-con clowns.
So many yahoos --- so little time!
[sigh]
15 - Shark
PS: John Bambi-neck, I assume you'll be posting with equal outrage on the ORWELLIAN subject of the BUSH administration using taxpayer money to fund "journalists" and "columnists" to swoon in public over their idiotic policies?
(The ones we KNOW about so far:
Armstrong Williams
Maggie Gallagher
Michael McManus)
16 - gonzo marx
Shark me boyo..do not forget Gannon/Guckert and his wonderful 2 years in the white house press room...
we all know Monica wanted her Presidential kneepads..and got them..
i wonder whose name is on Gannon's?
nuff said?
Excelsior!
17 - John Bambenek
I've written on Armstrong Williams, Maggie Gallagher being lumped in that category is just wrong, and Michael McManus was old news when it came out. But what I am going to do is not allow comments on my future posts because I'm tired of getting e-mails from inflammatory twits who seem to think because I point out one fraud I must point out every fraud. I have a job, maybe you don't. Post your own stories.
18 - andy marsh
Yeah, everyone enjoys reading your SHIT to shark!
19 - Dave Nalle
>>DaveNalle must be celebrating right about now, since it appears I'll have to divide my valuable time tossing verbal cream pies in the face of at least two pissed off neo-con clowns.<<
Shark, from now on my primary response to you is to tell you to go talk to RealCon - he's the debating opponent you've been dreaming of. Just as idiotic and intractable as you are, but on the opposite end of the political spectrum.
Dave
20 - bhw
But what I am going to do is not allow comments on my future posts
You're free to do that on your own blog, but on Blogcritics, all posts have open comments.
21 - Eric Olsen
one might anticipate a certain amount of friction
22 - John Bambenek
1) Just realized all posts need open comments, so be it. I can still filter all comments into my trash folder.
2) I love the neocon insult, it's funny. I'm not sure what a neocon is, but I'm certainly not one. Paleocon, sure.
23 - Temple Stark
John why did you come here to post if not for a discussion?
Now I do sympathize with the quality of some of the discussion, but you are putting forward very one-sided points; many which have little or no serious merit on closer examination.
By posting here in "the real world" you get that closer examination.
24 - John Bambenek
Temple-
There seems to be less discussion and more name calling.
Yes, they are one-sided points, that's called an "opinion", I'm not doing academic papers here. And they do have serious merit, to anyone who takes seriously the problem that the press has lost all credibility.
25 - Temple Stark
But if you just stick to that point without wavering you aren't listening and there is no discussion. So ...