It’s become painfully obvious that the mainstream media’s real interest in the Cheney hunting accident story is to show how pissed they are that the Vice President’s people didn’t come running to the White House press corp to break the story. The puffery of this “journalistic outrage” should be an embarrassment to them all, yet their “gotcha” blinders don’t allow them to absorb the cumulative impact of their buffoonery.
What the forth estate plainly refuses to notice is that no one except for them really cares. The story is out, Cheney has spoken on the subject, and the American public has expressed it’s opinion that they prefer their “news” about the story in the form of Letterman, Leno, and Stewart jokes about the story, as opposed to the nightly parade of self-interested indignation personified by NBC News White House correspondent David Gregory’s outburst to White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan, “You answer the question!“
With that in mind, it seems that the best way to school those in the media who actually care about what their audience thinks about their performance (which may be a precious few) an example of why their profession is held in such low esteem by the great unwashed masses.
Here’s an example of the type of video montage you might create. Of course that’s just an example. You can use anything at your disposal, and create your work in any medium.
If you don’t have the capability to host video files you can e-mail them to us and we’ll handle hosting. Alternatively you can use a service like YouTube or YTMND to host your creation, then send us a link or leave a link in the comment section. Given that the Cheney story has completely sucked the oxygen out of the new cycle, it’s probably safe to set the contest deadline for Tuesday February 21, 2006.
Interested? How about if we throw in some prizes?
Creators of the top 3 videos (as determined by the editorial staff at Wizbang) will receive the Wizbang t-shirt from the super secret (and as yet unveiled) Wizbang swag collection.
If the Vice President was really interested in keeping it from the public he would have gone on CNN, that way only a few people would have watched it.
The MSM does not want to think, therefore they try to give the news that they think is important. i.e. the Dick Cheney hunting escapade. Here is something to think about, if the MSM wanted to report the news and let you make your own opinions, why don’t they publish the Danish cartoons?
Three questions:
1)How has it become “painfully obvious” that the press’s fixation on this story is based on the fact that that they didn’t get it first? If it’s “painfully obvious” I poresume you are going on more than just your prejudices.
2)On what do you base your assertion that “no one except for them really cares.” Assuming you consider Fox News to be the good guys, did they devote all of that airtime to Cheney’s interview because they thought all of those reporters, who are the only ones interested,would boost ratings? Has the story been on every news station, in every newspaper and on every blog, right and left, because no one cares? Is that why there have been seven different threads on the subject here on Wizbang, with a total of 217 comments? Wishing doesn’t make it so.
While we’re at it, I see several comments to the effect that regular Americans don’t care about this story, and think the press has made fools of themselves. On what basis, other than gut feeling, are thse assertions being made?
I suspect I’m not the only conservative that hates Joe Scarborough? I’m not too fond of John Kasick either. I agree with them both most of the time but they have this attitude like congress was so wonderful when they were there and they’re so much better than every other politician, like they’re above it all. All they did was follow Newt Gingrich’s lead, right? Anynody that goes on national TV and tries to prove their midwest small-town country boy bona fides every night is fooling themselves.
I have to wonder if this is about pushing the MSM’s Cartoon Self-Censorship out of the headlines.
They’ve replaced shame with outrage which in their minds is the correct order of things.
I have to say its worked.
Hey Chris,
I’ll take the bait on your questions.
1 – Because it’s invariably in the interest of the Press to ‘get it first’. Besides, had they been given the opportunity, the major press sources would have fucked this story up too. Frankly, it’s almost impossible not to hold some pre-judgment against the press. Why? Because as the good folks here at Wizbang and other Bloggers have so correctly pointed out over the last couple of years – the record of the “forth estate” (first time I’ve heard that 🙂 is consistently getting worse – on both trivial and meaningful events. And, speaking of painful, it took an asshole like Gregory only seconds during an organized, official press conference to step on his own dick.
2 – According to the every news source that I saw/read/heard, none of us should have cared about the event itself, only about how the poor, poor Press had been treated under the guise that the people need to be know and/or decide for themselves as quickly as possible… It’s just as the media’s coverage of the Mine disaster turned to itself as soon as they all realized that they’d fucked up in a major, major way, and none of them had a valid excuse nor a decent apology.
I do my best not to defend Fox News, after all they are in a business based on ratings just like these other shithouses. On the other hand, one of Hume’s main questions, and the most popular soundbite that was re-played on talk radio, was Cheney addressing the release of the story to the press. It remained about how the press was handled, Fox was no different than anyone else. By the way, if I hear one more Ted Kennedy reference, somebody’s getting a kidney punch.
This is both the first and last comment I’m making on any blog about it, and honestly, it interesting to see how many people are quick to jump to one side or the other and have all kinds of time to weigh in and to go at it with others regarding the handling/mishandling of the press on this bullshit. It’s even more interesting to see that people are actually pissed off that apparently missed out on the opportunity to discuss this with strangers on the Internet on a Saturday night.
3 – Regular Americans do, check that – did care about the fact that Cheney shot somebody – however, for the most part probably couldn’t give two shits about the handling of the story to the major papers and news networks. I’m sorry, I’m a scathing critic and I just can’t feel sorry for these overpaid untalented blowhard pricks who call themselves journalists, nor their employers. The media are fools, and the only thing that I need for that is a gut feeling.
So Snowballs
Because the press is in the business of getting a story first, then it’s obvious that that’s their overriding motivation for pursuing this story? That’s a logical leap that’s unsupported, since there are other equally valid reasons, such as that it’s a major news story with a lot of unanswered questions. I fail to see how your point is “painfully obvious.”
Then you say “According to the every news source that I saw/read/heard, none of us should have cared about the event itself, only about how the poor, poor Press had been treated..” Huh? Sorry, but I’d like to see at least one cite for that. It shouldn’t be hard since it was in “every news source.” That’s not exactly answering the question. Whether you like it or not, releasing information to the press is how the public finds out. It’s a rather narrow viewpoint to suggest that the issue of releasing information to the press stops at the point where the press gets it. What’s being asked is, why didn’t you make the information public? How else are we supposed to get information? Should they just tell the bloggers?
And when I ask how people can assert that the public doesn’t care about how the news was released, you say because “they probably don’t.” And that’s an answer? And by the way, what I hear asserted a lot is that the public doesn’t care about this story, not just the specific press angle. I’ve had commenters on this site tell me it’s “none of my fucking business.” So I wasn’t just talking about the press angle.
Basically, you’ve restated the very opinions I was asking about, without providing any more information. I was actually looking for facts.
And by the way, the media’s coverage of the mine disaster was handled correctly by most media outlets. They didn’t “all” fuck up the story, far from it. That’s a canard that was spread by habitual media bashers like this blog.
In rereading the tread, I think I have the answer to the debate. Kevin says “the American public has expressed it’s opinion that they prefer their “news” about the story in the form of Letterman, Leno, and Stewart jokes about the story..” So Kevin, if you’ll just point us to the place where the American public expressed this opinion, we can put the whole matter to bed. Because I’m sure you wouldn’t make a statement like that unsupported by facts.
While we’re at it, I see several comments to the effect that regular Americans don’t care about this story, and think the press has made fools of themselves. On what basis, other than gut feeling, are thse assertions being made?
Gee, I don’t know, how about Milbank and then Begala showing up on different newscasts dressed in orange vests and caps trying to spin the story while dressed as clowns?
I didn’t need a “gut feeling” when I saw them. I felt sorry for their idiocy.
Most of the American public probably just said “WTF”; are they really that sad?
In case you don’t get it. Did we ever see right wing pundits wearing a blue dress with stains on it during the whole Monica thing?
Of course not.
All you had to do is watch the White House press briefing the next day to understand the histrionics of the pampered (needing a change desperatley) big media press corp.
Whether you like it or not, releasing information to the press is how the public finds out. It’s a rather narrow viewpoint to suggest that the issue of releasing information to the press stops at the point where the press gets it. What’s being asked is, why didn’t you make the information public?
That is NOT what the big media press is upset about.
They are upset because the first call was to a local media source.
This was not only the right way to do this, but a very smart way to do it as the local police had not yet had time to file their intitial report.
The local paper (not just some tiny little outlet) would actually try to check their facts before jumping to all kinds of speculation.
Even after the facts came out, the big media ran with story lines that read; “should Cheney resign?”, “should Cheney be arrested?”, “Cheney hunting illegally?”.
You find the links — they are all over the place — it’s underwhelming in the lack of effort to to hide their bias.
So, whether you “like it or not”, this was handled correctly and it just pisses you off that the cognitive dissonance in your brain is causing you to think that wearing the same Code Pink shirt every day for the last six months without washing it might not have been the best idea you ever had.
Dude, you smell.
So Kevin, if you’ll just point us to the place where the American public expressed this opinion, we can put the whole matter to bed. Because I’m sure you wouldn’t make a statement like that unsupported by facts.
Actually, they’ve expressed themselves in a different way.
About much more.
At the polls.
FOURTH estate 🙂
This whole thing was a “Rovian” conspiracy to expose the msm press corp as useless. Cheny wasn’t even in Texas that day. He was in Wisconsin with John Winger and Russell Ziskey.
According to Chris @2:30 am it looks like you’re becoming MSM.
Of course he has nothing valid to say.
Ha
Shorter Chris:
My handlers have told me what to think, would you please give me the link to where your handlers are giving you instructions?
So the short answer is, “no Chris, unfortunately we can’t give you an answer to your questions.”
Can you prove we didn’t answer your questions? Or is that just your opinion? Or is it just supposed to be “obvious”? I would like to see some empirical evidence and cites, please.
Chris,
I gave you two specific examples of the media acting like clowns.
There were also several responses to your other questions.
Take off the blinders and take a peek.
mesablue, I asked for something to back up the statement that the public doesn’t care about the story and the press were acting like clowns. So you give me an example of how you thought they were acting like clowns. Great reading comprehension there.
I asked how it’s “painfully onvious” that the issue with the press is that they didn’t get the story first. I got back responses that were variations of “because the press are assholes.” Those aren’t answers.
Then I asked on what basis people say “no one but the press cares,” and gave several concrete examples that demonstrate people do care. What is the answer I was supposedly given to that question?
Finally, I asked on what basis people claim to speak for the American public that they think the press is to blame, and you respond that two reporters offended you by wearing silly outfits. So apparently if you think something, the whole world does? There’s a psychiatric term for that syndrome.
See, in the world of logical thought, the answer to a specific factual question generally isn’t a restating of someone’s opinion. Logic. You should try it some time.
http://www.kten.com/Global/story.asp?S=4517605
There you go Einstein.
And another:
“Survey: Media unfair to Cheney
——————————————————————————–
By G. Wayne Laepple
The Daily Item
——————————————————————————–
SUNBURY — In an informal survey, residents are giving the media a black eye for its handling of Vice President Dick Cheney’s hunting accident last weekend.
The vice president on Wednesday publicly accepted full blame for shooting 78-year-old Harry Whittington on Saturday in south Texas.
“I’m the guy who pulled the trigger that fired the round that hit Harry,” Cheney told Fox News Channel in his first public comments since the shooting.
Every person who was asked for an opinion about the matter said they felt the news media was making a big deal out of a minor incident. Several expressed their opinions of the media in terms too colorful for use in a newspaper.
“If it had been a normal person, you never would have heard about it,” said a man cutting up trees at the Shikellamy Marina, who gave his name only as “Red.”
I’m sure there are many more. That was just the first one that came up.
Logic — sometimes it bites you in the ass.