First they attacked Kerry. Now They Are Attacking Old People!
The people at USAVEXED doing the AARP attack ads were bragging about how they reassembled the entire group of people who did the Swift Boat Liars ads. That includes Chris LaCivita who helped write the commercials, Rick Reed who produced it, Creative Response Concepts, the PR firm, and Regnery Publishing the company that published John O'Neil's duplicitious book--Unfit for Command.
When the ads came out the local TV stations they were quickly discredited in multiple places (but I guess the blogs didn't count or they weren't "high-level" enough to register in their elite media eyes. But there is no excuse for them to ignore the Post, The Globe, The Oregonian and the NY Times!) The SF ABC affiliate covered the story without checking into who these liars were and who backed them.
Below is my blast from the past (August, 2004) on this topic to the ABC 7 News Director. I wonder how they will cover it this time? Will they simply make the Liars' claim and wait until someone from the AARP comes forward and says, "These people are known liars. Of course we don't hate the troops. No, we aren't liberal, we are a non-partisian group blah, blah, blah."? By this time the first mover advantage of rumors and lies has spread to people who are inclined to believe this drivel.
I'm sick of the "A says this and B says this, here is C to comment on what A and B say." format of local TV. Do some FRACKING RESEACH beyond what the "experts" from each side say! I remember the joy I felt when I saw a reporter from the LA Times repeat a Cheney claim and in the very next sentence he stated that he has been proved wrong. He didn't wait to get that fact from the mouth of a democrat.
More of that kind of reporting please.
Kevin Keeshan
News Director
ABC7 News
Dear Mr. Keeshan:
Would you please knock it off and stop treating these discredited Swift Boat Liars like they have any credibility whatsoever?
It would be one thing if this story was early in the run of their slanderous commercial, but the contradictions and lies of the people in the ad have been revealed. Now is the time to show the ad for the baseless dirty smear that it is, not some "developing controversy".
For heavens sake do some reading about these people instead of simply calling it a "controversial" ad. If the Republicans tell you that John Kerry is a 12 foot Genie made out of cheese do you have to wait for the Democrats to tell you that, "No John Kerry is not a 12 feet tall Genie and is not made of cheese.
Do you have to run a story titled, "Kerry's height and composition in question?" No, you tell the viewers that the Republicans made a patently false claim today in their bid to convince voters John Kerry is not of this earth.
Look, these people are now backing away from their statements and those who are not are disavowing their own words and previous statements which clearly question their credibility. Please do some background reading before just using the same old tired lines. Try The Oregonian here , The Washington Post here and Boston Globe here, or even the New York Times if you want a nice graphic. And for a more complete up-to the minute list try http://www.mediamatters.org/. You could try factcheck.org too, but sometimes when someone makes a statement that is a scurrilous charge that isn't a fact, it's just mud.
Oh, and if you are going to make statements like "These ads are hurting John Kerry among vets could you please tell us WHO COMMISSIONED the SURVEY? How big was it? Who paid for the survey? Who put out the press release telling you about the survey? When was the survey run? Did they run it before or after the debunking of the stories in the press?
Also, when you have an expert on who is saying how this is going to hurt Kerry do you think that maybe the fact that the expert works for the conservative American Enterprise Institute is relevant to the viewers? Sure, you ran the name of the group but you didn't say it was a conservative group and of course you didn't mention that Lynne Cheney, the wife of U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, is an AEI senior fellow.
I'm sure that if you had dug a bit you might have found someone who will come on and say, "This ad will actually help John Kerry because the Republican funded Vets have been shown to be liars, BY THEIR OWN WORDS. This ad will hurt Bush because Americans are disgusted by this mud slinging." That viewpoint would be just as valid as the AEI guy and I'll bet you would be sure to idenifty what group he is from. You can not simply take the experts from these "think-tanks" and put them on the show without understanding they have a very specific agenda. You are doing a disservice to your viewers by not letting them know that these "experts" are not impartial.
If these Swift Boat vets were saying what they are saying now under oath in a court of law some would be charged with perjury. This American is disgusted by this mud slinging and disappointed that the people from ABC7 are keeping this story in the headlines without doing some serious reporting on the current status of the key players in this story.
Sincerely,
Spocko
Spocko. Author of
Spocko's Brain, the blog that is sweeping the nation. Now with 8 readers!
When the ads came out the local TV stations they were quickly discredited in multiple places (but I guess the blogs didn't count or they weren't "high-level" enough to register in their elite media eyes. But there is no excuse for them to ignore the Post, The Globe, The Oregonian and the NY Times!) The SF ABC affiliate covered the story without checking into who these liars were and who backed them.
Below is my blast from the past (August, 2004) on this topic to the ABC 7 News Director. I wonder how they will cover it this time? Will they simply make the Liars' claim and wait until someone from the AARP comes forward and says, "These people are known liars. Of course we don't hate the troops. No, we aren't liberal, we are a non-partisian group blah, blah, blah."? By this time the first mover advantage of rumors and lies has spread to people who are inclined to believe this drivel.
I'm sick of the "A says this and B says this, here is C to comment on what A and B say." format of local TV. Do some FRACKING RESEACH beyond what the "experts" from each side say! I remember the joy I felt when I saw a reporter from the LA Times repeat a Cheney claim and in the very next sentence he stated that he has been proved wrong. He didn't wait to get that fact from the mouth of a democrat.
More of that kind of reporting please.
Kevin Keeshan
News Director
ABC7 News
Dear Mr. Keeshan:
Would you please knock it off and stop treating these discredited Swift Boat Liars like they have any credibility whatsoever?
It would be one thing if this story was early in the run of their slanderous commercial, but the contradictions and lies of the people in the ad have been revealed. Now is the time to show the ad for the baseless dirty smear that it is, not some "developing controversy".
For heavens sake do some reading about these people instead of simply calling it a "controversial" ad. If the Republicans tell you that John Kerry is a 12 foot Genie made out of cheese do you have to wait for the Democrats to tell you that, "No John Kerry is not a 12 feet tall Genie and is not made of cheese.
Do you have to run a story titled, "Kerry's height and composition in question?" No, you tell the viewers that the Republicans made a patently false claim today in their bid to convince voters John Kerry is not of this earth.Look, these people are now backing away from their statements and those who are not are disavowing their own words and previous statements which clearly question their credibility. Please do some background reading before just using the same old tired lines. Try The Oregonian here , The Washington Post here and Boston Globe here, or even the New York Times if you want a nice graphic. And for a more complete up-to the minute list try http://www.mediamatters.org/. You could try factcheck.org too, but sometimes when someone makes a statement that is a scurrilous charge that isn't a fact, it's just mud.
Oh, and if you are going to make statements like "These ads are hurting John Kerry among vets could you please tell us WHO COMMISSIONED the SURVEY? How big was it? Who paid for the survey? Who put out the press release telling you about the survey? When was the survey run? Did they run it before or after the debunking of the stories in the press?
Also, when you have an expert on who is saying how this is going to hurt Kerry do you think that maybe the fact that the expert works for the conservative American Enterprise Institute is relevant to the viewers? Sure, you ran the name of the group but you didn't say it was a conservative group and of course you didn't mention that Lynne Cheney, the wife of U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, is an AEI senior fellow.
I'm sure that if you had dug a bit you might have found someone who will come on and say, "This ad will actually help John Kerry because the Republican funded Vets have been shown to be liars, BY THEIR OWN WORDS. This ad will hurt Bush because Americans are disgusted by this mud slinging." That viewpoint would be just as valid as the AEI guy and I'll bet you would be sure to idenifty what group he is from. You can not simply take the experts from these "think-tanks" and put them on the show without understanding they have a very specific agenda. You are doing a disservice to your viewers by not letting them know that these "experts" are not impartial.
If these Swift Boat vets were saying what they are saying now under oath in a court of law some would be charged with perjury. This American is disgusted by this mud slinging and disappointed that the people from ABC7 are keeping this story in the headlines without doing some serious reporting on the current status of the key players in this story.
Sincerely,
Spocko
Spocko. Author of
Spocko's Brain, the blog that is sweeping the nation. Now with 8 readers!
5 Comments:
Nine readers now. ;)
I'm a longtime Eschaton lurker and infrequent poster.
Have I mentioned that Vulcans are sexy? ;)
YE HA! Hell, at this rate I'll break double digits by the Summer!
Thank you so much for stopping by and posting.
You are most welcome here. And of course Vulcan's are sexy, it's a fact known throughout the know Galaxy. I’ve been told that it’s the “smart, with simmering emotions” thing we got going. The captain once famously called me a, "dirty half-breed" I have learned that bridging worlds is difficult. I have a love of science plus an appreciation the power of love.
I see the power of logic and also the power of intuition, love, friendship, and honor.
I go though times wanting to suppress one side of my personality more than the other in the hopes of 'fitting in' better in society, yet I am most truly myself when I stand alone linking two worldviews. I hope to find others like me who also cross worlds.
Understanding of the aspects of the self that is usually associated with being male and at the same time other aspects that are usually associated with being female.
I am competitive and believe in merit and at the same time appreciate that fields are rarely level and that sometimes the best thing for competition is fairness and regulation.
Please let me know your thoughts on stuff I post.
Thanks again for being a reader ?!
or is it !? or should I call you "Number 9, Number 9, Number 9"
Ten readers. Your up to ten now, spackle.
Damn grammar police will be on my ass for that one.
Your = You're.
Mister:
The Heretik asked me to tell you that you can mark him down for number 10. He also told me I better put myself down. Not put myself down in a personal deprecating way. Put myself down as number 11 on your reader list. He also wanted me to tell you that Condi's diary got an update at:
http://theheretik.typepad.com/the_heretik/2005/02/from_condis_dia_4.html
I have to tell you, The Heretik has really been on one lately as he works reporting from his desk at the mouth of hell. He appreciated working with you on the Gonzales Constitution toilet paper thing. At the recent Left Wing Conspiracy convention, he put your name in nomination for the position of Assistant Treasurer Twice Removed. Keep up the fine work, give yourself a pat on the back.
Now get back to work!
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