Memo to Dana Milbank, the Clown Prince of the Washington Post: You are not supposed to be a part of the story. Your job as an unbiased journalist is to report the news. How the hell do you expect anybody to take you or your story seriously when you show up to discuss a story and you’re dressed like an asshole?
Of course, you did pull this stunt on Keith Olberman’s MSNBC show, so: 1) only a handful of people probably saw you, and 2) nobody with more than two living brain cells takes anything on the Olberman show seriously anyway.
PREVIOUS:
h/t Michelle Malkin
I don’t know what Milbank was doing but I don’t believe that journalists should be spouting off on topics that they aren’t in the midst of researching. But, come on, it’s a joke: the Vice President of the United States accidentally sprayed his friend with buck shot. We might have to go back to Alexander Hamilton to find a parallel- this is pretty unusual.
Oh- this biased media:
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2006_02/008217.php
Oh hell maybe the press is liberal after all:
“The [Cheney] shooting is unlikely one of a dispute over politics as Burka said Whittington has strong Republican credentials. However, he is also known as an exemplary individual.”
Who is spouting that liberal tripe that ’strong Republican credentials’ are not correlated with ‘expemplary individuals’? Fox News.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,184617,00.html
I agree that it’s fair game for late night TV hosts and other comedians. I don’t think it’s much of a joke otherwise. A man was shot by his friend in a very unfortunate accident. I doubt either man thinks it very funny.
So let Leno and Dave make their jokes. That’s there job. But the media should stick to theirs — reporting, not acting like clowns.
As for bias — I don’t deny it occurs in both directions. But the regularity with which it occurs from the Liberal Media, and the lack of any attempt at all to even disguise it…it’s astonishing.
Preston, do you really believe that the media as a whole is more biased in favor of the Right than it is to the Left?
IF so, I think you’re much, much more naive than I previously thought. Even my most Liberal-but-honest friends laugh about the Left Wing Media of the NY Times, The Washington Post, and CNN.
I believe it’s more complicated than left-right bias but the Sunday shows are ridiculously biased to the right. The same can be said about just about any opinion show: all of Fox, most of CNN and MSNBC. Remember, for instance, when Donahue had the most highly rated show on MSNBC he was still canceled because the channel wanted to appear ‘patriotic’…
But bigger problems in journalism are a reliance on ‘he said/ she said’ stories; on impossible and irrelevant predictions rather than actual stories; and a general lack of focus on the news at all in favor of celebrity driven stories. Remember back to last year when television viewers were horribly misinformed about basic facts regarding the Iraq invasion. Radio and newspapers provided somewhat better coverage.
Have you all noticed that these days even congressional members are regularly referring to media stories as EVIDENCE in Hearings on everything from Katrina to Alito? News reporters therefore, are becoming the “source” for facts, but of course they don’t believe they should divulge THEIR sources and it goes around and around. Quite frankly, it is difficult for the average citizen to figure out who or what to believe. But, I think it’s downright scarey that our elected leaders are relying on the media to the extent they are.
Dianne:
Yipes! You think so? I wouldn’t mind, for instance, having a President who claims to read the newspaper rather than relying on people afraid to tell him bad news. I don’t think anyone thinks the media is perfect but it is a little frightening that the right has sought to undermine each institution that seeks ‘truths’: education, journalism, and science.
It’s starting to feel medieval around here.
Robbie:
To give you a bit of a more empirical answer to your question. How many news shows are there focusing on investors? Compare that with how many news shows there are about workers.
How many of the talk shows feature governmental officials? Compare that with how many programs feature the people influenced by governmental decisions.
You have set up the ‘legitimate’ spectrum of possible political ideas in the media to extend from Center-Left to Far-Right. When the balance is in the Center you complain because it’s not in the middle of your artificial spectrum. This ignores the the wide swaths of political opinion that never receive a bit of airing.
Preston, your broad and unsubstantiated accusations don’t relate to my post and I’m not in the mood to play defense attorney today.
Maybe its just satire. duh
What the hell is Cheney thinking? His ass ought to be ought there talking to the press and the country, especially after the heart incident with this guy. I have to agree it’s totally unacceptable unless Cheney himself is laying in the hospital somewhere.
“out” there
Hear, hear. Let’s line up these jokers against the wall…
Clown prince, indeed.
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