Thursday, December 31, 2009

All the News that’s NOT Fit to Print

  
New Year’s Eve, the occasion when everybody and his brother who has a keyboard or a camera takes the opportunity to make a list. Generally, it celebrates accomplishments which have occurred over the past year. In this case, it is also appropriate to chronicle the happenings of a decade. We shall concentrate on the year because the decade has become history while the year continues to present current problems.

The purpose then is to fill the gap for those who are dependent upon ABC/CBS/NBC/MSNBC/CNN/New York Times/Washington Post as their sole source of “news.” If you live in some backward area (NYC, Washington, NE corridor or the left coast) and have no access to Fox News or the internet, this is primarily for your benefit. Freedom of the press is limited by what ever pap the various news services choose to shovel your way. On this list, however, Fox News has released major stories which were completely ignored or under reported by the mainstream press.

We say ignored but in some cases they did actually report some of the details—well after the fact. When the general knowledge became saturated in the public mind, then, and only then, did they deign to impart their information and consequent spin.

The Tea Parties are, perhaps, the best example. 800,000 people is a crowd which is hard to cover up and render invisible. On 9/12, the silence from the media was deafening. Most major events attract an armada of sound trucks and camera platforms from every news agency. To their credit, CNN had a bus parked next to the Fox News fleet but that was the only indication they were there.

When challenged to actually mention the attendance at the rally on the Capitol steps which spilled past the reflecting pool and down the mall and the hours-long packed parade on Pennsylvania Avenue, the event was grossly under-reported. The press of the crowd was constant from 8 AM until late in the afternoon. The occasion of simultaneous events staged through out the country never made it to the evening news. Subsequent visits to town hall meetings with congressional representatives and local Tea Parties by outraged constituents were downplayed as minor blips by the media.

As you check on the link and review the other egregious omissions, observe that the mainstream media failures amount to little more than a cover-up. Van Jones, Charles Freeman, NEA, John Holdren and Kevin Jennings are not frequently mentioned except on reportage of their replacement or chastisement. Climate-gate, Acorn, and recipients of stimulus money are non-issues in the mind of the media elite. Apparently their absence in the news is an indication that they are normal, civic minded citizens and create situations which require no scrutiny. Rarely do you hear any of these stories which include words like fraudulent, Marxist, deviant, or un-American. All of their sins are suddenly “washed away” and they become victims of right-wing extremists.

One event which was not included was the exclusion of details which supported the role of Major Hasan at Fort Hood as the radical Islamic extremist murderer which he has proven to be. The media behavior in skirting the obvious truly is one of the best examples of failure on their part. It appears that a B+ is the grade which they would self-apply to be consistent with the president.

The damning evidence then is not what was reported but rather that which was not. While it is not unpredictable that these were not mentioned, it is shameful. Further, it is a childish device to deny reality in the belief it will disappear if not mentioned. As burgeoning interest in the frailty of our current administration is leaked to the population one would think that accurate reportage would gain more readers/viewers and increase the bottom line for these news agencies. All people want to hear and see is the truth. It seems that power is more important than money.

To foolishly wish for a more balanced future political outlook on the part of the media is unrealistic. Continue to keep visiting your favorite blogs, Fox News, and that hand full of print sources which do not fear “hope and change.” It may not make your New Year happier but at least you’ll know the truth.

Happy New Year!


In His abiding love,

Cecil Moon

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