Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch Turns Tables on Media

Newsmax.com ^ | 12/03/05 | unknown

[beyond the sea]

The American media is up in arms over reports that the Pentagon hired a public relations firm to write positive news stories about the Iraq war and get them printed in the Iraqi press.

But Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, spokesman for U.S. forces in Baghdad, isn't letting journalists get away with their phony display of outrage.

After the New York Times front-paged the "fake news" story Thursday under the headline: "U.S. Is Said to Pay to Plant Articles in Iraq Papers," Gen. Lynch defended the practice.

"We don't lie. We don't need to lie," he told reporters in Baghdad. "We do empower our operational commanders with the ability to inform the Iraqi public, but everything we do is based on fact, not based on fiction."

Sounds to us like Gen. Lynch was taking a none too subtle jab at the mainstream media's penchant for reporting - not just planted stories - but its own faked news reports.

Perhaps the next time he's questioned about "planting" stories, he'll get even more specific, by reminding the military's accusers of their own sorry history.

Beginning with:

• The New York Times - and the false reports the Old Gray Lady printed about PFC Jessica Lynch - courtesy of Jayson Blair.

• The Washington Post - which won a Pulitzer Prize for its series on Little Jimmy, the 8-year-old heroin addict - which the paper had to give back once star Post reporter Janet Cooke admitted she'd faked the whole story.

• CBS - Perhaps at the next press briefing, Gen. Lynch could inquire as to whether the Tiffany network has yet discovered just who it was who forged President Bush's National Guard records - before Dan Rather committed professional suicide by putting them in the air.

• NBC - Gen. Lynch might offer the Peacock network a hearty round of congratualtions for their relatively good conduct over the last decade. It's been more than 10 years since NBC aired video of an exploding GM truck gas tank - which was faked by their reporters.

In fact, the list of fake news stories reported by the mainstream press is so long it would make even Baghdad Bob blush.

It's good to know that some in the military - like Gen. Lynch - aren't about to let the press' hypocrisy go unnoted.

[upchuck]

WHY are these people given the platform to do this???

Their funding should be removed posthaste.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

[MizSterious]

Watching Fox & Friends this morning, the irony was inescapable. There they were, three lefties (especially Julian) self-righteously huffing and puffing about how this hurt "journalistic ethics." To those three, I say, there's scarcely an ethic among the three of you, and certainly none in MSM. In fact, they wouldn't know an ethic if it reached up and bit them on the nose.

Planting stories might have its drawbacks, but I think I understand why they did it. For the life of me, though, I can't figure out why the rest of the media plants, exaggerates, and completely fabricates the stories they do.

[wita]

An anchor chair. Hmmmm, those words have a Rather (no pun intended)(not much anyway) ominous connotation.

[MindBender26]

Don't forget that in 1986, CBS was hungry to air the first video of the Chernobyl plant after the explosion.

They paid $10,000 for aerials of the smoking plant.... which turned out to be aerials of cement factory in northern Italy.

After all, just because it was set in the mountains (Chernobyl is in flat, mildly rolling country) and there was a rooftop sign in non-Cyrillic characters, and Fiats, Lancias and cement trucks everywhere, who could have known?

Remember, CBS's "Man on the scene in Dallas, our new reporter Dan Rather...." announced that JFK had been pronounced dead about 25 minutes before he was.

Idiots

[AlphaOneAlpha]

How's this for an idea? Lynch records a three minute piece every day.

In the first minute Lynch names all of the large American media orgs he is releasing the tape to and states he has urged them to play the followng 2 minute reporting piece on a prime time news show slot or print the text of the report the next day, if the MSM outlet was a newspaper.

In the two minute report segment, Lynch talks directly to the American people on behalf of our military in Iraq. He reports what has occurred or been accomplished, good, bad or ugly, over the past 24 hours.
This takes the White House out of the news reporting cycle and thus extinguishes the left's noise about Bush/Cheney, etc. And, for those MSM left leaning outlets that choose to not show or print what our military are truly accomplishing, I would envision Fox News running their commercials, and the Washington Times their advertizement stating THEY are showing or printing the daily reports every day...and they can name all of their non participating competitors who are not. and urge viewers or paper readers to exclusively get first hand reporting of exactly what is happening by our true "boots on the ground".

And, this approach would also leave the disingenuous Democrats in a bind. How do they continue to say they support the troops (we all know they loath the military)if they start criticizing the reporting of our men in uniform?

[Candor7]

"...everything we do is based on fact..."

And if you are a soldier who operates otherwise, your life will be very, very short.

The MSM s don't get that. Their lives will be very short too, and they are already suffering decreased ccirculation and audience numbers.

When the facts are there for all to see....the MSM looks absolutely ridiculous. I love it!

Reality that is not spinable, hey, thats not fair!

LOL

[Arrowhead1952]

Why hasn't there been a full investigation regarding CBS and the forged documents. And why hasn't anyone been charged?

ronnie earle is too busy going after Tom DeLay, because DeLay is a Republican.

[airborne]

Challenge the MSM to a contest.

They present all stories that the military published that were false, and we present all the stories the MSM printed that were false.

It will be no contest!

[Txsleuth]

Thank you...but you just did in a way...Tony Snow is a freeper....

[george76]

[Txsleuth]

And....the White House is a follower of the FR..also...at least I have heard that from several show hosts...

SO...they are being bombarded by Tony's column...and our remarks as well.

[Txsleuth]

Their funding HAS been stopped...

They are being privately funded..that is the main reason that they shouldn't get the airtime and coverage they get.

They are always shown on C-span still, even though they are basically just a bunch of private citizens bitchin!!!

[Txsleuth]

What the critics are making of point of NOT saying is this: the stories are the TRUTH...

Whether they like the idea of having to pay a paper to run stories or not, they CANNOT call this propaganda..because all we are doing, is "advertising" the good news...instead of just letting the Iraqis keep believing that everything is doom and gloom, all over Iraq.

Hey---what's wrong with an article that proclaims the "NEW AND IMPROVED" Iraq?---as long as it is all true?

[george76]

[CyberAnt]

You left out CNN! Remember Eason Jordan. CNN was in Iraq for 12 years and NEVER TOLD THE PUBLIC about the horrors that were going on there.

The media is scum!

[JOE6PAK]

[beyond the sea]

JUST when we think the good guys have gotten the message that they need to QUIT apologizing and agonizing over every perceived affront that the dems and MSM throw at them... -----

Right.............. time to kick some serious ass!

This country/world is in real trouble.

[CyberAnt]

I love it!!

[beyond the sea]

WHY are these people given the platform to do this???

I hate to say it......... they ARE the platform!

The media has been "one world " for at least eight decades!

Kill America......... the bankers, the money lenders rule.

ask yourself...................... why is there NEVER a one hour story in the media on the illegal, never ratified income tax?

Why is there NEVER anything ................ oh, I quit.