NBC Showcases Anti-War West Virginian Over One Critical of Media

Strategy…Would it be worth the effort to take one anti-American news outlet, like NBC and hammer them about their Nazi propaganda, with emails, faxes etc sent to them and their sponsors, for a period of months? Then target another, maybe a particular show, like rude Chis Matthews? CNN’s Larry King almost alive, pack the phone lines?

Thanks. Glad to finally see it. Man they lept--LEPT--to their feet.

It is not surprising that, in responding to Gayle Taylor, he did not dispute her but, instead, attacked President Bush.

What do we expect? The old press is a cornered animal fighting for the last days of their monopoly. It will be hellish the closer we get to the midterm elections.

It`s just the opposite, the more the MSM does this crap, and then are exposed as we see it live or on Fox, the more creditability they loss. Question: When you saw the NBC lie, did you believe it? Nobody else will either.

I wish that were true, but there's a number of households that still watch the "big 3", thinking that they're telling the truth. My very left-wing brother lives with my parents, and is constantly scolding them about how "terrible" Fox news is, and how NPR is the voice of the people. The result: they watch "60 Minutes" every week, sometimes falling for the lies of the liberal MSM. Unfortunately, I live 600 miles away and can't exert sufficient influence over their veiwing habits to wipe CBS/NBC/ABC/CNN off their screen.

but there's a number of households that still watch the "big 3", thinking that they're telling the truth. My very left-wing brother lives with my parents, and is constantly scolding them about how "terrible" Fox news is, and how NPR is the voice of the people. The result: they watch "60 Minutes" every week, sometimes falling for the lies of the liberal MSM.

Ditto here. My 83 year old mother gets her news only from the BS and BCrap stations ... and the liberal left-wing Pittsburgh Post Gazette. Although she's never watched FOX News, she truly believes they represent devil speak.

We're kidding ourselves if we think the majority of Americans are not primarily influenced by the propaganda of the liberal MSM. I use FR for the assurance that I am not alone in my beliefs ... but by no means believe that FR-ers represent anywhere near the majority opinion. Sad to say, the majority of Americans are all too easily led by the lies and propaganda of the MSM.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11993079/

MATTHEWS: Thank you, David Shuster.

Kent and Gayle Taylor, who you just saw in David Shuster’s report, join us now. Gayle Taylor criticized media coverage of the war in Iraq at the president’s town hall meeting with military families just yesterday. Her husband, Warrant Officer Kent Taylor, served in Iraq for a year with the Army National Guard’s mobile public affairs detachment from Ohio and was a broadcast journalist for the Army National Guard.

Welcome to you, both.

I have to start with Gayle. What moved you to make that very strong statement at the meeting yesterday with the president?

G. TAYLOR: I was moved to make that comment with the president because I have been on both sides of this, and I have firsthand knowledge that things aren’t as bad as what has been portrayed.

And I am in no way saying that things aren’t bad; I am in no way saying that things don’t get edgy. We are in a war, but I also know that there is so much good coming out that does not get shown.

MATTHEWS: Let me ask Kent. Thank you, sir, for serving for our country. And I mean that.

K. TAYLOR: It’s an honor.

MATTHEWS: I mean that a lot. That’s a lot of guts to go over there, no matter in what capacity. And it’s gutsy for reporters to go over there.

I want you to give me now an account of your experiences over there with reporters, when you took them around to dangerous places, and you showed them what was going on positively, and they also saw the negative, what was your—give us an account of what was that like?

K. TAYLOR: Well, as a member of the 196 Mobile Public Affairs Detachment, there were 20 of us. And part of our mission was to escort media. And when we were supporting the First Infantry Division, we had a very good relationship with reporters.

If they needed to go somewhere, we would arrange transportation for

them, through either Army helicopters or vehicles. If they were embedded -

although we knew our mission wasn’t primarily to support them—every commander, every patrol commander knew that the media was there, that, if things were happening, they made arrangements, said, “This is what we’re going to do, this is what we need you to do, and this is how we’re all going to get through this safely.”

Our relationship was really a very good thing over there. My experience—I had privilege of going out to different locations and finding stories, just by talking to Iraqi people, or to the soldiers and airmen, Navy, sailors and airmen, Marines, who were doing their job.

MATTHEWS: Right.

K. TAYLOR: There was a story I did with the Ohio engineers—or the engineers from Ohio and the Marine Corps engineers, building...

(CROSSTALK)

MATTHEWS: But, Sergeant, that’s been going on for a long time, in World War II and in Korea. Guys I’ve known have had jobs, even in peacetime, to make sure good stories about the personnel serving overseas and what they’re up to, the good work they’re doing.

That’s a normal role for a PIO, a public information officer, for one of the services, isn’t it?

K. TAYLOR: Yes.

MATTHEWS: Is that the job of the commercial media, as you see it? Should somebody on NBC, or CBS, or ABC, or FOX, should that be their job to do what you’re describing?

K. TAYLOR: I believe that the commercial media, as you’re describing, has an obligation to report everything that’s going on in a truthful way, no spin, no political decisiveness. I believe that just a small part of what’s going on and repeatedly reporting that as the only thing going on, I believe, that that scares families; it’s a disservice to our service members.

MATTHEWS: Do you think there’s a political motive or a career motive behind that? What is the motive for what you see as distorted reporting?

K. TAYLOR: In some aspects, I believe there could very well be a political motive. I know, for a fact, that there are members of the media who are bitterly opposed to our president, the Christian values that he believes in, the decisions he makes, and even the party he stands for. I knew that was also...

MATTHEWS: Did you hear that firsthand from any reporter who you toured around with?

K. TAYLOR: Oh, nobody’s going to say that, and...

MATTHEWS: Well, how do you know it?

(CROSSTALK)

K. TAYLOR: ... the record. Well, I’ve talked to people. I’ve watched TV. I watch news a lot. I enjoy the news most of the time.

MATTHEWS: But from your firsthand experience in the field, have you got any evidence of any reporter having a secret agenda to hurt the president, who doesn’t share your and his Christian values? Any evidence of that?

K. TAYLOR: Not specifically details, but, again, I know that it’s apparent.

MATTHEWS: Well, any evidence of any kind, any anecdotal stories you could tell of a reporter making a wise-guy comment or an anti-Bush slur?

G. TAYLOR: On the nightly news.

MATTHEWS: No, I’m talking about your experience in the field, sir.

K. TAYLOR: I can’t say that I did, because when we were over there in Iraq, we talked about hometowns; we talked about families; we talked about doing our job; we talked about the potential in Iraq for the people who have, for centuries, known nothing by tyranny...

MATTHEWS: Right.

K. TAYLOR: ... and the freedom that they could have...

MATTHEWS: So your firsthand’s experience, Kent, are that reporters sort of share your attitudes and your values?

K. TAYLOR: My firsthand experience also was with the people here in this country who I have talked to when I got back, saying—I let them know that I was a broadcast journalist over there, and I saw things that the nightly news did not report very much of. And almost every one of them was in agreement; they need to see and want to see better things coming out.

MATTHEWS: OK, so you’re reporting now on what people in America want to see.

K. TAYLOR: Well, I’m not in the media business anymore.

MATTHEWS: No, but you’re just recounting to me what your friends at home are saying they’d like to see on the nightly news rather than what they’re seeing. It’s a point of view. It’s fair enough, but it is, in fact, an account of what people...

K. TAYLOR: Well, yes, and 2,000 people at the music hall gave Gayle a standing ovation when she asked that very simple question, so obviously there’s a significant number of people that agree with her idea that we need to see the good things.

MATTHEWS: For sure, I agree. I agree.

K. TAYLOR: And if that many people would do a standing ovation...

(CROSSTALK)

MATTHEWS: That’s a legitimate sentiment.

Let me go back to Gayle. The sentiment you have, as a wife, as a spouse of someone who served over there courageously, I can only assume, being the fact that everybody is getting blown up in different places over there, Gayle, tell me what moved you? Was it the feeling of your fellow community members back in Ohio or was it something you knew from Kent? What was it that made you—it’s very courageous to stand up and face the president.

G. TAYLOR: I think, to answer your question, it was from both aspects. I know people that served with my husband. We’ve had discussions; we’ve had discussions just in our private circles, as far as friends that I have, organizations, jobs, things of that nature.

And, you know, when I posed that question, I wasn’t doing it for any other reason than I’m very serious about this. I think that there are problems there. I think that the reporters that are embedded in Iraq are doing a fabulous job. I am not criticizing them. I’m not trying to be critical; I’m just asking for more balance. That’s all we need.

MATTHEWS: Do you believe that the war—do you believe, Gayle, based upon your conversations with your husband—because obviously your sentiments are powerful here—do you believe the war is going better than it’s being reported? In other words, there’s a good likely we’ll have a stable government over there in a couple of years, that we’ll be able to come home?

G. TAYLOR: I can’t say a couple of years, but, yes, to answer your question, I absolutely do believe in our effort that’s being put forth.

MATTHEWS: No, but do you believe it’s going better than it’s being reported, not what you believe in?

G. TAYLOR: Yes, I do.

MATTHEWS: Why do you believe that? Why do you think we’re going to have a better outcome than that’s being reported?

G. TAYLOR: Because I am a part of a military family, and I have information from the military and from conversations that we have that isn’t reported.

MATTHEWS: OK, I want to go—we only have a minute, Kent. I want you to tell us, if you can, within the rights you have as a service person, what’s going on over there that makes the war more likely to end with a good result for us than it’s getting reported?

K. TAYLOR: Most of the Iraqi people are simple, family people. They want the best for their children; they want to be able to provide; they want their kids to get educated; they want medicine; they want to be able to have freedom that they’ve never had.

And a great number of the people I talked to that live there and have experienced the regime are certainly in favor of all the good things that every service member is doing over there.

MATTHEWS: Are they going to fight for the side for peace and for the majority rule, or are they going to stand back and...

K. TAYLOR: Well, certainly. Certainly. I mean, you report on the suicide bombers that goes up to a line of people standing at a police station looking for jobs. The bomb goes off, the incident is cleared, and they get right back in line to go to work for the police.

They get right back in line to join the military. Our base in Tikrit had a training facility for the Iraqi National Guard. That’s what they were called at that time. And I talked to a lot of them, and they were so thrilled that they could serve their country and bring freedom to their family and choice that we’ve had.

MATTHEWS: OK. Last question: Will we win this war, Kent?

K. TAYLOR: Yes.

MATTHEWS: Gayle?

G. TAYLOR: Yes.

MATTHEWS: Thank you very much. You’re great Americans. Thanks for coming on HARDBALL.

G. TAYLOR: Thank you.

K. TAYLOR: Thank you.

MATTHEWS: Gayle and Kent Taylor. Is the media getting the story right in Iraq and will President Bush’s blame-the-press strategy take the heat off him and his team? We’ll be joined by Ben Ginsberg and Bob Shrum.

FYI:

ABC's World News Tonight, however, was unique amongst the broadcast evening newscasts and highlighted the contention from the woman anchor Elizabeth Vargas described as "the wife of a military journalist who was just back from Iraq."

And ABC News is the only MSM covering the Iraq doc release also. Wassup with that?

Here is a graph for Chris Matthews compliments of Media Research Center MRC.org

NBC's David Gregory instead decided to assert that "in a state he won twice...many here now wonder whether the sacrifice of American lives has been worth it."

Why doesn't David Gregory just shut up and dance? I still don't understand why you think he's good looking!

I would of asked Chris Matthews as a member of the mainstream media if he supports our troops success in Iraq. If he said "yes" then I would of followed up his answer by asking him "why do you think most of the members of our military see your mainstream media reporting as a failure in Iraq and a detraction to their effort and our country?"

Did you say "Dance, David Dance?"