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Why Is Brian Ross Still Working for ABC News?
PJ Tatler ^

Posted on 07/21/2012 10:49:44 AM PDT by chessplayer

ABC News reporter Brian Ross committed what used to be a fatal mistake to a journalist’s career: He blurted out a wild, unsubstantiated, speculative observation that hadn’t been vetted by anyone and was explosively political at the same time.

Via Breitbart:

Here is the exchange between ABC News chief investigator Brian Ross and host George Stephanopoulos about apparent suspect James Holmes:

Stephanolpoulos: I’m going to go to Brian Ross. You’ve been investigating the background of Jim Holmes here. You found something that might be significant.

Ross: There’s a Jim Holmes of Aurora, Colorado, page on the Colorado Tea party site as well, talking about him joining the Tea Party last year. Now, we don’t know if this is the same Jim Holmes. But it’s Jim Holmes of Aurora, Colorado.

Stephanolpoulos: Okay, we’ll keep looking at that. Brian Ross, thanks very much.

Thanks for what? Ross just tried to connect the Tea Party to the murder of 12 innocents based on the thinnest of speculation: that the name on the website almost matched the name of the suspect.

The political implications of the attempted smear were dynamite. And yet, the casual manner in which Ross reported this “fact” — even with a fig leaf caveat — was shocking. No attempt was made to confirm anything.

There used to be a time when journalists had a rough integrity about what they said over the air and took pride in striving for accuracy. Who could ever forget ABC’s Frank Reynolds, ABC News anchorman, who, after receiving and announcing word that James Brady had been killed in the Reagan assassination attempt only to discover the press secretary was still alive, got visibly angry and to no one in particular barked on air, “Let’s get this right. Let’s nail this down.”

(Excerpt) Read more at pjmedia.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events; US: Colorado
KEYWORDS: abcnews; aurora; brianross; colorado; leftistmassmurder
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To: Texas56

“Yesterday, I sent an e-mail to ABC slamming their politically biased reporting, and demanded Ross’ firing. I further stated I hoped the wrongly accused James Holmes sued the pants off of Ross, Stephanopoulos and ABC.”

I have a feeling we weren’t the only ones. But I got a reply telling me to contact my local affiliate. Did I send it to the wrong people?


21 posted on 07/21/2012 12:19:37 PM PDT by freeangel ( (free speech is only good until someone else doesn't like it)
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To: chessplayer
I doubt Ross or Stephanopoulos get even so much as a couple days suspension.

I'd be surprised if they'll bear any punishment at all.
22 posted on 07/21/2012 12:21:21 PM PDT by hawaiianninja (Palm note to self: Work for a succesful 2012! +Throw the garbage out!)
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To: hawaiianninja

What’s curious is why the left wing McCarthyism being prosecuted against the Tea Party and its supporters isn’t being addressed more directly... by those who are its targets ?

No indignant outrage DEMANDING resignations ? Why not ?

The left wing medias purposefully imposed manipulation and control of the language... depends on exactly that passivity from their political opposition.

Why anyone ever labels them “mainstream” when they represent the views of at most 15% of the population ?


23 posted on 07/21/2012 12:45:15 PM PDT by Sense
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To: Diogenesis

I saw it posted here as “Always Been Crap”.


24 posted on 07/21/2012 12:46:29 PM PDT by Crcl1
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To: Diogenesis

I saw it posted here as “Always Been Crap”.


25 posted on 07/21/2012 12:47:11 PM PDT by Crcl1
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To: Texas56

I would like to see James Holmes, the Tea Party member, handed the keys to the front door of ABC. That way he could be in a position to fire every last person, have the buildings demolished with heavy equipment and salt the earth below the buildings just to make sure.


26 posted on 07/21/2012 12:55:53 PM PDT by Clay Moore (The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of a fool to the left. Ecclesiastes 10:2)
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To: chessplayer

I watched a program about a pre-teen painter that Ross went after to destroy her career.


27 posted on 07/21/2012 12:58:35 PM PDT by School of Rational Thought (Fun for women ages 21 through 35)
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Keep FR Running
Counter the MSM spin machine.

28 posted on 07/21/2012 1:13:08 PM PDT by RedMDer (https://support.woundedwarriorproject.org/default.aspx?tsid=93destr)
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To: chessplayer

Ross and Stephanopoulos thought they had discovered plutonium. Now they should be nuked with a massive lawsuit.

.......and they need to have that old liberal adage thrown in their face : “what did you know and when did you know it”..............


29 posted on 07/21/2012 1:15:48 PM PDT by profit_guy
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To: chessplayer

How about some ABC contact info for us to demand Ross be fired?


30 posted on 07/21/2012 1:36:17 PM PDT by ozzymandus
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To: ozzymandus

http://abcnews.go.com/Site/page?id=3271346&cat=ABCNews.com%20comments


31 posted on 07/21/2012 1:44:30 PM PDT by PhiloBedo (You gotta roll with the punches and get with what's real.)
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To: Clay Moore

When the corrupt liberal media “reports a story” it goes something like this: ‘he may be a felon - or not’

i.e. we’ll make unsubstantiated accusations, and the onus is upon you to prove they are not true

.....I wonder how George Stephanopolous would respond if Fox News said that ‘he may have been a child molester - or not’


32 posted on 07/21/2012 1:48:59 PM PDT by profit_guy
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To: chessplayer
Has Brian Ross denied that he is a child molester?

Why not?

33 posted on 07/21/2012 2:10:29 PM PDT by blam
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To: chris37

No longer allowed to inform, just propagandize.


34 posted on 07/21/2012 2:13:12 PM PDT by The_Media_never_lie (The First Bystander must be removed!)
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To: The_Media_never_lie

Then let us all refer to it as what it is.

ABC Misinformation, Propaganda, and Lies.


35 posted on 07/21/2012 3:10:50 PM PDT by chris37 (Heartless.)
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To: chessplayer

Yes, what was Ross thinking, anyway? He was supposed to let a DNC hack blurt out the wild, unsubstantiated, speculative observation, and then report it without an opposing view. That’s how the alphabet newsies usually do it.


36 posted on 07/21/2012 5:02:32 PM PDT by FlyVet
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