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The Death of Journalism
Townhall.com ^ | March 21, 2014 | Jeff Crouere

Posted on 03/21/2014 1:58:16 PM PDT by Kaslin

What happened to the watchdog media? Sadly, in this day of Obama, they have turned into the lapdog media. Everyone knows that most members of the mainstream news media are card carrying liberals; however, even staunch left wingers should have enough integrity to fulfill their responsibilities to the public. Our country has benefited from a vigorous “fourth estate,” but that crucial oversight is sorely lacking today.

Of course when Republicans are in office, liberal journalists become quite aggressive and love to launch investigations. When Democrats are in office, these same journalists help the politicians cover up their misdeeds. The identical press that blasted George W. Bush throughout his administration is totally uninterested in examining President Obama’s failed policies, broken promises and weak leadership.

The biggest omission has been a detailed examination of Obamacare and the President’s many exemptions, extensions and revisions to the plan. Today, the plan is a shadow of the legislation that passed, but the American people are only being told about the March 31 deadline and the President’s massive sales push to reach 7 million enrollees.

Respectable journalists should be appalled by the President’s undignified salesmanship of his plan, appearing on every type of entertainment or sports programming. In the past few days, he has been on ESPN, the Ellen show, and an Internet program “Between Two Ferns,” among many others. He is literally pulling out all the stops and knows that on these fluff programs he will never be asked anything resembling a tough question. In the process, he is damaging the presidency by outrageous shilling that is beneath the dignity of his office. .

Obviously the President does not care about the message he is sending, he just needs two million more Americans to sign up for Obamacare before the deadline. His target audience is the young people who have been less than enthused about enrolling. To gain rapport with the youth of America, the President will do almost anything. Whether it is filling out his NCAA basketball brackets or appearing on a late night talk program, there are no limits since there are no presidential standards.

In the past, Presidents could expect rough treatment from the media if they crossed the line. In this administration, the tough media critics are ostracized and eventually removed from any threatening positions. Case in point, Sharyl Attkisson, formerly of CBS News, who resigned after the liberal network continued to spike her investigative pieces. She was the one mainstream news reporter asking questions about Obamacare, Benghazi and the Fast and Furious gun running program, but now she is gone and the coast is clear for President Obama once again.

Unlike Richard Nixon, President Obama does not have to worry about a Woodward or Bernstein uncovering any of his Watergate type scandals. At news conferences, he can expect softball questions and does not have to face a reporter like Sam Donaldson, who regularly peppered President Reagan with aggressive queries.

This White House press corps only gives kid glove treatment. So, the President can pick his basketball teams in peace, who cares if there is war breaking out in the Ukraine or if Venezuela is in turmoil?

It is fitting that Mrs. Obama is travelling to China this week with her children and the media was not invited. Despite the fact that she is using tax dollars to take a free vacation, no member of the press will be there to question the First Lady during her trip.

Of course, the good liberals in the media went along with this administration edict. After some griping, they scurried back to their media dog house, ever ready for their master the next time he calls them out to play.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Editorial
KEYWORDS: journalism; journalists; liberalbias; mediabias

1 posted on 03/21/2014 1:58:16 PM PDT by Kaslin
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To: All

What did you just wake up from 2007?


2 posted on 03/21/2014 2:02:36 PM PDT by DocJhn
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To: Kaslin
Pat Caddell called it. Do you believe it yet?

Pat Caddell slams the media: They have become an “enemy of the people” Sept. 29, 2012(video 26:00)

Emotional Pat Caddell on the MSM ignoring Benghazi: “These people have no honor!” Oct. 27, 2012 (video at link 4:06)

The MSM are enemies of the people!

3 posted on 03/21/2014 2:03:52 PM PDT by TigersEye (Stupid is a Progressive disease.)
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To: Kaslin

I make taxpayers buy the Station, and pay me well, but I will bend over for Obama for FREE!

4 posted on 03/21/2014 2:08:46 PM PDT by Navy Patriot (Join the Democrats, it's not Fascism when WE do it, and the Constitution and law mean what WE say.)
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To: DocJhn

That would be quite a shock. Ha.


5 posted on 03/21/2014 2:09:39 PM PDT by FreeperCell
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To: Kaslin
In the past, Presidents could expect rough treatment from the media if they crossed the line. In this administration, the tough media critics are ostracized and eventually removed from any threatening positions.

in what past? not the recent past... name one recent Democrat President or Senator or Congressman that the media has come hard against... they did not suddenly become soft when Obama came along... they didn't go after Clinton... not after Hillary with all her scandals... not after Jesse Jackson... Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer with their conflicts of interest... Ted Kennedy, John Kennedy, John Kerry, Al Gore... it's been this way for a long time...

6 posted on 03/21/2014 2:10:56 PM PDT by latina4dubya (when i have money i buy books... if i have anything left, i buy 6-inch heels and a bottle of wine...)
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To: latina4dubya
Things didn't go completely to hell until after Whitewater when every young skull full of mush decided (with generous liberal J-school indoctrination) that journalism was all about "social justice." The idiot editor of my local paper once wrote me that his job was to "comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable," a phrase widely used in the past by union social acivists of the Obama stripe.

No, dimwit, your job is to report the news accurately and as objectively as possible.

7 posted on 03/21/2014 2:28:50 PM PDT by Bernard Marx
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To: Kaslin

WE HAVE SEEN THIS MOVIE BEFORE:

About 18 months ago an older male reporter, Larry Conners, from Missouri local news station KMOV, asked Obama about his excessively expensive vacationing and if he understood the suffering of the American people:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSpYUumnIks

They audited him and then his news station FIRED him:

http://www.politico.com/blogs/media/2013/05/kmov-anchor-the-irs-is-targeting-me-163945.html


8 posted on 03/21/2014 2:39:17 PM PDT by gaijin
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To: latina4dubya
Republicans are challenged on every syllable they utter. Even worse, the suspicion of racism, or sexism is always present. Democrats are never questioned, and even if they are found hovering over the body, with blood on their hands, they are quickly excused and given cover by the 'journalists'.

For me, the Texas Air National Guard memos story was a perfect example of this. CBS jumped on this when it looked like it hurt a Republican. Even when all evidence showed they were fake, they stayed with the story. Now, original story, if true, showed some measure of privilege that had apparently been bestowed upon George W. Bush some twenty-five years prior. Fair enough. But the story morphed into someone, at the time of the story was producing fraudulent documents to harm a sitting president of the United States. It was a far juicier story than what the original story purported to be. Did the media follow it up? Did they try to find who was behind it? Someone in the John Kerry campaign perhaps? No. They didn't follow this trail, even though they had been humiliated in biblical proportions. Clear evidence of who the press is.

9 posted on 03/21/2014 2:40:49 PM PDT by fhayek
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To: latina4dubya
The only Democrat might be John Edwards, but even with him they sat on the story of his affair for a year while he was still a viable candidate. It's only when a baby emerged that they were forced to cover it.

-PJ

10 posted on 03/21/2014 2:48:00 PM PDT by Political Junkie Too (If you are the Posterity of We the People, then you are a Natural Born Citizen.)
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To: Kaslin

Woof!


11 posted on 03/21/2014 3:47:38 PM PDT by lentulusgracchus
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To: FreeperCell; DocJhn
What did you just wake up from 2007?

That would be quite a shock. Ha.



Especially if he went into his coma long lots of WAMU and Indybank, with big positions in AIG, Chrysler, and Solyndra.

Nassss-ty!

12 posted on 03/21/2014 3:55:21 PM PDT by lentulusgracchus
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To: Political Junkie Too
It's only when a baby emerged that they were forced to cover it.

Didn't that one get broken by one of the checkout-line "yellow journalism"/two-headed-baby weeklies?

13 posted on 03/21/2014 3:56:39 PM PDT by lentulusgracchus
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To: lentulusgracchus
Yes, I believe it was the National Enquirer that ran the story.

-PJ

14 posted on 03/21/2014 4:01:36 PM PDT by Political Junkie Too (If you are the Posterity of We the People, then you are a Natural Born Citizen.)
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To: Kaslin

The last of any credible MSM was taken to the grave with Tim Russert. I’m SURE he was a liberal, but you’d never really know it when he was interviewing people.


15 posted on 03/21/2014 4:16:43 PM PDT by KoRn (Department of Homeland Security, Certified - "Right Wing Extremist")
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To: gaijin
The corporations who own the news divisions are anxious to lick Obama's palm.

I guess they were just waiting for a president who was willing to toss the Constitution out the window and do whatever the hell he wanted to come along.

16 posted on 03/21/2014 5:08:34 PM PDT by skeeter
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To: Kaslin

Did he never experience the Clinton years?


17 posted on 03/21/2014 5:52:18 PM PDT by Luke21
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