For Every Cool Head, a Thousand Overheated Mouths (As Expected, the Media is Turning on Bush!)

Washington Post ^ | October 29, 2001 | Howard Kurtz

[Indiana Girl]

Amen to all you say.

[not-an-ostrich]

Another overheated mouth! Diane Sawyer interviewed a wife on one of bin Laden's 28 brothers.

[walden]

10. Powell doesn't need to be replaced, but both he and the State Department need to be muzzled, particularly the hypocritical hard-line taken on Israel.

[Phlap]

Your headline implies the media were at some point with Bush. You have been misinformed.

[RottiBiz]

. . .interview with Osama bin Laden's sister-in-law Carmen.

[DreamWeaver]

I think it's time to FREEP !! some of the alphabet news networks with emails etc. big time !! Anyone with the email addresses, could you please post them here for all to see ? Thanks !

[carton253]

I am getting very frustrated with the press. Yesterday on Sunday Morning with Sam and Cokie (or whatever that show is called) Cokie is drilling Rumsfield for answers on when the ground war would start.

I think the only answer she would have been satisifed with is was: "Well, Cokie, the ground war is going to start on November 2, 2001 at 1:02 in the afternoon. Our troops will be amassing on the cow trail outside Kabal. We should have about 2000 troops. I have authorized that they not fire their weapons until 1:22 in the afternoon. That way, the other side will have a fighting chance. If the ground war is not won in precisely 1 hour, then we will say that we have been defeated and come home."

I am tired of the press playing "gotcha". The truth is not the issue. The war is not the issue. America is not the issue. The big scoop and ratings are the only things that matter. The media wants to direct foreign policy by trying to shape public opinion.

Are the press paying any attention, or do they hear the first two or three words of any statement and just start whining... "what about us. what about us."

The press enrages me because they do not present the truth. They present their opinion as truth. They present their political slant as truth.

I feel we are in a fight for the survival of this nation. All our strength and patience should be focused on that. But the media has their focus on ratings and the big scoop.

Just report the news! Don't add anything. Don't subtract anything. Just report it!

[JoeGar]

The problem with the press is that there are three 24/7 all-news channels that need "programming". The networks' interest is not the news; they need something to fill 24 hours of air time that will cause advertisers to pay premium prices. The WTC bombing has run its course; the anthrax story has almost run its course; the military is providing scant coverage of the war; new "programming" is needed. This need for programming is evident in the shrillness of reporters. They are all competing from some new way to report stale news.

[4wvueers]

Go gett'em Reagan Man. I feel the same about the media and particularly Helen Thomas... she is so ugly, looks like somebody hit her with the ugly stick. Shame on me.

[carton253]

You have hit the nail on the head. It is about 24/7 news coverage... and that is alot of time to fill. And the only way they can keep their ratings up (and by that their advertising premiums high) is to constantly come up with the "scoop." That is what drives the news media today... advertising dollars not the news.

[I still care]

Actually, I think the piece is pretty positive. It does say that the media is out of line, wants results and stories rather than facts, and is misrepresenting what it is told. It also says that the polls say the people don't believe the media, they believe the president and think the media is out of line.

[Naspino]

Is there ANY WAY TO CHANGE THINGS? If over 65% of the country told the WhiteHouse to end briefings with the press would it?

[norton]

Link to the manual for us less adept web users?

[YankeeReb]

You have hit the nail on the head. It is about 24/7 news coverage... and that is alot of time to fill. And the only way they can keep their ratings up (and by that their advertising premiums high) is to constantly come up with the "scoop." That is what drives the news media today... advertising dollars not the news.

AMEN to that, but also don't forget that the media are primarilly leftist america haters above all else. All morning today I've been hearing about how some Afghan children were accidently hit by bombs dropped by the U.S., along with the standard, "Do the American people really have the stomach for this sort of thing."

Do you think news organs in the Mid-east even mention that these terrorists TARGETED civilians? This is what loses wars. Keep telling the population that it's hopeless, we can't stay in for the long haul and we're killing innocents, and you have the recipe for another "Vietnam". I wonder what would've happened if during WWII we were constantly worrying about German or Japaneese "innocents"? < Rhetorical Question >

[norton]

I sat in on some journalist/political science seminars following the unplesantries in Vietnam - from that experience I can speculate:
The media is totally proud of itself for 'backing the president' up to this point,
The media will reverse that stand by Ramadan - no victories, civilian casualties, misuse of power, etc.
The media will pat itself on the back for being upright and patriotic - as well as compassionate and understanding of the rights of others.
They will even muse on the wonderful honeymoon they gave to the nasty conservatives while they resume campaigning for a return to socialist rule.

Just as they did in the earlier instance, they will absolve themselves of any blame and continue to report ' the public loss of faith in the actions of the (why, yes, they are republicans aren't they?) administration'.

This being the same media and the same bunch of supposed academics who gave Clinton a pass for the Balkans.

[ImaGraftedBranch]

the best rememberance of 9/11/01 I have ever seen.

Don't try the link unless you have a high-speed connection and about 10 minutes to spare.

[YankeeReb]

I'll give them this, these terrorists know the American public , better than we know ourselves. A few anthrax letters to selected media types, and the media starts telling everyone,"The sky is falling!!!' and "Give up now, your leaders don't know what they're doing!!!". Our media is carrying the ball for the Taliban, they don't need a "Tokyo Rose" , they just let CNN , Tom Brokaw, Ted Koppel et al do the job for them.

[horsewhispersc]

You took the words right out of my mouth, I couldn't agree more. People are truly frustrated about this and I seriously doubt Homeland Security will help in anyway infact, it's just another agency to add to the turmoil of disinformation.

[TatieBug]

The liberal press is still mad cause Hillary got BOOOOOOD! Having problems continuing to back somebody who's not liked as opposed to giving consideration to someone who's doing a fantastic job as well as loved..."W"!

[ohioman]

Bullsheeit ! I am far right and am quite pleased with Bush! If Colon would only retire.