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American Journalism and the Constitution (Tony Snow)
Imprimus | December 2001 | Tony Snow

Posted on 12/11/2001 2:09:00 AM PST by leadpenny

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Imprimus

Chow down, FReepers. This is good stuff.

1 posted on 12/11/2001 2:09:00 AM PST by leadpenny
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To: leadpenny
This is better written than the comments I have made over the last seven years, but the hypothesis is essentially the same. I lean a little bit more toward the government, through the nationalization of the air waves, licensing of broadcast stations, and censorship during world war II, caused the cartelization of the media.
2 posted on 12/11/2001 3:07:57 AM PST by marktwain
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To: leadpenny; OLDWORD
Anyone who is a "journalist" or who aspires to be a "journalist," should read and reflect on this commentary. Tony Snow does his homework. And that is the first role of any journalist.

Reaching into one's own mind for answers and solutions, in total ignorance of the history of the nation and the history of a free press, produces nothing but trach and twaddle. That's why most of the talking heads on TV, and typing heads in the print media are worse than useless, They are an active danger to the survival of the Republic.

Congressman Billybob

3 posted on 12/11/2001 5:09:01 AM PST by Congressman Billybob
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To: leadpenny
Great Stuff!!
"Many of these sites are livelier, smarter and more informative
than the old media they hope to supplant."

Think he was talking about us??? Go Tony!!

4 posted on 12/11/2001 5:33:17 AM PST by BreitbartSentMe
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To: leadpenny
Well Tony, I do like the article, but I'm afraid that it's back to square one. With the passage of the Patriot Act it is no longer feasible to offer open, honest discourse, lest one be charged with trying to change government policy through dialogue.
Sorry old friend, as much as I would like to think that there is a new medium out there, it too is being slowly eroded. I believe more and more independent writers will fall out because they do not wish to have their liberties curtailed.
Stepping out on a limb these days can serve up more than a few bruises and having the wind knocked out of you from the fall.
5 posted on 12/11/2001 5:36:22 AM PST by philman_36
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To: leadpenny
bump
6 posted on 12/11/2001 8:59:04 AM PST by Libertarianize the GOP
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To: Bush_Democrat
Think he was talking about us???

If he wasn't - he should've been. That was the line I liked too.

One can find dozens of Web sites devoted to supplying points of view still absent from ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC and NPR.

BTW, do you think he was getting in a not so subtle plug for FOX? Way to go Tony.

7 posted on 12/11/2001 9:31:10 AM PST by leadpenny
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To: leadpenny
Loved the article! Tony's great- he is one of the best conservative thinkers in America. The feeling he has that there will eventually be alternative forums to the "big three monopoly" in which conservative voices will be allowed to be heard is absolutely right- we're speaking on one of them now. I know it's mean to say, but I can't wait for Rush to take a day off or go on vacation, so that Tony can sit in as guest host. Good article ( or speech)- whatever!
8 posted on 12/12/2001 9:15:44 PM PST by conservativesoutherner
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To: conservativesoutherner
...- we're speaking on one of them now.

Bump your comments. Sometimes I think back to a few years ago before I was connected and couldn't sleep - like now. I remember thinking it was 'cool' that the networks had put up all-night programming like ABC News Now with Aaron Brown, and how far the world had come from signing off with the National Anthem and going to test patterns. Wow, were we ever getting the latest stuff. Not.

As for Rush, I can take him or leave him. If I'm in the car I try to catch him (unless there is something more interesting on C-SPAN Radio). I wouldn't want to sound like I was trying to push Rush out the door, but it would be an interesting thread theme to see who FReepers thought should replace him. Probably has been done. I have no preference, however, Snow and Hannity would love to have the Golden Microphone, I'm sure.

One other thing, I see I have to learn to spell IMPRIMIS. (and a lot of other words)

9 posted on 12/13/2001 12:10:30 AM PST by leadpenny
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To: leadpenny
I have to ask a silly question, because i'm kind of new at this. I understand many of the freeperisms & abbreviated words that I see, but there are a couple whose definitions I keep forgetting. What does it mean to "bump" someone's comments or an author's article? Is it a good thing or a way of saying that you disagree with somebody? Also, what does "ping" mean- i've always assumed that it was a way of expressing dislike for something you've just read? Could you help me out here? When you "bumped" my comments, were you agreeing or diagreeing with me? I pray that my asking this does not make me look like a moron in your eyes.

As far as Rush is concerned, I hope I didn't come off as being anti-Rush -- i'm not. I still think he is the (well-deserved) king of talk radio and I generally listen to him whenever I get a chance. But, it can be a little tiring listening to only one man, and besides a little variety doesn't hurt anyone (we need to support more conservatives than just Limbaugh). Sometimes I enjoy hearing other intelligent and witty conservatives, like Tony Snow or Brit Hume, pounding tables and standing for what's right and true. It makes conservatism more fun (to me).

That's why I always look forward to Snow guest-hosting --he's great. Limbaugh is a good conservative, but he tends to focus on smaller government issues entirely, and doesn't spend much of his energy on discussions about society and family. Tony, on the other hand, is a good conservative across the board (both economically and socially- which I appreciate because i'm an economic conservative and I believe in conservative virtues as well). I think Tony is at his best when he discusses moral concerns like society, culture and family; and his beliefs in God and the right to life.

As far as Sean Hannity is concerned, he won't be guest- hosting anymore because he has his own "national" show now (which is fine by me because i've never been fond of Hannity- he's has too many overbearing qualities and he doesn't know how to make good conservative arguments). I hope that Rush will replace Hannity with Brit Hume- he's fabulous!!!

I agree entirely with your sentiments about the "big three networks"- in short- they suck ('big time', as Dick Cheney would say)! And, yes, I caught the misspelling of IMPRIMIS. I wanted to check out the website to see all the lectures they had to offer, so I typed in IMPRIMUS- to no avail. I finally figured out I must be spelling it wrong. But don't worry, I would have made the same mistake as you(in fact- I did)!

10 posted on 12/13/2001 11:46:56 PM PST by conservativesoutherner
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To: conservativesoutherner
A Bump and Ping to ya. Sorry.

Bump is a way for someone to agree with your comments and/or put the thread at the top of the forum. Ping is to alert you to that thread in case you haven't seen it. A ping bumps a thread but a bump is not a ping. Some FReepers have very large Ping lists. BTW, IMO, there are no stupid questions on FR. If you go to my profile page you'll see a couple of threads that are bookmarked: HTML Sandbox, etc. I never read 'em.

11 posted on 12/14/2001 12:07:04 AM PST by leadpenny
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To: leadpenny
bump
12 posted on 12/14/2001 7:33:27 PM PST by MitchellC
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To: MitchellC;All
ReBump.
BTW, if anyone is interested, the IMPRIMIS Archives has a collection of some excellent speeches dating back to 1994.
13 posted on 12/15/2001 2:57:29 AM PST by leadpenny
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To: leadpenny
"All Americans have a deep interest in maintaining the Constitution. This might seem especially true of journalists, who owe their livelihoods to the founding document that frames our freedoms. Yet for some reason, American journalists in recent decades have assailed that document with startling vigor - and have seemed blissfully ignorant of their treachery. Fortunately, the Constitution itself supplies a cure for this malady.

...Before I consider how and why the Constitution does this, consider a few of the fundamental ways in which it safeguards liberty...

...Free expression, virtue, capitalism and limited government were four of the main pillars that upheld America through its first two centuries.

...Yet here we return to a source of wonder: America's journalistic establishment, which owes its existence and authority to the Constitution, fails to appreciate the Constitution's intellectual architecture. Indeed, that establishment has mounted a sustained assault on each of the pillars of the American system I have just discussed.

Wow. I just read this in my copy of IMPRIMIS, and was VERY impressed with the writing of Tony Snow.

I always thought that he was a "lightweight" when he guest-hosted for Rush, but it appears that I was WRONG.

This article is GREAT!

14 posted on 12/31/2001 12:57:23 PM PST by RonDog
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To: doug from upland; ALOHA RONNIE; DLfromthedesert; PatiPie; flamefront; onyx; SMEDLEYBUTLER; Irma...
"Fortunately, the Constitution - the forgotten document in the journalism biz - has come to the rescue. Court decisions have chipped away at old media monopolies, and now a profusion of new media has risen to supply facts and points of view the old elite brazenly ignored. Talk radio, the Internet and cable television have shattered the "mainstream" media's grip on the distribution of facts and ideas...

...The great and fitting irony is that the modern media establishment, in reviling America's constitutional principles and established institutions, broke its traditional links to the public, creating a market for its successor and bringing forth a tantalizing prospect: a full-fledged revival of the free, open, and spirited public debate, facilitated by a free and pluralistic press, that Americans took for granted throughout most of our nation's history."

Bravo, Tony Snow!

.

If you listen to Hugh Hewitt, or read his WND commentaries,
this PING list is for YOU!

Please post your comments, and BUMP!

(If you want OFF - or ON - my "Hugh Hewitt PING list" - please let me know.)

15 posted on 12/31/2001 1:10:02 PM PST by RonDog
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To: RonDog
Socialism enjoyed cachet because the press had come to view limited government as a menace rather than a safeguard. Few mainstream press organs share Madison's apprehension in Federalist 48 about the government "everywhere extending the sphere of its activities and drawing all power into its impetuous vortex." (Note: Madison in this passage was referring specifically to Congress.) Journalists consider tax revenues a secular tithe and measure virtue in terms of government outlays. When a president says he wants to attack some problem or other, the first question from reporters inevitably is: "How much are you going to spend?" - not, "What can we do?"

Agree. Great article. Thanks for the flag, Ron.

16 posted on 12/31/2001 1:56:21 PM PST by Victoria Delsoul
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To: Howlin;Miss Marple;Irma;PhiKapMom
Tony nails it with this one!
17 posted on 12/31/2001 1:56:22 PM PST by Dog
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To: leadpenny; RonDog
Thanks BUMP!
18 posted on 12/31/2001 2:03:22 PM PST by MeekOneGOP
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To: leadpenny
Too bad Snow didn't bother to explore why some Americans don't share his passion for very small gubmint. It seems to me somewhat pointless to contrast 1787 to 2001, while ignoring the things that happened in between.
19 posted on 12/31/2001 2:05:12 PM PST by Huck
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To: Huck
I think Tony needs to do more of this kind of writing
at which he is excellent and a whole lot less of the
TV anchoring at which he is wasting his talent
and he is not nearly as strong.

I like Britt Hume and John Bishop
there in front of the TV camera!

20 posted on 12/31/2001 3:47:30 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach
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