CNN does not have a liberal bias!!

[Magiver]

@Sam Stone

Do we need a clearer example of media bias than the Kerry/Swiftboat flap? This story has been out there for a week,

Sam, try 6 months. I heard about these guys in late January.

This is a pointless discussion unless you want to go over a month’s transcripts and compare it to another news program regarding similar news.

It would be better to go over CONTENT bias if you want a down-and-dirty barrameter.

I don’t know how many people on this board have ever taken a class in journalism but I would recommended it highly. It will improve your writing style, expose you to the rules of good journalism, and as a side benefit it will help you in almost every mental excercise you care to engage in.

I don’t have cable anymore so I can’t fling an opinion on CNN. I will say that every (that’s EVERY) news program has a built in bias simply through the choices they make as news. Each program creates the news simply by giving it a venue. To the extent it becomes a journalist bias can be categorized and rated if you are so inclined to do so. Again you need to review A LOT OF INFORMATION. There are some obvious clues to bias that you can look for:

If a news cast reports a government statistic, and then follows it with the phrase “but is it really …” you are looking at pure, INTENDED bias.

If you see a someone interviewing the local “Sussy Creamcheese” who is giving support to a news report, you are looking at BS. Ask yourself HOW this person got in front of a camera? Where they just roaming down Elm Street looking for someone to interview? Unless the person interviewed is an expert in his/her field it is an abuse of journalism to give any weight to such opinions. It’s staged news.

If the newscaster inserts adjectives into a basic piece of news, you are looking at bias. EX: Years ago a national newscaster referred to the space station MIR with derisive descriptors in a report about the problems onboard. It was technically accurate but misleading. The premise of the report should have been made that the MIR was deliberately kept aloft passed it’s duty cycle because it was the only station available to use for multi-nation use. It was a known risk.

If you hear the word “investigate” in a sentence you are about to be spoon-fed someone’s personal opinion. It isn’t news that happened, it’s news someone just created. Considering it is part of 30 minute newscast, that’s pretty sad. Like there isn’t 30 minutes of raw news that could be reported on. That’s Andy Rooney journalism. It might be true but it is certainly someone’s opinion before it ever sees the light of investigation.

Take any news program, write down the subject of each news event, what was involved to make it newsworthy, where on the planet this takes place, who is affected, and the timeliness of the event. Then look at the adjectives that are inserted into each sentence read.

Bias, thy name is PRIME TIME NEWS.

[rjung]

@Sam Stone

In contrast, the guys who are supporting him did not serve with him very long.

In contrast, the guys who are supporting Kerry were ON HIS BOAT.

Just because the Swifties want to play fast and loose with the definition of “served with” (“I was in the Vietnam theater the same time Kerry was there. Ergo, I served with him.”) doesn’t mean the rest of us are obligated to play along.

@Sam Stone

The seventeen members of his Swiftboat group who are testifying against him are easily as qualified to judge his character as were the people on his boat.

These seventeen members of his Swiftboat group also conveniently forgot to mention any problems they had with Kerry until they were tapped to derail the guy’s election. Why should I believe they’re motivated by anything other than naked partisan politics?

[ElvisL1ves]

A quick compendium of the exposure of just some of the “factual inadequacies” the smear campaign has gotten **Sam ** to find “credible”.

On its Web site (www.swiftvets.com), the group calls itself “non-partisan.” But public records show that two of its three main backers are longtime GOP contributors.
…
In 1971, O’Neill, a swift boat veteran who didn’t serve with Kerry, was picked by the Nixon White House to counter Kerry’s anti-war stand in TV debates.
…
Like Hoffmann, none of the 13 men in the TV ad served on either of the two swift boats — small, lightly armed patrol craft — that Kerry commanded.
…
George Elliott, who came to Kerry’s defense during his 1996 Senate campaign when questions were raised about his Silver Star…Last week, Elliott recanted that affidavit in a statement to The Boston Globe, saying he had made “a terrible mistake.”
…
Adrian Lonsdale, who in 1996 called Kerry “among the finest of those swift boat drivers.” He says he changed his mind after reading Brinkley’s book. Lonsdale, who outranked Kerry, recalls meeting him only once at an officers club. “The only thing I remember is he whined a lot about the lack of air support,” he said.
…
Charles Plumly, a retired Navy captain who was Hoffmann’s chief of staff. He says Kerry “required a lot of supervision” and “did things without permission.” Asked in an interview for examples, he said, “I can’t give you exact specifics.”
…
Van O’Dell and Jack Chenoweth, who are among those who say Kerry lied about an incident on March 13, 1969, for which he received a Bronze Star and a third Purple Heart…Rassmann has dismissed such accounts as “pure fabrication.” Del Sandusky, Kerry’s boat driver, says, “I saw the gun flashes in the jungle, and I saw the bullets skipping across the water,” adding that the contrary accounts are “part of the Republican slime machine.” {Rassman *is * a Republican. -EL}.
…
Louis Letson, a doctor who says he treated Kerry. He says Kerry didn’t deserve his first Purple Heart because he “inadvertently wounded himself” and “there was no hostile fire.” Medical records, however, note that Kerry was treated for shrapnel by J.C. Carreon, not Letson.

FactCheck.org is worth a read, too, Sam. It’s mild enough to conclude that “nobody really knows”, but that still leaves you with the problem of explaining why you believe this group, and what basis is left for complaining about “the media” not covering the story properly.

[rjung]

As long as we’re debunking the Swift Bullshitters for Bush cabal, eRiposte has one of the most comprehensive list of countercites I’ve seen yet.

And I like this (linked) quote from Digby’s blog about the Swifties’ allegations:

It has struck me lately what a terrible indictment of the military these charges are and how once again the Republicans have absolutely no limits in terms of how fully they are willing to trash the American institutions they allegedly love in order to win. What these people are saying is that the US Navy awarded some of its highest medals for bravery to a coward. The many officers who signed those glowing fitness reports and awarded those citations are either liars or they are incompetent. The word of his shipmates, even the man whose life he saved, are worth nothing. You can’t believe military documentary evidence. It was all bullshit, every last piece of it.

And because of this it can now be said that all medals awarded for bravery are suspect. A superior military record is no longer a recommendation. Who can ever believe the government on this issue, now?

Why won’t you support the vets, Sam?