# I pit FEMA... No, make that this whole fucking administration! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 26, 2007, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-fema-no-make-that-this-whole-fucking-administration/424108 "2007-10-26T14:47:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2007, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-fema-no-make-that-this-whole-fucking-administration/424108/21 "2007-10-26T21:19:27Z")
> [@Algher](#): > > In term of bad behavior ranking: > > 1. Press releases full of data. Low evil > 2. Press briefings. Low evil. > 3. Press briefings disguised as a press conference (yet apparently not too much of a secret). Low-middlin evil. > 4. Only meeting with friendly reporters. Medium to high evil. > 5. Paying columnists. High evil. Where on your list would you put [video news releases that are staged and scripted to mimic actual news reports](http://www.truthout.org/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi/37/9592)? I would class those in at least the “medium evil” category, and this type of fake press conference is disturbingly similar. > [@](#): > > In all, at least 20 federal agencies, including the Defense Department and the Census Bureau, have made and distributed hundreds of television news segments in the past four years, records and interviews show. Many were subsequently broadcast on local stations across the country without any acknowledgement of the government’s role in their production. […] > > Federal agencies are forthright with broadcasters about the origin of the news segments they distribute. The reports themselves, though, are designed to fit seamlessly into the typical local news broadcast. In most cases, the “reporters” are careful not to state in the segment that they work for the government. […] > > An examination of government-produced news reports offers a look inside a world where the traditional lines between public relations and journalism have become tangled, where local anchors introduce prepackaged segments with “suggested” lead-ins written by public relations experts. It is a world where government-produced reports disappear into a maze of satellite transmissions, Web portals, syndicated news programs and network feeds, only to emerge cleansed on the other side as “independent” journalism. […] > > Local affiliates are spared the expense of digging up original material. Public relations firms secure government contracts worth millions of dollars. The major networks, which help distribute the releases, collect fees from the government agencies that produce segments and the affiliates that show them. The administration, meanwhile, gets out an unfiltered message, delivered in the guise of traditional reporting. ---
**Author:** ![Algher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Algher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algher)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2007, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-fema-no-make-that-this-whole-fucking-administration/424108/22 "2007-10-26T22:09:53Z")
[QUOTE=Kimstu] Where on your list would you put [video news releases that are staged and scripted to mimic actual news reports](http://www.truthout.org/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi/37/9592)? I would class those in at least the “medium evil” category, and this type of fake press conference is disturbingly similar. [/QUOTE] That is an interesting one. On one hand, it makes the government no better than any corporation. That does not surprise me, given that we use corporate metrics with our government - why not expect them to respond in the same way. I expect the government to do a better job of disseminating information, and perhaps video laden press bits are better than another boring government report. Given that the government did not hide its hand in this, I would personally pit the news network that uses the video without revealing its source. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2007, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-fema-no-make-that-this-whole-fucking-administration/424108/23 "2007-10-27T00:22:52Z")
[QUOTE=Algher] That is an interesting one. On one hand, it makes the government no better than any corporation. That does not surprise me, given that we use corporate metrics with our government - why not expect them to respond in the same way. [/QUOTE] That’s sort of like saying because criminals use knives in the commission of a crime, we should automatically expect _anyone_ with a knife to commit a crime, don’t you think? And how would you propose we measure government effectiveness if we didn’t use metrics like we use with corporations? (And I feel I should point out that _many_ of the metrics used in business are _mandated_ by the government, so it’s not a case of us forcing the government to adopt corporate practices, but rather the reverse.) ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2007, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-fema-no-make-that-this-whole-fucking-administration/424108/24 "2007-10-27T00:57:17Z")
FEMA issues [apology](http://www.abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/Story?id=3782176&page=2) . Even the Whitehouse thinks it was a sham. My skeptic side tells me that the Whitehouse and the DHS knew about it, but did not realize the magnitude of the blogosphere backlash. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2007, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-fema-no-make-that-this-whole-fucking-administration/424108/25 "2007-10-27T01:26:41Z")
I actually think this needs to register higher on people’s Outrage-O-Meter. On the surface, it seems rather harmless. But I can easily see this scam used as a vehicle for pumping lies and propaganda down our throats. > [@](#): > > On one hand, it makes the government no better than any corporation. Corporations create infomercials designed to fool stupid people into buying inferior, crappy products. Informercials paint a glowing picture of whatever it is they are advertising. They don’t tell you that the Chia Pet smells like ass. They tell you the Chia Pet smells like roses and clover. Corporations are run by con men. They use commercials to lie and distort. The government is supposed to be better than a corporation. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2007, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-fema-no-make-that-this-whole-fucking-administration/424108/26 "2007-10-27T02:14:40Z")
[QUOTE=NurseCarmen] They had no choice but to use FEMA employees. All of the Republican gay male prostitutes were tied up. literally. [/QUOTE] Yeah, but that was a professional obligation. Now, if Americans would stop electing closeted bondage buffs…! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2007, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-fema-no-make-that-this-whole-fucking-administration/424108/27 "2007-10-27T02:24:02Z")
[QUOTE=Polycarp] Yeah, but that was a professional obligation. Now, if Americans would stop electing closeted bondage buffs…! 😃 [/QUOTE] No, I think it was because Republican gay male prostitutes have _some_ standards! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Rhubarb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/59ef9b/32.png) [@Rhubarb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhubarb)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2007, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-fema-no-make-that-this-whole-fucking-administration/424108/28 "2007-10-27T02:28:38Z")
[QUOTE=Tuckerfan] No, I think it was because Republican gay male prostitutes have _some_ standards! 😃 [/QUOTE] That’s true. Anything beyond the “standards” costs extra. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-fema-no-make-that-this-whole-fucking-administration/424108.md?page=1)