# Palin: Dear Media, Leave My Family Alone. Also, Please Buy My Reality Show **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 4, 2010, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-dear-media-leave-my-family-alone-also-please-buy-my-reality-show/531272 "2010-03-04T13:35:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-dear-media-leave-my-family-alone-also-please-buy-my-reality-show/531272/61 "2010-03-04T21:42:10Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > You guys keep bringing up Fox. Fox doesn’t comprise 5% of the nation’s media or represent 5% of the media messages that go out every day…if even that. > > I can tell you exactly what would happen if one of Obama’s daughters were to get pregnant at some point in the future. The media would flood us with poignant stories of teen pregnancy and what the country must do to try to contend with the problems it presents. Talk shows like Oprah’s would do the same. The women on _The View_ would be full of sympathetic stories about daughters of people of their own acquaintance who tragically became pregnant at an early age and suggest that we start giving out birth control pills and condoms to kids at school starting at around the fifth grade or so. The Obamas’ requests for privacy would largely be observed and the entire issue would be treated with respect and the gravest of concern. The Palins have been completely left alone. No one has invaded their privacy. No one has attacked the kid that had a baby. All of this persecution is imaginary. And if one of the Obama girls got pregnant, you can rest assured that Fox News and talk radio would never stop gloating about it. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-dear-media-leave-my-family-alone-also-please-buy-my-reality-show/531272/62 "2010-03-04T21:47:09Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > The first report was Reuter’s report that bloggers were accusing Palin of having faked her pregnancy. > > Reuters ran that report. They are a media outlet. First of all, cite for that being what the “first report” was? From my reading it lookslike they could just be saying that Reuters first reported that Palin’s daughter was pregnant. It looks like the CBS story was piggy backing on Reuters. I think you’re misreading your own link. You said that Reuters “removed a report.” Cite? The CBS story doesn’t say that. Having said all that, so what if Reuters reported that a blogger had made an accusation. Was that not true? How is that an attack? ---
**Author:** ![Peanut\_Gallery](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/838e76/32.png) [@Peanut\_Gallery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanut_Gallery)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-dear-media-leave-my-family-alone-also-please-buy-my-reality-show/531272/63 "2010-03-04T21:48:30Z")
For arguments sake, let’s concede that the media is purely liberal, Sarah has always been ruthlessly picked on, she is completely sincere in feeling that her family should be off limits, and Trig really is her baby (ha!). How does one (yea, you all know \*which \*one) explain the choice to invite TV cameras to follow her and her family around? Help me understand Sarah, since my feeble reasoning can only conclude that she is an insincere money grubbing attention whore (and worse). ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-dear-media-leave-my-family-alone-also-please-buy-my-reality-show/531272/64 "2010-03-04T21:51:47Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Yes, the moment she was forced to rebut this rumor by releasing irrefutable proof of its falsity by revealing her daughter’s unwed pregnancy, they conceded the point. Who is “they?” Andrew Sullivan? > [@](#): > > No, it’s an attack. No, it was a request by a conservative blogger that the McCain campaign put an end to the story. > [@](#): > > And there are only two reasons it fizzled as quickly as it did: one was that to the surprise of the attackers, Palin could produce quick and irrefutable proof that their difficult-to-refute charge was baseless. What attackers? ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-dear-media-leave-my-family-alone-also-please-buy-my-reality-show/531272/65 "2010-03-04T21:53:57Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Well, for someone who is so sensitive about digs at her family, especially her kids, I can’t imagine a worse idea than putting them in a reality show. I mean, what could possibly go wrong, right? :dubious: > > At best, she’d be doing a favor for Alaska, by promoting tourism. But I can’t see how she could possibly ensure that only positive images of her family ended up in the viewers’ living rooms. I imagine she would demand total control of editing decisions, and everything filmed would likely be meticulously staged in any case. It’s not like she would allow anything legitimately candid. ---
**Author:** ![Revenant\_Threshold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-dear-media-leave-my-family-alone-also-please-buy-my-reality-show/531272/66 "2010-03-04T23:06:42Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > One can only wonder why Obama’s family seems oddly able to generate only positive coverage from the media. Clearly it isn’t the case that positive coverage must ipso-facto result in corresponding negative coverage. > > I wonder why that is, hmmm? I have a question. What negative stories about the Obama family have appeared in media you would consider to be conservative-oriented that have not appeared in mainstream media, which you would consider largely liberal? ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-dear-media-leave-my-family-alone-also-please-buy-my-reality-show/531272/67 "2010-03-04T23:09:44Z")
Possibly a bit premature. From [CNN](http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/03/04/palin-pitching-reality-tv-show/?hpt=Sbin&fbid=CDJztHRJAPi): > [@](#): > > Will Sarah Palin and her family be starring in a new reality television series? Not quite, a source close to the former Alaska governor tells CNN. > > […] > > the source emphasized that the show would be a “Planet Earth-style” documentary about Alaska. > > Palin, the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee, will likely be featured in the show, the source said. But the source added that "it’s not going to be focused on her family, or in her house, or in Wasilla. > > “She is just going to use her name to help produce and promote the show,” said the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. > > […] > > “This is not ‘The Osbournes Go North’,” said the source, referencing the MTV reality show that featured rock singer Ozzy Osbourne’s family. “This is not a reality show based on the Palins.” ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-dear-media-leave-my-family-alone-also-please-buy-my-reality-show/531272/68 "2010-03-04T23:28:57Z")
That sounds more reasonable. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-dear-media-leave-my-family-alone-also-please-buy-my-reality-show/531272/69 "2010-03-04T23:32:19Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > I can tell you exactly what would happen if one of Obama’s daughters were to get pregnant at some point in the future. The media would… Wow! So the media would really do that? I guess that’s settled then. The media are biased because **Starving Artist’s** imagination says they are. That’s definitive then. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-dear-media-leave-my-family-alone-also-please-buy-my-reality-show/531272/70 "2010-03-04T23:33:15Z")
As long as Palin does some amateur action, I’ll be happy. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-dear-media-leave-my-family-alone-also-please-buy-my-reality-show/531272/71 "2010-03-04T23:37:33Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > The media are biased because **Starving Artist’s** imagination says they are. Is that the media that employs Palin? ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-dear-media-leave-my-family-alone-also-please-buy-my-reality-show/531272/72 "2010-03-05T00:01:35Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > Is that the media that employs Palin? Yes, those ones. The ones that hate Palin and are biased against her, except when they are helping her promote herself by featuring her in a show where she can use her name to help produce and promote the show. Those bastards! ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-dear-media-leave-my-family-alone-also-please-buy-my-reality-show/531272/73 "2010-03-05T00:05:58Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > Is that the media that employs Palin? Aren’t you paying attention? The media that employs Palin doesn’t even make up 5% of the media out there, so they don’t count. The other 95% spend their resources attacking her family on a regular basis. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-dear-media-leave-my-family-alone-also-please-buy-my-reality-show/531272/74 "2010-03-05T00:09:31Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Perhaps it would be more fair to say, name one _unjustified_ media attack on Palin’s family. What would you consider to be a _justified_ attack on her _family_? ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-dear-media-leave-my-family-alone-also-please-buy-my-reality-show/531272/75 "2010-03-05T00:11:04Z")
> [@woodstockbirdybird](#): > > Aren’t you paying attention? The media that employs Palin doesn’t even make up 5% of the media out there, so they don’t count. The other 95% spend their resources attacking her family on a regular basis. Well that won’t do at all. It’s Palin herself that I want to see boffing, not her family. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-dear-media-leave-my-family-alone-also-please-buy-my-reality-show/531272/76 "2010-03-05T00:11:55Z")
> [@woodstockbirdybird](#): > > Aren’t you paying attention? The media that employs Palin doesn’t even make up 5% of the media out there, so they don’t count. The other 95% spend their resources attacking her family on a regular basis. Right. Those media are constantly attacking her family. Regularly. Spending their resources to do so. I can’t imagine the horror she must go through, and how she manages to carry on. I await the mounds of evidence of these merciless continuing attacks. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-dear-media-leave-my-family-alone-also-please-buy-my-reality-show/531272/77 "2010-03-05T00:13:37Z")
> [@Lord\_Ashtar](#): > > What would you consider to be a _justified_ attack on her _family_? Well, if her family were shown to be terrorists. Or if someone thought they might be terrorists. Or if they supported terrorists at any point. Or if they lived next door to terrorists. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-dear-media-leave-my-family-alone-also-please-buy-my-reality-show/531272/78 "2010-03-05T00:18:06Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Yes, those ones. The ones that hate Palin and are biased against her, except when they are helping her promote herself by featuring her in a show where she can use her name to help produce and promote the show. Really? ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, HLN, MSNBC, Time, Newsweek, Vanity Fair, Playboy, Cosmo, The View, the Washington Post, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, and 95% of Hollywood’s celebrities are all going to do that? Cool. And on preview, what **woodstockbirdybird** said, although “attacking” is probably a little strong for some of the outlets mentioned above. After all, some of these outlets continue to try to put up the pretense of having at least a little journalistic integrity, so instead of attacking Palin outright, they just constantly add little snippets to the continual but subtle and not so subtle media drumbeat of “Look how stupid and backwards Palin and her family are”. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-dear-media-leave-my-family-alone-also-please-buy-my-reality-show/531272/79 "2010-03-05T00:30:20Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > You guys keep bringing up Fox. Fox doesn’t comprise 5% of the nation’s media or represent 5% of the media messages that go out every day…if even that. Are you sure about that? I admit I haven’t found a cite that says it’s greater or lesser than 5%…but it’s beating the _pants_ off CNN news these days. here are some citations, and I’ll try to keep my sources fair & balanced: [QUOTE=Wikipeda] [For the year 2009 Fox News had the highest ratings in its history, topping its cable news competition in all day parts and seeing double-digit gains for all of its programs.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fox_news#Ratings_and_reception) [/QUOTE] [QUOTE=The Economist] [THE “fair and balanced” network is heading for its best year of ratings ever, averaging 2.1m viewers while CNN plunges to 805,000 and MSNBC rises to 787,000.](http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2009/06/salad_days_for_fox_news) [/QUOTE] [QUOTE=Conservapedia] [Fox News Channel was the 2nd highest rated cable channel on all of television during the first quarter of 2009 in prime time Total Viewers. CNN was 17th and MSNBC 24th for the first three months of the year. FNC beat CNN and MSNBC combined and gained the most compared to the first quarter of 2008, up 24%. 2009’s first quarter was FNC’s 3rd highest rated quarter in prime time in the network’s history — just behind Q4 '08 and Q3 '05. In prime time, ages 25-54 demo, and in total day in both categories, FNC grew more year-to-year than CNN and MSNBC combined. FNC had nine of the top 10 programs on cable news in Total Viewers.](http://www.conservapedia.com/Fox_news#Ratings_Dominance) [/QUOTE] [QUOTE=NY Times as quoted in Conservapedia] [At a time when the broadcast networks are struggling with diminishing audiences and profits in news, he has built Fox News into the profit engine of the News Corporation. Fox News is believed to make more money than CNN, MSNBC and the evening newscasts of NBC, ABC and CBS combined. The division is on track to achieve $700 million in operating profit this year, according to analyst estimates.](http://www.conservapedia.com/Fox_news#Roger_Ailes) [/QUOTE] I think the complaint that Fox is a minor player rings a little hollow. ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-dear-media-leave-my-family-alone-also-please-buy-my-reality-show/531272/80 "2010-03-05T00:30:49Z")
Is it possible Palin ain’t easy to make look smart? Is anything bad about her “liberal media,” or is it possible just “information that doesn’t make her look good”? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-dear-media-leave-my-family-alone-also-please-buy-my-reality-show/531272.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-dear-media-leave-my-family-alone-also-please-buy-my-reality-show/531272.md?page=5)