Posts Tagged ‘White House’

  • 23 Jun

    Posted by


    Category

    Rolling Stone’s breaking news fail

    0

    Photo taken from El_Enigma's photostream on Flicker.

    Rolling Stone acted more like a 1960s rock band today than a magazine operating in the 21st century. It had a story that was bound to spark national debate—General Stanley A. McChrystal, the top U.S. military official in Afghanistan who commands the 130,000 soldiers in the NATO coalition, is not too fond of his civilian counterparts. In the profile piece, aptly titled, “The Runaway General,”  McChrystal and his aids take shots at Karl W. Eikenberry, the U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan (who, by nature of his position, is the top U.S. civilian in that country) and Vice President Joe Biden, who is no. 2 in command back on U.S. soil. Can you say public relations disaster for the U.S. Goverment?

    As expected, the fallout was severe—every major news organization picked the story up, Obama ordered McChrystal back home and may fire him…and Rolling Stone did not even bother putting the story on its website until 11:00 a.m.

    What?

    » Read the rest of the entry..

  • 10 Jun

    Posted by


    Category

    The Daily Show: “Are You Journalists, Or Are You Rushing A Sorority?”

    0

    The Daily Show is a valuable news resource.

    While one of the basic functions of the press is to keep those we cover honest, Jon Stewart & Co. do a great job of keeping the media honest.

    In this clip that aired last night, Stewart noted that the press should be asking itself hard questions in the wake of Helen Thomas’s sudden retirement.

    • What is the line between opinion and opinion journalism?
    • When does America’s unwavering defense of Israel begin to compromise our unwavering defense of free speech?
    • Is our media demonstrating a casual bias against the Arab world and the suffering of the Palestinians?

    All are extremely insightful, dead serious questions. I, quite frankly, have not seen these issues getting much coverage in the wake of Ms. Thomas’s departure. Instead, as the clip demonstrates, most of the talk has been about who will get her front row seat.

    The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c
    Press You’re Stuck
    www.thedailyshow.com
    Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Tea Party


    In addition to the media’s handling of the Helen Thomas issue, Stewart addresses another equally weighty subject—the relationship journalists have with their sources and the figures they cover.

    “It’s fun to see politicians and the people we count on to hold them accountable super-soaking each other,” Stewart dryly notes. “Are you journalists, or are you rushing a sorority?”

    The perception of bias is as damaging as actual bias. That’s one of the first things they teach in any journalism class. I’m not advocating against journalists having fun or even being on relatively amicable terms with those they cover. But journalists need to exercise extreme caution whenever they mix pleasure with business.

    Bottom line: Before you super-soak Joe Biden think, “Would this picture damage my credibility?”