Winds of Change.NET: Media Watch: 2004-09-30

September 30, 2004

Media Watch: 2004-09-30

by Joe Katzman at September 30, 2004 5:32 PM

Sigh. The mainstream media doesn't appear to be learning much.

Maybe that should be C-BS? They're caught, again, producing a "news" segment involving bogus documents, little to no fact-chacking, and the deliberate misrepresentation of an activist's affiliations. CBS has now admitted as much re: the activist. This cartoon about sums up the issue.

INDC has a couple of interviews with CBS personnel about the latest scandal.

The Justice Department has charged that a veteran New York Times foreign correspondent warned an alleged terror-funding Islamic charity that the FBI was about to raid its office - potentially endangering the lives of federal agents. Ace of Spades also links to some background re: this reporter. Note that the Times denies the charges. We'll see.

There seems to be one expert on the other side in the Rathergate expert scorecard now. Joseph M. Newcomer, one of the pioneers of electric typesetting, has what's generally considered to be the definitive analysis but David E. Hailey, Jr., Ph.D says no, this can be produced on a typewriter. AllahPundit has more re: the latter. I'd like to see Hailey and Newcomer go head to head, myself... but I suspect he'll hear from the blogosphere's experts first.

Meanwhile, add computer columnist Lou Dolinar to the (well populated) "fake" category in the scorecard, as he explains why the exact match Charles produced using MS Word is so damning. Headline was funny too: "It's difficult to dupe publishing experts, even if Bush isn't their type" (Hat Tip: LGF)

Evidence tampering at CBS re: Rathergate? Some of it may qualify. Other stuff just looks like standard dishonesty and cover-up to me. (Hat Tip: LGF)

If you're mad, you can do something. Email all 200 CBS' affiliates - that's where your voice will really be heard. You can also fax them, which may be a better choice.

Advice from AllahPundit: "Whenever you see the mainstream media referring to someone as "Sheikh", you're duty bound to do a search for that person on MEMRI and LGF." And Rantburg, too, I might add. Newsweek's characterization of "Sheik" Yusuf al-Qaradawi as a "moderate" Muslim is a great example - this guy is a raving maniac, and AllahPundit proves it. Too bad Newsweek can't be bothered to do the same research.

Nick Coleman of the Minnesota Star-Tribune pens a scathing piece about bloggers, saying "...a lot of the attack against the mainstream media is coming from bloggers, which is like astronomers being assaulted by people who swear that aliens force them to have sex with Martians."

The replies from bloggers in Minnesota and beyond don't take long - including one from fellow Star-Trib columnist (and blogger) James Lileks, who has some wise words for us all.

For sheer malicious bias, however, nobody can outdo Reuters. Their reporting of the recent Baghdad car bomb that killed 41 people (34 of them children) is a textbook case of their approach. Is Osama a major shareholder, or what?

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Tracked: September 30, 2004 5:36 PM

CBS exposes the materialist flaw in Bakhtinian theoretics (or, "the story was like, totally in the air, you dig...?") from protein wisdom

Excerpt: INDC Journal snags a three-part interview with the movers behind CBS News' controversial Draft reinstatement piece, which aired Tuesday evening and was subsequently cited by several commenters as an example of CBS's penchant for advocacy ...

Comments

#1 from Dave Schuler at 6:07 pm on Sep 30, 2004

For an opposing view on al-Qaradawi see Abu Aardvark's take:

Meanwhile, why do I continue to defend Qaradawi? Not because I particularly like or support his brand of socially conservative religious activism. But because he continues to make arguments like this: ""Reform has become a religious obligation and a necessity pushed by a deep deterioration gripping the Islamic nation on the ground," Sheikh Qaradawi said during a lecture in Cairo Thursday, August 26 . "All people feel the brunt of our current crisis of weakness and rampant corruption, from intelligentsia to ordinary people.".. Sheikh Qaradawi further dismissed claims that Islam is an obstacle to cherished reforms in Islamic countries, reiterating that democracy is compatible with the spirit and teachings of Islam.

Also see here and here.

What's the truth of it? I don't know. But I'm reminded of how an old psychology prof of mine described the process of teaching a bear to dance in a circle. First, you observe the bear. As soon as you see the slightest motion that could be construed as "dancing in a circle" (a step, a move of the head), you reward the bear for it. You reward each movement the reflects the behavior you want to re-inforce. And with enough patience (and rewards) you'll teach the bear to dance in a circle.

If we're going to get the kinds of behavior changes in Muslims that I've read a lot about here (and elsewhere), we're not going to get far by looking for dancing bears. We're going to have to re-inforce even very slight movements in the direction we're looking for.

#2 from Al at 6:13 pm on Sep 30, 2004

Under bullet three, I think link two should be this.

Note that the other fellow is essentially an English Professor.

#3 from Joe Katzman at 6:31 pm on Sep 30, 2004

Al. You're correct about that URL. Fixed, sorry.

#4 from Glen Wishard at 6:43 pm on Sep 30, 2004

Dave Schuler (quoting Abu Aardvark):

"Meanwhile, why do I continue to defend Qaradawi? Not because I particularly like or support his brand of socially conservative religious activism ..."

Jupiter's Nuts! Rabid anti-Semitism and stoning homosexuals and adulterers to death - is that what we call "socially conservative religious activism" these days?

I look forward to seeing the fascist Muslim Brotherhood, dancing in a circle like tamed bears. Lots of luck with that one.