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Letters
Sunday, November 30, 2008 12:00 AM

The ongoing disgrace of NBC News and Brian Williams

Another story from the NYT further exposes the corruption of NBC's reliance on Gen. Barry McCaffrey as an "independent military analyst."

The letters thread is now closed.

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Sunday, November 30, 2008 01:02 PM

Credibility

Found it!

http://people-press.org/report/?pageid=1358

or click on signature.

In one sense, GG's columns are free advice to the networks on how to restore credibility.

Quote:

In 1998, for example, 42% of those who could rate CNN gave it the highest rating for credibility (four on a scale from one to four). That fell to 28% in 2006, and remains low in the current survey (30%). Credibility ratings for several other television news organizations - including the three major broadcast news outlets - also have declined since 1998. Comparable percentages say they can believe all or most of what NBC News (24%), ABC News (24%) and CBS News (22%) report (based on those who can rate those organizations).

Credibility ratings for the Fox News Channel have remained largely stable in recent years. Currently, 23% say they can believe all or most of what they hear from Fox, down slightly from 2006 and 2004 (25%).

Sunday, November 30, 2008 01:20 PM

NBC's always had a dilemma

It's worth pointing out that NBC, being an entity of RCA before that company's destruction by GE, always has had to deal with belonging to a major defense contractor. You would think they had figured out by now how to deal with that.

Hmm, maybe they have.

Another problem for NBC/MSNBC is it's continuing employment as political commentator a rather clueless, unenlightening fellow, whom, correctly, the Southern Poverty Law Center classifies as a "white nationalist". I don't know if that isn't actually more incredible than an arm of GE effectively promoting the sale of GE weapons systems; where is GE's white nationalism division?

Sunday, November 30, 2008 01:25 PM

Just to recap...

Brian Williams believes that Rush Limbaugh is an important thinker, Peggy Noonan deserves a Pulitzer, and bloggers are a bunch on losers living in their mother's basements who never take off their pajamas.

In a perfect meritocracy, Mr. Williams would be Glenn Greenwald's office boy, making coffee and toasting bagels.

Sunday, November 30, 2008 01:28 PM

hawk(ish) person

No no Party control of all media is the only fair solution. All TV, radio, internet must be strictly controlled and managed by our state overlords. For fairness and openness, like in China.

Don't be foolish.

I think the Internet and programming like Democracy Now! are really leading the way. If you have the misfortune of tuning into any of the cable "news" programs, you'll find an array of Natalie Holloway stories (or something along those lines), prison programming (which is essential, were it presented as reality, namely, the prison-industrial complex that shames our nation, rather than the "Good Lord! I'm glad that's not me!" approach), and maybe some weather stuff.

The point: the general misdirection provided by traditional media is slowly asphyxiating under its own preposterous weight, or so I hope (lacking evidence). For those who are truly interested in what's going on, other outlets provide access to genuine information (which doesn't mean the corporate channels ought to be allowed to evade their responsibilities--although I wonder, is there such a thing anymore?).

Finally, regarding another (but not quite) matter, someone wrote I'm not saying GE doesn't benefit from war. I'm just saying to update your talking points.

Talking points?! What!? Didn't you get the TalkingPointsMemo?! (and that's enough with the ?!, isn't it?!)

Sunday, November 30, 2008 01:34 PM

Does General McCaffrey's 'analysis' qualify as "war profiteering" or "propaganda"?

I'm being quite serious here. His continued work on NBC, absent public disclosure of his financial stakes in the ongoing conflict, smacks a bit of the sort of profiteering Blackwater and Halliburton have been noted for.

Alternately, even if his financial interests weren't an issue, there's the question of the accuracy of his analysis. It strikes a bit like the bunk Rumsfield and Bush would spout when they talked about the insurgency, intended to stop debate cold rather than accept it.

Either way, does his continued appearances on NBC constitute some kind of legal infraction? I'm simply asking for arguments sake, not because I seriously think there is a case to be made.

Sunday, November 30, 2008 01:41 PM

The National Media

MUST be broken up, removed from control of large corporations, or ANY corporations.

And the existence of corporations should be re-evaluated. There is something grotesquely rotten there.

Sunday, November 30, 2008 01:45 PM

Product liability.

o/t[Advertisement,Public Notice: Class-action product liability lawsuit.

If you, or any member(s) of your immediate family, have been harmed by the outrageous, mis-leading and false propaganda presented as the News by NBC, et.el., herein referred to as "The News Product" ... contact bah.]

You're to late Glenn. My big brother called me before the crack of dawn to tell me about this NYT story! We had discussed this story periodically ever since your article in April. ...he's your typical piss-elegant NYC liberal and, thusly, caught right on to the problem/potential.

pro bono,

bah.

ps. Brian who? ~silver lining~

Sunday, November 30, 2008 01:52 PM

Io in the Well (forgive my abbreviation)

Does General McCaffrey's 'analysis' qualify as "war profiteering" or "propaganda"? I'm being quite serious here. His continued work on NBC, absent public disclosure of his financial stakes in the ongoing conflict, smacks a bit of the sort of profiteering Blackwater and Halliburton have been noted for.

I agree with this. Unfortunately, I don't see any reasonable/legal recourse. I've often thought that the best, most rational, response is to simply walk away from these outlets. I really mean that.

BlackCat argues: The National Media MUST be broken up, removed from control of large corporations, or ANY corporations. And the existence of corporations should be re-evaluated. There is something grotesquely rotten there.

This is true, to my mind, but not reasonable in that it simply won't happen. And apart from that, there needs to be a monetary rationale for any news outlet. This is why I favor outlets such as Democracy Now!--they depend on donations from viewers who support their programming. None of this is new to you; I only repeat it for those to whom it is.

Sunday, November 30, 2008 02:07 PM

How About The "Milblogs?"

That's a shoe that hasn't dropped. The so-called "milblogs" that were getting lots of attention a couple years ago were (and remain) right-wing Pentagon propaganda outlets with special access to various field commanders. They include outlets like "Blackfive" and people like "Michael Yon." It will be interesting to see what happens to this propaganda machine after Obama takes over.

Sunday, November 30, 2008 02:30 PM

watergate...?

if only Nixon were alive, and President these last 8 years...

he'd be in Heaven

marc

Sunday, November 30, 2008 02:53 PM

Magic Dog

How About The "Milblogs?"

This is a good point. I don't read these although I'm aware of them. I suspect it's a heavy-handed/ham-fisted effort to try to wrest control of a medium they don't understand.

What's that line from Yeats? Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;

I don't know if that's true, but I like to think so.

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