CNN: We need to crack down on this free speech fad
I picked up this video at our buddy, Gateway Pundit. Anchors Kyra Phillips and John Roberts at CNN discuss how there’s just too much free speech going on out here and it’s cutting into their own credibility and viewer share;
Their claim is that there are just too many stories going around that they don’t approve of and they just don’t have the time to check the stories out (like it’s somehow the responsibility of jerks with J-school diplomas to cleanse the internet). Kind of like all of the crap CNN started spreading on the cable-ways which spawned the need for bloggers.
I’ll admit that I jumped the gun twice on phony soldier stories, but I owned up to it both times. I’ve never seen CNN own up to any of their mistakes – so I guess they ought to clean up their own yard before they start complaining about mine.
Besides, this Sherrod story wasn’t too far off the mark. I mean, all of this crap about her not saying what we think she said is horseshit – it’s on video. It’s not like we put words in her mouth. And her audience was laughing and clapping and having a good old time before they knew how the story was going to turn out.
The video shows what it shows and no amount of false hand-wringing over bloggers will change that.
ADDED Sporkmaster:
Seems like the Simpson were a head of the game when they made this.
Kent: A new Internet watchdog is creating a stir in Springfield.
Mr. “X”, if that is real name, has come up with a
sensational scoop.
Homer: [watching at home] Darn tooting!
Kent: But we must never forget that the real news is on local
TV, delivered by real officially licensed newsmen, like
me, Kent Brockman. Coming up: how do they get those dogs
to talk on the beer commercials? [a reporter in a big
cowboy hat appears] Cowboy Steve will tell you!
Here’s what I heard:
– New media has more widespread credibility than we do.
– I’m mad that people get to say what they think when I don’t agree with that they say.
– I don’t think that government controls over speech will apply to me so I don’t care if they stop the speech I don’t like.
– “Freedom of speech and all of that.” yeah…all of ‘that’ liberty shit. Fools.
– “Freedom of First Amendment and I know that’s what they all claim.” Claim?
– Two words: Fairness Doctrine
Wonderful segment…and what’s best, ol’ John there is giving Kyra the Crimson Sheleighly. Not bad for a Canadian dude who cut his teeth on lame music video shows in the 80’s. I can only imagine the post-coitus conversations they might have, lingering on and on about having the government destroy Andrew Breitbart and Matt Drudge. Dreamy.
Dear MSM…ain’t that First Amendment a bitch?
It has been my observation that contrary to common wisdom Free Speach tends to be more at risk from The Left, not The Right.
I’ll be honest… I was watching AFN this week while OCONUS and during my times availabe to watch tv, there was Fox news talking heads and then MSNBC talking heads. They were all doing their own slanted takes on that story and I was frankly quite annoyed. Some here may look down on my next thought, which was that I actually found myself missing CNN. While not perfect, I do think they tend to remain in the middle and are the least slanted of the two. Again, just my thoughts. But at least AFN still has the funniest commercials.
I might point out, CPT Me, that the sentiment on display, advocating for “greater control” was from CNN.
My favorite part is when they cry about anonymous bloggers and say that we should all have our names out there for everyone to see so we can “Be held accountable” – which is liberal speak for “Smeared if they don’t agree with us”. Y
Yet the Lame Stream Media use anonymous sources all the time and I don’t hear them crying about that.
So, when they do it ‘good’; when we do it ‘bad’
Funny how tyranny seems to be the answer for everything left/libtards don’t like and/or embarrassed by, isn’t it? (I guess it’s not fascism when they do it.)
If Obama gets his way CNN will never complain about bloggers again because everything will have to be screened through Obama, even what CNN says, or can’t say.
CNN is having to be more and more outrageous due to their tanking ratings.
I wonder if it’s possible to go back and catalog the number of factually inaccurate “unnamed sources” CNN (indeed, most of the msm), have quoted over the past 20 years, especially those who had a political axe to grind.
Claymore–I’m thinking of a couple of CNN correspondents who got shitcanned–one for comments he made in Davos claiming the military was targeting journalists (Eason Jordan–the same guy who didn’t report Saddam’s human rights abuses so that CNN could maintain “access”) and then there was the much more celebrated case of Peter Arnett and the whole “Operation Tailwind” bullshit. Then we get little things like Dan Rather and the faked TANG memos, Jayson Blair and the NY Times, etc., etc., etc…
Nope. No liberal bias there, kids.
Thank God for the MSM! Were it not for starry-eyed reporters unquestioningly publishing swashbuckling tales of glory from every 10 percenter who can put on a thousand-yard stare and regurgitate the plot from Rambo, we’d never find out about half the valor thieves out there. The blogosphere does their research for ’em and doesn’t even demand compensation; shouldn’t they be thanking us?
Television News — and all of it’s semi-star status news anchors — will probably go the way of paper ‘n’ ink mediums eventually; and they are terrified. It’s the fact that they can’t control the internet that will take away the power (and the six- and seven- figure salaries) that they have now. A bastion of the twentieth century is becoming obsolete…and the talking heads with it, as well.
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