The media is so damn smart
I spent an hour or so at the Milblog Conference listening to the participants from the media telling a room full of milbloggers how the world doesn’t need us anymore because the mainstream media has the military all figured out. I talked with the guy from the New York Times (who knows what his name was) and even though he admitted that he read TAH regularly (he quoted some of my more memorable moments, so I know it’s true), he still had air of arrogance about him because he was from the Times. Then there was Greg Jaffe from the Washington Post who leaned back in his chair onstage and pontificated about how smart he was now after ten years of war. Yeah, I didn’t talk to him at the time because I didn’t trust myself to be face-to-face with him.
But someone sent us a link to this from Howard Kurtz at the Post who tells America that Obama doesn’t make “gaffes” because he’s talking to the media and the media understands him, but you ignorant f*cks out in the heartland don’t;
Yeah, that’s why the media interviews asshats like Jake Diliberto and Leo Webb. And they had to rob TSO’s posts last week about Tim Poe, because they don’t need milblogs. When I emailed another media critic at the Post last week about them stealing from us on that Poe story, I was told “if you want credit, go to college”.
Screw the Post. Call me for another interview – you don’t need the public, you arrogant pricks. How’s that WaPo stock doing?
Category: Media
Those in the media who have a national audience are indeed arrogant. I have found for the most part that local media are far more receptive and not nearly as condescending, which explains why in the Poe case they had to go to the local station. My local news folks, both print and tv have been very responsive whenever I have contacted them to make clarifications or corrections to stories about the military.
The full of themselves NY and DC area media have an overinflated opinion of themselves mainly because they happen to be in the big markets and can get the attention of the beltway crowd merely due to their presence and not so much their coverage.
As for that line about going to college, many of us did. We just didn’t go to college and major in journalism. You know we pursued studies into something that would translate into some sort of marketable skills should writing obituaries ever get boring.
I sat here and wanted to type something clever or intelligent into this box here, but all I know is that I agree: Post sucks
“If you want credit, go to college????” I guess TSO’s Bachelor’s from the Citadel and Juris Doctorate from GMU don’t count as college?
That arrogant little fuck should check his shit because, contrary to popular belief, vast numbers of vets and milbloggers are not only college graduates, but learned the kind of skills that they would never, NEVER teach in any university; the kind that would make that little shit stain piss his pants if he ever met one of us.
@3: You said it! Rock on, Sniper!
Sniper…you’re damn straight!
I despise those superfluous pseudojournalists with every fiber of my former military being.
Goddamned left-minded pretenders believe they own the right to being brilliant and cannot ever accept when someone hands them their ass. And Jonn, you are correct. Tell them to stuff it.
I find it hilarious that people in the media think people still respect them. I suppose it’s because they all hang out together and tell each other they are.
As for the Post, well, I’m connected to a former employee or two. I don’t hear of stories of the good ol’ days. I hear stuff like, “Man, are they terrible now. And what’s with all the basic grammar and writing errors?”
Just wait. Jonn and all the other milbloggers will get the last laugh on this. You’ll see.
Cuz Karma’s gonna be strong with these jokers.
“if you want credit, go to college”.
Find said fucktard and ask him if he’d like to compare SAT and ACT scores, college majors and GPA, or perhaps ASVAB scores. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t have the last one.
Who actually wrote that “If you want credit, go to college” line?
Who sent that to you? From what publication?
Ah, I see it was the Post – who was the critic? Not Kurtz?
Nope, not Kurtz
You should name these guys. You don’t owe them privacy or discretion. Anybody who answers so snidely like that in an email deserves to get blasted.
From the late 80s to the mid 90s I worked part time as a stringer writing sports for a couple of local papers. Journalists are often remarkably ignorant, I saw it on display time and again as they went on and on about topics which it was clear to me that they knew little about. Once upon a time they could get away with that, they were a megaphone in an echo chamber and theirs was the only voice heard which meant that their opinion could pass as authoritative. But now bloggers and others in the new media can challenge them and point out their mistakes and/or outright lies. Many of them remember the days when they were not subject to such challenges and they have to resent it, which explains the condescending, dismissive attitude.
We deserve what we get. Not us specifically, but we as a nation. We’ve allowed bullshit artists and charlatans, from NYT opinion writers to Fox & Friends, define journalism…….though it’s anything but.
We tune in by the millions to cable outlets, not to see news reported, but to see contrived controversy and scripted adversarialism.
It’s cynical to be sure, but we’re a country defined by title pawns, obesity, selfishness and helplessness….and our media reflects that.
Aw, come on – that IS a reasonably clever phrase, even if intended as an insult. For a narrow minded, self-absorbed a**hole.
Meanwhile, I’ll go with the education level of this crew as compared to his crew any day of the week. When you add life experience to that, there is simply no comparison at all. If you care to discuss moral equivelency, we win again because unlike those who call themselves “jounalists,” we serve/served to protect the rights of each and every American whether we agree with them about anything or not AND historically, a good portion of the rest of the world. Who have most of these “journalists” served other than themselves and whatever agenda they chose??
But we know that with little need to brag about it. Silly pampered, spoiled, whiny children need to be reminded of just how unimportant they are to anyone but their mamas.
“if you want credit, go to college”.
If you want credi-BILITY — think for yourself, don’t count on Professors to vouch for you .
Yes, I attended a college — please don’t hold it against me .
Doesn’t El Cid have ivey covered walls? Or is that the tears of knobs?
I think the name of the critic and the other text of his email are fair game if he’s gonna pull that kind of shit. It’ll be nice to put a name to an unjustifiably arrogant asshat who wants to make blanket assumptions like that.
A – He’s from New York, which makes him think he doesn’t stink like fly bait.
B – He quoted someone and gave no credit. Copyright laws protect the author/creator of published and unpublished material, including digital media (e.g., blogs).
C – He is, therefore, in violation of international copyright laws, which don’t give a crap about anyone’s education level but do give many craps about plagiarism and intellecutal property theft.
D – Next time you talk to him, remind him of that, and demand a credit and/or compensation.
E – If either of those is denied, make a BIG PR stink in the media. In fact, get the peeps at CNN to make a big stink about it. They always credit their sources.
[…] and their stock in trade is their arrogance without substance, what did you expect? To illustrate; yesterday’s example of the Washington Post’s media critic, Howard Kurtz telling us that the president […]