Punked! Faking the hate, manufacturing the news
My syndicated column today ties the ABC News bigotry sting and the GWU student journalist’s hoax crime together. An excerpt:
You don’t have to be a Harvard University re searcher to figure out that the media is infected with liberal bias - or to realize that some left-wing journalists will use any means necessary to create ideological narratives that fit their worldview.
The Rathergate debacle at CBS News - in which faked National Guard memos were used to smear President Bush - was an extreme example. But if you look closely, you’ll find everyday examples of Serious Journalists manufacturing the news and concocting social crises. Amazingly, they always manage to make conservatives look racist, intolerant and evil. Funny how that works…
…Welcome to Media Theatrics 101. Instead of simply interviewing folks in the South or staking out real gay couples, ABC News thinks it’s fair and objective to stage-manage social experiments and call it journalism. Next thing you know, they’ll hire celebrity prankster Ashton Kutcher to jump out and yell, “You just got Punk’d!”
Reader Brett from Atlanta e-mails:
You know what’s ironic? Tonight–the very day you have posted this article about ABC hoping to show Southern people as narrow minded bigots–that same network is broadcasting the CMA Awards! The show will do a huge number in the South, and ABC is no doubt charging top dollar to the manufacturers of pickup trucks and jeans to advertise their wares. So at the same time ABC wishes to expose Southerners as bigots, it is wooing them as viewers. Such hypocrisy.
See what others have said
Note from Michelle: This section is for comments from michellemalkin.com's community of registered readers. Please don't assume that I agree with or endorse any particular comment just because I let it stand. A reminder: Anyone who fails to comply with my terms of use may lose his or her posting privilege.
Trackbacks
Comments
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Categories: Rathergate, Scott Thomas Beauchamp
Confederate Yankee
» Shocker: L.A. Progressive Writer Who Smeared Palin as a Racist and Sexist is a Life-Long Liberal With a Severe Hatred of Republicans
Redstate
» Michael Dukakis Pulls A Freddie KruegerTigerHawk
» The bogus banned books listPower Line
» Perspectives on the Palin pickLittle Miss Attila
» That New McCain AdPatterico
» Why We Need to Link Andrew SullivanJustOneMinute
» Seeing Is Not BelievingJustOneMinute
» Sweetheart Deal
Contrived news? Popularity polls, sting operations, staged public testimony…THE LAME STREAM MEDIA IS CONTRIVED.
…and getting lamer each and every day.
I wonder if they could use a shovel. :-]
All the news that’s fit to invent.
Either way, it shows that the NY/LA/DC media have utter disdain for small-town America. Let them continue. Small-town America will continue to fight, farm, work, and do whatever is necessary for the rest of their beloved nation.
And with good reason. Small-town America loves the entire nation, not just their own home town.
I’ll take ribs and chicken in Glen Saint Mary Florida any day over pate’ and caviar in times square.
“Faux News Alert”
Beware of Faux News…
film at 11:00
Liberals simply cannot refuse the irresistible propaganda tool.
“Journalism” 101:
The New 5 W’s:
WHO: All the unsuspecting schlubs in “flyover country”
WHAT: Any opportunity to foment dissent, shake up the status quo, speak truth to power, question authority, stick it to the man (continue with ad nauseum list of propagandized platitudes taught by professor’s at “Indoctrination U.”)
WHEN: In between lattes and long weekends… (four day “Euro-week” whenever possible)
WHERE: preferably the South (when ABC pays for the jet)
WHY: It’s fun! And it’s just so much easier than real reporting, especially since you’ve already concocted the story and are just looking for affirmation.
A British survey of mosques found plenty examples of real hate (Mein Kampf, The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, etc.) for sale in mosques. Is the invent-a-story driveby media too afraid to do some REAL investigative “stings”?
With all the Bizzaro World news items going around, why they have to invent or provoke the news is a mystery to me.
Color me Flabbergasted.
Don’t forget trying to gin up some gotcha moments at NASCAR events by having a few folks dressed as obvious Muslims in the hope of getting that one inappropiate comment.
Great column Michelle, it should be required reading weekly at our high school civics classes.
On November 7th, 2007 at 11:28 am, ajmontana said:
With all the Bizzaro World news items going around, why they have to invent or provoke the news is a mystery to me.
Color me Flabbergasted.
big·ot (bĭg’ət)
n.
One who is strongly partial to one’s own group, religion, race, or politics and is intolerant of those who differ.
I would say ABC fits the definition
Which was a total bust, just as I suspect the PDA “experiment” will be.
Try having a gay couple participating in a little PDA in front of a mosque and see what kind of reaction it gets from the “congregation”.
Why doesn’t ABC follow around gay couples in the park and when they display affection towards each other have ABC staffers point and say “that’s disgusting” and record the gay guys’ reactions and put that on TV. That makes about as much sense. May I add I don’t think there’s anything wrong with being grossed out by two guys making out in a public park.
TMI
Michelle, If it weren’t for people like you we would all just be sheeple! Thanks for all the good work, may God bless.
Heaven help us when a liberal gets an idea lodged in his mind. ABCnews truly thinks bigotry and stereotypes exist in some realm independant of individuals, let’s call it stereotypeland or bigotryland, and they only need to buy a ticket to that destination. What about the idea individuals have their own thoughts and prejudices and are solely responsible for what they think and feel. They want to find one or more people who react a certain way, then generalize that to a larger group? It’s all so twisted I can hardly get my mind around it.
max (#7) -
You forgot one.
HOW: By any means necessary.
Why is nobody yelling about the bigotry of the GWU student for her attempt to frame the rethuglican neocons? No need to answer, it is obvious.
As for the Southern thing, Lynyrd Skynyrd said it best, “The Southern Man don’t need him (them) around anyhow”
Make mine oysters at the Urbanna Oyster Festival.
http://www.urbannaoysterfestival.com/
Hey, AJ, they’re talking food here - LOL.
#4 and #22 -
I’m partial to corndogs, lemon shake-ups, and funnel cakes at the Illinois State Fair in my hometown of Springfield.
greeeaaat!
Soapie - AJ’s too busy eating.
This is certainly nothing new. The MSM has been doing this for decades. I remember when they used to contrive outrage to control public opinion about black racial prejudice by doing very similar things in the 60’s, 70’s & 80’s. Of course without the internet it was never really exposed and many people “bought into it”. They manufacture it, They imply because of said story it is widespread and of course mainly or only whites are the bad guy, racist, haters etc. Let contrive a situation and go into a gay haven and see what kind of response is elicited? What? That wouldn’t be fair??
What’s worse will be the editing of these staged events. For the 999 passerby who ignore the same sex couple, there will be 1 who will jeer, and that’s the guy who’s going to make the broadcast. Much like news from Iraq right now. Anbar province may be well on the road to recovery, but you won’t find Anderson Cooper there.
The libs & the MSM spend half their lives creating a conservative straw-man and then spend the other half of their lives knocking it down.
How are Christian groups treated at Gay Pride events or at the Folsom Street Fair? At Chicago’s parade they are not well-received. Why aren’t those situations on the “news.” They don’t even have to pay any actors to expose that.
Feebs, Me too but I can multitask.
OT-
Shocka, no food for aj yet, but yes my radar was alerted.
Shuttle landing soon 30 mins or so,
NASA
And we’ll hear about the Columbia noose when…ummm…oh, never mind, move along…
hey aj, i was gonna tell you about the shuttle landing. but never mind your on top of it.
jose
Thanks jose,
Last time the shuttle landed the duel sonic booms were directly over our heads. It was cool.
*does AJ ever wonder if it looks like a marshmallow burnt on one side
go outdside soap you may be able to see it today 8 mins. over birmigham now
Naw, I am too far south. Will not get the booms this time.
st augustine and orlando should see it, and hear it for sure.
There she is! Come home baby!!!
What a beautiful bird she is!
no kidding.
Cool HUD!
Amazing….
we now return to regularly scheduled blogger land….
Thank god she doesn’t fly like the wife drives!!!!lol Just kidding, she kicks a$$!!!!!!
Yes, I believe there should be freedom of the press, however they should not be allowed make stuff up. Somebody needs to go to jail for this.
josetheguerilla said: “Somebody needs to go to jail for this.”
oh great I can see it now….
“Tonight’s news from Cell Block D…Violent skinheads react to yoga class in exercise yard, shivs meet shiva!”
Is there no law being broken here when you have a news organization (sorry, alleged news organization) staging an event and passing it off as news? Doesn’t the FCC have regulations for this kind of thing?
We should demand that “news” outlets receive a viewer rating. ABC would get an ‘F’ rating for Fiction. MSNBC would get a ‘S’ rating for socialism/sucks. NBC would get a ‘GMP’ for Green Moonbat Pinko.
Raised Right #24, Springfield is my home town as well. Surprised you didn’t let them in on the little secret known as the Horse Shoe Sandwich. Booking ticket to fly back for one now.
Who was that editor who said, “I never let the truth get in the way of a good story?”
John Ansell - Another Springfieldian? Wow!
You’re right, I can’t believe I didn’t bring up Horse Shoes! I guess it’s because I don’t long for them since I make them myself at home. I have a delicious recipe for the cheese sauce that has a hint of cayenne and a bit of beer. Yum. But you just can’t make fair food.
Help fight back. The YAF has the CHE’ victims posters FREE (2 max) just pay shipping. I bought a few other items there also.
Help these young conservative people!
Take a PEEK
Let’s not forget about the fake FEMA news conference!
If I recall the situation of the Philadelphia 5 comes to mind and the wonderful treatment they received from the very polite and brightly tolerant group of homosexuals. /sarc off
The stuff ABC is doing by faking the news is one thing, but most Americans are sheepeople and they will accept this drivel without a question or doubt.
As a dual Alcoho&Drug counseling/Psych major, I would be interested in doing a psychological research project to measure the tolerance of oppresive groups against people of religious conviction.
Lets see; send a confederate (a Christian couple) with a hidden video recorder to various alternative lifestyle businesses to see what happens when the business owner is asked for something that could be given to a Christian or conservative as a gift. This could be interesting…
GSP
ABC and their elementary approach to journalism.
Michael Moore is their hero.
It is nice to see that they have taken all reality out of the reporting while leaving all the prejudice.
Doesn’t that screen cap look like Ashton Kucher?
I have to wonder: if so many of us Southerners (always capitalizes!) are bigots and rednecks, why do so many Northern liberals want to move here? Why have they been moving here en mass? NJ is expected to lose at least on House seat, and NC is expected to gain at least one, after the next census.
Heck, we have been seeing lots of people moving from California as of late. Another liberal hot bed.
We’re being invaded, William. I have watched my area here become more and more liberal with the influx of Northerners over the last decade or so.
Hey, whatever happened to the security cam video of that noose on the profs door at Columbia?
I mean, isn’t it time the perp was charged, or at least identified?
When you make a claim of racism and them go silent on it for weeks after the evidence is turned in, people are gonna start wondering, aren’t they?
Why yes, they are. And smart people wondered about it from square one, because they know how common it is for the media, leftists, and race hustlers to invent racist behavior to serve their own purposes when it isn’t available naturally.