A tale of two protection rackets: ACORN’s — and the media’s
Photoshop credit: Leo Alberti
ACORN Watch: A “sting”-ing indictment of media hypocrisy
by Michelle Malkin
Creators Syndicate
Copyright 2009
Undercover journalism is only acceptable when it fits a liberal agenda. That is the message from “professional” reporters and left-wing activists outraged about three successful video stings targeting President Obama’s old friends at the left-wing, tax-subsidized outfit ACORN.
Conservative documentarian James O’Keefe and writer Hannah Giles, working for the BigGovernment.com website, posed as a pimp and prostitute during visits to ACORN offices in Baltimore, Washington, D.C., and Brooklyn. ACORN housing officials and tax advisers offered them brazen suggestions on how to lie on their applications, disguise their income, obscure their child sex ring business, and hide cash for abusive johns (“When you buy the house with the backyard, you get a tin,” an ACORN counselor in New York City told Giles, “and you bury it down in there, cover it, and put the grass over it.”
Summing up the ACORN Housing Corporation philosophy, another Brooklyn ACORN official told the undercover pair bluntly: “Honesty is not going to get you the house.”
ACORN spokesman Scott Levenson blasted the investigation as “gotcha journalism.” Echoing ACORN’s defenders, MSNBC anchor Norah O’Donnell fretted on Tuesday that Giles and O’Keefe’s methods “might be viewed as entrapment. That some conservative activists used hidden cameras to get this stuff on camera.”
Ms. O’‘Donnell has apparently forgotten the inglorious history of news “entrapment” by her betters at NBC News.
This is the network that surreptitiously rigged GM pickup trucks in staged crash tests in 1993 to show that the vehicles were unsafe – and failed to inform viewers that the simulations used incendiary devices to ignite the explosions. Jane Pauley admitted in a nationally televised apology that “NBC’s contractors did put incendiary devices under the trucks to insure there would be a fire if gasoline were released from the gas tank. NBC personnel knew this before we aired the program, but the public was not informed because consultants at the scene told us the devices did not start the fire. We agree with G.M. that we should have told the viewer about these devices.”
This is the network that pioneered the “To Catch a Predator” series – an investigative sting operation to nab Internet pedophiles. Until last year, the journalists worked with activist group Perverted Justice, whose members posed as children in web chat rooms to lure alleged pedophiles to a residential home.
This is the network that sent out an intrepid NBC News reporter in a canoe to cover treacherous New Jersey flooding in 2005 – only to be shown up by passers-by who sloshed in front of the camera and demonstrated that the water was only a few inches deep.
This is the network that tried to arrange Islamophobia stings at NASCAR events in 2006 to try and “expose” racism among Southerners. The network worked with a Muslim activist who sent a recruitment notice across the Internet:
“I have been talking with a producer of the NBC Dateline show and he is in the process of filming a piece on anti-Muslim and anti-Arab discrimination in the USA. They are looking for some Muslim male candidates for their show who would be willing to go to non-Muslim gatherings and see if they attract any discriminatory comments or actions while being filmed…NBC is willing to fly in someone and cover their weekend expenses. The filming would take place all day on Saturday and Sunday.”
The same sting tactics were adopted by ABC News’s Primetime Live news show in Alabama and Texas.
“Professional” undercover journalists see their work as serving the public and national interests, exposing wrongdoing, and blowing the whistle on illicit activities that would not otherwise see the light of day. But this is exactly what the ACORN stings have done.
Taxpayers deserve to know how ACORN and its vast web of non-profit, tax-exempt affiliates are using their money (40 percent of the group’s revenue comes from the government). Publicly-funded ACORN tax advisers and mortgage counselors across the country are trained by the flagship group. In fact, ACORN is now managing apartments in Bedford-Stuyvesant, New York for the newly completed Atlantic Avenue Apartments. Yet, ACORN Housing Corporation has a long history of abusing federal housing funds and Americorps grants for political activities.
Head-in-the-sand ABC News anchor Charle Gibson claimed he “didn’t know” about the ACORN scandal this week, and snarked that “maybe this is just one you leave to the cables.”
Giles and O’Keefe’s investigations (and there are more to come, according to BigGovernment.com’s Andrew Breitbart) have exposed not one, but two protection rackets: ACORN’s —and the ostrich media’s.
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Its all a right wing racist conspiracy!
Can we start getting some numbers sorted by news anchor?
Yesterday I saw some numbers sorted by broadcast company that showed how many stories were done on ACORN by FOX, CNN, msnbc, abc, cbs, etc.
I’d like a running tally of the number of times Charlie ‘dumbass’ Gibson has been clueless about a leftist scandal and the number of times he has been condensending to a conservative.
I’d love to see the number of time Katie Curic has looked the other way vs. the number of times she has been morally outraged at the right wingers.
Please, someone put this together so we can watch the numbers add up.
Ahh, yes…the Antique Media…
…I remember them.
Just the latest evidence of no due diligence in protecting the interests of the individual citizen.
How to fight their “fairness”…:
Try revoking licenses for negligence!
The hypocrisy of the left is so much fun to watch.
More ACORN-outing tapes tonight. At some point, the “out of the main-stream old liberal media” will become a bigger corruption story than ACORN (tee-hee).
“Stop the presses! Stop the presses! No, really, stop the presses!”
What licenses?
The joke is on the MSM. The public will PAY for news. They will not pay for propaganda.
Thats racist. Somehow.
Got it.
/Liberal mode on
“light of day”
Clearly by using this term Michelle is trying to point out obamas black skin therefore causing the KKK to ride the night in South Carlonia and hang black people.
/liberal mode off
Its tough thinking like a liberal, you have to disengage all those logic circuts…
chapoutier: FCC…or?
http://www.friendster.com/photos/5189836/1/874532422
Michelle, this graphic is really appropriate.
An indictment of the entire media based on the actions of two people (ODonnell and Gibson) is painting with a broad brush.
Especially Gibson. Why does one person have to know have to know everything that is going on? Admittedly there is a heard mentality in media. A majority of the media covers a single story to death. Who did not cover Serena Williams’ melt down at the US Open? Well, I can think of one BLOG that did not.
Not making excuses, but not everything can be covered by a single person or entity.
You (global), or I, may think something is important, and it may not be covered by one person, or entity. Maybe instead of taking a single person, or entity, to task for what they are not doing, expand your (global) sources and get news from multiple sources.
As for the actions of the investigative reporters revealing the actions of ACORN, good for them.
This graphic would have been more appropriate.
This would be laughable except that I know you are serious. Good grief. That was a really “dumb” statement. I mean, have you been listening at all?
The head organizer in California is claiming that the ACORN rep was playing along. They knew it was a scam all along. Doesn’t explain why they fired two of the reps, but what does that matter? It’s spin time, baby!
A report is out that says the California lady was “putting on” the reporters because she felt certain they were scamming her. I heard that her husband is alive and well. I heard that everything she said was made up. If that is true, it could leave a big bunch of egg on our faces. However, it could be a way for them to cover up. I am waiting for futher updates on this!
Yikes, 30, we posted at the same time!!
I hope we are both misinformed.
Ah. For some reason I was thinking print.
By the way, I haven’t heard that the lady in California has been fired.
forgive my double post…
That’s O.K. Most of us here are worth listening to twice…right??
Same here. I was referring to the two ACORN reps in Baltimore.
Well, let’s see if we can pick your argument apart. How ’bout we look at Katie Couric with her gotcha interview of Sarah Palin. She wasn’t interested in a fair interview. She wanted to prove Palin was stupid.
Then there is Matt Lauer. Idiot journalist from the Today show who is also not interested in the truth.
How about Bryan Williams. Yeah, there’s a non partesan journalist who goes the extra mile to report the truth.
Then we have John Lebowitz, aka Stewart. Oh, never mind, he’s not a journalist but he plays one on TV.
How about Diane Sawyer, Dan Rather or David Gregory? Should I continue?
Yea, let’s not judge the entire media based on the actions of ODonnell and Gibson. But the question begs to be asked “why haven’t any of the above top journalists had a story about Acorn and the tapes?”
And if Gibson should not know as the World News anchor, who should know?
Laughable doesn’t even begin to cover it.
We have to cut Gibson some slack…he is already in “retirement mode”. In fact, he has been in that mode for a few years now. So don’t be so hard on him. He just doesn’t care any more. I’m not sure what the rest of the StateRunMedia is using for an excuse, however.
You can’t top the Steyn. Mark Steyn on Bill Bennett’s radio show this morning:
The best I can come up with is: We’re all racists, now.
Charlie Gibson has inadvertently exposed what I have thought for years. News anchors are just talking heads. They read what is placed in front of them.
Charlie doesn’t know about ACORN because his producers don’t include anything about them in his script.
With such hard hitting questions as “what magazines and papers do you read?”
The more they hide things like this and the Van Jones situation, the more people are going to think they are not being informed and change to another channel.
Wouldn’t it be funny if, when all this is said and done, O’Keefe and Giles had hidden camera footage of them trying to give the tapes to ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, and MSNBC or maybe a few district attorneys and they refused?
I watched GMA this morning. Their list of lead stories was laughable. I really think they were going to run a lead story of a dog loose in a park in Minot, North Dakota, before they covered the ACORN story.
Fine, let it fester. The more they do not cover it, the more damage it will do to them when the story fully festers and breaks.
You know there are journalists at this point being held back by their executive management under the threat of firing. Their silence shows how flat footed they were caught. They are paralyzed and have no idea what to do. It is just going to get worse, because they are so in bed with Obama they cannot act. For them it’s the classic Gordian Knot.
Sucks to them.
Michelle, don’t forget that NBC’s “To Catch a Predator” series caused a man to commit suicide. Can’t get much worse than that.
“As far as her murdering an ex-husband, that’s news to me,” Ronald Kaelke (x) said. “She’s definitely got problems and goes off the wall sometimes.”
In this country we call them (put on your best deep announcer voice) News Anchors.
In other countries, they call them what they are – News Readers.
These primadonnas strut and preen as if they are important. I would love to own one of the alphabet networks. I’d force the morons to accept the change from News Anchor to News Reader. Then I’d replace them every year just to let them know how insignificant they truely are.
happy and 30, I heard the same report this morning. Time will tell if it’s true or not. But:
As I watched Beck’s show last night, I kept thinking, “That woman’s nervous; she’s talking too much.”
Then, when she said she had killed her husband, this thought hit me: “She’s lying! She didn’t kill her husband. She’s suspicious, and she’s trying to get one of them to say something self-incriminating.”
Unfortunately I can’t prove that’s what I thought! LOL
these two kids doing this were sooo obviously white actors, it wouldn’t surprise me if the l.a. white gal was suspicious of a scam. the black people in the east coast markets i’m sure have such a low opinion of whites anyway that they figured these were just two more lilly white idiots trying to be black and cool. you know, like eminem.
Let me see ACORN defrauding the Federal Government and American Tax Payers not a story worthy of ABC’s network news…but we can hear about the President calling Kayne West a Jackass and Serena Williams throwing a tantrum….ad nauseum about Joe Wilson’s “you lie” even after he apologized. This isn’t news, they have a name for it FARK. In the mean time real news is going unreported. I don’t know why these companies get to keep their licenses to broadcast? I remember what we were all listening to before 9-11 in the media – Britney’s Spears choice of clothing, and an albino snake…the lame stream media up to it’s old hypnosis tricks.
They have a problem, while Maureen Dowd writes about things she imagines to shut down political discourse forces are aligning against this country.
http://hotair.com/archives/2009/09/15/report-nyc-terror-plot-wasis-on-scale-of-911/
NBC using Jimmy Carter to shore up support for health insurance reform bill? That’s desperation right there. If I was President Obama I sure wouldn’t want to get any Carter taint on me, especially after his track record.
http://www.fark.com/
Hmmm. Did you read what MM wrote?
She referenced two people in relation to the coverage of this ACORN story. And, applied it to the entire ‘MSM’.
Yes, absolutely individual media outlets are guilty of misrepresentations of reality. All media outlets (‘MSM’, BLOGS, new media, etc.) have had their miscues.
The thing is, if you call the Washington Post, New York Times, CNN, CBS, FOX, ABC, Detroit Free Press, Rocky Mountain News, etc. the ‘mainstream stream media’, and they all cover a story and NBC, or MSNBC, does not cover the story it is intellectually dishonest to say the ‘MSM’ is not covering the story.
It is disingenuous to take all of the ‘MSM’ to task for the action, or inaction, of one element of the ‘MSM’.
Because one element of the ‘MSM’, or two individuals say one thing, they not not knowing about it, or they not covering a story should not be an indictment of the entire ‘MSM’.
And yes, because one person on the right says one thing does not mean it is attributable to everyone on the right.
Gee, sounds like an “excuse” to me. Anyway, to borrow your phrase, there is a non-“heard” mentality in the mainstream media. They don’t hear (or see, or speak) anything that paints Lefties in a bad light. Just like the three little monkeys.
OK.
What did each of the people you mentioned say, or not say, about the ACORN story? That is the topic of this thread. How was the story about ACORN approached, or not approached, by two individuals.
I agree there is a bias. I also understand, that of the people you mentioned in your post, they all have limited time to do their reporting. They cannot report on every single item in the news. Yes, everyone makes editorial choices concerning what they report, or not report, and how they report it.
Complaining about what others do, or not do, is non-productive. Having multiple news sources is a good thing. Do you agree?
It is necessary, evidently.
At 12:05 pm, zyzzyz said: Having multiple news sources is a good thing. Do you agree?”
Yes. But therein lies the rub. We don’t have multiple news sources.
Ain’t that the truth! You think she would be smart enough to prescreen the questions like Obama, so she could look like a HLR editor…
Limited time to do reporting? Why not explain then how we continue to get “news” stories on Michelle O’s sleeveless tops, Michelle My Belle’s victory garden, and other tripe like that. I believe you just made my point. You said “Not making excuses, but not everything can be covered by a single person or entity.” I provided a list of major news anchors who had not covered a single story on Acorn.
And to answer your questions about what did these people said about Acorn, they didn’t say anything about it. That’s the point. They ignored it. They chose to not cover it. You said “Not making excuses, but not everything can be covered by a single person or entity.” Couldn’t at least one of the people have covered one story on this issue? Just one person?
You admit there is bias but don’t see the big picture of an industry that is so corrupt and so in the tank for the liberal side of politics?
Amazing.
And let me add this–No I do not agree that having multiple news sources is a good thing when all of them spew the same liberal talking points and cover for the corruption in our government.
If you want to call this complaining, that’s your choice. I believe that’s why this blog is here, for people to discuss opinions.
The last time I looked I don’t really have control over what these people are doing. I see “tens of thousands” of people march on Washington “complaining” about the healthcare reform bill, the economy and taxes. And I see the corruption in Washington telling us that we are a few disgruntled astroturfers and trying to minimize us. Have you seen any honest reporting by the State Run Media about any of this? I haven’t.
I actively write and call Washington when I disagree. I vote, I try to stay abreast of what’s happening through the internet, etc. I don’t believe that can be construed as non-productive “complaining”.
Chap:
How about the softballs lofted to anyone with a (D) behind their name — all made while lovingly staring at and drooling over the person being interviewed?
For example…
If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be?
What is your favorite color?
Have you chosen a dog for the kids?
And leaving out the hard-hitting ones such as…
Yes, Mr. Ayers bombed the Pentagon when you were 8 years old, but he has stated he wished he had done more, you went to his home just last year and you now give him a pass for his past actions? How old were you when Charles Manson chopped up some people in California, and would you now likewise take his advice?
How come your wife got a BIG raise at her job that coincided with a large chunk of $$$ you directed to the hospital where she worked and what role did she play in their patient-dumping scheme?
Yep, everyone has limited time. But, the real question is why do you watch them if you disagree with what they present and how they present it? And, why do you expect them to cover what you want?
MM makes my point everyday. She does not cover every story, nor could she. She is just one person.
Has MM BLOGGED about the Philly fan who caught the foul ball and whose daughter threw the ball back? It was cute and adorable. An extremely delightful story. Not every story gets covered by everyone.
I see the big picture and understand there is a bias. That is why I seek multiple news sources. Maybe you ought to stop watching the people you mentioned.
My hope is that you use this BLOG to get news that you would not get any where else, as I do. My thoughts are that this is more than a place just to give opinions.
Yes, I have seen honest reporting on the recent march on Wash, DC.
It is a good thing that you write and call Washington when you disagree, but the question we are discussing at this moment is the media. Maybe you ought to try and call these various media outlets that you have an issue with. Conflation is even less productive than complaining about what others are not doing.
How do you know I don’t do this?
Maybe you should be the Know-it-all czar.
Hmmm. It wasn’t long ago, perhaps minutes, when the complaint was about the “24 hour news cycle” and how stories were beaten to death. There is no excuse for the liberal media to ignore this while spending prodigious amounts of time on the Joe Wilson story. I mean, seriously: which is more important?
I would agree if said multiplicity was more than FOX vs. all other media outlets. If anything, it proves the need for FOX. Are two “competing” newspapers filled with the same AP stories actually competitive? I think not.
I daresay that there is far more competition in the health care insurance industry than there is in the media, yet look where the attention if focused.
Actually, the NYTimes and the rest of the liberal media have some major competition from college students like those at Palestra.net (now Uwire.com) who were the only ones to report on ACORN sponsored voter fraud in Ohio and Missouri.
So college kids with virtually no budgets appear to easily out perform the “mighty” Grey Lady and the rest of the media.
By the way, Gibson is a purported “newsman” and should be on top of major stories in the nation on a daily basis. It is his job, or so I thought.
Or maybe it is his job not to know…
How many stories have you seen over the past few years of animal rights wackos going under cover at some farm and videotaping something?
The drive-by media have no problem reporting on that.
Remember Sara Palin and the turkey? Yeah it wasn’t undercover, but the media had no trouble reporting it, or any other video provided by animal rights wackos.
LOL.
Because, we were talking about the media and you said that you write and call Washington. You did not say that you write and call the media.
Had you been focused and stayed on topic you would have said that you write and call the media.
So yes, of course, I do not know who you actually write and call. I can only comment on what you actually say.
So, how about responding to the rest of the questions?