More of the same from the Associated Press:
Documents that should have been written to explain gaps in President Bush's Texas Air National Guard service are missing from the military records released about his service in 1972 and 1973, according to regulations and outside experts. ...
Challenging the government's declaration that no more documents exist, the AP identified five categories of records that should have been generated after Bush skipped his pilot's physical and missed five months of training.
Democrat John Kerry commanded a Navy Swift boat in Vietnam and was awarded five medals, including a Silver Star. But his heroism has been challenged in ads by some veterans who support Bush.
To Justin Katz, this is one of those examples of liberal media bias that is so pervasive that it's almost too boring to document. Since I'm a wild-eyed loony-lefty communist sympathizer who loves Osama and is objectively pro-Saddam, I was wondering if any of you regular people could point out to me the tacit admission that the AP is supporting John Kerry for President. Any help? Bonus points if you can do that while remembering that the AP duly covered the, let's say, "credibility-challenged," charges of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. Perhaps Justin is not happy that a reporter is challenging the assertions of the government (which, if they didn't, would of course be bad for democracy, among other things.) He also doesn't appreciate the "editorializing" about Senator Kerry's heroism. Now, the aforementioned Silver Star was awarded for, hmm, oh yes, heroism, and there are indeed ads from Bush-supporting veterans challenging those medals for heroism, but... BIAS!
And to the broader point, charges of liberal media bias (which I most recently saw endorsed by Channel 10's Frank Coletta. Hey Frank, you are the media) are an incredibly effective distraction. When something happens that casts a conservative politician in a poor light, reporting on it becomes, to some, another example of left-wing media bias. That's ridiculous. But it works. Eventually you can dismiss all criticism as bias, thus muddying the waters of factual reporting.
It's not an accident. For years Republicans have been putting in place a communications strategy that is now bearing succulent fruits. From funding conservative think tanks and newspapers to giving birth to conservative talk radio to coining affective words and phrases, Republican ideas are getting out into the public consciousness. There's absolutely nothing wrong with this, but it is a concerted strategy. Part of that strategery includes a non-stop attack of anything negative towards a Republican as "liberal media bias." As RNC chair Rich Bond said in 1992, you've gotta work the refs [reporters] if you want to win [get only positive coverage] ("If you watch any great coach, what they try to do is 'work the refs.' Maybe the ref will cut you a little slack on the next one.")
Justin is a smart guy, so I assume he knows that he's part of the Big Republican Communications Machine. But that doesn't mean you have to believe that everything you read or see is the product of the liberal media. Make up your own mind.
Posted by Bil at September 6, 2004 06:56 PM
 Licensed under Creative Commons By Attribution |
version4.1mt
|
