Unbelievable
Just when I thought there was nothing mainstream media pundits could do to make themselves less relevant, I stumble upon (no, not that way, through Memeorandum) this headline at ABC's blotter:
Hillary Was in White House on 'Stained Blue Dress' DayAnd this 1990s incident is relevant to today's campaign... how? Read on, it gets better. Here's the sub-head, emphasis added:
Schedules Reviewed by ABC Show Hillary May Have Been in the White House When the Fateful Act Was CommittedThe non-story is even MORE of a non-story. And this isn't your run of the mill blogger. This is the ABC news investigative team. No, I'm not being sarcastic.
So ABC chums for readers in a Drudge-light manner. They get to unearth old file photos of Monica. For what reason? Sex sells.
This is mainstream political reporting in America in 2008 ... with the economy in tatters, with the fifth anniversary of a protracted war that has no end in sight (second longest military campaign to Vietnam), with Congress and President Bush sparring over telecomm immunity, with basic food prices skyrocketing ... ABC's crack investigative team pours through thousands of pages of documents, looking for one tell-tale date.
You'll never convince me that Brian Ross et al did not have all the possible salacious dates outlined, ready for a match. I have no doubt that if Hillary Clinton had been out of the country, we'd have seen that headline instead. Because it's not the maybe-being-in-the-Whitehouse that's news. It's the let's-play-a-game-of-catchya.
The fourth estate is a political actor with a key role in framing the political discourse: what gets said and how it's said. If you didn't believe that before, you must believe it now.
Susie Madrak provides Brian's phone number and suggests you call him: 212-456-7612. His email address is supposedly Brian.E.Ross@email.disney.com
If you own Disney stock, consider selling. After all, they own ABC. If you think the concentration in media ownership is a problem, tell the FCC. After all, they're the group that relaxes the ownership strings.
More from Glen Greenwald. And AP is no better than ABC.
Comments
My favorite part was where they told us exactly how many pages they had to dig through — 17,481 — just to find that really important fact. I count on The National Enquirer and The Star to bring us that kind of “news.” It’s what they’re supposed to do so it doesn’t bother me. I love the way they proudly byline it from “Brian Ross and the ABC News INVESTIGATIVE UNIT”. Because this is what passes for investigation, the Iraq war and the criminal administration of President Bush should come as no surprise.
I can see that the US press is no better than the Dutch or the British one. Just good enough to wipe what you think with their paper… And still that would probably be dirtier afterwards.
I am following the news daily, and I can see that the USA is only interested in salacious stories regarding their presidential campaign. Navel focusing to the extreme. On one hand, it is safer that the USA focus on their navel, so that during that time they don’t bomb the hell out of someone who never asked for it. But on the other hand, international news are quite loaded these days: China is ferociously repressing Tibet dissidents, Sudan is in turmoil, Central African countries are at a turning point, Russia raises its head… And what are American “journalists” interested in: a sex scandal which happened ten years ago. Abysmal.
One more reason to watch FOXNEWS!
C
I was truly disappointed to see that AP did something similar. And I’m as annoyed now, almost 24 hours later, as I was when I first stumbled upon the “story.”
Gack.