Jesse Jackson had some tough criticism for the Tea Party movement at a Martin Luther King event on Thursday. USA Today‘s Melanie Eversley covered his remarks, getting a Tea Party activist to respond to his criticism. The piece then added this, presumably in order to add some context:
The group has faced criticism of being a racist group, a claim made most visibly by former National Public Radio fundraiser Ron Schiller, who was caught on hidden camera calling the group racist and xenophobic, prompting his immediate resignation.
In other words, lots of people seem to hurl accusations of racism at the Tea Party, right? One tiny problem: Schiller didn’t actually say that—he said that was what some Republicans were saying about the Tea Party. NPR‘s David Folkenflik (among others) pointed out that the video—released by right-wing hoaxer James O’Keefe—was edited in order to make a totally misleading impression:
in the shorter tape, Schiller is also presented as saying the GOP has been “hijacked” by Tea Partyers and xenophobes.
In the longer tape, it’s evident Schiller is not giving his own views but instead quoting two influential Republicans—one an ambassador, another a senior Republican donor. Schiller notably does not take issue with their conclusions—but they are not his own.
This is the problem with the O’Keefe/Andrew Breitbart school of right-wing advocacy. Their work can’t be trusted, and some people usually manage to figure out where they’ve cut a corner or edited a tape in order to advance a bogus storyline. But too many reporters remember the initial bogus story as fact—ACORN workers helped a “pimp” set up a brothel, for example—which is precisely the point of this propaganda.
It’s not a matter of “remembering” the lies.
It’s the willful propagation of them, initially and long after they’ve been exposed.
To believe other is to paint corpress reporters and editors as dim bulbs, unable to recall (or research) what these bastards have done previous to their latest scam.
It’s not a question of inactive synapses, but one of active complicity.
What’s a corpress?
I think Doug Latimer is playing a word game with “press corps.” It is a great reversal because the term also implies that they are the press who serve corporate America. They are the usual legions of parrots who are paid to serve their masters by trotting out the official line as often as possible. Others say Mainstream Press. Same thing, I believe, isn’t it, Doug?
either that or Corpress = Corporate Press or what many of us refer to as corporate media
I know we’re never going to agree on this, Doug, but in my experience most people have a tremendous ability to convince themselves of whatever it is convenient for them to believe.
Not to worry, soon it will be as functional as MEMRI and then, it too, will have federal funding.
What’s a corpress?
That would depend on your personal workout goals.
But seriously, folks, I like to play with my words, and merging “corporate” with “press” does cut down on the keystrokes, doesn’t it?
Jim, I take your point, but the Vulcan in me just can’t accept that these schmenges don’t suss their duplicity at some level. Or maybe it’s just that my hyperdeveloped guilt reflex doesn’t allow me that luxury, or more accurately, that curse.
That doesn’t make me Jesus on a stick by a long shot, but when confronted with the facts, I do try to do the empiricism thing. You don’t go from growing up in 1960s Mississippi with a daddy as a member of the White Citizens Council to how I see things today without punching holes in a few paradigms, don’t you imagine?
And, hell, if I can do it, I guess I just don’t see why anyone else can’t.
Who wishes to, that is.
What I don’t understand is why Schiller didn’t move heaven and earth (if he needed to) to set the record straight and articulate just what he said and meant. Was it necessary to leave the O’Keefe edited video, inaccurate context and all, sitting out there as gospel? What am I missing?
Some people believe, Ron, that if you try to correct a piece of misinformation, it just reinforces the original incorrect ideas.
@ Doug Latimer: To me it seems your only motivation for posting your comments to most postings here is to promulgate the term “corpress.” While I consider your views of the major news media to be reasonably astute, valid, and important, the term is not particularly effective and is unlikely to catch on. “Corpress” sounds more like a dead female body than anything else. Also, looking for it and finding it in everything you write serves to demean your observations.
RB, would you explain to me how “corpress” differs from “corporate press”, “mainstream media”, “MSM” et al. in its facility?
As for my motivation in posting, I’d hope that would be obvious. Your fixation on this word, and your accusations regarding it, on the other hand, aren’t – to me, at any rate.
And I realize this is the internet, where common courtesy is as passé as a landline, but even so, don’t you think your time would be better spent dealing with matters of moment, rather than engaging in this persnickety language crusade?
That’s why I’m here, whether you wish to believe that or not.
What about you?
I think you’re thinking of the word, “corpsess” aren’t you, RB?
But isn’t the problem of corporate media the whole issue of this blog? Do you have another name for it? The only reason there is no term that has “caught on” is that the corpress dictates the terms of the discussion. Our conversation is so far out of the mainstream we don’t even know what to call ourselves. Liberals? Radicals? Progressives?
It doesn’t matter. It’s time to get busy.
I think “citizens” works, Doug W. And I don’t think our conversations here are nearly as far out as you think–I’m often surprised when someone expresses the same kind of outrage about the corpress (not a bad coinage, really) that one can read here.
I really despise James O’Keefe and Breitbart. They are sneaky evil crooks who have Fox to back them up and collude with whatever they come up with. The really sad thing is that the whole GOP is an enemy of NPR and who knows who else they really hate so much. But you can bet it is any organization that they think is reasonable and factual.
“Citizens” is good, TimN. I like that. Though “residents” or “human beings” might be better yet. (Some of my favorite people are not citizens because of the racist immigration and documentation policies.) But it takes some of that “where are you coming from” crap out of the conversation. Maybe we should just call ourselves Patriots and reclaim our country from the people with the little flag lapel pins who are tearing down the government in every speech…
But the fact remains, I think, that we are a marginalized element, no matter how we name ourselves. And it will be that way until “reasonable and factual” (what a concept, Vicki!) news is the norm, and people like O’Keefe and Brietbart have to start a blog to complain about it.
TimN You are a self avowed socialist.You should start every blog with “THE WAY A SOCIALIST WOULD VIEW THIS IS….”
Doug you in that leaky boat?
Even the placing of the sink will boost the entire look of the bathroom.
Even things like toothbrushes and toothpaste are unsightly and should be removed from counters.
They permit for elegant tap accessories that render a contemporary appearance.