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Howard Kurtz Article - WAPO

D

doc9464

Guest
In the Howard Kurtz Media Colunn yesterday, it was stated that 27% of listeners think Rush is a journalist.....this is certainly troubling! I would have honestly expected this to be a Sean Hannity statistic.

Before the conservatives jump on me....I have NEVER heard one time in any recent time i have forced myself to listen to Rush for evaluation that he tries to conflate himself with Journalism. Rush is a pure expert at distortion and self promotion but he doesnt say im a journalist or a news ancor. Now, the question that im asking is how can this happen? I know there are many uninformed people out there who cannot clear the difference between journalism and opinion.

Without getting into a scientific discussion but this proves that the cable media and talk radio are eroding the barriers between bombastic opinion speech (mostly lead by Fox News Channel, and badly imitated by MSNBC and CNN) and pure news (NPR, C-SPAN, AP, Reuters, Bloomberg, etc). Hannity is not a journalist and I know i have watched him conflate him self with journalistic values on his show but I have not heard him do that on the radio. I expected to hear this about Hannity over Rush for sure.

So running down the list...are any other hosts doing this....ill list a few and hope the discussion expands from there (only listening the ones i have heard actually)

Rush NO
Hannity YES
O'Reilly YES - with conditions - Bill O'Reilly is an educated journalist but has not in his history been in charge of any hard news but he is a journalist by trade.
Severin - Yes - only once due to his time as MSNBC personality but thats not a journalist (my belief there and opinion)
Franken - No
Carr - Yes - hes a columnist but its debatable in my opinion that he is a journalist (just my opinion)
Leykis - yes - and hes had to
recant
Rhodes - NO
Springer - NO
Lionel - NO
Beck - NO
Ingraham - NO (but i think she tries to do it when on tv or on panels- shes a lawyer by trade)
Seder/Garofalo - No
Malloy - No
Ward - No
Taliaferro - No


I think the erosion in the opinion or understanding of what a journalist does is being rewritten incorrectly....and it needs to stop.....but for once I can't blame Rush.
 
News vs. Opinion: Radio and Print

> Without getting into a scientific discussion but this proves
> that the cable media and talk radio are eroding the barriers
> between bombastic opinion speech (mostly lead by Fox News
> Channel, and badly imitated by MSNBC and CNN) and pure news
> (NPR, C-SPAN, AP, Reuters, Bloomberg, etc).

Oh, this can't be limited just to talk radio and/or cable news shows. Many mainstream print publications--the NY Times, LA Times, even the Washington Post--have been fairly lax regarding the hard-line between commentary/opinion and news reporting qua news reporting. Perhaps one caused the other (however you wish to express the cause-effect), but the problem is still the same:

The who, what, where, when, how of news reporting has been invaded by a fair amount (in some cases, large amount) of commentary and opinion. Whereas in the past the editorial pages would express the opinion of the editors and columnists, now the news stories carry evidence of editorial expressions of opinion.

Now, radio news has been invaded by such as well--but to a much lesser extent. Paul Harvey News is news reporting, but it is also some commentary by the great man himself. CKLW's 20/20 News, as great as it was, could lead to some editorial comments by newsmen (slime, bum, etc.).

But by and large, lately "news" and "opinion" have been horribly combined, with repercussions. One big argument of the "liberal bias" conservatives is this commentary/opinion within news articles. Surely, as you point out as a liberal yourself, doc, others see Fox News combining commentary with news reporting as well.

I propose that the best way to rectify this situation is to make hard news just that--NEWS. There's plenty of room for commentary, opinion, columns, etc. in the editorial pages of every newspaper. For the likes of, let me just single out a big offender of this, Dana Milbank of the WashPost--your news reporting need not contain your comments. Let the news be news. Then, beg Don Graham for space on the opinion pages. I'm sure lots of "liberal bias" conservatives would be perfectly happy with your comments in the appropriate place, i.e., Not in the middle of a news article.

And, for these other cable stations, radio shows, etc. I think it's pretty clear now where the news ends and the opinion starts: O'Reilly, Hannity & Colmes, Aaron Brown, Larry King--that's opinion/commentary. The top of the hour news updates--that's news. Surely we can all agree that opinion and commentary relies to a large extent on news as a basis--reporting, analyzing, and commenting with an argument. That's the outline of a good opinion piece. Facts are important in the commentary--but those facts shouldn't be just the author's; they should be easily obtainable from outside sources, to aid in additional research. If they are new, like say Robert Novak, they should be disclosed as being the author's own investigation and reporting.

Long and short of it: let's stop blurring the line. News is news; opinion is opinion. Don't hide the distinction. Each side performs a valuable service, be it print journalism or radio broadcasting.
 
Rush has begun identifying himself as a journalist...

Although perhaps tongue in cheek...

"America's Anchorman" (?)

Of course, who under 40 knows or cares what an 'anchorman' is? The first and last anchorman was Cronkite. So much for Rush's demo targeting.
 
Re: Rush has begun identifying himself as a journalist...

> Although perhaps tongue in cheek...
>
> "America's Anchorman" (?)
>
> Of course, who under 40 knows or cares what an 'anchorman'
> is? The first and last anchorman was Cronkite. So much for
> Rush's demo targeting.
>

The media is run by leftists who will be silent on Hot Air America especially after the meltdown by that loser Al Franken. Most of the anchors in the so called mainstream media TILT LEFT PEOPLE! Thank goodness for more Pro-AMerica media outlets like talk radio, Fox News and the blogs. To me Rush IS an anchorman as he tells you the news, including stuff the left-wing run media WILL NOT--Peter Jennings, Brian Williams et al--liberal propagandists! And though I am 31 I KNOW what an anchorman is--

People like Chuck Scarbourough, Chet Curtis, Jerry Dunphy, Bill Kurtis, Al Terzi. Of course I mention TV anchors and even I filled in for an anchor on WSTC/WNLK radio here in the People's Republic of Connecicut--I tell you it was pressure--fun yes, but LOADS of pressure! I did have some guidance by my co-workers and I am DEEPLY grateful.
 
Re: Rush has begun identifying himself as a journalist...

>
> The media is run by leftists who will be silent on Hot Air
> America especially after the meltdown by that loser Al
> Franken. Most of the anchors in the so called mainstream
> media TILT LEFT PEOPLE! Thank goodness for more Pro-AMerica
> media outlets like talk radio, Fox News and the blogs. To
> me Rush IS an anchorman as he tells you the news, including
> stuff the left-wing run media WILL NOT--Peter Jennings,
> Brian Williams et al--liberal propagandists! And though I
> am 31 I KNOW what an anchorman is--
>
Whatever. Be sure to duck you head whenever you see the black helicopters fly by.

(BTW, Williams openly acknowledges to listening to Rush Limbaugh regularly, just like a good commie pinko would.)
> <P ID="signature">______________
There's nothing to see here.</P>
 
Re: Rush has begun identifying himself as a journalist...

Robert, please--try to keep the politics out of it.
 
> In the Howard Kurtz Media Colunn yesterday, it was stated
> that 27% of listeners think Rush is a journalist.....this is
> certainly troubling! I would have honestly expected this to
> be a Sean Hannity statistic.

I suspect this percentage is probably reflective of Rush's rabid fans who will always choose to say something wildly positive about him. These are the same people who will want to make him a saint. I am not sure how many of these people actually believe it or are just saying this to promote Rush and irritate the other side. Rush uses his pompous attitude as part of the routine of his show anyway.

> I know there are many uninformed people out there
> who cannot clear the difference between journalism and
> opinion.

That is because the news has been cancelled on the American cable news channels. You can't get the news on these channels, unless Michael Jackson, the runaway bride, and the missing BLONDE CHRISTIAN girl in Aruba counts. Notice without the BLONDE and CHRISTIAN part, Americans would still think Aruba was the name of a contestant on American Idol.

During the opinion chat shows, "breaking news" is not typically reported by someone back in the newsroom but rather by Hannity, Scarborough, et al., so the line between journalist and talk show host is easily blurred by viewers. On the other side of the political spectrum, George Stephanopoulos has no business anchoring ABC's This Week. He's not a journalist either.
 
Re: Rush has begun identifying himself as a journalist...

> The media is run by leftists who will be silent on Hot Air
> America especially after the meltdown by that loser Al
> Franken.

Every word in that sentence is ridiculous. The "liberal left wing media" line just doesn't fly. It's the same nonsense I see on Hannity and Scarborough who whine that conservative points of view don't have a chance, all while missing the irony that they are spouting them on the very outlets they claim don't give them the time of day and won't run a true progressive host.

> Most of the anchors in the so called mainstream
> media TILT LEFT PEOPLE!

I don't care about people's individual political views. I care whether they do their job professionally in reporting THE NEWS. The one thing I can appreciate about most liberals is that they are willing to listen to both sides and let everyone air their views. You don't get that in right wing media.

> Thank goodness for more Pro-AMerica
> media outlets like talk radio, Fox News and the blogs.

Which proves my point. Disagree with a conservative and you are labeled anti-American, against the troops, a traitor, et al.

> To me Rush IS an anchorman as he tells you the news, including
> stuff the left-wing run media WILL NOT--Peter Jennings,
> Brian Williams et al--liberal propagandists! And though I
> am 31 I KNOW what an anchorman is--

...but not a thing about what real news and journalism is all about. Most of us don't want to be told what to think about a story - we're smart enough to absorb the facts and figure out what it means ourselves. Spend some time streaming the BBC World Service or even CBC News in Canada. Relish the difference as real news washes over you.
 
> That is because the news has been cancelled on the American
> cable news channels. You can't get the news on these
> channels, unless Michael Jackson, the runaway bride, and the
> missing BLONDE CHRISTIAN girl in Aruba counts. Notice
> without the BLONDE and CHRISTIAN part, Americans would still
> think Aruba was the name of a contestant on American Idol.

I think it has more to do with the BLONDE part than with the Christian part. In fact, I haven't heard reported anywhere that she's a Christian. Yes, she's from Alabama and many Alabamians are Christian...but for all we know, she could sacrifice small rodents over a T-Fal pan in the name of the Great God Lindsay Lohan, wll the while chanting a stunning rendition of "You Light Up My Life" accompanied by Bluto the Trash Collector on Hawaiian guitar and the dead lifeless body of Frank Perdue on that wooden fish thingy that's grooved and you run a pick comb over to produce a "scroosh-scroosh" sound.

So, yes, I think it has more to do with her being Blonde. And Aruba being Dutch.

I'm gonna lie down now...
 
> I think it has more to do with the BLONDE part than with the
> Christian part. In fact, I haven't heard reported anywhere
> that she's a Christian.

What are you looking at? IT'S EVERYWHERE... right down to the prayer circle, the church-sponsored fund raising, the interview with the pastor, friends, etc., explaining she was a good Christian all her life and that she represents the values Jesus wants us all to have.... I don't watch 700 Club... I don't need to. MSNBC has been actually worse than Fox on this stuff. I guess if she was Jewish then the values thing is shot. If she were Muslim, there'd be people in this country who'd want her found, and then sent to Gitmo.

There is a massive disparity in coverage here. Do we need to recite the names?

> So, yes, I think it has more to do with her being Blonde.
> And Aruba being Dutch.

USA Today ran an article today wondering about why pretty white blond girls who go missing bring out Amber Alerts and 24/7 coverage and minorities gone missing have to beg to get 10 seconds on America's Most Wanted. An interesting article.

The media went extra nuts over the weekend when the reports about her encounter with a BLACK suspect were running. GASP! Now it's a teen boy, before it was security guards... who knows who will be on the wheel of suspicion this weekend.

None of it deserves this level of coverage. It should be running all across the Netherland Antilles, but we don't need to see wall-to-wall coverage of it on our national media.
 
I stopped paying attention before religion reared its head

> > I think it has more to do with the BLONDE part than with
> the
> > Christian part. In fact, I haven't heard reported
> anywhere
> > that she's a Christian.
>
> What are you looking at? IT'S EVERYWHERE... right down to
> the prayer circle, the church-sponsored fund raising, the
> interview with the pastor, friends, etc., explaining she was
> a good Christian all her life and that she represents the
> values Jesus wants us all to have....

OK, I guess I should spill the beans: I stopped bothering paying attention to anything about this story sometime early last week. (I first heard about it on Howie Chizek's show on WNIR/Kent-Akron, Ohio, the Thursday of the week she went missing). Most media didn't pick it up until that weekend or the beginning of the next week. So, I guess I'm not the average media observer here. But, I guess the Christian aspect is recent; they never mentioned it early in coverage.

But you're right though--she's a young, blonde, WASP-ish girl, relatively attractive (I suppose). That'll beat Gitmo any day.
 
Re: Rush has begun identifying himself as a journalist...

>
> The media is run by leftists who will be silent on Hot Air
> America especially after the meltdown by that loser Al
> Franken. Most of the anchors in the so called mainstream
> media TILT LEFT PEOPLE! Thank goodness for more Pro-AMerica
> media outlets like talk radio, Fox News and the blogs. To
> me Rush IS an anchorman as he tells you the news, including
> stuff the left-wing run media WILL NOT--Peter Jennings,
> Brian Williams et al--liberal propagandists! And though I
> am 31 I KNOW what an anchorman is--

At 31, one may possess knowledge, but is sadly lacking in wisdom. Wisdom comes when one listens to extremist viewpoints on both sides and realizes that only emotion exists at the extremes, and truth exists somewhere in the middle, somewhere between the commie liberals and the facist fundementalists.

Our true enemies see our society polarizing into red states and blues states. A house divided cannot stand.

Anyone is believes half of what Rush says about anything is in serious trouble.
 
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