NBC Anchor Says Reporters Feisty Again (mute button has been turned off)

[sabra]

http://www.mediainfo.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001096477

NBC Anchor Says Reporters Feisty Again

NEW YORK (AP) NBC's Brian Williams says the lasting legacy of Hurricane Katrina for journalists may be the end of an unusual four-year period of deference to people in power.

There were so many angry, even incredulous, questions put to Bush administration officials about the response to Katrina that the Salon Web site compiled a "Reporters Gone Wild" video clip. Tim Russert, Anderson Cooper, Ted Koppel, and Shepard Smith were among the stars.

The mute button seemingly in place since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks has been turned off.

"By dint of the fact that our country was hit we've offered a preponderance of the benefit of the doubt over the past couple of years," the "Nightly News" anchorman said. "Perhaps we've taken something off our fastball and perhaps this is the story that brings a healthy amount of cynicism back to a news media known for it."

[havocmom]

1. If they had been honest & vocal, five years ago, there would be no Bush*

administration. If they had been honest & vocal how much better off would the nation/world be? Selling out to power for the crumb of 'access' has helped create the horrors we have seen for the past four and a half years. What more is in store for us because reporters (with a few, notable exceptions) failed to do their jobs?

[bribri16]

12. I agree. Without their "deference" Bush may not be in the WH.

They were not critical of the sweiftboater, choosing instead to support them against Kerry.

[AlGore-08.com]

14. What they did to Kerry was nothing compared to what they did before

The media spent the entire Clinton administration ginning up bogus scandals, and spent the 2000 election destroying Gore's reputation for sport. There was no one in the media, on the left, right or center, who stood up to any of it, who complained about the right wing spin machine controlling the press prior to 2004.

They actively worked to get Clinton impeached and to keep Gore from winning in 2000. In 2004, they just did an average to below average job of reporting.

[lavendermist]

22. Exactly!

What is this "couple of years" bit? They have not done their job for longer than that. I agree with you totally.

[hogwyld]

26. If only...

They had only come to their senses 5 years ago. We could have avoided this whole nightmare to begin with!

[calimary]

43. Welcome to DU!

More new posters every day! YAY!

More people to help us GET RID OF THESE SCHMUCKS!!!!

IMPEACHMENT!!!!!!!!

NOW!!!!!

Can we REALLY afford, or risk, three more years of this?

[pokercat999]

71. IMPEACHMENT? IMPEACHMENT?

I'M WAY PAST IMPEACHMENT! I get more cynical everyday but I just can't keep up.

[MisterP]

34. don't forget the 318 broadcasts of the Dean scream-that-was-actually-just-

the-consequence-of-a-filtering-mike-as-Dean-tried-to-talk-above-the-crowd

[MADem]

41. The ONLY one who corrected that horseshit was I think Diane Sawyer

on Sixty Minutes. Everyone else just played it as Rove wrote it, the turds.

[kath]

57. Exactly, AlGore-08.

Great post - exactly what I was thinking, but you said it so much better than I could have.

[GCP]

13. Amen to that, sister

They really let the country down starting with the Clinton impeachment farce. From then on, Gore was toast as far as they were concerned, never mind that Chimp has never been and will never be qualifed for anything higher than dog-catcher.

[fshrink]

86. Covering

their servile butt in case the wind would turn. Despicable. And their abject indignation will of course stop there.

[jrthin]

2. I'll believe it when I see it. nt

[GrantDem]

40. I'm with you...

I'll believe it when I see it. It is about time the media, as well as some Democrats, start to show a backbone and question the antics of this administration.

[calimary]

42. Me, too.

Seeing is believing, especially over the long term. I'm just wondering how long it'll be before naptime is declared again.

Brian Williams says they took something off their fastball? CRIMINY!!!
What an idiot!!!!! That's the understatement of the year. Maybe the kneepads started wearing a little thin and some knee bones finally ground through to the concrete floor.

I'll believe it when I see it. These assholes have a HUGE karmic debt to pay. COLOSSAL. It's because of their gross dereliction of duty as public watch dogs that we are in this mess to begin with. And by mess I mean - a stolen election, a perversion of our Constitution and Bill of Rights, a terrorizing of the people who were then told they were unpatriotic if they spoke out, the unquestioned lies about a completely unnecessary war and the carnage, wreckage, and death that ensued, the free-for-all of terrorism's flower world-wide that was the direct result of that war, September 11th and all the warnings and intel that led up to it - which were ignored - and how many people died? And now this. Not to mention all the anguish along the way from funding cuts, wrong-headed priorities, our treasury's been looted, our troops are sitting ducks, our Armys are depleted, the polluters and pirates and ruthless profiteers are running amok with no oversight keeping them in line anymore, our moral high ground has been completely washed away, and our reputation around the world for honorable acts and truth-telling has been completely trashed, even such ceremonial items as the Purple Heart and Presidential Medal of Freedom have been turned into cheap, pathetic jokes, and our homeland ANYTHING but secure.

This is a BOTCH JOB of the FIRST ORDER, and I hold the media responsible for it, just as much as I hold bush and all his republi-CON enablers (including spineless Democrats and independents). They were uniquely positioned to be able to question it, to hound this bastard and his greed cabal and hold them accountable. And to stop them and their evil. And they did NOTHING. NOTHING!!!

And somehow, Brian Williams thinks they shaved a little off their "fastball."

Um, Williams, you ASS, I think it's a LITTLE more significant than just taking the edge off one's "fastball."

A HUGE, HUGE, HUGE karmic debt to pay. And nobody can tell me for one instant that they don't know how to hound a president. They sure did one fine job on Clinton.

They have an UNGODLY, ASTOUNDINGLY GIGANTI karmic debt to pay.

IMPEACHMENT NOW!!!
I only wish we could also impeach our press people.

[Seabiscuit]

70. Well said. A nail head well hit.

[Mr_Jefferson_24]

74. Well said!!...

...Your rant deserves it's own thread. I'd nominate it.

[stubtoe]

77. Hi Calimary: do you think they're starting to smell dead meat yet?

We talked about this earlier - MSM won't take the gloves off and go after shrubby till he's "certified dead meat".

Hope springs eternal -- but like you, I'll hold my breath.

Cheers!

[Mad_Dem_X]

79. Great post!!!!

:applause:

[liberal N proud]

3. At least I think Brian Williams is on track

[MADem]

45. I hope so, because he went into that job with a murmur about his being

...the GOP go-to guy. Two cites from a while back:

...That from after the vice-presidential debate on October 5, 2000. Brian Williams actually stopped himself mid-sentence and rephrased his comments to avoid calling Luntz a Republican pollster. (Luntz went on to say that 18 members of his focus group thought Joe Lieberman won the debate and 18 thought Dick Cheney won -- and then arranged the on-air conversation so that three pro-Cheney groupers spoke before the first pro-Lieberman voice was heard.)
http://64.233.179.104/search?q=cache:2OmwGDSW0IgJ:www.prospect.org/weblog/archives/2004/09/+%22brian+williams%22+gop+%22go+to%22+guy&hl=en

While Fox News Channel remains the favorite network of Republican lawmakers, NBC's new anchor, Brian Williams, is the one turning GOP heads. Message guru and former MSNBC contributor Frank Luntz says in a confidential memo to Hill leaders that Williams has emerged as the "go-to network anchor" because of his brains and "lack of detectable ideological bias." Luntz credits NBC Executive Producer Steve Capus for "a flawless transition to a new generation of news anchor." Still, Fox and CNN lead the nets when it comes to GOP loyalty.
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/politics/whispers/articles/050214/14whisplead_2.htm


Maybe the Murrow-Cronkite fever has taken hold. Maybe he was playing it coy to get the gig. Maybe that was all GOP disinformation to make people hate him.

Whatever, if he's got the spirit, here's hoping he keeps it!

[librechik]

53. he was a perfect little smartass Pukey until NOLA

He had to stop drinking the koolaid for awhile I guess!

[jsamuel]

4. I give them a pat on the back, but they better keep it up or I will give

them more smacks on the head

[truthisfreedom]

5. umm... yay?

isn't this the way the media is supposed to be? feisty?

[orion9941]

6. They may be a day late and a dollar short...

...but I'll take what little they are starting to dole out again. I think that there were many in the media that were already p*ssed about the lack of 'real' journalism in the media already and that Katrina was the kicker that allowed them to get their ass back in gear.

[katinmn]

7. good to hear. now we expect him to walk the talk.

[iconoclastic cat]

8. Only in the US do we *praise* people for performing the minimum

amount required by their job description.

[deutsey]

9. We'll see how much accurate coverage the 9-24 demonstrations get

from our fiesty MSM journalists.

[goforit]

10. Well maybe they can start turning the tide around!!! They better!!!

Next to the Pentagon choosing to blow up the planet,
they certainly aren't gonna have a chance to immortality any more than we are.

So its time for us to be a little more neighborly and care
for humanity by promoting truth and justice.

And it does start with them. Karma and the laws of nature do exist
and is far superior than any thing on Earth.

[SillyGoose]

11. Its about damn time. The media has been an eager enabler of

a dysfunctional administration. The media's job is to question government and hold them accountable. What they have done over the last 4 years has been a disgrace to journalistic integrity. I hope these new-found journalistic principles will remain intact despite pressure from the White House to return to the misinformation campaigns that have been waged the last 4 years.

[DeepModem Mom]

15. Keeping my fingers crossed that this continues. nt

[peacetalksforall]

16. They have fifteen years fof pimping for the right wing. Will Jimmy

the Greek bet on whether they slip back or get on the right track? Somewhere along the line, NBC sold out to GE who partnered with the right wing because of business opportunity, greed, and power and a plan to control the citizens of the U.S. and advance the agenda of the right wing across the world.

NBC ceased to exist as a news organization when GE bought them out - a plan of the right wing to control all the news - with even more control than in the USSR or the People's Republic of China. They succeeded.

NBC is a member of CPN - the Corporate Propaganda Nation of the U.S.

I think I know how they will turn again.

[gratuitous]

17. Pissing down my leg to tell me it's raining, Mr. Williams?

Talk is cheap, pal. Our nation has lost a trillion dollars, thousands of good men and women, and killed thousands and thousands more in the last five years. What did it take to turn you "feisty"? Was it one particular death? One particular lie? One particularly clueless response from the latter day Bourbons running our great country into the ground?

And what has caused you to miss all of this over the last six years? A cute nickname? Bush's carefully stage-managed and controlled "aw shucks" attitude? The threat of not being invited to all the coolest cocktail parties? What did you sell out those thousands and thousands of lives for? What cheap bauble did you get for our trillion dollars?

[Rowdyboy]

18. Perfect response.....

And I don't for a minute believe the press is going to be one bit more probing of this corrupt pile of garbage than it has been during the last 4 years. Once the memory of the depair and agony faced by these people fades from immediate memory, the press will once again scurry to get their noses up Bush's ass.

[SoCalDem]

39. The press wants it both ways

They want to be "pals" with the admin so they get invited to the parties and golf outings, and get "tips".. But then the eventually want to re-claim the jobs they were hired to do.. inform the public..

They have to smell enough blood in the water before they switch though, because their "bridge" to the White House soirees has been duly burned..

They all got tremendous mileage out of the WARWARWARWARgasm, and unfortunately, now they expect the public to start to trust them again..

It's gonna take more than a little piling on to do that, guys:eyes:

[Arugula Latte]

19. Gee, too bad thousands had to die here and in Iraq because of your

complicity, news media. But, hey, thanks for finally deciding to do your job. I hope you had a nice nappy.

[ramapo]

20. We'll see...

Two weeks does not remake the reputation of the MSM.

[Roy]

21. Based on the coverage of the last few days......

You can put the mute back on. That is leave muted, only spinning going right now.

[info being]

72. Exactly.

They were working in the interest of the people for about 3 days. Imagine that.

[creeksneakers2]

23. A welcome improvement

I've been watching NBC News and its gotten much better since Brian took the anchor job. ABC is now almost as bad as Faux. I'm so happy to read ABC is losing viewers to NBC.

A big reason that the media has gone so far from reality in the past was the belief that conservative audiences are much larger than moderate or liberal ones. Brian is proving that wrong. Most veiwers really do want to know what's going on.

[ginnyinWI]

62. I agree--NBC over ABC for nightly news, but

certain ABC guys are okay--Ted Koppel and George Stephanopoulis and Fareed Zarkaria. Not Air America lefties, but ok for mainstream.

I also agree that the media is just trying to follow the majority--otherwise they would not be turning on the * administration now, either. But somehow enough info got to us.

[NNN0LHI]

24. Fuck you Brian. The spin machine is back in full force. You are part of it

Old habits are hard to break.

Don

[jarnocan]

37. I wish it could be for real

Like they really will LOOK back at so much they have ignored, and research the facts, and try to see and inform others of the big picture. I wonder? Maybe some will get a clue as to some of the reasons which contributed to this multifaceted tragedy- why the BushInc. appoints incompetants- who won't disagree with them , quit and then try to tell the truth, and so much more.

[Bumblebee]

25. and when they are not, it's actually noticed now -- from Kurtz in the WP

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi got so annoyed at CNN anchor Kyra Phillips last week that she suggested Phillips join the White House staff.

Phillips pressed the California Democrat on her denunciations of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's handing of Katrina, saying, "I think it's unfair that FEMA is just singled out" when "there are so many people responsible." Phillips then interrupted Pelosi to ask about past Army Corps of Engineers warnings (and corrected the congresswoman for mispronouncing her name), prompting Pelosi to say: "If you want to make a case for the White House, you should go on their payroll." Phillips said she was doing no such thing.

On Friday, Phillips told viewers that CNN has gotten hundreds of letters, pro and con, the most critical of which said: "Kyra is an unbelievably terrible journalist. . . . Journalists should be objective." She responded: "We're asking tough questions because you're asking tough questions, and we're going to continue to do that." Pelosi says through a spokeswoman that she objected to Phillips's "personal opinions."

[tinfoilinfor2005]

27. Remember who they work for...

They will be allowed their moment to release steam, but soon will be reminded that their seats can quickly be filled by those who cooperate with the network.

[AndyTiedye]

28. They Are Already Being Dragged Back Onto the Reservation

[ElectroPrincess]

44. Exactly ... we are screwed until the media monopolies are disbanded! /eom

[FreeStateDemocrat]

29. This should RIP the liberal media bias BS but it won't change that big lie

If he is openly admitting to being part of the media manipulation by rightwing re-pukes it gets a little alarming as to how deep this may actually run in dispossessing Americans of their constitutional rights to a free and open press being denied this cornerstone of democracy through a conspiracy. There should be congressional investigations into this abridgement of free speech but that would call for an honest and open government and that is as much of a lie today as is that of a functional, free press existing today. Where is the public outrage that we are being lied to by our government and democratic institutions? Williams admits to going along with the program just like a good little nazi so why believe anything he is trying to propagate now?

[NNN0LHI]

30. Yep. Someone should ask Williams was he lying before or is he lying now?

I would like to hear his answer.

Don

[LeahD]

31. They know the tide of public opinion is turning,

and the jig is up.

[FlemingsGhost]

32. Waaaaaaaaaaay too fuckin' late, whores!

When revolution comes to the U.S., the corporate media will not just be reporting the story .... they will be the story.

I see angry mobs at their doorsteps ...

[NewWaveChick1981]

33. "Reporters Gone Wild", eh? What about "Corruption Gone Wild"...

...or "Conservative Assholes Gone Wild"? Where did the reporters suddenly get the balls to do what they should have been doing all along?

[cyr330]

35. My own Mute Button

I haven't even been able to listen to the media's mewling over the last five years. I have had my TV on "mute" everytime the news has been on. I got so fucking tired of pussified questions on the part of the press toward our idiot in chief: "Tell us, Mr. President, do you pray on a regular basis?"

The press shouldn't be rewarded for doing its job. I just can't forget the fact that we wouldn't be stuck with the squatter in the White House if the media had reported the facts rather than breathlessly reporting the lies of the Swiftboat assholes.

[Iris]

36. As I said when this was posted yesterday,

perhaps he has finally removed those little goggles people wear in a tanning booth.

[neuvocat]

38. Could somone explain...

if that mute button he was referring to was the media's? Thanks.

[daninthemoon]

46. This president should be screamed at daily.

[Maggie_May]

47. There is so much they can be reporting

No WMD- Rove story- No bid contracts to Iraq and N.O -Gas prices- anymore my brain is kind of fried.

[donkeyotay]

50. "Perhaps we've taken something off our fastball..."

William, your ball doesn't even make it to the plate. As the post above points out, there are numerous and enormous scandals begging to be brought to the attention of the public via that quaint thingy called The News. The 6 O'clock News. Most of the weary working people in this country give about 30 seconds of their attention to the network news and its local version. If you don't come on and tell them that the corrupt, incompetent shits in the WH are destroying their country, they don't know. They're too tired.

Holding my breath, waiting for William to find his fast one.

[hvn_nbr_2]

48. They didn't take something off their fastball

"Perhaps we've taken something off our fastball"

They didn't take something off their fastball. They walked up to the batter, handed him the ball, turned off the cameras while the batter did what he wanted with it, and then showed the ball sailing out of the park. Then when the batter was a Democrat, they walked up to the batter, took the bat from the batter, and clubbed him over the head with it repeatedly. Meanwhile, most of the Dems, most of the time, said, "Oh, okay."

[complain jane]

49. Well - what the f was that about?

How about looking into the last four years?

[0rganism]

51. Fuck the corporate whore media, fuck them all

"Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks"?

WHAT ABOUT THE LAST 10 YEARS OF GOP ASS-KISSING, MR. BRIAN "go-to-guy" WILLIAMS?

Let's talk blame-game. I blame the media for ALL of this bullshit. Oh yes, I truly do.

[kath]

58. I miss MediaWhoresOnline so much...

[0rganism]

64. I know. We need a new horse!

[tedoll78]

52. Too damn late, the fuckers..

Now, we're stuck with thousands more dead in Iraq, thousands dead here at home, a record deficit, a nasty real estate bubble, and a respect deficit around the world. Add to that, I'm 26 years old, and Bush's court appointees will still be fucking things up when I'm an old man.

So fuck the media.

/VERY bitter.

[henslee]

54. I suspect this is a temporary aberation.

[tabasco]

55. Oh they can kiss my ass and go to hell !!

Where the hell were they before the Iraq invasion ???

IT'S ALL JUST A SMOKESCREEN ANYWAY.

The corporate media is owned by the war profiteers.

Until we INSTALL an independent news media, we will have nothing but propaganda.

[Tight_rope]

56. They should all resign for not doing their jobs for the last 5+years!

[WCGreen]

59. My EMail to Brian......

Well, some might say better late than never.....

But the media, you included, have a lot of explaining as to why you were completely derelict in your duty for five long years.....

No one stood up to question anything....

And then the rumors of you being the new GOP go to guy on network news....

Well, I know you won't read this....

And I know you will go and giggle with Jon S. on occasion....

But you and the rest of your cronies have long since forfeited credibility for a chance at assessability....

A sycophantic courtier is how you should now refer to yourself...

[NYC]

60. Does this mean they are reporting on Blackwater in New Orleans?

Mercenaries are roaming an American city. Are they reporting this? Are they finding out who sent them there? Who allows them to remained armed while the citizens are disarmed?

[fooj]

66. I have a real problem with it, myself.

WTF is going on in NO? Merceneries on American soil? OK- Brian...do your job, dude.


peace.

[NYC]

81. Has an American city been taken over militarily?

Has it? Perhaps it has. I'm extremely concered about this. I think it is safe to say I am obsessed. I want mercenaries OFF the streets. No excuses.

[fooj]

82. I don't see that as obsession. I see it as common sense.

Peace.

[merkins]

61. Brian Wiliam's Praise of Limbaugh

http://mediamatters.org/items/200502070007


In a December 2, 2004, interview with C-SPAN founder, president, and CEO Brian Lamb, Williams said that "it's my duty to listen to Rush" Limbaugh and that "Rush has actually yet to get the credit he is due." Before his promotion, Williams hosted several other NBC news programs, including The News with Brian Williams on MSNBC and CNBC, where Limbaugh was a frequent guest. As Media Matters previously noted, on September 24, 2002, Williams introduced a News segment on a speech by former Vice President Al Gore by observing: "ur friend Rush Limbaugh told his radio listeners he almost stayed home from work, not due to any health reasons, but because he was so livid at the speech given yesterday by former Vice President Al Gore criticizing the Bush administration's apparent march to war in Iraq." Williams asked, "Is it un-American to speak out against the Bush plan to take on Iraq? Is it democratic to ridicule and threaten those who do?"


bonus link,
RollingStone.com: The Press vs. Al Gore
http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/_/id/5920188?rnd=1126358924375&has-player=true&version=6.0.12.1212

[OzarkDem]

75. Duly noted

The corporate news media is trying to have it both ways, boosting their popularity with centrist and liberal viewers when its convienient for them. There's little doubt they'll revert to covering for Bush again (and in fact they still are) as soon as possible.

Their only goal is to please Republicans so they can get the regulations on media ownership relaxed. These talking heads aren't going to go against their bosses wishes, no matter how severe the disaster or scandal.

[buddysmellgood]

63. Perhaps you're all owned by corporate Repuklicans and only grew some

balls when you thought people would turn against you.

[NeoConsSuck]

65. I call bullshit.

The Katrina disaster was so "in your face" they had no choice but to take bush to the woodshed. Additionally, they had to put on a good face for their black viewers/readers.

Corporate media is owned by the military/industrial complex, and will continue to look out for their interests. They're not in the business of reporting unbiased news stories. They're in the business of propaganda. If I ever read a postive news story about Ceasar Chavez, then you can tell me I'm wrong. But I won't hold my breath.

[ladylibertee]

67. DITTO That. Let's just hope that they get hooked on the...

Adrenalin of holding people accountable and asking the tough questions.

[entanglement]

68. Sound like 'whore feels like a virgin again' n/t

[BooScout]

69. It's too little too late...

I am glad the reporters have found their cajones again....but not all of them have and for the ones who have...it's way too late now. Bush has been able to systematically wreck this country. People have died and I blame the lackadaisical press as much as the Bush Administration and the many Americans that were too stupid and lazy to try and grasp WTF was going on.

[wryter2000]

73. CBS

Schieffer announced last night that they're going to run a series on how the recovery/rebuilding money is spent. They started with a story on all those firefighters who weren't used to rescue anyone and how much we paid for that.

If they lose the media, it'll be Watergate x 10. :popcorn: :beer:

[dryan]

76. What took so damn long!!!

[wryter2000]

78. I hear you

Half of me wants to say, "eff you," and the other half will be watching to see if they follow up. If they truly expose Halliburton, that can't help but lead to similar questions about Iraq. I know I shouldn't get my hopes up.

[Protagoras]

80. Just remember these Poodles were the ones who ran

like beaten dogs when Bush beat up a wonderful elderly woman (Helen Thomas).

They're brave as shit when his back is turned...yap yap yap...but as soon as he turns back around and stares at them off they run yelping.

And honestly...I don't think Bush has to care now. He's done his damage, looted the treasury of billions, perhaps trillions of dollars, and installed his cronies and toadies throughout the government.

He'll leave office having totally fulfilled the wet dreams of the gross fat spiders who pulled his strings. He won't suffer any repercussions...He'll have stacked the Supreme Court for another generation.

He'll be able to take his billions, hang out anywhere in the world he wants, and smirk it up with his buddies while America falls further into 3rd world status and wonders just what the hell happened.

We haven't been smart enough to deserve what we had...but we've certainly acted stupid enough to have lost what we did.

[newspeak]

83. okay, right (wink, wink)

They'll be as feisty as their corporate masters allow them to be. I'm not holding my breath on this one!

[Blackwater]

84. NBC is on our side...

They always have been.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

87. Our side???????? n/t

[BlueStatesForever]

85. This is past tense

Last week they were feisty. This week they're back to being the spiral-eyed cow-towers of the right wing.

I knew when Keith Olbermann didn't even comment on Bush's false responsibility-taking that we were screwed once again.


It's over guys. The right wing is BACK.

[yorkiemommie1]

88. they were afraid of KKKarl and * insinuating they were

traitors! what cowards. it makes me just so sick.