I Didn't Call John Stossel a "Corporate Shill" -But I Should Have!

[depakid]

An Open Letter to Anne Sweeney, President/ABC Television Group
by John F. Borowski

During a private dinner to honor John Stossel (Portland, Oregon 2/5/06) the self-proclaimed "libertarian reporter" introduced me to a group of his followers: "John is a teacher who goes around the country telling people I am a corporate shill." I had just handed an email to Stossel and its contents were very telling. An industry front group was soliciting individuals to badmouth environmental concerns: on behalf of John Stossel. I told Mr. Stossel, "use this information in your talk tonight." It would never enter his address.

I was there in person to ask Mr. Stossel three major points. One, why does he manipulate data to create news? Secondly, why was his "Tampering with Nature" program a "rigged event" where teachers and children were duped into a scathing misrepresentation of environmental education (that email was tied to this program)? And lastly, why wouldn't he answer a single phone call or email (after dozens of tries)? Reviewing pieces I have written about John Stossel, I did not come across the term "corporate shill." What I learned about John Stossel that evening is that he is indeed "a person considered as having compromised principles for personal gain." He is indeed a "corporate whore", where truth is meaningless, statistics can be manipulated and journalistic integrity perverted. He is the poster boy of a non-existent liberal press: where facts are cherry-picked and the hard questions are avoided.

Thankfully, a friend picked up the $125 tab to break bread with John Stossel. A private dinner would follow with one of Mr. Stossel's "anti-regulatory homilies." Held at the impressive Multnomah Athletic Club in Portland, courtesy of the Cascade Policy Institute, Stossel titled his discussion, "Freedom and its Enemies." The private dinner was awash with free-market boosters, where environmental regulations are seen as "anti-growth" and overbearing. Stossel's talk was a generic and entertaining attempt to belittle environmental and other safety regulations. Apparently, Mr. Stossel has little acquaintance with environmental data and casts doubt on everything from climate change to the dangers of pesticides.

<snip>

"Some truth" is an endangered species on the mainstream media's airwaves. ABC is a lapdog to the corporate giant, the Disney Corporation. Despite repeated attempts to have a dialogue with the powers at ABC/Disney, I have found myself a common citizen with no access to the powerful brokers of half-truth and omission.

http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0221-21.htm

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Stossel is a walking, talking case for serious media re-regulation- including divestment (or de-consolidation) and fines or license non-renewal for repeatedly allowing people long segments of airtime to outright lie in order to further their twisted agendas on the public airwaves- our airwaves

[AndyA]

1. I guess we should thank Ronald Reagan

For getting rid of fair and balanced reporting. That opened the door to censorship.

The media should be required to tell the truth, to tell all sides of the story, period. Anything less is censorship, and we can all see where that has gotten us.

John Stossel is just a prostitute for whoever or whatever can afford his fee at any given time. No ethics, no sense of right vs. wrong. He's not a journalist, nor is he a reporter. He's just a HO.

Edit: Typo.

[papau]

2. I agree - excellent rant - I do not understand who at Disney is protecting

him amd why.

Media re-regulation- including divestment (or de-consolodation) and fines or license non-renewal for repeatedly allowing people long segments of airtime to outright lie - is the only way since we have seen what big money will do with freedom from regulation.

[Cassandra]

3. Once upon a time...

Stossel was a fine and articulate consumer reporter. I guess he decided he liked money better than truth.

[yurbud]

7. that seems to be the litmus for staying in network "news"

[FormerDittoHead]

4. Search for more John Stossel here at DU... There's plenty more. n/t

[Canuckistanian]

5. Media Matters has been tracking his lies for years

http://mediamatters.org/issues_topics/search_results?qstring=Stossel

[YOY]

6. I used to like him bakc in the late eighties and early nineties

Then he found his true calling...bullshit.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

8. "courtesy of the Cascade Policy Institute"--that says it all

:puke:

[Uncle Joe]

9. I have not viewed it, however

I believe the movie "Chicken Little" which came out the past fall, is a Disney Product and I could not help but to think this was aimed at subliminally trashing the people that believe global warming is for real.


Kicked and recommended.

:kick: