Boston Globe:"Media accused of ignoring election irregularities"

[Chili]

http://www.boston.com/news/politics/president/articles/2004/11/17/media_accused_of_ignoring_election_irregularities/

<snip>

With some media outlets moving swiftly to debunk the notion that the election had been stolen by the Republicans, the press itself has come under scrutiny, accused of everything from a conspiracy of silence to a collective passivity about pursuing voting irregularities.

"The mainstream media is not treating this as an important story overall," said Steve Rendall, senior analyst at the liberal media watchdog group Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. "The mainstream media has largely treated the story as some crazy Internet story." At the same time, Rendall acknowledged: "There has been excess in the way stuff has flown around the Internet and e-mail lists."

<snip>

In an appearance Nov. 8 on the "Democracy Now!" program, (Bev)Harris, whose organization is investigating allegations of voter fraud in Florida and Ohio, told host Amy Goodman that sources in television news have told her "there is now a lock-down on this story. It is officially . . . 'Let's move on' time." In an interview with The Boston Globe, she reiterated those potent allegations but declined to reveal her sources. She also appeared to soft-pedal the idea that the media was at fault, saying instead that it was too early in the fraud-investigation process to blame reporters for not being more aggressive.

<snip>

"The thing that woke me up was the lock-down in Warren County," he (Olbermann) said, referring to a Cincinnati Enquirer report that officials in that Ohio county, citing terrorist threats, barred observers from the vote count. "I began to investigate then or at least raise questions. . . . It turns out there are a lot of valid stories, at least valid stories worth investigating."

[NewYorkerfromMass]

1. asking questions never hurts

not asking questions does.

[fasttense]

2. Don't Know if it's a coincident but

I sent an e-mail to them two days ago. I complained about the sound of silence from journalists and reporters. I'm sure it wasn't my e-mail that made them report. But sometimes it makes you feel good thinking well maybe they read it.

[seaveggie]

3. Couldn't have hurt

Sending an email is a powerful thing. I'm new to the blogworld, been watching for a while, but clearly this story is only living because people like yourself take the time to send emails and keep the story going. This is an amazing thing to watch unfold here. It's awfully empowering.

[Chili]

5. ...and FUNDED by us, too, dammit!

LOL!

(agree totally)

[nashville_brook]

4. emerson -- self reliance applies here

"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines. With consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do."

the bias of the media is toward a "foolish consistency." it is up to individuals of great soul to break the fetters of mediocrity.

[progressiveboston]

6. The Globe was one of the firsts

to issue a debunking article.

INTERNET BUZZ ON VOTE FRAUD IS DISMISSED
Published on November 10, 2004
Author(s): Rick Klein, GLOBE STAFF

It's in archives now but the Globe is a pretty fair paper. It's good to see that they are at least paying attention to it.