Bill Moyers yesterday demonstrated to journalists how an interview is

[saltpoint]

conducted, how issues should be explored, how common ground can be acknowledged.

Texas should send us many more like Moyers and a lot fewer DeLays, Cornyns, and Bushes.

[ananda]

1. Actually..

What would work would be zero tolerance
for cable newsbots and stepford journalists
recreating themselves in the mold made by
the likes of Rupert Murdoch.

[saltpoint]

2. Since cable news is sponsor-driven, we may have to honor Moyers' excellent

work until capitalism itself is terminated.

[goclark]

3. K and R ~ Rev. Wright has God on his side and Moyers

allowed us to see the real Rev. Wright.

Moyers did that interview with such skill and honesty.

He did not do it to convince us one way or the other.

He allowed Rev. Wright to speak honestly and that was enough to win me over.

Rev. Wright is BRILLIANT and a scholar in many,many field.

Mark my words --
History will record that as so.

[saltpoint]

5. Hi, goclark, and thanks for that insight, which IMO is spot on.

Moyers humanized Wright, whom the mainstream media had used as a prop for weeks.

Moyers had one studio, one night, a short time, and he presented us with a genuine human.

[Matariki]

23. He allowed Rev. Wright to speak - that's the difference

He didn't talk over him, yell, argue - or demand everything be summed up in digestible little sound bites before going to commercial on which he would then pounce and twist into something completely unintended.

I think that's a fair description of MSM news.

Yay for Bill Moyers, we need more journalists like him. Anyone have any bright ideas on how to fix the US media?

[goclark]

28. I think the next best thing is to boycott the largest sponsors

[Uncle Joe]

29. Yep I believe Bill Moyers has the brilliant mindset of the true journalist/interviewer in knowing

the fundamental truth that we all have one mouth and two ears for a reason.

[Starman77]

42. Wright Interview

The video, for those who have not seen it, is available here online:

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/04252008/watch.html

[Ninga]

4. Moyers "takes us to school' with his interview of the Reverend. It was as good as taking a

class, full to the brim with substance and context.

I am thankfully, more enlightened because of it. I thirst for more.


I agree OC, that Moyers is a class act, at the top of his class.

And so are you. :hi:

[saltpoint]

7. Ninga! Good morning! Always a pleasure, and like you, I am grateful

for Moyers for bringing some authentic journalism into the mix.

Would that there could be more of it on a daily basis. We'd have a healthier democracy if his were the model and not Brit Hume!


:thumbsup: :hi: :dem:

[AvaMae]

9. Moyers 'takes us to school"

yeahbit..

As the earlier snippets of THIS INTERVIEW were being made available to the networks, Chris Mathews and the other newer guy both were demanding Obama explain MORE from Wright... Mathews said that Wright was Obama's Iraq...

That was just the last straw.

I monitor most of the blogs and posts that I can, I saw this story go from the Freepers to Rush Limbaugh to Sean Hannity. Thereafter, MSNBC picked it up and began flogging it, and then CNN's
Lou Dobbs had to get his dibs in... a full week later, some staffer on the CNN 360 said he had
listened to the whole sermon and found that in context it was more understandable and that he
found nothing objectionable..

In the meantime, the press went into a frenzy and DEMANDED Obama address it.. Newt Gingrich listed to one 5 second snippet and he and is followers have been bleating since then that Obama listened to this hate filled, anti-American preacher for 20 years... and you STILL see the sheep that follow these right wing nuts parroting it all.

The simple fact is that it was a deliberate republican smear job... done as journalism over our air waves, and they ought not to get by with it. Obama does not need to address their caraciture of
Wright's sermon, they have lied about it...

We need Rush Limbaugh off our public airwaves, his show spews hatred and chaos and now riots in Denver to our military men and women around the world on our Armed Services network that we pay for.

We need the owners, sponsors and money men to hear from everyone, including blacks, about how
Charles Krauthammer of the Washington Post and FOX, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Bill O'Riley, both of FOX, Chris Mathews, Joe Scarborough, from MSNBC, Lou Dobbs, from CNN, Pat Buchannan from MSNBC are racist bigots, no better than Don Imus and we want them off our public airwaves.

[Uncle Joe]

30. Matthews surpasses a Dyson Vacuum cleaner with it's patented cylindrical force suckability. n/t

[AlCzervik]

6. Indeed, it was well done and informative. Bill Moyer's is one of the best, you actually

get a sense of who the subject is instead of some sound byte profile for the short attention spanners. I also really appreciated the there was some context provided when they showed Wright's speech.

:thumbsup: :hi:

[saltpoint]

8. "Context? Context? We don't need no stinkin' CONTEXT!" -- the MSM.

Yes. That darn Bill Moyers -- always providing context and insight into points he raises in those programs.

I mean, who the hell does he think he is, anyway!?

[mohinoaklawnillinois]

10. The interview was excellent.

My take on all of this was this: Why are the MSM making such a big deal about a black preacher simply telling the truth about US History?

Rev. Wright is a scholar and someone I would be proud to call a friend.

I was just watching MSNBC and Chris Jansing said "Not too many people watched this interview on Friday night on public television". Again the spinners of the corporate media have to play down and marginalize what Bill Moyers and the Rev. Wright showed the American public last night.

They make me want to :puke:.

[saltpoint]

11. Yep. Moyers and Wright sat down like grown-ups and elevated the dialogue.

The corporate media downplay that sort of integrity, that sort of elevation, because in one fell swoop, Bill and Jeremiah put them in their place.

[asjr]

13. Yes, excellent and I wish we Duers could

conduct our discussions with such grace.

[saltpoint]

16. Moyers is a blessing. I'd listen to him on any topic.

While he is a bit long of tooth these days, his wisdom is deeper than ever.

Just a few years ago he would have made a tremendous figure to place on a national ticket.

[asjr]

17. He and Helen Thomas are national treasures!

[saltpoint]

18. I was thinking about Helen Thomas just yesterday and in a very positive

way.

Talk about yer class acts.

I expect that under 'Integrity' in the dictionary there is a full-page photograph of Helen Thomas.

And if there isn't, there should be.

[goclark]

14. youtube is the friend of the 21st century

and email is our friend.

The more we get the word out,the more will watch it.

MSM needs to feel it in their purse.

I also believe that MOVE ON struck a nerve in the MSM that is making them all stick together.

They know that they are being unfair and so they have "circled the wagons" and will be even tougher on Democrats other than Hillary right now.

[L. Coyote]

19. VIDEOS on DU: Rev. Jeremiah Wright On Bill Moyers 2008.04.25

Rev. Jeremiah Wright On Bill Moyers 2008.04.25, Part 1 of 5
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x124168

RATE it UP at YouTube!!

[goclark]

20. Yes!

[MADem]

12. Well, at the end of the day, Moyers didn't help Obama, and neither did Wright.

Yes, it was a "reasonable" interview, but that "politician" comment was a hearty "fuck you" to that CHANGE bit of the "Hope-Change-Believe" agenda of Obama.

No matter how anyone tries to spin it, that's the soundbite that the 527 will use against Obama if he makes it to the general.

[saltpoint]

15. We disagree. Moyers and Wright provided an alternative record for

context in which PBS viewers can make a necessarily sharp contrast to the way Wright was presented on the cable news and the way he was with Moyers.

In that contrast is the record required for informed voters.

Someone who thinks Brit Hume is a good journalist, nevermind a "fair and balanced" journalist, deserves what he or she gets.

[MADem]

25. I don't dispute that an alternative record was provided. At all.

And that "PBS viewers" CAN do a nice little contrast comparison with that interview.

I am telling you, though, that the most important piece of that "alternative record" was that Wright explained to Moyers and all of America that OBAMA is just a typical POLITICIAN.

That was "the line" to take away from that entire exercise. And that line could well be featured in a GOP oppo ad or two at some stage.

The interview helps Obama with just one segment of the population--the people who are already crazy in love with the guy and will vote for him even if he eats a live baby on recorded television. It doesn't help with ANYONE else--in fact, it hurts him. He's not really about change (nudge, wink), he's just a POLITICIAN.

You might not like that, and you can wave "informed voters" in front of me all the live-long day, but it doesn't change reality.

Reverend Wright took care of Reverend Wright. And he boosted Moyers' ratings a tad, too, so old Bill must be pleased. The guy who was NOT helped by that interview was the typical "politician" Barack Obama. Wright ran a sword through the change/different/not politics as usual themes that BO had been building on.

What's with the "Brit Hume" bullshit? Stick to the fucking topic. Not helpful to any discussion, that approach.
You're trying to infer, with that offhand 'comment,' that somehow I am allied with "Brit Hume" because I dare to speak honestly about how I see the national electorate taking this interview, and how I anticipate it might be used in the general election. People who HATE Brit Hume will come away with that "politician" line of Wright's on their mind.


This is NOT good news for Team Obama, and this was NOT a good interview for Obama. Obama's people should have told Wright to just shut up for a few months. Maybe they tried, and if they did, and didn't succeed in getting him to stifle his urge to bloviate for a bit, then Wright is a pompous, self-involved jerk who is screwing his protege.

This is the topic for the weekend, and it's not coming across as "Oh, how nice that Wright explained himself." It's coming across as "What a bigmouth, he should have just laid low for awhile, gotta wonder why he doesn't, he is very concerned about HIS legacy, and he really screwed Obama with that "politician" snark, didn't he?"

Like it, or not, that's the way it is coming across.

[Uncle Joe]

31. Wright never said Obama was a "typical" politician, he said Obama was a politician, I challenge you

to find anyone in elective office who is not.

[MADem]

33. In the context of "changing the way we do business, changing the tone, getting rid of politics as

usual," Wright ripped that theme to shreds and suggested that Obama was just like all the rest--that's what I meant by a typical politician. He does what they ALL do, he says what they ALL say. He HAD to denounce me, because he's a bullshit politician.

It's not a question of you "challenging" ME. It isn't about ME. Of course politicians are politicians. But Obama claims to be DIFFERENT, not like those politicians.

Wright basically, in defending HIMSELF, called Obama's whole HOPE-CHANGE routine a big fat LIE.

Eh, nudge wink, he didn't mean it--he just did what politicians do.

That's how it's being covered in the news that these Indiana, and other, voters are watching, reading and hearing.

[Uncle Joe]

36. I didn't see it that way, I never saw Wright calling Obama's leadership of hope and change as a lie.

Wright merely stated the obvious, that they were operating in two different worlds, which I agree with as I believe in separation of church and state. This doesn't alter Obama's message of hope and change, and I certainly didn't view Wright as projecting Obama to be a bullshit politician.

I believe the primary reason our nation suffers a vacuum of leadership today is because the "news" has abandoned it's responsibility to present the full picture of any serious political or policy issue. If it wasn't about Wright it would be about something else. This was a primary reason I started a thread yesterday urging people to view this interview, because I knew the corporate media couldn't be trusted to report the news anymore without projecting someone's image in a carnival mirror.

The corporate media has been manipulating the American People for too long and I refuse to follow their lead anymore.

Edit for P.S. Here is my thread from yesterday.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x5685900

[MADem]

37. Well, if you don't, you don't. That IS how it is being reported, though.

FWIW, PBS has the transcript and the video of the interview up, now.

[Uncle Joe]

38. I watched the entire interview and stand by my post. I saw nothing wrong with Wright's position or

sentiments.

[MADem]

39. Of course. Stand by your post. That doesn't change the reporting on TV, though. NT

[Uncle Joe]

40. Nothing will change the reporting on T.V. if it weren't about Wright it would be something else.

That doesn't mean I wish join them on the road to perdition.

[MADem]

41. No one is suggesting that you should. That wasn't the point I was making. NT

[Uncle Joe]

44. My point is that T.V. is the problem, not Wright and the only way he

could counter the sound bite they were using before the interview was to explain his biography and beliefs to one of the few remaining responsible journalists left. I believe he did a good job of it and if there are any responsible journalists out there, he should get in front of them as well.

The corporate media wasn't going to let Wright go away regardless, the only way to win is to try communicating to the American People through the sound bites.

To continue accepting the corporate media's sound bites as the way to determine our leadership will surely lead the nation to destruction.

[saltpoint]

43. Well, for godsake, don't be so stingy-spirited.

I re-assert, not that you care, that an alternative record was provided. Any number of people heard the interview / discussion.

On definitions alone, Moyers and Wright won the day.

[scarletwoman]

21. Believe it or not, some of us value truth more than we care about a political candidate.

Moyers and Wright spoke the truth, that counts above all for me.

sw

[MADem]

22. Uh, I don't dispute that you "value truth" And drag out that "some of us" all you want if it makes

you happy.

My point stands. Some of you all isn't all of the nation. The interview helped TWO PEOPLE--Bill Moyers and Reverend Wright.

The one who got thrown under the Prius during that interview was Obama, The Politician.

[scarletwoman]

24. I'm sorry, I think you are misunderstanding my point.

You say, "This is going to hurt Obama." I say, "I don't really care about that, I'm looking at this from a different angle."

I don't understand why you still think I'm concerned with Obama being "thrown under the Prius".

sw

[MADem]

26. Yes, I did misunderstand your point. NT

[lonestarnot]

27. Oh the glorious spin twist. Beautiful when it blows

in the wind.

[MADem]

34. Well, that's what's happening on TV. It may be spin, blowing in the wind,

but it's a top tier topic.

[goclark]

32. Bosnia,Bosia and Huma Abedin nt

[MADem]

35. Yep. Sort of like that. An unhelpful situation, close to a primary.

And Topic A on the weekend news roundup shows.

[Cleita]

45. Well, the last three aren't journalists.

However, the state of our news media is very much shown in the fact that Moyers, Goodman and other real journalists are relegated to the fringe of the media instead of the center of it. Our corporate masters like it that way. We badly need to pass laws against yellow journalism, laws that regulate truth and anti-bias in reporting. Those stations or newspapers claiming to be mainstream news sources need to be fined or even have licenses revoked if they break the laws in this regard without correcting their mistakes or giving equal time to both sides of a controversial story.

Sure there is room for the tabloid type of journalism that passes for real news these days. They need to make disclaimers by law that their shows or print media are for entertainment purposes only and are probably for the most part fictional and not to be taken seriously. Yes, I can hear all the First Ammendment rights people crying foul. But making laws for news agencies to do their best to put up the facts as they are being revealed has nothing to do with taking away the freedom of the press. As a matter of fact the market driven unregulated system of news today has done more for obliterating the freedom of the press than some simple regulations ever have.

[Supersedeas]

46. the new breed of journalism doesn't pass the 'shill' threshold

[flyarm]

47. yeah the greatest softballs that could be lobbed!!!..it was pitiful! eom