Dear Media -- We too are worthy of your respect

Carni

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Tue Jun-17-08 02:18 PM
Original message

Dear Media -- We too are worthy of your respect

Dear Media/Journalists/ *Talking Heads*/ Pundits et al;

I am truly sorry that you have lost your friend and colleague Tim Russert. I know how devastating it is to unexpectedly lose a loved one, or a dear friend.

With that said, I would like to take this time to remind all of you *media people* in your time of grief, of just how much responsibility persons such as Mr Russert and yourselves have had over the fate of the public over the last eight years. YOUR actions (or inactions) in matters of investigative research/reporting have LITERALLY meant life or death for many of us *working class folk*

Such was the case with the Iraq war...such was the case with George Bush and this administration in general.

Many of YOU (and you know who you are) spent many many a month slamming Al Gore and singing the praises of George Bush and Dick Cheney all throughout the 2000 campaign and subsequent recount.

Many MANY of you spent months enhancing Bush's claims that Iraq had "Weapons of Mass Destruction" Then you all claimed in hindsight that you *didn't know* that you never heard from *the critics of the Iraq war and wished you had* bla bla bla bla (never mind that numerous *regular people* with nothing more than access to google knew differently)

Do I believe that not asking the tough questions was a deliberate omission in order to install George Bush into office? Do I believe that certain talking heads beat the drums of war in order to sell the American public on an Iraq invasion?

If I had been asked this question even two weeks ago I would have replied with a hearty and angry "YES" but after what I have witnessed over the last three and a half days, I am starting to think that you hold yourselves in such superior regard that you really feel that you know what is best for us and will go to any length to promote your own individual talking points.

I have watched over the last eighty something hours, as every media figure known to man has ventured out of the woodwork to mourn and honor Tim Russert--to the point where there really hasn't been any other actual *news* being reported by so called news outlets 24 hours a day.

The cable networks (esp MSNBC over the last few days) appears to have morphed into some kind of bizarre reality TV series where the *upper classes* have invited the *little people* into their inner circle to feel their pain and celebrate their greatness.

While I am sorry that a man who you all loved and respected so much has died...forgive me...but there has been such a level of privilege and arrogance and elitism about all of this by you media people, that I cannot help but to be appalled.

Must I remind you?

There are still U.S. soldiers dying in Iraq, there are still people who cannot afford medical treatment, there are people losing their homes daily, there are people begging borrowing and stealing just to buy the gas to drive to work and the state of Iowa appears to be on it's way to becoming largely under water and yet even as I sit hear typing this rant, all I am hearing on my cable networks, is discussion about Mr Russert's passing and wake.

In summation, I guess I would like to suggest that in your future *reporting* that you show even a fraction of the respect to your *consumers* that you so obviously had for your friend and colleague Tim Russert -- and a really good way to start that process, would be to actually INVESTIGATE and REPORT FACTS as opposed to carrying water for sleazy politicians and talking amongst yourselves on our airwaves 24/7 about how fabulous you, yourselves are.

We *the little people* also deserve better.