Choking On Its Contrived Objectivity, The Media Refuses To Take A Stand On Sanity - HuffPo

[WillyT]

Choking on Its Contrived Objectivity, the Media Refuses to Take a Stand on Sanity
Arianna Huffington
Posted: October 14, 2010 09:13 PM

<snip>

We finally found out the real problem with the mainstream media: They're agnostic on sanity.

That's the only conclusion that can be drawn from the refusal of mainstream-media organizations to allow their employees to attend Jon Stewart's Rally to Restore Sanity on Oct. 30 in Washington, D.C. That's right, in a showdown between nonpartisan sanity and partisan madness, the traditional media have boldly decided to... not take a stand.

It started with Ellen Weiss, NPR's Senior Vice President for News, sending a memo to NPR employees forbidding them from attending the rally. The policy was clarified in a NPR blog post by Dana Davis Rehm. "Their rallies will be perceived as political by many, whatever we think," she wrote.

Heaven forbid! Clearly if someone is going to perceive something NPR does as "political," it's best not to do it -- even if it's not actually political. Better to let what's acceptable be defined by the most extreme elements than be perceived as "political" -- and to keep a pristine reputation by not taking a stand on sanity and reasonableness.

NPR was joined by the Washington Post, which sent out this statement to its newsroom managers:

Events, like those organized by Glenn Beck or involving Jon Stewart and Steven Colbert, are political, and therefore Post newsroom employees may not participate. By participate, we mean that Post newsroom employees cannot in any way put themselves in a position that could be construed as supporting (or opposing) that cause.

Got that? Can't be seen supporting sanity, but must be seen drawing a ludicrous equivalence between Glenn Beck and Jon Stewart! The Post does say that it permits "observing... watching and listening from the sidelines." You know, just like the press -- with some very honorable exceptions -- did during the run-up to the Iraq War. Or the financial crisis. Or the housing crisis.

<snip>

More: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/rally-to-restore-sanity-media_b_763569.html

:banghead:

:kick:

[geckosfeet]

1. Since when has the media shied away from political rallies? They are all

over screamin sarah's rallies - and what about the becker's rally? They tripped over each other trying to find the best angle to shoot the crowd to make it look larger, younger and less pasty than it really was.

To even try and suggest that those were not political rallies is to enter a world of doublespeak, contradiction, duplicity and outright denial.

NPR blows chunks.
:puke:

[Bitwit1234]

2. But they didn't forbid them to go to Beck's political rally

how come.

[WillyT]

3. Hell... They Had A Faux Producer Whipping The Beck Crowd Up For The Cameras !!!

:shrug:

[MisterP]

4. just like John Avlon has Palin and Olbermann on his cover as "ruining America" or whatever

the center cannot hold (because there's nothing there to begin with)

[WillyT]

5. Kick !!!

:kick:

[felix_numinous]

6. They call themselves mainstream,

but as they slip further into their world of corporate fiction, they cannot call themselves that. I think alternative and netroots media outlets are becoming more mainstream through their true investigative journalism. In the world of communication, nature abhors a vacuum, people's need for accurate information has found a way.

Let them ignore reality and wallow in their own illusions. The evolution will not be televised.