Anyone see Hemmer smacked down this morning?

[Atman]

It was quite an episode. I just posted about it on another board, in response to a charge that it was not Dick Cheney playing us for morons, it was the news media. Here is what I wrote back...the Hemmer smackdown, cut-away is included...

(Disclaimer...these aren't actual quotes, they are from memory)

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Did you see any CNN this morning? First of all, let me say that I've turned off the cable news for much of the day lately, whereas I used to leave it on as background noise most of the day. More and more, the stories being "reported" on air did not correlate with news reports I was reading from all sorts of reputable sources both in the US and abroad. With a significant part of their staff married to or otherwise related to GOP operatives, it just got too sickening to watch. I can handle tough reporting, but when the "reporters" begin arguing with the guests over strictly political positions, something is wrong.

Anyway, this morning Bill "Ken" Hemmer was discussing a new documentary about the news media and the film's creator was the guest. He just finishes saying that the news media did not do enough to question the Bush administration's claims regarding the Iraq WMDs.

Hemmer was shocked, I tell you! "Are you saying we weren't doing our jobs?"

The guy said "Well, uh...yes, that is what I'm saying."

He went on to explain "With the competition in the cable news markets, they had to hire more and more reporters that looked good on camera, but weren't necessarily good reporters..."

At that, Hemmer put his finger to his ear..."Just a moment, I'm getting something in my ear...yes Soledad...go ahead"

Cut to news reciter Soleded "Barefoot and Pregnant" O'Brien "Yes, Bill we have important, late breaking live news...let's see what it is."

They cut to a guy testifying at the 9/11 hearings. Nothing specific, no commentary, just joined the hearings. Never went back to the interview with the documentary producer, never offered an explanation, just bye-bye.

Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien are exactly the type of vacuous twits willing to chirp out anything that scrolls across the Telepromptr, straight from the WH. Soledad comments as much on air..."I'm just trying to get a good slot at the kindergarten!" Doesn't want to rock the boat.

There was a day when people like Walter Cronkite actually went out into the field and reported news. Investigated events and dug deep. Now we have bubble-headed soccer moms and company men just sticking it out for the vacation time and maybe a shot an an 8:00 pm gig with their own cg graphics.

Cheney is certainly playing to morons...and the morons are reading it right off the script for us.

[spanone]

1. The CNN version of Matt & Katie

Total giggle-fest while presenting it as serious news.

[GreenPartyVoter]

2. Beyond sad, really.

[lovedems]

3. CNN, MSNBC and Faux don't report news, they are "infotainers"

Infotainment, not facts.

Apparently they all suffer from some sort of narcissim and think their viewers hang on to their own opinions.

I am like you, used to have CNN or MSNBC on as background noise. Now it is Nickelodeon.

[LittleApple81]

4. Info-tainters.They taint the info until it is not recognizable as info.n/t

[lovedems]

5. You've got that right!

I always hear them pat themselves on the back "we make both sides mad, so we must be doing our job!"

If you can justify torture, I guess you can justify just about anything.

Tweety is the biggest torture apologist I have seen to date.

[No Mandate Here.]

7. Nickelodeon aims for a more mature audience...

with longer words and less repetition.

"Repeat a lie often enough and it becomes the truth" -- Rove has all the mass media in his pocket.

The guest was drawing a parallel between the expansion of the NFL and the expansion of the media. There is a limited pool of talent, and when twice as many positions become available, the quality of the entire product is brought substantially down. Works for me...

[lovedems]

8. I think I could learn more from Spongebob Squarepants then I could

from Hemmer, Tweety, Leslie, Judy, et. al.

The only newsmedia journalist that I find credible is Lou Dobbs. Everytime he goes on vacation I wonder if he has been fired. He really does report the news and does so in the most professional manner.

[GR]

6. I Believe Hemmer Called Rush And Told Him He Supported Rush...

Rush related the story of a young anchor saying he called Rush and said he supported him and Rush advised him not to reveal that as it wouldn't be good for his career. Hemmer immediately came to mind...

Soledad was decent but he has corrupted her now...She's lost...