Faux History

The title seems to say it all. Now maybe they should read a bit of the book.

Fox News Channel is accused by many of having a casual relationship with the facts. But it is probably their constant on-air errors (especially those pertaining to ex- U.S President Abraham Lincoln). A while ago in a special on current President George W Bush, host and White House reporter for the network Brett Baer made reference to Abraham Lincoln, stating that Lincoln was “essentially hated when he was leaving office”.

Note to Brett, Lincoln didn’t exactly leave office in the conventional sense and he had just won the civil war as well as re-election when he “left” office that night when he was shot in the back of the head at Ford’s theater. Not exactly leaving office.

Well now on “Fox and Friends” last weekend when the trio of hosts referenced the 1858 Lincoln- Douglas debates, where Stephan A Douglas and Abraham Lincoln in 1858 engaged in seven high profile debates with an emphasis on the topic of slavery in the state of Illinois for an open U.S Senate seat. But on Fox News when referring to the debate they showed a picture of Abraham Lincoln and not Stephan A Douglas his opponent who supported slavery, but Lincoln Ally and abolitionist Fredrick Douglas.

I know people and networks make mistakes and that is understandable. But come on Fox, this is your second Lincoln error in a matter of months.

New York Times May Begin Layoffs

Another sign of the metamorphosis that traditional media, including the newspapers are undergoing. Now this appeared in a column by Keith Kelly of the New York Times rival and tabloid the New York post, so its accuracy might be somewhat questionable. However, it has been told and retold on a multitude of sites and blogs throughout cyberspace.

New York Post:

The word from inside [the New York Times]is that approximately 50 unionized journalists have accepted the buyout proposal, and only another 20 non-union editorial employees have gotten on board.

That means that the ax could fall on as many as 30 editorial people in the company’s first ever mass firing of journalists in it’s 156 year history.

Executive Editor William Keller had said originally that he was looking to cut 100 people from the Times staff in response to the dismal newspaper advertising environment.

But then a week ago Assistant Manager William Schmidt issued a memo saying it was almost certain that the company would be forced to make involuntary cuts, and he urged more volunteers to come forward.

The plea apparently fell on deaf ears.

With just 70 people stepping forward for buyouts , it’s very likely that 30 newsroom staffers will be forced out in the coming days.

If true this is a major disappointment for the times and a dark omen for the newspaper business overall. Circulation has been dropping, and a new Audit of newspaper circulation that is set to be made public Monday, indicates that the circulation of daily newspapers decreased by as much as 3.5% this past March, and fell 4.5% for Sunday editions of many top newspaper publications. Advertising revenue (which is where nearly all the profits that are made in a newspaper stream from are) have also receded.

Now a great many of those hostile towards the media, including conservative chatter heads, no doubt relish this development. In their minds this is a sign of success that they somehow slayed the dragon, the evil New York Times that seeks to sway a nation of Americans away from the conservative paradise and towards a liberal view point that will cause this nation to deteriorate. Hey, I said they believe that not me.

However, throughout history new forms of media arrived on the scenes and what was then conventional or traditional forms (such as newspapers and the printed word) were supposed to be en route to their demise. Relegated to the corners of obscurity. But they are still hear. When the motion picture and movie theaters came about many no doubt thought that it would affect the printed word. More certain was that when the radio came along and households began acquiring them, it was believed that the motion picture (better known as the movie would be doomed). After all with a radio after the initial purchase, the entertainment that emanates from it is free and nobody had to leave the comfortable confines of their home. However as everyone knows the motion picture adapted and survived. the same was said about both the theatrical movie and the radio when TV came about in the late 1940s and early 1950s but it found a new niche. And the same was said when VCR, home video, cable television, HBO, the Internet, etc. And guess what we still have all those technologies around and they are to varying degrees relevant.

Newspapers however are undeniably going through a period of transition, where it finds a new role to play in the world of media, entertainment and dissemination of information. But they will likely find a way to survive. Anybody who says that newspapers will be irrelevant or dead by a given year or even decade is teasing themselves. Newspapers will no doubt adapt. The world of online newspapers and major newspaper website appear to have potential. Also some improved stewardship in terms of improving standards of ethics and accuracy, better style, less emphasis on celebrity gossip, a unique layout, better more relevant feature stories that can be of value and interest to more readers, and also crucially important is that newspapers find a way to remain of interest in a world increasingly drawn to bumper stickers rather then prose, without falling victim to sensationalism, tabloidization, or sacrificing journalistic integrity.

How can that be done? hey, if I knew that don’t you think that I would be read by several million readers rather then like five readers (and that is on a really good day)?

CNN, Meth, and Pleasure in the Park

CNN International reporter and apparent meth and sex toy enthusiast Richard Quest, the Robin Leach of CNN.

CNN International reporter Richard Quest was arrested early Friday morning in Central Park in New York. Quest was at first confronted by police for loitering.

But it turned into something a whole lot more embarrassing for Quest. So if you are a well know reporter or television reporter be careful with the drugs and the sex toys, even if it is only 3:30 am.

Here is some more from TV Newser.

Here is Richard Quest

Hannity Himself has Taken a Swig of the ‘Hater-ade’

“Do not judge, or you too
will be judged. For in the
same way you judge others,
you will be judged,
and with the measure you
use, it will be measured to
you.”

— Jesus Christ- Matthew 7:1-2

In recent months arch conservative mouth piece, Fox News host, and talk show host Sean Hannity, has night after night been chastising Democratic Presidential contender Senator Barack Obama (D-Ill), as has much of Fox News. Hannity has even gone as far as inferring that Obama is anti-Semitic and a racist for his association with the Reverend Jeremiah Wright and the disgusting and inflammatory remarks Wright has made in the past, which Obama has denounced, rejected.

Recently though, on the air a guest brought up Hannity’s ties to former New Jersey Congressional candidate Hal Turner, a man who has been labeled by some as a neo-Nazi, in response to Hannity’s nightly coverage of the remarks.

Hannity, stuttering at first denied knowing the man and from their gave a series of other excuses.

Turner is said by some to have allegedly been a regular guest on Hannity’s WABC radio show for many years at one point. Turner, in a style whose tone can only be refereed to as ‘Jackal and Hyde’posted an entry on his website that stated it was absurd to compare his association with Hannity to that of Obama with Wright. Yet he then goes on to describe their relationship.

Hal Turner:

When Hannity took over Bob Grant’s spot on 77 WABC in New York City, I was a well-known, regular and welcome caller to his show. Through these calls, Sean and I got to know each other a bit. At some point, I can’t remember when exactly, Sean gave me the secret “Guest-Call-in number” at WABC so that my calls would always get on the air.

When I utilized that call-in number, Sean would very often come onto that line during commercial breaks so we could chat before I went on the air. Our off-the-air chats grew to an exchange of other phone numbers, me giving Sean my home and cellular number and Sean giving me his direct dial-in number at the Fox News Channel.

In 1993, my wife got pregnant and around a month later, Sean reported that he and his wife were expecting their first child. We got to talking about things expectant dads talk about and the relationship grew.

According to Turner, the two became so close that Hannity even invited Turner and his son to the Fox News studio for a tour and to sit in on a shooting of Hannity’s Fox News debate show Hannity and Colmes in 1997.

But that same year Turner’s status as a regular on Hannity’s radio show came to an end. Turner suspects that it was because of pressure from station management due to Turner’s often controversial right-wing views. From there the two are said to have quietly drifted apart.

Turner, in his post, strongly defends Hannity to a degree. Saying that to tie Hannity to him in the same way that Hannity has tied Obama to Reverend Wright is absurd. He writes that Hannity and him agreed on a great many things and disagreed on things as it relates to politics and social issues. But in the next breath he gives what to Turner must be considered a compliment, but to mainstream America is likely a damning assessment of their relationship. Remember I am only writing what Turner himself said on his blog.

In my opinion, based on my first hand experience, I believe Sean Hannity is in fact a Hal Turner sort of guy. It seems to me that a big difference between Sean and me is that am willing to say publicly what I think about savage Black criminals, diseased, un-educated illegal aliens, and the grotesque cultural destruction wrought by satanic Jews. While Sean and many others keep quiet to protect their paychecks.

Sounds like they were pretty close. Note to Turner, if you are defending a friend it may be a good idea not to make him sound like some bigoted jackal with the juices of hate and prejudice dripping from his lips. Yeah its really not good for the whole public image. At least Reverend Wright never said that Barack Obama was a ‘Jeremiah Wright kind of guy’ and then went on to tie Obama to his own firebrand beliefs. Why don’t you denounce and reject the words of this man, Hannity? Turner then begins to revert back to his ‘defend Sean and attack all critics mode’.

Another big difference is that I am perfectly willing to use violence against my enemies, while Sean Hannity and others are not. Those using me as a prop to attack Sean Hannity would do well to remember this fact.

He then, in the final sentences of his blog post proceeds to threaten liberal journalist Max Blumenthal as well as the Nation Magazine.

MY TAKE: So if this is all true and Hannity insists on using the McCarthyistic tactics of guilt by association and impugning the character of Obama based on every single remarks of those he is associated with, sounds like Hannity has some explaining of his own to do.

UPDATE (March 23, 10:30PM/ET)- Phil Boyce, said to be a program director at WABC radio issued a statement on the comment section of the Huffington Post, Hotly disputing the allegations put forth by the Blogs as well as Turner himself. However Newshounds.us says that at least one other source has said that Hannity and Turner were fairly close. I’ll stay on this story for anymore updates.

Governor Spitzer Swallows……………… His Pride and Resigns

I really didn’t feel that excited about blogging about this issue. It has saturated the media and is just plain tawdry. However, I just had to. I mean how many opportunities does one get to write a crude yet somewhat clever headline like this? Well… I thought it was a funny play on words.

This Date in History Calendar- March 6

The Classic Science Fiction film “Metropolis” is released in theaters in 1927.

Courtesy: hippy.com, wikipedia, History Channel

1820: The Missouri Compromise is signed into law.

1857: the U.S Supreme Court rules in the Dred Scott v Sanford case, better known as the Dred Scott Decision” that the government lacked the authority to prohibit slavery in federal territories and that people of African descent could never officially become U.S citizens.

1927: The cinema Science Fiction classic “Metropolis” is released in theaters.

1946: Vietnamese President and anti-colonialist Ho Chi Minh signs an agreement with the French, recognizing Vietnam as an autonomous nation in the French Union as well as the Indochinese Federation.

1951: The Cold War era Espionage trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg gets underway.

1953: A day following the death of Soviet leader Josef Stalin from a stroke, Gregory Melenkov takes the reigns of power in the Soviet Union.

1965: First American soldiers officially land in Vietnam, beginning the U.S military phase in Vietnam.

1970: Three members of the radical leftist “Weathermen” militia blow themselves up in Greenwich Village, New York.

1981: CBS Veteran Anchor Walter Cronkite, who became a fixture as anchor of the CBS Evening News, anchors his last newscast.

Archieved Commentary: Celebrity and Tabloidization in the media

On this blog I try to keep the needless clucking of celebrity gossip to a minimum, but when I was watching the news I noticed the for a few moments the eyes and attention of the world seemed to all converge on a courthouse in California, where fellow booze bag and former friend of Paris Hilton Nicole Richie was set to go before a judge on charges of driving while high on drugs. Questions being asked as serious news anchors with bated breathe made small talk about the whole deal. But what really struck me was when they showed live helicopter shots of the gaggle of photographers several hundred feet below awaiting this burned out star to come onto the scene.

There are a few questions that were in my mind at that moment. <where is the murder? Who got killed? Is this something like a natural disaster that could effect a lot of people? What money was embezzled? Is this some type of miss action by our government that will have wide repercussions on we as Americans and we as people of the world? What is unusual about this incident from every other young actress famous simply for being famous and getting sloshed? The answers I came up with were a series of nos and to the last question one word: nothing. In other words there are countless other stories that helicopter and television air time could have been used for instead of the twenty minute arraignment and news of a ninety hour jail sentence and a fine could have been used for.

Bottom line, for journalists and everyone else. We don’t need to inflate a small celebrity story like this into the crime of the century. There is already so much more going on that is so much bigger that has an effect on real people that demands the public attention and the time of serious reporters.