The Discerning Texan
All that is necessary for evil to triumph, is for good men to do nothing.
-- Edmund Burke
-- Edmund Burke
Wednesday, August 03, 2005
The story they can't bury: is Air America ready for the "perfect swarm"?
Austin Bay has an update on The "Air Enron- Air Scam America" scandal:
If Air America were a conservative radio network its corrupt funding trail and cynical abuse of a poverty program would be front page news at the NY Times and full-time mega-scandal at CNN.
Of course, if it were a conservative radio network it might: (1) have an audience and (2) ad revenue.
Next time Al Franken smirks ask him “Al — Air America’s funding racket. What do you know and when did you know it?”
UPDATE: More on the MSM’s “scandal selectivity.” (Hat tip RCP– Ed Morrissey in The Daily Standard.)
This deserves an extensive quote:
THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA is often inconsistent in covering stories. They gave us wall-to-wall coverage when George W. Bush’s National Guard service came under scrutiny, but suddenly made themselves scarce when over two hundred Vietnam veterans pointed out hole after hole in John Kerry’s service narrative. When Rush Limbaugh ran into legal problems surrounding his addiction to painkillers, we heard breathless updates on subpoenas and court orders, but when Eason Jordan revealed his predilection to slandering the U.S. military, again the press pulled a disappearing act.
Michael LeBoeuf once commented that the elements of the perfect fiction would involve religion, royalty, sex, and mystery–and then boiled it down to one sentence: “My God,” said the Queen, “I’m pregnant. I wonder who did it?” Is there a grand-unified theory of media interest and if so, what elements need to come together to make the perfect journalistic storm?
We often hear journalists claim that their mission consists of afflicting the comfortable and comforting the afflicted. One crucial element must therefore put powerful people under a spotlight. Some journalists say that they fight for the little guy, the downtrodden, which means that the story must include victims. Still others like investigative work, digging through arcane paperwork and doubletalk to reveal misdeeds that otherwise would never come to light, which means that a crime or at least unethical conduct would help draw interest. And finally, big money always attracts a crowd and helps audiences relate to the disgraceful actions unveiled by the reporter.
Thus, the perfect journalistic storm would arise when powerful people victimize the poor and downtrodden, breaking laws or at least ethical constructs, by taking money meant for their benefit. That sort of story will get anyone’s attention. All it takes is one reporter to tell the story, and the rest of the media will jump all over it. Right?
Ed’s answer? Read the whole thing. (Hint: the legacy media’s failure to cover Air America’s scam of the poor is self-proving.)
He's right you know. If this was the Limbaugh show, it would be leading every single network news progarm. In this case the silence speaks volumes more than had the networks actually picked it up. On the other hand, this does not seem to be likely to be a story that the blogs will let go of. It is only a matter of time... and if it follows the usual pattern, the msm cover up will only serve to make the story that much more sensational when it does break. Dare I say it?: I smell blogswarm.
If Air America were a conservative radio network its corrupt funding trail and cynical abuse of a poverty program would be front page news at the NY Times and full-time mega-scandal at CNN.
Of course, if it were a conservative radio network it might: (1) have an audience and (2) ad revenue.
Next time Al Franken smirks ask him “Al — Air America’s funding racket. What do you know and when did you know it?”
UPDATE: More on the MSM’s “scandal selectivity.” (Hat tip RCP– Ed Morrissey in The Daily Standard.)
This deserves an extensive quote:
THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA is often inconsistent in covering stories. They gave us wall-to-wall coverage when George W. Bush’s National Guard service came under scrutiny, but suddenly made themselves scarce when over two hundred Vietnam veterans pointed out hole after hole in John Kerry’s service narrative. When Rush Limbaugh ran into legal problems surrounding his addiction to painkillers, we heard breathless updates on subpoenas and court orders, but when Eason Jordan revealed his predilection to slandering the U.S. military, again the press pulled a disappearing act.
Michael LeBoeuf once commented that the elements of the perfect fiction would involve religion, royalty, sex, and mystery–and then boiled it down to one sentence: “My God,” said the Queen, “I’m pregnant. I wonder who did it?” Is there a grand-unified theory of media interest and if so, what elements need to come together to make the perfect journalistic storm?
We often hear journalists claim that their mission consists of afflicting the comfortable and comforting the afflicted. One crucial element must therefore put powerful people under a spotlight. Some journalists say that they fight for the little guy, the downtrodden, which means that the story must include victims. Still others like investigative work, digging through arcane paperwork and doubletalk to reveal misdeeds that otherwise would never come to light, which means that a crime or at least unethical conduct would help draw interest. And finally, big money always attracts a crowd and helps audiences relate to the disgraceful actions unveiled by the reporter.
Thus, the perfect journalistic storm would arise when powerful people victimize the poor and downtrodden, breaking laws or at least ethical constructs, by taking money meant for their benefit. That sort of story will get anyone’s attention. All it takes is one reporter to tell the story, and the rest of the media will jump all over it. Right?
Ed’s answer? Read the whole thing. (Hint: the legacy media’s failure to cover Air America’s scam of the poor is self-proving.)
He's right you know. If this was the Limbaugh show, it would be leading every single network news progarm. In this case the silence speaks volumes more than had the networks actually picked it up. On the other hand, this does not seem to be likely to be a story that the blogs will let go of. It is only a matter of time... and if it follows the usual pattern, the msm cover up will only serve to make the story that much more sensational when it does break. Dare I say it?: I smell blogswarm.
