Duh. Of course it was a hoax

Random comments today:

"NEW YORK (AP) - MSNBC was the victim of a hoax when it reported that an adviser to John McCain had identified himself as the source of an embarrassing story about former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, the network said Wednesday."

"David Shuster, an anchor for the cable news network, said on air Monday that Martin Eisenstadt, a McCain policy adviser, had come forth and identified himself as the source of a Fox News Channel story saying Palin had mistakenly believed Africa was a country instead of a continent. isenstadt identifies himself on a blog as a senior fellow at the Harding Institute for Freedom and Democracy. Yet neither he nor the institute exist; each is part of a hoax dreamed up by a filmmaker named Eitan Gorlin and his partner, Dan Mirvish."

Duh. It's just not possible that a grown woman who has been as successful as Governor Palin is would not know basic facts. The story stunk on the face of it, with one anonymous source citing unbelievable rumors in a climate of political backbiting at the tail end of a hate campaign. Sheesh.

I taught my third graders today about the countries in the continent of Africa. Sheesh. Again.
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I just have really hard time watching old 80s tv shows. The Golden Girls, The early Cosby Show episodes ... funny, well done, good writing. So what's the problem? Horrors - the fashion. Shudder. It looks really really bad twenty 25 years out.
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Last Thursday was the last day of school for the week. Friday was Halloween. Of course Thursday was full of merriment with Halloween parties and costumes and talk of 'when can we eat the cupcakes?' The kids dressed up. But so did the adults at school. All of them. Way up. I was not dressed in any sort of a costume. One little first grader asked, "What did you come as?"

"I came as the mean old substitute." Laughter.

Today I was back at the school subbing in a third grade. The first graders from last Thursday's class passed me in the hall. "Look!" Said one boy. "It's the mean old substitute!"

The para-pro cracked up. I did too. Yup, that's me. The mean old sub. LOL

Journalists forgeting how to be journalists: a trend

NBC journalist: It’s my job to see Obama succeed
Canada Free Press

A media analyst says MSNBC host Chris Matthews effectively admitted yesterday he was an unpaid member of Barack Obama's press office.

Matthews: “Yeah, well, you know what? I want to do everything I can to make this thing work, this new presidency work, and I think that --
Scarborough: “Is that your job? You just talked about being a journalist!”
Matthews: “Yeah, it is my job. My job is to help this country...because this country needs a successful presidency.”

Later Matthews refused to get drawn into the conversation about turmoil in the OBama Administration, instead saying that as a reporter he was unwilling to "question motives."

No it is not the journalists' job to help his country by helping the government. It is helping the country by informing the citizens.

The Society of Professional Journalists' Code of Ethics says Journalists should (among other things):
— Distinguish between advocacy and news reporting,
— Be free of obligation to any interest other than the public's right to know,
— Be vigilant and courageous about holding those with power accountable.

It is NOT the journalists' job to "help" the government. It IS the journalists' job to present news and hold the government accountable. Chris Matthews is not doing his job.

In another case of media failure this week, I was disappointed in Newsweek and Fox News. They both broke the cardinal rule about anonymous sources and failed to correctly assess the information they were given as not newsworthy.

Newsweek reported that an anonymous inside McCain staffer claimed that Palin sailed into the room where Steve Schmidt and Mark Salter were waiting wearing nothing but a towel, that Governor Palin didn't know that Africa was a continent, nor did she know the countries in NAFTA, among other things. These turned out to be lies. Mark Salter called Greta Van Susteren On The Record show and well, went on the record and said the towel thing “Never happened.” Turns out the other items the "anonymous sources" said were lies too.

That's the danger of allowing anonymous sources to pass as news. The items reported by Newsweek and Fox were rumors. Neither media got on the record comments. Neither looked at any documents or receipts or corroborated the anonymous source's claims. Neither went to McCain or Palin to ask them for their side. The SPJ Ethics Code says:

— Test the accuracy of information from all sources and exercise care to avoid inadvertent error. Deliberate distortion is never permissible.
— Diligently seek out subjects of news stories to give them the opportunity to respond to allegations of wrongdoing.
— Identify sources whenever feasible. The public is entitled to as much information as possible on sources' reliability.
— Always question sources’ motives before promising anonymity.

Newsweek & Fox failed on all counts above. The media has forgotten what their job is and how to do it.

Walter Lippmann said once that "There can be no higher law in journalism than to tell the truth and to shame the devil." Unfortunately Chris Matthews, Newsweek and Fox News shamed themselves...and the devil is laughing.

Example of media bias

New York Times today:

"And Ms. Palin, a former small-town mayor,"
"Mr. Biden, a six-term senator who has twice sought the presidency,"

This successful women is a Governor. With an 85% satisfaction rating. And the "Ms." instead of "Gov." Change reality when you do not like reality and just skip that part. Subtle. But even we redneck, bible thumping lunkheads can see media that's in the bag for the libruls.

Palin won the debate

Drudge poll:

BIDEN 30% 76,758
PALIN 68% 173,230
NEITHER 2% 4,245
Total Votes: 254,233

I can't say it any better than Michelle Malkin said it:

"Sarah Palin is the real deal. Five weeks on the campaign trail, thrust onto the national stage, she rocked tonight’s debate."

"Pause to reflect on this: She matched — and trumped several times — a man who has spent his entire adult life on the political stage, run for president twice, and as he mentioned several times, chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee."

"Sarah Palin looked presidential.
Joe Biden looked tired.
Sarah made history.
Biden is history."

"Prediction: Watch for a whole new, severe strain of Palin Derangement Syndrome to begin tonight. They hated her before tonight. They are going to pour on more unfathomable hate at a level we have never seen before."

"Sarah, we’re praying for you."

Obama lost without a teleprompter; Palin never missed a beat

When Obamas's teleprompter quit, all his mental synapses failed too, he stuttered and stammered his way through the speech, finally halting until the prompter was fixed. Watch the one minute clip below.



On the other hand, when Gov. Palin's teleprompter malfunctioned during her speech at the Republican National Convention, she continued with out missing a beat, as reported by both Fox and MSNBC.