It's bad enough that the mainstream media isn't fair & balanced, like Fox News. But did ya know liberal media partisanship (never seen on Fox News) is "subverting democracy?!" At least that's what Bill O'Reilly says and we know that, as a paragon of fair & balanced journalism, he would never engage in partisanship, ya think? Last night he pontificated about how the mainstream media is biased and dangerous because it provides bogus information which gives people "wrong impressions." When words fail, all you can do is LOL!
After Bill asserted that the evil mainstream media "went wild" with coverage of the New Jersey "Bridgegate" affair, he claimed that "when the VA scandal broke, there was no coverage on the nightly network news broadcast for almost two weeks." (This information was sourced from Newsbusters, a website run by the right wing and facially hirsute (OMG, he looks like a Muslim!!!) Brent Bozell.) He whined about how the NY Times, the Washington Post, and the LA Times printed 56 stories about Christie when the scandal broke. For Bill, this supposed bias is "beyond a reasonable doubt" and ipso facto an example of "corruption" which is "greatly harming this nation."
Never wasting an opportunity to slam the President, Bill then extended his general indictment of the non-Fox media to the timeworn right wing complaint about how it's in the tank for Obama and "will promote the candidacy of Hillary Clinton." (Wonder if O'Reilly has seen how the evil, liberal media has, of late, pounced on her comments about her personal wealth?) His next comment was jawdroppingly amazing:
"But for the 50 percent of us, who do not pay attention, who do not know very much about their country, media bias is devastating. Because once people think that a person is bad or good, that impression usually remains. For example, there are a whole lot of Americans who don't like me. I know it's unbelievable. They don't like me. But when we asked them why, they don't really know. They have heard things. Maybe Whoopi Goldberg said something negative."
He then set the conspiracy in claiming that the mainstream media's attempt to supposedly bury important stories is a way to keep people from forming a "negative impression" of the President. He reinforced his earlier message of a corrupt media with the comment that "it's a shame in a proud republic in a vibrant democracy, the American press is so corrupt."
So Bill O'Reilly, who relentlessly attacked an abortion doctor even after Dr. Tiller was assassinated, thinks that media bias creates wrong impressions about people. Bill O'Reilly, who traffics in baseless attacks on those with whom he disagrees, thinks that people don't like him because Whoppi Goldberg "said something negative." Seriously? Uh, Bill, words matter and your hateful words are there, for posterity, on videos which, uh, speak for themselves..
And when Bill speaks, people listen. Just ask all those who got harassing mail or even death threats after Bill defamed them on national TV. It wasn't Whoppi Goldberg who engaged in hateful invective about "war on Christmas" violations in Washington and RI - violations which resulted in state workers taking time from constituent services to handle angry phone calls generated by Bill O'Reilly commentary. Just ask a gay Colorado legislator who was the victim of an O'Reilly smear campaign in which O'Reilly suggested that because Mark Ferrandino didn't support Jessica's Law, he supported pedophilia. There are so many other examples but time and space are limited...
The real shame is that in a vibrant democracy, Fox News and Bill O'Reilly serve up a steaming pile of bold, fresh right wing lies propaganda, and negative impressions in an effort to divide those who reside in the democracy. If Bill O'Reilly doesn't think that he is engaging in the same kind of destructive journalism that he accuses the mainstream media of, he can keep on pretending!
YEAH — AND I’M THE POPE!
;^)
’Nuff said.