Comments on: Movie review: Media Malpractice

By: John Ziegler’s “Media Malpractice” ~ The Hot Air Review « Bloghopenchangery

Fri, 06 Mar 2009 01:08:48 +0000

[...] Courtesy of Ed Morrissey at Hot Air: The overwhelming sense that one gets on first viewing John Ziegler’s new documentary, Media Malpractice, is deja vu. I’d call it nostalgia, except John doesn’t relive “Happy Days”, but a constant drumbeat of advocacy for Barack Obama on the part of the media. On top of that, John also documents a blistering, biased attack on Sarah Palin that occasionally veered into the pathological, as well as an ancillary attack on Joe Wurzelbacher, who happened to ask Obama the right question at the exact wrong time. Happily, or perhaps unhappily, I recalled each incident and attack quite clearly, as I had spent most of the last two years documenting them here at Hot Air or at Captain’s Quarters before that. In that sense, it’s difficult to predict how many eyes Media Malpractice will open. At its premiere last night, the audience comprised mostly conservative activists and writers, the very people who could have quoted chapter and verse from the media Obama hymnal. The compilation of so much material into the span of this documentary may prove very shocking to the people who paid less attention, or who took media reports at face value during the campaign. John has made this an entertaining trip into the heart of Obama as media creation. It runs a little long for a documentary, and starts off less organized thematically than it ends, with a strong, organized finish — but that may be from the very nature of the widespread effort by the media to run interference for Obama. Skeptics will find openings for criticism, as John casts a wide net; for instance, Palin herself notes that commentators have a place in news media while John focuses heavily on pundits like Chris Matthews and Campbell Brown for criticism. John also uses Saturday Night Live events for both support and criticism, which weakens his argument slightly regarding NBC. No matter. The sheer weight of the evidence John expertly documents, and the clever and telling juxtaposition of the widely varying treatment Obama and Joe Biden received from the media from Palin will have even the skeptics admitting that John has a point. In fact, John saves his best evidence for last, in two widely-remarked polls showing and confirming that Obama voters were significantly less knowledgeable about politics and the specifics of the election. That is John’s entire point; the media served the nation poorly in one of its most important functions and left an electorate drowning in ignorance. John claims that he bears no ill will towards Barack Obama and hopes he succeeds, but that the media failed — utterly. The most affecting moments of this documentary come when John shows Palin watching the specific clips he documents in this film, some of them the first time Palin had seen them. When the topic runs to Bristol, Trig, and maternity, Palin is unable to hide her pain, at least momentarily. John has also included in the DVD the entire unedited interview with Sarah Palin, which we did not have time to watch last night. John told me last night that he will hold showings of the movie in selected cities over the next few weeks. Keep an eye on John’s website for more details, or better yet, buy your own copy now. [...]

By: Del Dolemonte

Del Dolemonte — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 22:40:41 +0000

According to a story in the NY Daily News last September:

Despite snowballing reports and rumors, Sarah Palin’s eldest son, Track, was not part of the gang of four teenagers who criminally vandalized 44 Alaska school buses in 2005, a key culprit told The News.

“Track wasn’t with me. Track had nothing to do with it,” participant Deryck Harris, 20, said Wednesday in an exclusive interview.

link

http://tiny.cc/Asj6X

By: Del Dolemonte

Del Dolemonte — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 22:25:27 +0000

Bristol Palin is still unmarried and did drop out of high school

strangelet on February 27, 2009 at 12:35 PM

But according to the LA Times, she is completing her high school degree via correspondence courses.

I would advise you to do the same.

BTW, you never answered my question from this morning. Did you vote for O’bama, or not?

And while we’re at it, did you vote for Al Gore for President in 2000? If so, yoou had no problem with voting for a guy who flunked out of college once and dropped out of college later.

By: ddrintn

ddrintn — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 22:13:43 +0000

Lets accept the premise that Zeigler makes, the media is biased.
What are you going to do about it?
Can you force them to more fair?
Can you shame them into being more fair?
Can you persuade them to be more fair?
I think all those are fails.
Conservatives scorn academia and intellectuals, and ceded the elite university domain to liberals long ago.
And that is where journalists and media representatitves come from.

Anyways, you have your own media outlet….the Happy Meal Media.
Rush will tell you what you want to hear.

strangelet on February 27, 2009 at 12:35 PM

What can we do about the biased MSM? Not patronize it. A lot of people are apparently doing that, for various reasons, not always ideological. But Limbaugh’s still doing pretty well.

By the way, if there is something that Limbaugh says that is factually incorrect, feel free to point that out. I don’t hear very many Rush-bashers who will do that. It’s always some ad hominem about his past drug addiction or whatever.

By: manajordan

manajordan — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 20:32:48 +0000

Thanks for the review Ed, I’m looking forward to seeing it. Of course I think I will have to take some antacid before watching it, since I needed a ton of it during the campaign.

By: ornery_independent

ornery_independent — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 20:24:35 +0000

I hope Ziegler comes to my area, cuz I’d definately be there. We just had Medved and Newt, so I’m hopin’…

This movie also illustrates why Debra Saunders article the other day is so laughable. Like we’re really gonna miss the SF Chron LOL! If only we could also miss the NY Times, the LA Times, Couric, PMSNBC, etc…

Hmmm, did I just use “LOL” in a sentence? Ewwww

By: cs89

cs89 — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 20:03:23 +0000

oops, my bad, Track dropped out, played hockey in MI, and then came back to Wasalia and graduated. So he did drop out.
But my point still is scandal is the breath of life for the media.
And a savy campaign would not have been surprised by the treatment of
Palin et famille.

strangelet on February 27, 2009 at 2:27 PM

???

I read the Enquirer link you posted- unless I missed it, even they didn’t say he dropped out. Allegations of drug use, etc., which is par for the course in Enquirer stories.

Let’s ask this a different way- Do you have any credible sources for your allegation that Track is a dropout?

By: RalphyBoy

RalphyBoy — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 19:40:38 +0000

strangelet on February 27, 2009 at 2:30 PM

-
Not really the point of the movie. Biased is the point. Obama got a pass on most real scandal wood, and Palin got poor treatment on everything, as did Hillary once the Mess-I-ah became the presses blessed One.

By: RalphyBoy

RalphyBoy — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 19:35:17 +0000

strangelet on February 27, 2009 at 1:26 PM

-
I had to laugh that the rag you link too is so up in the *ss that Palin’s son may have used drugs… yet it’s fine to have a former cocaine user as POTUS.
-
Knuckle-headed comes to mind.

By: strangelet

strangelet — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 19:30:05 +0000

I should say….a savy campaign would not have been sandbagged by the media’s treatment of Palin’s family.
Pre-emptive damage control would have been genius, non?

By: strangelet

strangelet — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 19:27:13 +0000

oops, my bad, Track dropped out, played hockey in MI, and then came back to Wasalia and graduated. So he did drop out.
But my point still is scandal is the breath of life for the media.
And a savy campaign would not have been surprised by the treatment of
Palin et famille.

By: cs89

cs89 — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 18:42:19 +0000

strangelet on February 27, 2009 at 1:26 PM

I’ve always thought the plural “children” meant “more than one child.” Bristol probably is spending more time caring for her newborn than doing homework. Your point?

You asserted her oldest “children” are dropouts, etc., and when challenged on it produced…

Nothing.

By: AnninCA

AnninCA — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 18:41:46 +0000

What is nauseating is to watch the attacks because she supposedly blocks personal decisions juxtaposed against attacks that she didn’t block her daughter’s personal decision.

It brought out the worst of stereotyping.

By: Rose

Rose — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 18:37:35 +0000

Someone actually linked to the National Enquirer? Now we know why this person is so misinformed.

By: strangelet

strangelet — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 18:26:18 +0000

What….no dispute on Bristol’s status?
lol
My point is….scandal sells.

By: cs89

cs89 — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 17:59:34 +0000

Track Van Palin dropped out of high school and took his GED before deploying for Iraq.

strangelet on February 27, 2009 at 12:35 PM

Source or link?

I’ve seen stories about him playing hockey in MI, but graduating with his class in AK. Do you have any credible sources for your claim?

By: darktood

darktood — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 17:54:06 +0000

Anyways, you have your own media outlet….the Happy Meal Media.
Rush will tell you what you want to hear.

strangelet on February 27, 2009 at 12:35 PM

The truth.

By: darktood

darktood — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 17:51:36 +0000

It’s the fault of the “populace” if they failed to vet the candidate properly.

Back up there, young man. Failed to properly vet?

And how, pray tell, is that accomplished by the “populace” when the vett-ee refuses to provide answers to the vett-er?

BobMbx on February 27, 2009 at 11:08 AM

Yes. That alone is enough to disqualify the fool.

By: strangelet

strangelet — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 17:35:25 +0000

sigh
Bristol Palin is still unmarried and did drop out of high school, and Track Van Palin dropped out of high school and took his GED before deploying for Iraq.
You miss my point.
This is the salacious kind of stuff the media loves to dish on.

Lets accept the premise that Zeigler makes, the media is biased.
What are you going to do about it?
Can you force them to more fair?
Can you shame them into being more fair?
Can you persuade them to be more fair?
I think all those are fails.
Conservatives scorn academia and intellectuals, and ceded the elite university domain to liberals long ago.
And that is where journalists and media representatitves come from.

Anyways, you have your own media outlet….the Happy Meal Media.
Rush will tell you what you want to hear.

By: catlady

catlady — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 17:23:36 +0000

warbaby on February 27, 2009 at 12:03 PM

You are exactly correct. All news is invariably tainted with the perception of the one reporting it, despite their best intentions. Human nature.

By: timajin

timajin — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 17:22:24 +0000

warbaby on February 27, 2009 at 12:14 PM

Me too. I don’t trust anything that’s reported anymore. There are no experts, it is all opinion and they don’t really know anything. The talking heads are called “talent” and are groomed from colleges to look good and speak well while reading from a teleprompter. They just read, but don’t really know what it all means. Kinda like our president. Can anyone prove to me that this guy, who spent less than two years actually in the Senate, has deep knowledge on any of the programs in the trillion dollar spendulus? I watch him talk and that’s all it is. I don’t believe he has depth on any subject except what the perfect font size is for his teleprompter.

By: catlady

catlady — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 17:22:18 +0000

Another point to this –

Generally the MSM would go after Obambi because scandal sells very well. His past is laden with the potential for some really lurid headlines. They didn’t because they bought into their own liberal propaganda education forgetting the main objective of their business – to sell papers/stories.

Sure the first black president sold alot of copies, but the backlash is starting to be felt. Luck for them that Obambi’s goal is nationalize the press.

By: catlady

catlady — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 17:15:20 +0000

Ok, I do agree with the fact that the MSM stinks. But.. there is one point I want to comment on that was brought out.
The MSM is operated for a profit, not for any altruistic reason. Papers are owned by corporations who are run by people with definite political agendas. We hope that the media would remain objective so as to provide a needed public service, but under a free market world, it’s objective is to make a profit. Right? Think the old adage, “sex sells”.

That being said, when the public starts to perceive that the newspaper, tv channel is Not objective, ie when credibility is lost, then they turn their consumer back on said businesses and they suffer losses. Hmmm. just as we are seeing.

So there is a constant struggle between being “perceived” as fair and balance and truly “being” fair and balanced. Currently the MSM has tipped the scales so far to the left that the public is starting to notice and react in the traditional market way – ratings drop, circulation drop etc.

If we didnt have Obambi, we would start to see a turn in attitude of the press, to reestablish some semblance of credibility. Since we do have The One, we are going to see state run media within the next two years.

By: warbaby

warbaby — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 17:14:44 +0000

timajin on February 27, 2009 at 12:10 PM

Thank you for more rationality than I’m apparently capable of.

Sorry for the rant – but DAMN do I hate television.

By: timajin

timajin — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 17:10:20 +0000

A reality painted by the MSM with shadows on the wall for cave dwellers. Plato was both cautionary and prophetic in his writing “The Allegory of the Cave.” And why did he write it? Because he became disillusioned by politics and the slanted information being delivered to the people. There is not a single person in the MSM that can argue the logic and rationale of how reality can be painted by the information they report and MOST importantly the information they don’t.