Dept of Duh

5:07 pm EST July 5th, 2005 | News | 14 Comments

Skippy notes the irony of the editor of America’s newspaper whining about not having a vehicle for talking about the Iraq war.

Topic: Liberal Media

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14 Responses to “Dept of Duh”

da lurker says:

July 6, 2005 at 2:07 am

i wish someone would take out my garbage (bright flash of light that knocks me out of my lazyboy) oh! i can take out the garbage
James E. Powell says:

July 6, 2005 at 2:07 am

I wouldn’t call that irony, I’d call it more Bizarro America.
Quaker in a Basement says:

July 6, 2005 at 3:07 am

Y’know, I actually thought Neuharth’s editorial was pretty good.

If he hadn’t written it the way he did, people would be saying he was comparing himself with Cronkite. That would upset everybody on both sides of the discussion, wouldn’t it?
Frank_D says:

July 6, 2005 at 6:07 am

I think Quaker’s almost got it, and Oliver and “Skippy” are way off.
First of all, Cronkite’s effect on the Vietnam was not his hard hitting journalism. He was, as they say in England, a “presenter”, a reader, of news.
Investigations and exposés were not his forté.
Second, Neuharth was referring to his ability to inspire trust. I don’t think I have to explain in too much depth why that kind of newsman is hard to find.
Third, IMHO, the Press has cried “Wolf!” too many times to be trusted, particularly with regard to the war in Iraq, and this is something even Neuharth didn’t (wouldn’t? couldn’t?) acknowledge.

Example: (Google results — news)

quagmire +Iraq = 1530

casualties +Iraq = 7160

“civil action program” +Iraq = 1 hit

(Searchmil)

quagmire +Iraq = 453 hits

casualties +Iraq -.pdf = 27000 hits

“civil action program” +Iraq = 96 hits

I’m sensing a pattern, how about you?
AlexCorrigan says:

July 6, 2005 at 7:07 am

Quaker: the problem skippy (and I) have with Neuharth isn’t what he writes in the editorial. It sounds great. The problem is that what he writes seems to ignore that he’s the editor of the f-ing USA TODAY, for chrissake. He didn’t need a Cronkite, he needed to get off his ass in the winter of 2002-2003 and demand that his paper cover the obvious inconsistencies and b.s. in the Bushies’ case for war in Iraq. Failing that, his paper could at least do the same after the fact today.

If polls are to be believed, then at least half of the electorate may have believed that Saddam Hussein was involved in the 9/11 attacks at the time of the last election. For Neuharth to come out now lamenting that there is no voice of truth, from his position, earns him a bonk on the head.
O.Y.E. says:

July 6, 2005 at 9:07 am

Dugger –

A newspaper reporting the truth about Bush and Iraq is not a “liberal” or “conservative” concept. It’s what the Fourth Estate is supposed to do.

I can guarantee that if more newspapers and TV news outlets told the truth, the FOX news channel would go out of business in a matter of days.
Dugger says:

July 6, 2005 at 9:07 am

Irony. Where’s the irony? Neuharth is just messed up in the head. Nixon, not Johnson and certainly not that pompous schmoe Walter Cronkite, ended the Vietnam war.

And I would wholeheartedly support USA Today coming out and announcing that they will be moving into Daily Kos-land. You think Fox is popular now – just move another liberal mainstream paper over to the far left and see what happens. I mean look how well it worked for Howell Raines – taking the NYT to the far left.

Sometimes you wish for something, get it, and then wish you hadn’t.

Dugger
Frank_D says:

July 6, 2005 at 9:07 am

Corrigan: You and Quaker are missing the point. Neuharth is lamenting the fact that there is no one as authoratative and credible as Cronkite. What he doesn’t (can’t? won’t?) say is that it’s the MSM’s own fault.

It may be a long time before the MSM — particularly the “dead tree’ media — bites the dust, but there will never be another Cronkite.
O.Y.E. says:

July 6, 2005 at 9:07 am

The crucial difference between Vietnam and Iraq is that there is no Cronkite to call Bush’s bluff. Without a strong, trusted, non-political voice, too many of us remain Bush-blinded.

Oliver and Skippy are absolutely right. This is just pathetic. That the media — when not reporting on the missing white person or Hollywood celebrity trial du jour — would rather engage in “navel gazing” about not doing a good enough job of keeping an eye on the government INSTEAD OF ACTUALLY DOING IT.
Magenta says:

July 6, 2005 at 10:07 am

In fairness to Mr. Neuharth: He is the founder of USA Today, but the only real estate he controls on those pages these days is his column. He retired from his position as editor about 15 years ago. He is tremendously more liberal than the corporate minions in charge of Gannett these days, and he’s used his column to make similar points before. But he has his column only as a courtesy; he doesn’t make any decisions about the day-to-day coverage at USA Today. And more’s the pity, really.
drsquid says:

July 6, 2005 at 11:07 am

Nixon[...]ended the Vietnam war.

YM “Ford”. HTH. HAND, America-hater.
Dugger says:

July 6, 2005 at 12:07 pm

OYE,

And that “truth”, that “truth” that is not getting reported now would be: what a great guy Bush is? how well the Iraq war is going? how the Neocons are stabilizing the Mideast? Or did you have another “truth” in mind?

Squid,

I truly did not understand your post. The real steps to end the war were taken under Milhouse.

Dugger

understood
AlexCorrigan says:

July 6, 2005 at 12:07 pm

You and Quaker are missing the point. Neuharth is lamenting the fact that there is no one as authoratative and credible as Cronkite.

That is a ridiculous circular argument. What made Cronkite “authoritative” and “credible”? Was it kowtowing to Kennedy, LBJ, Nixon, et al?

If I may put this bluntly, there is a reason why there aren’t any “authoritative” and “credible” voices in the ‘mainstream’ corporate media. The mouths of people like Neuharth, Chris Matthews, and Daniel Okrent are so tired from sucking off their rich and powerful masters that they can’t tell the U.S. electorate the straight truth anymore.

Worse yet, over the past few decades political discourse in this nation has been successfully dragged so far down and to the right that far too big a chunk of the electorate wouldn’t have it any other way. The ugly truth about what the Repugs have been doing to this country– with the help of their whoring Democratic enablers– is not what most people are willing to hear. Look at the flak that Bill Moyers is still catching for trying to shoot straight.
Frank_D says:

July 6, 2005 at 4:07 pm

Corrigan: What is your problem? It is not a circular argument.
Let’s say you’re right, and the problem is that the press, especially the higher – ups, don’t have the cojones to sick it to Bush. (Of course, I disagree, but let’s continue)

Which source of news would speak for that effort and mobilize the people to go where you would like them to go? Al Franken? Jon Stewart? Jim Lehrer?

My point is that confronting Bush is not enough. How can you be aware of “unreported news” — it was reported!