This is in response to The Washington Post’s article: Reform Opposition Is High but Easing and the comment I made: “Sometimes I think the MSM lives in an alternate universe…”
FYI – I just posted this response to a founder member of MediaMythbusters whose purpose is:
In order to make even the most mundane of everyday decisions it is necessary to have good information. The public depends on television, radio and print media to deliver reliable and accurate information. For the most part, reporters and editors do their jobs and the result is an informed public. In some instances, however, the information relayed to the public is neither reliable nor accurate. Far too often, inaccurate information is reported and repeated until it achieves a certain myth status. The goal of this site is to provide news consumers with a resource to allow them to debunk myths that take hold as a result of inaccurate or irresponsible media reports.
Date: Mon, Sep 14, 2009 at 9:10 AM
Subject: Re: They Just Don’t Get It – MMB
The MSM thinks it is the keeper of what goes for the news/thoughts of the day. If the MSM doesn’t initiate it, it of course has no validity. Sorry, but as Hugh Hewitt says in his book Blog, the MSM is no longer the sole provider of the news of the day. Some MSM practitioners sneer down with disdain from their ivory tower of elitist aristocratism, if anyone should have an original thought not originated or blessed by them.
Sorry, but just who holds journalist accountable when they deviate from the principles of their profession which do have great value when they won’t?
With the advent of the Net, the new alternative and social media the PEOPLE can directly challenge the MSM for its lapses in its journalistic principles.
As I said to the Spokesman-Review OP-ED Editor, when he gave a piss poor excuse in his blog why the S-R didn’t headline remembering 9/11 and implied those that who complained were racist against other cultures:
. . . Somehow, the people I responded to just couldn’t make that connection. What I considered a timely and relevant account of how part of our community has responded — is responding still — to an iconic event, they saw as an evasion of our duty to fan the flames of resentment and hatred. Not that those aren’t appropriate emotions for the outrage perpetrated by the mostly Saudi Arabian terrorists behind the 9/11 attacks, but news is all about reporting what’s happening now in the context of what happened before. The protests we received seemed to be all about freeze-framing a day eight years earlier.
I’m in no position to psychoanalyze the people I communicated with, but I suspect their interest has less to do with honoring the victims than with fueling their hatred of the perpetrators — and maybe others who weren’t perpetrators but happen to have certain traits (religion, ethnicity, ideology) with them.
I wonder if the people of Dresden, Germany, still harbor such feelings toward the Allies’ senseless fire-bombing of their city in World War II.
I fired back:
Mr. Floyd,
Apples and oranges. Admit it Mr. Floyd you got caught burying the lede. Your dripping attitude typical of the MSM elitist aristocracy is why the MSM business paradigm is going in the tank. You no longer can determine what the news/thoughts of the day should be.
You are no longer relevant. [My emphasis] . . .
Mr. Floyd,
Your paternalistic attitude is probably related to why some 2M people turned out in DC today. See my comment in the article thread:
*****
Ron_the_Cop on September 12 at 7:41 p.m.
Good for you! You’re finally carrying an AP feed nf this breaking news story. Folks interested in reading more can go to these sites I sent earlier to the S-R. . .
UPDATE:Missing Comments from the Spokesman Review:
Ryan,
Sorry but I have to document this for the record. Thanks for your earlier response confirming my Golden Goose Fund comments were indeed scrubbed twice (See screen print).
Ron -
Of the site comments you have left in September, I show two that have been taken down. Both were on this post:
Your other comments in our system, including those on the “9/12 reflections” blog post, are still live on the site. I have included a screenshot that shows all comments associated with your site account for the month of September.
I don’t know the reason for the removal of the two on the “Golden Goose fund” post — you’d need to address that with Gary and/or Doug.
Ryan
You suggested that I should take this up with Mr. Floyd and Mr. Crooks. Here’s my response. Unfortunately the S-R no longer has a functioning ombudsman so I’m sending this to the S-R senior staff.
Ron
UPDATE – I just checked this morning My repost is now gone again re the Golden Goose Fund from the Spokesman-Review, “A Matter of Opinion Blog.” Could you please clue me in with what the problem is with this post?
I suspect this has something to do with the link to the Girl from Hot Springs. I have cognitive dissonance with this disdain for the collective works of Larry Shook and Tim Connor by the owners of the S-R. As you know they are prestigious award winning investigative reporters of your profession. They are not hacks.
If your owners have issues with their reporting re their business dealings than they should challenge them where their reporting is not factual or in error. So far they have not chosen to do so. Instead those who would openly criticise the S-R for its apparent under reporting on certain lapses in S-R reporting re the interests of it owners, are marginalized and castigated for their views and opinions. This is counter to your new code of ethics re involvement of the owners in the editorial decisions of the paper re independence. I can’t help but think S-R OP-ED Editor and co-host of “A Matter of Opinion,” Doug Floyd, “shills” for the interests of the S-R owners. Mr. Camden walks a fine line too but at least acknowledges when he pulls something from his S-R Blog, “Spin Control,” for which I give him credit.
Scrubbing comments in discussion threads is counter to the norm/practice of the Blogosphere in general. If you’re going to host blogs you are inviting comments from the public re their opinions of matter of importance to them. Allow the readers to self-police re incorrect or inappropriate comments. The Blogosphere has an amazing self-righting ability.
Pulling comments without comment goes directly to your credibility. Credibility is everything to a local daily in this age of declining circulation. If you’re going to pull comments then at least require the Blog host to at least announce in the thread that you have done so and the reasons why. To remove them surreptitiously misleads your readers and doesn’t do anything for transparency.
This goes to my ongoing “rant” re the MSM’s business paradigm is going in the tank. In part this is due to the elitist aristocratic attitude of many outlets of the MSM as they believe they continue to be the sole source of news/thoughts of the day. Terresa Monroe Hamilton of Noisyroom, a blog that receives over one million hits per month and a founder of Media Mythbusters, has linked to my thoughts on this:
In short there is a positive symbiotic relationship between the old and new media. Those business entities that find the sweet spot will thrive. Those that don’t will go in the dustbin.
Ron
*****
On Mon, Sep 14, 2009 at 8:15 PM, rocketsbrain wrote:
Ryan,
I may have hit the “preview button” and forgot to push the “post” button. Here’s my copy with time stamp. I could have screwed up again.
I just posted it again and here’s your server’s time stamp. I don’t think there was any thing offensive here unless any reference to the collective works of Larry Shook are justification for removal of a post from your blogs. If so this is pretty petty.
Sorry for reposting if in fact it was pulled by those of higher pay grade:-)
Ron
Ron_the_Cop on September 14 at 8:05 p.m.
Most police agencies have asset seizure accounts where drug related forfeitures are deposited into. Generally these funds can only be spent on certain things that is heavily regulated by state and federal seizure laws.
What raises my eyebrows is that this account was off the City’s books with little oversight. In general the money was spent on somewhat legitimate expenditures. As an economic crimes investigator this lack of oversight breeds trouble.
“We hear a lot about gangs in America in Spokane the only real gang is a bunch of high paid public servants. The Spokane police department. Since 1991 they have killed 42 people, many of them innocent. In yesterdays paper we found out they stole 5.4 million from the city,”
However this is small potatoes compared with other multi – million dollar scams that our City fathers and mothers have succumbed/acquiesced to e.g., the Park Board & the MOBIUS Project & et al . . .:
