Sean Hannity's Pattern Of Selective Editing Documented (VIDEO)

Seems like only yesterday I was talking about the way Sean Hannity cooks up some news, for his teevee show. It goes a little something like this:

1. President Barack Obama gives an interview to Major Garrett, where he mentions the role played by Lech Walesa in bringing about the end of the Cold War.

2. Sean Hannity cuts out the part where Obama mentions Lech Walesa, and airs the bowdlerized interview.

3. Sean Hannity yells about how Obama never mentioned Walesa, and yammers, "You may want to consider hitting the history books."

4. THERE ARE NEVER, EVER, EVER ANY CONSEQUENCES FOR PLAYING FOX VIEWERS FOR FOOLS.

That's about right! Anyway, yesterday, I mentioned how, in addition to the selective editing of the Garrett interview, Hannity had also worked the same bit of video prestidigitation with Obama's speech in Cairo, allowing the Fox News host to accuse the President of "giving 9/11 sympathizers a voice on the world stage." Jon Stewart, among others, very easily demonstrated the Hannity's falseness. But you know what? I forgot another classic example of Hannity's slippery splicing: Obama's speech in Europe! Luckily, Media Matters For America did up one of their delightful mashup videos, depicting this example:

[WATCH]

Is it fair to call these practices a "trend"? Actually, yes. And you haven't heard the half of it!

MORE:
Hannity makes a habit of distorting quotes to smear progressives [Media Matters]

[Would you like to follow me on Twitter? Because why not? Also, please send tips to [e-mail] -- learn more about our media monitoring project here.]

Comments

[RickCoMatic]

There ought to be a Law to protect The President of the United States from being deliberately placed in False Light in the manner that Hannity does with his clever editing of Presidential Speeches.
What Hannity says is a quote from The President; is a carefully crafted lie presented with fanfare as what the President ACTUALLY said.
Make Hannity pay a fine. $50,000.00 for every misquoted word and $1,000.000.00 for the offense.
He'll start making sure the audience hears exactly what the President DID say; NOT what he makes the President to appear to have said.

[TruthnPolitics]

Hannity's editing is done to make fun of the far left libs. It's obvious they have been edited. MSNBC, ABC, CBS, NBC also edit their videos. They of course pretend some have not been edited. That's a big difference.
Let bypass all the tricks being used by the media and look at the facts. If facts matter to you then I urge you to visit http://www.stop-obama.info/

[fedupinfla]

How is distorting Obama's message "making fun of libs"?? Its flat out obfuscation & LYING. If his message was so true, WHY does he have to crop & edit a speech to make his point?!? Don't you people realize what suckers he's playing you for??? He's counting on your ignorance and fact-checking laziness to promote his view.

You can't excuse or deny the evidence when its right there on video.

[fedupinfla]

BTW....that website sucks...you people need to get a life.

[Applecheeks]

You clicked on it! Sucker! :)

[cinemabon]

What's really abusive is a blogger who passes themselves off as reporting on facts or espousing fair play and puts links to sites like that on this website. Name calling is not "truth in politics." Making unfounded and baseless accusations against the President is the real abuse here. The president is trying to help America. Too many "Fox News" people out there simply want to tear him down regardless of great effort he is making to reverse eight years of damage inflicted on this country by Republican politics.

[Dave Hackel - Huffpost Blogger]

Jason,

Just wanted to thank you for the excellent post. I linked to it in my own post which I wrote thanks to seeing yours. Not that I didn't find it upsetting, but thanks nonetheless.

[imsosure]

But it's such a waste of time, we all know it's Murdoch's Faux news program, we never expect anything but inaccurate, highly biased and blatant misrepresentations of the the truth.

[hhayden]

Such as? (Apart from this one in question) All news agencies get things wrong from time. Some more than others. Where Is Fox outside usual peramaters.

[Mr Hand]

http://www.olbermannwatch.com/

[PDinCA]

The difference is that they do it on purpose.

[Counterglow]

You don't see the difference between an honest mistake and cold-blooded manipulation of the editing process to purposely misrepresent what was said?

If that's true, you're an idiot.

[LLisaLL]

Surely you must recognize the difference in 'getting something wrong' due to an honest error and making a concious decision to alter someone's words and intent? Deliberately editing the contents of a speech to change the meaning of the speaker and then presenting it as a viewpoint other than what it really is shows not only a shallowness of journalistic integrity but also an attempt to forward a personal agenda by deliberately misleading the public. I disagree with you that all news agencies approach their work in this manner.

[fedupinfla]

You want proof??? PICK ONE:

http://mediamatters.org/search/index?qstring=fox+news&tab=research

http://foxattacks.com/facts.php

http://www.newshounds.us/

http://www.outfoxed.org/

http://www.uruknet.info/?p=m26059&hd=0&size=1&l=x



Now I know I wasted my time with all those links because you aren't interested in even the BASIC fact checking are you? You just get your rocks off antagonizing us because you don't like the way we think. But you asked for proof so there it is.

[skeevy]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/08/fox-news-host-americans-k_n_228209.html

[LemonMeringue]

Obama should never grant Fox News the opportunity to ask him a single question.

Freeze them out.

[solopico]

You're correct.

He should never answer a question from Jake Tapper either.

Why on earth should the president ever have to answer a question asked by someone with a contrary viewpoint?

The very thought of it... sheesh...

[smartenoughforthisforum]

No. He should take a lesson from Bush and have "protest zones". Put all the dissenters way over there where they can't be seen nor heard. Plant questions in the press corps. Keep the White House TV's on Fox.

[hhayden]

The ones with the contrary viewpoint is exactly who he should address. An opportunity to set them on the right course. And if he is on the right course, he should have the power of his convictions. I'd be happy to answer your questions.

[hhayden]

Why should he fear their questions? If he truly is God as Newsweek suggests, he should have no problem with them.

[Pleneras]

Fear? Who said it was fear? It's about reducing them to a tabloid media category which is where they belong. Answering their questions give the perception of validity.

[cruzking2000]

USE. YOUR. BRAIN.
You DO NOT reach across the aisle if your opponent is practicing the art of manipulation and deception to harm your cause. Would you?!?!

[Pleneras]

I agree. They are not real news anyway. It's an entertainment channel distorting the news.

[hhayden]

Only because you don't agree. I imagine conservatives believe (And rightly so), that the other news agencies do the same. They are all a meshing of real news and entertainment. I would agree that there is a lot of commentary, but the Main Stream stations are always using commentary as fact and distorting and sensationalizing things. Look at all thet Michael Jackson nonsense. Talk about a three ring circus. Too often they don't just want to report the news, they want to be the news and make news. There is plenty to get on all of them about. You don't seem to mind when ABC, CBS and NBC openly worship the president.

[TruthnPolitics]

That's a good little commi. We don't want to have freedom of speech do we? We don't want to listen to the other side do we? Maybe Fox News has it right and the other networks have it wrong.
This is America and you should be ashamed for wanting to silence anyone.
If you don't like Fox try http://www.stop-obama.info/ for accurate information that has been FactChecked.

[cruzking2000]

I'm going to tell you the same thing I told "hhayden: USE. YOUR. BRAIN.
This is not about freedom of speech. This is about shutting out an outlet that practices in the art of manipulation and deception to influence a political outcome (the next election). If anyone is to be ashamed, it's YOU. And I suspect you know it and continue this masquarade to further a dialogue that's not honest, just like Faux News.

[LemonMeringue]

He is looking bloated lately.

[smartenoughforthisforum]

Drinkin' his cares away with the Jamesons.

[NYCMami]

Way to be passive aggressive with the whole "Mr. Obama" thing.

Grow up and get real, it's President Obama!

[PDinCA]

To be fair, Fox stole this from their idols, the New York Times, who consistently called the last president Mr. Bush.

[flash LI]

Selective editing? And the Dems have NEVER done this? HAHAHA lol

[smartenoughforthisforum]

You are comparing Fox and the Democratic Party? How come? Is Fox the mouthpiece of the Republic Party?

[hhayden]

Probably not. Fox is for free speech and liberty for all.

[Ohioan730]

LOL! Yep. Fox news for president!

[solopico]

Most hilarious point behind this entire article?

Selective editing criticized by using... wait for it.....

Selective editing, courtesy of Media Matters, the kings of selective editing.

[smartenoughforthisforum]

Nope. Nice try. That's Faux.

[LemonMeringue]

Name one.

[solopico]

Keith Olbermann, just the other night - completely distorted a statement made by Michael Scheuer (former CIA) on Glenn Beck's program.

You can watch the clip from Beck's show - unedited - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcNMMf3Yq8A

Then see the distortion, which was picked up by HP, in addition to thinkprogress and probably other leftist sites (mediamatters perhaps?), then run by Olbermann without fact-checking.

On Olbermann's show, he entered the clip I linked exactly at 6:52, which takes Scheuer's statement COMPLETELY out of context and is quite obviously selective editing.

You said name one. That was too easy.

[hhayden]

Ru-sh wants the president to fail.

[Talmageb]

There tends to be this rationalization of negative behaviors (particularly in politics) whereas one party justifies it's unacceptable behaviors by saying "And the Dems have NEVER done this? HAHAHA lol" That is not the point. yes there are democrats who lie cheat and steal. Yes there are pro-democratic media outlets which have engaged in poor journalistic practices in the past and most likely will continue to. The point is that Sean Hannity is a hack, who lies to his viewers and manipulates video to make people appear to say things which they have never said. Are there shameless hacks on both sides of the aisle? Yes. Is Sean Hannity a lying, blowhard who continuously makes a fool out of himself and thereby all of his supporters. Yes. Can you rationalize his horrible behaviors by saying that Keith did it. No. He is a liar and a horrible reporter, he knows full well what he is doing and he works for a company (fox) which does this crap as a matter of practice. He is wrong in his action and there is no excuse or justification for it.

[NotStarvingArtist]

There you go. Succinctly and elegantly put!

[Lance Alvis]

click on the following link to actually do something about this abuse by Fox and Hannity

http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/Form2000E.pdf

[know it all]

Thanks Lance. I filled out my complaint.

This is the link for online filing:
https://esupport.fcc.gov/sform2000/formE!input.action?form_page=2000E

[know it all]

Dang, some of that link didn't take. Cut and paste it. Sorry about that.

Here, I'll try it again:
https://esupport.fcc.gov/sform2000/formE!input.action?form_page=2000E

[Pleneras]

FCC has no control over cable. Supreme court sided with them. That's why they are not on regular channels repeating the hate.

[know it all]

Well dang it all! Thanks for letting me know, but did you have to?

[hhayden]

Then why do ABC, NBC and CBS get away with it?

I've never heard anyone on Fox news say they hate Obama. They just don't like how he's destroying America.

[smartenoughforthisforum]

You guys have figgered out, have you not, that hhayden is a junior high kid? Either that, or he's on his orange juice break out at BYU.

[PDinCA]

With a steady diet of Fox "news," people can maintain their childlike qualities well into supposed adulthood.

[hhayden]

As you havn't got the idea yet, I am not supporting Fox news per se - rather free speech across the board. Even yours.

[hhayden]

You are wrong about everything else, why not that.

I agree with the name you are using actually.

[smartenoughforthisforum]

Well, thankee there pardner.

[smartenoughforthisforum]

Although I am not wrong about the spelling of "dimwit" and "consider".

[protagonia]

hhayden

"You are wrong about everything else, why not that."

Clever line. Where have I seen it on threads before, though?

Then, then to smartenoughforthisforum -

"I agree with the name you are using actually."

How do the two coincide, in your estimation?

[DrFrescas]

Hannity=Enemy of the State

[LemonMeringue]

Hannity is a dishonest man.

[hhayden]

Just replace the with the Obama administration and you are on the right track.

[protagonia]

Sorry, not every gets to be white.

[luckynewman13]

Selective editing, the real last refuge of the scoundrel

[pokey11]

As a black person who was very proud of Obama's historic victory last year I could write several chapters about just how deeply my contempt for this idiot really runs but then that would be a waste of valuable time. I try to keep it brief since that is about as deep as his intellect goes. The saddest part is that there are many people out there that listen to him and he has gotten rich off of it over the years. Tonight he was positively giddy that Obama's poll numbers are dropping because independents are abandoning the president. He thinks his hard work is paying off. We all know he would love for Obama to fail.
I just have a few questions for him. Sean, since you've obviously spent nearly every day and night for the past two years obsessing over and attacking Obama do you have dreams about him at night? Do you sometimes wake up in a cold sweat after these dreams? Does it ever occur to you that the reason black people never vote for your beloved party is because you show a complete lack of sensitivity when it comes to black issues and how we really feel about certain things? Do you understand that demagoging and demonizing the first black president every single night for years with obvious distortions of the truth tempts people to think that you may be a racist? Do you even care? I guess not. Thanks for your time Sean.

[momaw45]

As a white woman from the south and turning 64 this year I thank you for this post. I totally agree with you and I also have to say that I believe we should have free speech, but, ever since Obama was elected by such a very large margin we have seen nothing but racism from these oh so very popluar networks and again I have to say I apoligize ! Until my age group including the Jeff Sessions (the biggest racist in the Senate) dies out, we cannot get very far. I am so sorry to have to report, just like I am sorry to report that all of the progressives and liberals that I am in accord with are not giving him a chance to get much done because like the rest of the country we all want it now!
It just cannot happen like that, I know in my heart that Obama has an agenda that protects us all, but I also know that he knows that he may not get it done this go around, but just like what is happening in Iran with protests,will continue in this country until we all become spiritual and not religious and we start a real progression towards each other as a unit,we will fail. Just know that there are so many like me that believe like you and if not us then our children and grandchildren because we are teaching them the right thing!!!!

[smartenoughforthisforum]

This is special. And so is the post to which you reply. !!!!

[thoughtful3]

Thank you so much for that wisdom, momaw45. People like you still give me hope. We must press on, no matter how long it takes. People like solopico (below) sadden me, but what can you do? They'll never change. But, like you said, generation by generation, we'll make more progress. That's what it means to be a true progressive actually. You don't give up because the president didn't singlehandedly fix all the problems, that took decades to come to a head, in six months. Unfortunately, that's the sad state of culture we live in right now--always needing instant results. I know he's laying the groundwork. And, where we see issues that need to be pushed further along, it's our job to do that work--all of ours.

[NotStarvingArtist]

I am a white woman, age 62, and I agree with you 100%.

[pokey11]

Thanks for your post momaw45. I appreciate it. The world needs more people like you.

[smartenoughforthisforum]

This is special. And so is the reply.

[solopico]

I take serious issue with some points you make.

First - Sean Hannity does not hope America fails. If he comes across as "giddy" that Obama's numbers are dropping, please excuse him - but he predicted from a time well before the election that this would happen, and even "right wing" pundits as well as rational "left wing" pundits who wanted to give Obama the benefit of the doubt are now having to admit he was correct all along.

Second - I do not believe he spent "nearly every day and night for the past two years obsessing over and attacking Obama" but I do believe he spent much of his airtime bringing forth information about Obama that many in the media would not discuss, and all that information was verifiable.

Third - regarding your statement regarding "black people never vote for your beloved party" you are incorrect - there certainly are blacks who vote for Republicans. Many blacks do not understand exactly how similar their values are to the values of Republicans, and they have been told throughout generations that Democrats care more about them, because of a campaign message put forward years ago. I would argue that the only reason the Democrats value black voters is because they have them. What exactly is the Obama administration doing for you as he pumps rich bankers full of money? If your taxes were lower and the government spent less, wouldn't your life be easier?

[solopico]

In closing -

I'm a white man in my early 40's. I grew up in a very racially integrated Cleveland, Ohio, and believe I am as far from racist as a person can be.

I was very proud of America for electing our first non-white-man as president. He is spending way too much money and people are downright scared - and the excuse that "he's spending it to fix what Bush did" is no longer applicable. It is now being shown that only 10% of the "stimulus" has been spent, and most of that was misused by the states that received it. That's Obama and Congress' fault - they need to manage better.

Obama is also showing too much weakness on foreign fronts, apologizing for America's greatness at every turn. Not wanting to "meddle" in Iran, then clearly meddling in Honduras was a big mistake, and showed inconsistency. His entire Cairo speech made America look like we have issues when it comes to women's rights, and it seemed that he was trying to tell the Muslim world that we have done wrong in our efforts to show the world how great freedom can be.

I'm afraid if Obama continues the course he is currently on, he may be the last black president for a long time, which would be a sad thing to have happen, since regardless of gender or race we should always have the best person leading our great nation.

[hhayden]

The left seem to take delight in saying the republicans are in disarray, even though it's just wishful thinking.

Very valid points there.

[legs1]

FOX seems to play to a certain type of person. A person whom they can speak a lie to, a lie that they fear may be true, and because they fear it may be true they instantly believe without question. Then they tell the viewer that they understand their fear and are there for them. Their viewers are loyal because no one understands them like wacko whoscares them to death.

[LemonMeringue]

Clearly Fox viewers do not get out in the world much, or they would find out how much dishonesty is endemic at Fox.

[hhayden]

I've been everywhere from Baytown to Beijing. I don't see any pattern of dishonesty at Fox. Any examples?

[solopico]

I see more dishonesty in one article written by the author of this article than I can find in a week's worth of watching Fox News Channel, and thoroughly enjoy posting a rebuttal with the truth behind his spin each time I get the chance.

[hhayden]

What are these lies I keep hearing about. No one ever deliniates them. Obama's lies are right out there for everyone to see and they are easily documented.

[protagonia]

Not the Iies you catch, but the ones you let through that define you here.