It's always ironic when big-time professional journalists, who often spend their time holding public figures accountable, suddenly aren't so interested in being held accountable when they're the ones being scrutinized. The latest/greatest example is Forbes magazine and the crew of editors on the masthead who have apparently taken a vow of silence when it comes to talking about the magazine's error-filled, and widely condemned, Obama cover story.
Simple question: Why the silence? I realize Dinesh D'Souza who wrote the piece has responded to some of the criticism, but why not anyone at Forbes. What are they hiding from?
If staffers at Forbes think D'Souza's insights into the president are dead-on, then why won't they step forward and say so? If D.C. Bureau Chief, Brian Wingfield, is sure the cover story represented prescient political commentary and historical research masterfully presented, then why won't he come forward and so say? And if Forbes editor-in-chief, Steve Forbes, remains proud of the cover story, why won't he go on the record and articulate that so there is no doubt?
Instead, all we get is a flaccid "statement" from the magazine that doesn't address the many issues surrounding the D'Souza fiasco.
The point is that for whatever reason, Forbes as an institution, made a calculated decision to publish what is perhaps the most vicious and mean-spirited attack on Obama as a man and a son. And now nobody has the nerve to take ownership. Nobody at Forbes has the guts to answer questions about the piece, such as:
-Who assigned it?
-Who edited it?
-Did Steve Forbes see the final version before it was published?
-Did any senior editors object to the tone/content while it was in editing process?
-Was the article actually fact-checked?
-If so, who oversaw the fact-checking process?
As I said, journalists love to attack those in the public arena. But when it comes time for them to answer tough questions, they hide behind flaks and press releases.
I think the Obama cover story has done extraordinary damage to the Forbes brand. But I'd actually respect the magazine if someone -- anyone -- on staff in a position of power had the courage to come forward and be held accountable for, or even try to argue on behalf of, the D'Souza train wreck.
Instead, we get cowardly silence.
Crossposted at County Fair, a Media Matters blog.
Follow Eric Boehlert on Twitter: www.twitter.com/EricBoehlert
Michael Shaw: Reading the Pictures: D'Souza's Rage as a Cover
http://www.nieman.harvard.edu/reportsitem.aspx?id=100453
Anyone know anything about Darla?
Forbes had her on cover of their 1997 Magazine. Get this----> QUEEN of (CORPORATE WELFARE) BANKRUPTCY! Yikes!
Of course there was, and "America blew up, largely as a result of greed, a total lack of perspective … and the overleveraging of the corporate environment. I had watched all this going on and thought, 'Keep financing this, boys, because you are just creating business for me,'" Moore says.
By the early 1990s, Moore had become the highest-paid woman in banking and an extremely tough negotiator. "All of a sudden, this product I had created was the 'product du jour.' Nobody in the country had any kind of infrastructure or knowledge that could address this, other than what I had developed over a several-year period. I was the only person with the expertise, and our area was the only one making any money. It had become a powerful profit center within the bank."
In 1991, Moore married investor Richard Rainwater. In 1993 she became president of Rainwater Inc. It is career #3. According to Fortune, by 1997 she had tripled her husband's net worth, to $1.5 billion.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/11/2/104029/886
and CS is an excellent practice for someone who wants to practice how to get things done , and to find out first hand, what are the true needs of a society, which many candidates have no clue, since they live in a bubble upper class environment, and are not aware of the needs and struggles of regular folks. people like Obama, Biden, Clinton, do know , because they came from there.
They were not born rich. They understand the struggle.
These teabaggers and GOP claim to be christians, yet they are all against helping the poor and needy. They actually consider it a waste of resources. What Bible do they read from , I wonder?
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2010-09-17/news-roundup-hour-1
If Forbes wants to discredit his magazine with this kind of nonsence , there goes one more magazine into the pile of extnction! And it serves him right! I urge all of you to cancel your subscriptions immediately, if you agree with me.
How can a man with so much money have so little brains and common sense? Or do they just lose it all when the money and power take hold of them? The GOP is a party of the rich and greedy and also the party of the very hateful and selfish, who care nothing about the ir fellow man or the average person. Truly a verse comes to mind: It is harder for a rich man to go to heaven then for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. Just take it as a very logical comment!