Media Mud Pies: CNN's Embarrassing Response to Fox

In response to Fox's childish and embarrassing ad in the Washington Post that challenged competitors' coverage of the 9/12 teabaggers in Washington, DC, CNN is airing this equally chilidish and embarrassing ad to prove it did cover the teabaggers in Washington DC.

Du-uh!!

Oooh-oooh! Did I mention this is childish and embarrassing??

Apparently CNN can't bear the perception that it may have come up short in its coverage of the estimated 60,000 raucous anti-Obama Conservatives who converged on Washington. Even Rick Sanchez, CNN's chatty, albeit lightweight social media guy, bristled and self-righteously took Fox on.

For Sanchez, an admitted George Bush voter, there was no way Fox was going to accuse CNN of not covering a gathering of citizens on the Right. Now imagine a gathering of thousands of Americans on the Left -- at times even hundreds of thousands -- and corporate media voicing concern about not giving them their due?

Now that would be a welcome change!!

No similar concern has ever been even remotely voiced by CNN, or by any corporate media, for not covering the millions on the left who have marched and rallied for the last eight years. I mean, what's newsy about peace, right Rick?? I mean, right, Right-Rick?

Witness for yourselves Mr. Sanchez' hyperbolic defense of CNN against Fox for having the audacity to question CNN's coverage of Conservatives. Then attempt to recall any time over the past eight years when 'fair and balanced' Rick Sanchez, CNN, or any corporate media ever became that defensive over not fairly covering Progressives??

Not once that I recall! There was never the slightest concern.

On September 29, 2001, over 35,000 people across America protested George W. Bush's threatened attack on Afghanistan. That same day, similar protests took place in the Netherlands, Spain and Greece. American corporate media paid little attention. Two days later on October 1, 2001, thousands of Americans in New York City protested the proposed war on Afghanistan. Again corporate media paid little attention. Every consecutive year since September, 2001, when the United States first threatened to attack Afghanistan, and ever since the actual invasion of Afghanistan on October 7, 2001, thousands upon thousands of protesters have taken to the streets in America, but corporate media routinely ignores them.

What's newsy or corporatist about peace??

On September 12, 2002, up to 1,000 peacemakers gathered outside the United Nations to protest George W. Bush as he addressed the General Assembly. On this occasion they were opposing Bush's second planned war -- his orchestrated, highly touted, media supported, shock and awe assault on Iraq. Back then, even future President Barack Obama was an anti-war protester.

On October 2, 2002, then-State Senator Obama from Illinois, joined Jessie Jackson at an anti-war rally in Chicago. On that date our current president uttered the words that were referred to throughout his 2008 campaign: "I am not opposed to all wars. I'm opposed to dumb wars," the young State Senator told the crowd. But few in the public, even the local Chicago public, likely knew of that peace gathering since corporate media diminished all protest. It even silenced its own. On February 25, 2003, before the U.S. officially invaded Iraq, MSNBC fired legendary host, Phil Donahue, after a short stint on-air. The TV icon was terminated for publicly questioning Bush and Cheney's war.

Ever since the retributive blood lust that led to the invasion and occupation of Afghanistan nearly eight years ago, and ever since the frenzied maniacal obsession to topple Saddam Hussein that led to the invasion and occupation of Iraq over six years ago, millions in America and across the globe have rallied and protested to end the wars and bring the troops safely home. There have been approximately this many marches and rallies to end the war in Afghanistan, and approximately this many marches and rallies to end the war in Iraq. But corporate media has routinely ignored them, choosing instead to support their conservative cronies in the military industrial complex.

As a result of this abrogation of journalism, Americans have a depleted treasury, a rotting infrastructure, criminal health care, fiscal sociopathy, substandard education, a dumbed-down public, an ever-widening socio-political chasm, and idiots elected to and remaining in office for lack of effective vetting and investigation by a legitimate Fourth Estate.

Mr. Sanchez, with all due respect, as you've delivered your message to FOX, I have a message for you. Your tirade is juvenile, hypocritical, and dare I say, unprofessional. CNN shares in the decline of our media almost as much as FOX. CNN is, after all, the home base of Lou Dobbs. Need I say more?

Follow Linda Milazzo on Twitter: www.twitter.com/LindaMilazzo

Comments

[DanGreen]

Maybe Sanchez's rant in a turning point for CNN. Maybe they'll take a good look at themselves and see that they need to do better. You have to hope so. Fox News is nothing but idiots, and MSNBC has become so hyper-liberal it's getting harder and harder to take them seriously. There's enough hypocracy to go around for everybody. Start where you are, CNN, and let's have one truly reliable journalism outlet in the U.S.A.

[StPeteDave]

It's silly. No one is going to convince fox viewers of anything. It's another distraction from the serious business that needs to be addressed. It frustrates me.

[holredd]

CNN can not call Fox out on distorted facts, as someone commented below, because they distort the exact same facts 99% of the time. We do not have a main-stream television media source other than BBC America, at times, that gives us the truth, complete coverage of all the facts, on all issues, from all sides of party and non-party lines. From the beginning of the war in Afghanistan and Iraq we never heard any real numbers or knew what was happening to our soldiers and the lack of care our country was providing. That, of course it just one example in a long line of incomplete news coverage our mainstream media provides. We are lucky now to be in the age of the Internet and have news on the World Wide Web, not just the American news. US news is so sadly bought and paid for by corporations and government regulations it violates free speech! I couldn't tolerate listening to the entire Rick Sanchez video; it really insults all of our intelligence. It is a great example of the insulting dialogue reporters present as valid and relative commentary.

[PDinCA]

That's "can't bear" not "can't bare."

[Linda Milazzo - Huffpost Blogger]

Good catch, PD! :-))

[redneckgenuis]

I used to watch CNN ... but lately all they do is spread gossip... not FACTS. and when the facts come out they ignore them. Pathetic

[ibivi]

Lately???They've been doing it for a while.

[BobLablah]

"teabagger" is sexual innuendo meant as a slur against homosexuals. Please try to be more sensitive to the feelings of others.

[Linda Milazzo - Huffpost Blogger]

Thanks, Bob.

I promise you the term "teabagger" in this article is not directed at homosexuals and not intended as a sexual slur against gays.

Best,
Linda

[CantStopUsNow]

The problem isn't what Rick Sanchez said or how he said it. It's that he doesn't say it every day. Bravo to Rich Sanchez for taking on the hate machine that is Fox, but CNN would have a lot more credibility if it called out Fox "news" every time they distorted facts....which is about every day. I realize they can't spend every minute debunking Fox lies....but maybe they could have Larry King play fact checker instead of his usual role as Harvey Levin wannabe in his extended version of TMZ. But props to Rick for not taking this lying down. Better late then never.