Peter Daou: Tabloid Tactics: It's Open Season on Gore, Clinton, Kerry...

[Pirate Smile]

Tabloid Tactics: It's Open Season on Gore, Clinton, Kerry...

READ MORE: Iraq, Tim Russert, 2006, Bill Frist, Al Gore, Global Warming, George W. Bush

Folks, it's open season on Democrats. Rightwing extremists and various media cohorts are ratcheting up their anti-Dem offensive. Not content with revisiting the Clinton bedroom, rightwingers are going after their favorite targets: Al Gore and John Kerry. Media Matters tracks the anti-Gore assault. The Daily Howler adds perspective: "Al Gore was right about global warming--way back in the 1980s.

He was also right on internal combustion. And oh yes, he was right on Iraq, in a prophetic speech in September 02--a speech Joe Klein praised at the time. In a rational world, this would make Gore a reigning star--but we live in the world of a millionaire press corps, and we suffer, every day, from its judgments.

A new journalistic low (if that's possible) was reached with Patrick Healy's sneak peek into the Clinton bedroom, a crass attempt at tabloid journalism. Healy, for those who don't recall, was the one of the chief traffickers of anti-Kerry narratives.

Arianna blogs about this new phase of Dem-bashing, as does Eric Boehlert and Christy at FDL, who writes, "According to David Broder, panty sniffing is all the rage in the Beltway. Not the Chastity Beltway, mind you -- that's somewhere else entirely, as evidenced by Fornigate, among other stories currently making the rounds...but I'm talking full-on, lemon yellow pantsuit hyperventalation, with marital speculation at the juicy gossip level disguised as "news."

more at
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/peter-daou/tabloid-tactics-its-ope_b_21592.html

[blm]

1. Daou nails it - the media are "Prisoners of their own storylines"

EXACTLY!!!!!

[lancdem]

3. Yes, that's a great post

The MSM is so pathetic. And these attacks on the Clintons, Gore and Kerry come as no surprise.

[babylonsister]

2. So much for their values and morals, eh? nt

[janx]

4. It really is revolting

what the media have become.

[blm]

5. Exposing them has to become a priority issue. DNC needs a component

that works solely towards making it known that there is widespread corporate control of the country's news media.

[DeepModem Mom]

6. K&R

[ProSense]

7. Apparently, Broder can't get enough

Apparently, Broder can't get enough

It was discouraging enough for the New York Times to run a 2,000-word, front-page article this week with salacious speculation about the Clintons' love life, but for the WaPo's David Broder, the "dean" of the Washington press corps, to follow up on this nonsense is mystifying.

Snip...

This is entirely self-fulfilling. The NYT wrote a pointless story based on gossip from the Clintons' alleged "friends," David Broder is mentioning it in his nationally-syndicated column, and therefore the issue of their love life is "a hot topic." Why? Because the Times and Broder say so.

more...

[Vadem]

8. I like this comment by shooter50 ...

"Show me one. Just one. That's all I ask for. Show me one time, when a narrator, let's say Russert, asks a Democratic pundit an irrelevant question meant to embarrass or obfuscate, answers with something like this. 'Tim, are you a moron? With the unspeakable tragedy inflicted on the American people by this administration, you ask a question only an idiot would be interested in? Why don't you ask me why the media, the last bastion and protector of our rights and freedoms, has failed so miserably in it's duties. Your obsession with a blowjob resulted in a fourth reich takeover of our country, with the rights and freedoms of the American people being systematically ripped to shreds, and you ask me about Hillary's sex life? Shame on you and the disgusting bunch of quislings that purport to be newspeople. I hear rumors they're interviewing Michael Savage to take your place soon.' And with that, rip off their ear piece and storm off the set."

By: shooter50 on May 25, 2006 at 11:49am