Larisa Alexandrovna: Annual Radio Television Correspondents Association Dinner - Another Disgrace...

Hissyspit

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Thu Apr-17-08 02:24 PM
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Larisa Alexandrovna: Annual Radio Television Correspondents Association Dinner - Another Disgrace...

Edited on Thu Apr-17-08 02:40 PM by Hissyspit

http://www.atlargely.com/2008/04/annual-radio-te.html

Annual Radio & Television Correspondents Association Dinner - Another disgrace...

The corporate media just continues to self-destruct under the weight of their own decadence and questionable ethics. I was going to write something about the conduct of ABC's Charlie Gibson during the Democratic debateHistoric-Presidential-Debates Nov-07 last night in Pennsylvania, but it seems that the public and media critics alike have done an admirable job already.

The other example , although visibly of less interest than the ABC debacle, illustrates precisely why the corporate press is no longer seen as trustworthy and relevant. Welcome to the Annual Radio & Television Correspondents Association Dinner, which took place last night Washington DC. It should have been billed as the let-them-eat-cake moment for anyone still of the opinion that the corporate press whore is anything but an over-powdered, self-absorbed, disconnected courteson:

"WASHINGTON - Vice President Dick Cheney has shown off his lighter side, filling in for his boss Wednesday night at the annual Radio and Television Correspondents Dinner in Washington.

By tradition, the guest of honor pokes a little fun at himself before the audience of media members and guests.

The vice president worked in a reference to Democrat Barack Obama's controversial comments about "bitter" voters and his own hunting mishap. He thanked the attendees for the kind welcome, saying, "You're not the kind to look down on a bitter man who clings to his guns."

I will of course spare you Dick's jokes. Here is my problem with this entire charade. The people in the audience are supposed to be impartial news professionals and as such, they should not be cavorting with their subjects in such an overdone, overly friendly way. In the last two weeks the world has learned that Vice President Cheney, et al, authorized the use of torture in violation of Geneva Conventions, domestic law, and international law. How does the world see the American media respond? Asking tough questions? No. Demanding answers? No. What the world sees is the US press applauding, cheering, and laughing at the jokes of Dick Cheney as though it were business as usual.

The same press whore that helped lie a nation into war is laughing, laughing at the jokes of the man for whom they lied, while our soldiers are dying. The same press who covers the banal on a daily basis instead of focusing on real news, is laughing, laughing along with the man whose corrupt policies and greed-frenzy are destroying this nation, while the news of it is not seeing the light of day.

If this corporate press whore wonders why the public think them compromised, they have no further to look than the nearest mirror to see that by any ethical journalist standard, they have sold their souls for access and sold the public interest for profit.

It is high time the gilded age of the corporate press come to an end.