...it's not dark yet, but it's gettin' there...

December 08, 2004

Communist Broadcasting Agency

Just when i think CBS can't get any farther off the deep end of partisanship, they amaze me even further.

The owner of Nonviolence.org, Martin Kelley, said he got an interesting phone call yesterday from a CBS News publicist for—you guessed it—Dan Rather's 60 Minutes Wednesday, the same program that carried the infamous bogus memos.

'Yesterday I got a call from a publicist for CBS News’s 60 Minutes. They’re running a story tonight on "Deserters," U.S. military personnel who have fled to Canada rather than serve in Iraq. She was requesting that I talk up the program on Nonviolence. In nine years of publishing the peace site, I can’t remember ever getting a call from a publicist before. I’ve talked to reporters from major news networks and papers, and I’ve talked a booking agent or two to arranging appearances on radio shows, but never a publicist.'

'So now CBS News publicists are courting bloggers. That’s great: hey, if y’all want to buy me that new Treo Smartphone or a gift certificate to Gohn Bros I’ll say Dan Rather is hotter than an armadillo sunning himself between the yellow lines on the interstate'

. . .

Other liberal/anti-war bloggers who have talked about the upcoming story in preparation for tonight's broadcast include No Capital, Daily War News, Bankrupt Artist v.3

These blogs link to the same CBS News story that Kelley linked to after being contacted. [links omitted]

i'm waiting for my call from CBS, the next time they do a story that highlights a conservative point of view. Think i should hold my breath?

That's just outrageous. CBS is not a news organization; it's op-ed on TV. They should stop lying and admit it.

Via RatherBiased.

Posted by annika, Dec. 8, 2004 |
Rubric: On The Blogosphere



Comments

they are talking to bloggers now, that is funny.

Posted by: cube on Dec. 9, 2004

I've tried, Annie dear, and can't figure out how this post -- laudable in its red-state sensibilities as it is -- is a substitute for poetry Wednesday.

Posted by: Hugo on Dec. 9, 2004

I don't want to get into the business of defending CBS News, but there is often a HUGE difference between a News organization and its publicity arm and more often than not, most of the two staffs are kept well away from one another. The job of the publicity arm is to go through what's on offer every week and see if they can create buzz about it. You may have noticed that this week, Glenn Reynolds received a press release from Time magazine touting an article about Tavis Smiley. The reporters and the editors probably had little, if anything to do with that ... and, indeed, might not have liked the fact that their pure "news" piece ended up being bandied about on partisan blogs.

I do think, though, this makes yet another good point about blogs having "arrived."

Okay, I'm done.

Posted by: ken on Dec. 9, 2004

Bloggers are being blamed for Rather's downfall because they are [insert every insult in the book].

Oh...right...just the conservative bloggers.

Posted by: Serenity on Dec. 11, 2004