Dallas-Mavs.com Forums - View Single Post - One example of why I don't trust the media

92bDad · 11-17-2008, 04:17 PM

Look say what you will about our respective political views and our various opinions about what is the cause and effect of an election, but it is clear to me that the Media has and is playing a serious role in shaping modern America.

Here is an example of where the AP and then various media outlets ran crazy with a story on Sarah Palin...only when you read the truth behind the story, it's clear that there was nothing to report without butchering a quote.

Here it is...

____________________________________________

Sarah Palin: Snakecharmer
09.04.2008 20:58:39 « Back

The media is trying REALLY hard to paint Sarah Palin into an evil religious zealot. The AP is willing to break the typically utilized laws of printing the English language to do it.

According to the AP, Sarah Palin said this about the troops while at church:

“Our national leaders are sending them out on a task that is from God,"

According to real life, Sarah Palin said this about the troops while at church (with the AP’s selective quoting underlined):

“Pray for our military men and women who are striving to do what is right. Also, for this country, that our leaders, our national leaders, are sending them out on a task that is from God,”

The AP quote means “Iraq is a mission from God.”

The actual quote means “We pray Iraq is a mission from God.”

The headline is even more misleading.

Palin: Iraq war 'a task that is from God'

The AP not only doesn't mention the previous sentence, or the first part of the sentence they quote, they also essentially ignore the meaning of the very next sentence as well. "That's what we have to make sure that we're praying for, that there is a plan and that that plan is God's plan."

This is a statement of humble reflection from Palin. To translate into terms the media might understand, its "I hope we're doing the right thing."

This story is bad enough that the AP really should issue a correction on it, if not a full retraction. There's no story unless you butcher the quote. It's based on half (or a quarter) of a quote, mentally ignoring the previous and following sentences, and even presenting the trimmed quote as the start of a sentence --forcing them to capitalize a word that actually appeared in the middle of the sentence.

Really bad.

__________________________________________________ _________

I am certain we can find 100's and 1000's of similar types of spin stories, all with a major leftist agenda to smear Sarah Palin and the Republican ticket.

The sad part is that many American fall for this...heck, I tried to defend the quotes, simply stating that this was taken out of context, but I had nothing to reference.

I know, this is old news...get over it, is what some of you are thinking.

This post is not about the election...it's a done deal and nothing is going to change this.

However, my hope is to continue sharing the truth about the Media Manipulation. It's happening and it simply can't be trusted carte blanche.

We must find ways to communicate about issues and candidates...using forums such as this message board to ask questions and get to the heart of these issues so that we as citizens can create positive change for this nation.

Allowing the media to manipulate stories does not do any of us any good.

The secret is that it will take strong liberals to call out their own...while conservatives need to do the same back to conservative sources. Make sure the facts are genuine and not a spin campaign.

Perhaps that is how we can help via this board.

What if we, the people became genuine watchdogs? Perhaps we can share opinion regardless of political affiliation and we can do some fact checking...then we can contact the news agency responsible as concerned citizens.

The media has done an excellent job of smearing Sarah Palin as well as the Bush administration for the past 8 years. No doubt that some bloggers and other Cyber writers will do their fair share of attacking the Obama campaign...while the media will serve to protect Obama...

So what can we do to balance the spin with Truth?

Regardless of National Media or a Blogger, we need to call out when we see manipulation such as in the story of Sarah Palin. I would argue the same if the story where about Obama...I will argue for him if I see such a twist in the future.

11-17-2008, 04:17 PM	#1
92bDad Platinum Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: TX Posts: 2,505	One example of why I don't trust the media Look say what you will about our respective political views and our various opinions about what is the cause and effect of an election, but it is clear to me that the Media has and is playing a serious role in shaping modern America. Here is an example of where the AP and then various media outlets ran crazy with a story on Sarah Palin...only when you read the truth behind the story, it's clear that there was nothing to report without butchering a quote. Here it is... ____________________________________________ Sarah Palin: Snakecharmer 09.04.2008 20:58:39 « Back The media is trying REALLY hard to paint Sarah Palin into an evil religious zealot. The AP is willing to break the typically utilized laws of printing the English language to do it. According to the AP, Sarah Palin said this about the troops while at church: “Our national leaders are sending them out on a task that is from God," According to real life, Sarah Palin said this about the troops while at church (with the AP’s selective quoting underlined): “Pray for our military men and women who are striving to do what is right. Also, for this country, that our leaders, our national leaders, are sending them out on a task that is from God,” The AP quote means “Iraq is a mission from God.” The actual quote means “We pray Iraq is a mission from God.” The headline is even more misleading. Palin: Iraq war 'a task that is from God' The AP not only doesn't mention the previous sentence, or the first part of the sentence they quote, they also essentially ignore the meaning of the very next sentence as well. "That's what we have to make sure that we're praying for, that there is a plan and that that plan is God's plan." This is a statement of humble reflection from Palin. To translate into terms the media might understand, its "I hope we're doing the right thing." This story is bad enough that the AP really should issue a correction on it, if not a full retraction. There's no story unless you butcher the quote. It's based on half (or a quarter) of a quote, mentally ignoring the previous and following sentences, and even presenting the trimmed quote as the start of a sentence --forcing them to capitalize a word that actually appeared in the middle of the sentence. Really bad. __________________________________________________ _________ I am certain we can find 100's and 1000's of similar types of spin stories, all with a major leftist agenda to smear Sarah Palin and the Republican ticket. The sad part is that many American fall for this...heck, I tried to defend the quotes, simply stating that this was taken out of context, but I had nothing to reference. I know, this is old news...get over it, is what some of you are thinking. This post is not about the election...it's a done deal and nothing is going to change this. However, my hope is to continue sharing the truth about the Media Manipulation. It's happening and it simply can't be trusted carte blanche. We must find ways to communicate about issues and candidates...using forums such as this message board to ask questions and get to the heart of these issues so that we as citizens can create positive change for this nation. Allowing the media to manipulate stories does not do any of us any good. The secret is that it will take strong liberals to call out their own...while conservatives need to do the same back to conservative sources. Make sure the facts are genuine and not a spin campaign. Perhaps that is how we can help via this board. What if we, the people became genuine watchdogs? Perhaps we can share opinion regardless of political affiliation and we can do some fact checking...then we can contact the news agency responsible as concerned citizens. The media has done an excellent job of smearing Sarah Palin as well as the Bush administration for the past 8 years. No doubt that some bloggers and other Cyber writers will do their fair share of attacking the Obama campaign...while the media will serve to protect Obama... So what can we do to balance the spin with Truth? Regardless of National Media or a Blogger, we need to call out when we see manipulation such as in the story of Sarah Palin. I would argue the same if the story where about Obama...I will argue for him if I see such a twist in the future.