How do you feel about the delayed public release of information in stories such as the VA data theft and Haditha massacre?
(published 12-Jun-2006, Appleton Post-Crescent)
I remember feelings I had during the Cheney shooting incident: bemusement and distaste. Bemused by the astounding uproar in the national media over the so-called coverup...and distaste for the media, not that that's hard. I read about JFK in Paul Johnson's excellent "A History of the American People". Nobody thought anything of the press covering for Kennedy during his campaign and for his entire time in office: his philandering, back problems, health problems, etc. Information has been delayed for as long as news has been gathered. Consider, too, the stories rushed into print or on-the-air without complete fact-checking. An excellent recent example -- one that a certain CBS producer just won't admit -- was the story based on phony documents asserting that President Bush was AWOL during his National Guard stint. All I can say is that it's tough all over, but the press is doing its job.
3 comments:
Did the press suppress the Cheney incident? I don't think it was the press was it?
Dear Anonymous,
Your question contains implied assumptions I am unwilling to stipulate; i.e., that there was "suppression" of the incident. I think that the drive-by media got all upset because it was the local newspaper that reported the story first. Maybe they were upset because the local reporter got the facts wrong, or something. Beats me!
Steve Erbach
The Town Crank
The media themselves implied that the White House suppressed it, which kind of makes me laugh. ;)
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