nobody said anything about the first amendment.

this is about talking heads serving up their version of the "facts" to a willing and gullible public willing to buy everything that comes from the mouths of CNN, MSNBC, Fox, local affiliates and all the rest.

a friend of mine is in the United States Navy and was aboard a ship that was part of a fleet involved in the Bosnian/Serbian conflict. aboard his ship was a CNN news correspondent. when he and the crew arrived back in the United States, they were excited to view the CNN news story.

only there was a problem, the CNN news story was WAY off base and did not accurately reflect what had happened. apparently, the CNN story was so far off, the commander of the United States Naval Fleet requested that CNN never be allowed on their ships ever again.

the news boys twist the facts to fit their version of the so-called "truth". has nothing to do with the first amendment, it has everything to do with accurate news reporting, something which over time, has gone the way of the pony express.

X2

I’ll add that they tend to “twist” it as to have the most grab and impact too.

I know it’s a business. But when reporting without all the details (or leaving out details) has a huge negative impact on other business. Something should be done. I see it as a defamation/libel issue.

I know I’ve mentioned this before. But, the one thing that torques me up is their reporting of most anything related to aviation. Especially accidents.
When they find out that the carrier knew about cracks in a widget but flew anyway and report it as just that, not mentioning that the cracks are allowable and within safe limits. And you know the reporters know it. That really pisses me off.

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1980 300D - Veggie Burner !

x2. kinda like lies by omission. it isn't so much what they say sometimes, but what they DON'T say that is misleading. the film, "The Insider" starring Al Pacino and Russel Crowe goes deep into the belly of the beast (in this case, the news show "60 Minutes") and reveals what is REALLY motivating the news boys, M-O-N-E-Y.

The mass news media revolves entirely around money. Journalists generally do their job in good faith (without major constraints) but the editors/producers sort of cut the stuff they don't want. Journalists generally aren't to blame, though they do get facts wrong, especially when they are sort of thrown into a situation. In this case with the bomb, I think it is pretty sad that they pretty much announced how to make the bomb on national TV. I feel the same way about "mega disasters" and shows like that. I remember seeing one where one suicidal bombing of a tanker in the bosphorous strait could send the entire world into financial meltdown...but don't give anyone any ideas now!

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TC
Current stable:
- 2004 Mazda RALLYWANKEL
- 2007 Saturn sky redline
- 2004 Explorer...under surgery.

Past: 135i, GTI, 300E, 300SD, 300SD, Stealth

We have a free press. A lot of them suck. Those are the breaks.