LOCAL AUTHORITIES KEEP FOOD FROM 'CANE VICTIMS

Where are the mainstream media reporters on the story that Major Garrett broke on the Hugh Hewitt Show a couple of days ago? Local authorities kept both the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army away from the hurricane dome and away from providing meals to those who were housed there in a "refuge of last resort" during and after Hurricane Katrina according to the officials of both organizations in the initial transcript and the transcript of the update from the show.

The most interesting question Hugh Hewitt raised was, "So where is the MSM coverage" on this most important news story about the handling of the hurricane?

Some believe that if the story appeared on Fox News first (and American Red Cross Director admitted the Major Garrett story was true on Bill O'Reilly's The Factor first), the MSM will not carry it out of, well, spite. They just can't bring themselves to quote a Fox News source in a MSM news story because they are jealous that Fox is killing the MSM in the ratings game. They'd rather miss the explosive revelation than credit FNS. Nah, they're not political--they'll go get that BIG story for us ....! And then they'll sit on it!

Powerline Blog's commentary brings some clarity to the reason why blame aimed at the Feds is hard for them to deflect while still maintaining an "in charge" demeanor. Michael Chertoff (Director of Homeland Security) is quoted saying, "I think when we go back and look at it lot of things worked well and some things didn't work well," he said.

Powerline says, "That simply isn't good enough. I understand the administration's problem: it's hard to mount a defense without pointing out the scandalous performance of the state and local authorities who were responsible for emergency preparation and for the initial response to the hurricane. But if the administration thinks it can ride out the current news cycle as it has passively ridden out so many news cycles in the past, it's crazy."

I disagree. I think people in the USA, at least, can add 1 + 1 and come up with 2. The so-called journalism of the MSM (main stream media) out there today can't keep the truth under wraps. We get it. And we're tellin'.

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The British nation is unique in this respect. They are the only people who like to be told how bad things are, who like to be told the worst.
--Sir Winston Churchill, Hansard, June 10, 1941, British politician (1874 - 1965)

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High School Homework Section (in case you missed it): I remember studying the ramifications of "Yellow Journalism" in history class in high school. The condition was much maligned as were the characters accused of the despicable practice. These books were found in history classes in high schools in this country. When did a change occur that affected the ethics of those who call themselves journalists today? and when did we change the content of our high school history books? and why did we make those changes? There's a bit of an explanation in paragraph 6 below where the difference between News and Journalism is tackled. It should make you think critically about what you hear, read, and see in the MSM.

From Wikipeida.com

Yellow journalism is a term given to any widespread tendencies or practices within media organizations which are detrimental to, or substandard from the point of view of, journalistic integrity. "Yellow journalism" may for example refer to sensationalized news reporting that bears only a superficial resemblance to journalism. Journalistic professionalism, as now understood, is the supposed antidote. Instead of "yellow journalism", media bias is commonly used.

The term, as it commonly applies, refers to news organizations for whom sensationalism, profiteering, and in some cases propaganda and jingoism, take dominance over factual reporting. Most cases tend to be related to journalistic bias, and the endemic practices of particular organizations to operate as mouthpieces, for rather limited and particular allegiances, rather than for the public trust.

There is a very long history. Recent accusations of yellow journalism center around media infotainment and corporate media, referring to organizations where business interests supersede the interests of news organizations to accurately report damaging facts about influential corporations and common practices within corporate industry. In certain cases, the links between political, business, and media worlds, are alleged to violate various laws ranging from fraud to antitrust.
In the modern context of near-instant television news coverage, a perceived careless lack of fact-checking for the sake of a breaking news story might be refered to as 'yellow journalism'. Aspects of yellow journalism can vary at the minimum from the sporadic use of unnecessarily colorful adjectives, up to a systematic tendency to report falsehoods as fact.

The term has largely fallen into disuse as the media world has grown both in scope and in complexity. Further, because most media outlets have cultural allegiances or business practices which to one degree or other force them to deviate from idealized concepts of reporting, accusations of "yellow journalism" tend to be few.

Print journalists have tended towards building a career reputation of consistent and thorough professionalism, to gain respect and prominence. News anchors, for example, may be chosen not for their skills at journalism, but rather for their presentation, appearance, and personality.

A current perceived rift is therefore more akin to a segmentation according to definitions of "news". The public still attaches to "news" the connotations of "journalism". Because of these developments, the common definition of "news" no longer belongs in the domain of journalists, but to wider television and internet media outlets over a vast spectrum of target issues and audiences. The proliferation of web media has in a certain sense re-validated journalistic ethics: reports that conform best tend to be treated as more authoritative. "Pseudo-news" organizations draw general audiences, who tend fall into market demographics that each favor particular blends of issues-based entertainment along with their "news".
Reputation and ethics do not necessarily coincide at all times. Well-established institutions such as the New York Times can be at fault. Many journalists find conflicts between their employment and their professionalism as journalists.

The Yellow press
The sensationalized human-interest stories of the yellow press increased circulation and readership heavily throughout the 19th century, especially in the United States. Early practitioners, such as Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst, seem to have equated the sensational reporting of murders, gory accidents, and the like, with the need of the democratic common man to be entertained by subjects beyond dry politics. Two early yellow newspapers were Pulitzer's New York World and Hearst's New York Journal American.

The term derived from the color comic strip character The Yellow Kid, who appeared in both these papers. (See also symbolism of yellow)

Hearst
While most early newspapers tended toward expressing a viewpoint, the prototypical example of yellow journalism was the late 19th century Hearst Newspapers' consistent and deliberate falsification of whole incidents, claiming a humanitarian crisis among Cubans at the hands of Spanish troops. Hearst had personally written or directed the production of a number of sensational stories that exaggerated the claims of Spanish cruelty toward their Cuban subjects. The stories, combining both a sense of urgency and moral outrage, were wildly popular, and Hearst directed his papers to market and exploit this trend to the fullest.

Having been successful not only in convincing the public for the cause for war, Hearst had managed to sway the political vote as well. This reporting sparked a public outcry that led to the Spanish-American War, wherin American intervention proved to be disastrous. Americans would soon find themselves occupying both Cuba and the Philippines, and Hearst found himself courted by politicians seeking his powers of influence.

Sound familiar?

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Sources: www.radioblogger.com/#000967
www.radioblogger.com/#000970
www.wikipedia.com--Yellow Journalism
www.powerlineblog.com/archives/011560.php
Fox News Channel, The Factor with Bill O'Reilly