We abstain from political commentary here on the Hawksbill Cabin blog, but media criticism is sometimes a topic. If you post a comment, be sure to steer clear of overtly political stuff.
Last night during the DNC Convention, a poignant film in honor of our veterans was shown. (Disclosure: I did some campaign events with the Virginia Veterans for Kerry in 2004.) My wife and I watch the Convention on PBS (second disclosure: we met as volunteers during the 1992 Clinton campaign) - I tire of the navel gazing on most of the cable coverage.
I think the film did a great job of staying away from political discourse, focusing instead on the sacrifice so many are making, and the fact that when they return from very challenging service they need help from us all to return to a normal, American life. The news stories that we continue to see about appalling conditions in medical facilities; about the need to be sure that medical care is there when needed, including the types of counseling they'll need; the support the families need when the troops are away (there is a remote Army base in Alaska, where the troops have served three Iraq tours in many cases, can you imagine the hardships these families face? And that is typical in the lower 48 as well)...this film was a call to action to pay attention to this issue and let's be sure to get it right.
Towards the end of the film, I did a quick cable check and found that it was being aired on PBS, CNN, MSNBC...but not Fox. Instead, Karl Rove and Bill O'Reilly were blathering about something. They clearly weren't supporting the troops last night, in any case. So, a rhetorical question...when they say "Fair and Balanced" what are they really talking about? How much air time these two blowhards take up?
2 comments:
Fox just isn't Fair and Balanced. I thought the video of the troops was very moving. I'm glad I wasn't watching on Fox, I didn't know they didn't air it and I'm glad I got to see it, even thought it was hard to watch.
Yes, I guess this film didn't suit the slant they've (FOX) put on things...that democratic voters don't take any ownership on the veterans issue. As a general observation, the other cable venues - most media outlets, in fact, including the WaPo and NY Times - have grown pretty sloppy in their reporting these days. That's why we found the PBS coverage of the convention to be a welcome change from the usual.
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