Journalists Required to Donate to Anti-Choicers In Order To Cover Palin’s Speech

By GottaLaff


PayMe McBlabFest is making one of her screeches at a fundraiser for the "faith-based" anti-choice group Heroic Media. And the press must pay admission in order to cover the event.

And who exactly is it who is intruding into the lives of U.S. citizens again? Oh, that's right. The "lamestream media" aren't really citizens unless they show their papers, so they have no freedoms. Only PayMe and her clan have them:

[I]n order to cover Palin’s speech, the Austin-American Statesman reports that journalists will have to make a contribution to Heroic Media:

Restrictions: Heroic Media will try to prohibit video and audio recordings of Palin’s appearance, and news organizations wishing to cover her speech must buy a ticket, the proceeds of which will go to Heroic Media.

[...] Earlier this year, after conservatives criticized Palin’s $100,000+ fee to speak at the Tea Party convention, she said she would donate the proceeds to “the cause.” Perhaps that’s what she is trying to get the media to do as well.

I posted about another event to be held on May 12th at which McBlabFest is charging the press:

The high-priced tickets for the May 12th event are still quite plentiful. For the rest of this week, WIND is just giving the tickets away. From 4:00pm-5:00pm, those looking for tickets need only show up at a given Merlin shop each day this week. The first 25 listeners to stop by the Merlin locations each day will receive a free pair of tickets to see Sarah Palin speak in Rosemont and a $30.00 gift certificate to be used towards service at a Merlin 200,000 Mile Shop. [...]

In a related note, by request of Sarah Palin's people, no Chicago press or media members are being easily allowed into the event. Those media outlets who wish to be there, will have to buy the expensive tickets themselves.[

As you can see, at that event, they are giving seats away along with gift certificates. Maybe the media contributions, should there be any, will compensate for the losses. So much for "free press".

If you recall, PayMe also pre-screens questions. I'm beginning to think she has a few control issues.

Meantime, who exactly are these "Heroic" types?

Think Progress:

The group’s Internet strategy tries to direct Google users to an anti-choice website:

Heroic Media utilizes an online strategy to purchase top listings on search engines, such as google, so when teens “google” the word “abortion,”… “I think I’m pregnant,” … or “terminate pregnancy,” one of the top web sites they’ll see is our partner web site http://www.teenbreaks.com

Teenbreaks.com provides information about abortion, communicating with parents, adoption, cutting and more.

Oh, it gets worse. Follow the Think Progress link. And when you get there, they won't even charge you.

VIDEO: Sarah Palin accidentally slams Fox with "lamestream media" label

By GottaLaff

Thank you profusely, Heather (at Crooks and Liars) for this tasty morsel:



Oh, this is too delicious.Who else could be as blatantly idiotic as OpenWide McFootInMouth?

This was one of her biggest ClusterFoxes ever:


OpenWide finally got something right: Faux is synonymous with "lamestream media".

Hey ClusterFoxers, how does it feel to get blasted by your favorite new spokesDeeJay?

Election 2012: Meet the CandiPundit

By GottaLaff

Everything has turned into a reality show. This time the ultimate prize is becoming the leader of the free world:

The New York Times looks at the television of punditry of Newt Gingrich, Mike Huckabee and Sarah Palin and notes it could be a list of 2012 presidential contenders.

"Television and politics have always been intertwined, but never to this degree, TV executives and journalism professionals say. It would seem that the so-called revolving door for political operatives has been extended to the politicians themselves, at a time when cable news is more politically charged than ever."

"To viewers, it seems to be an endless televised political campaign, with former, and possibly future, politicians biding their time giving sound-bite versions of stump speeches."

Punditiots gone wild.

President Obama's State of the Union hits YouTube

See, this is the kind of stuff that I like, out of the box thinking and appealing to the younger ones. Remember the campaign that did voter registration at the Batman movie premiere and gas stations when gas was sky high? The BFCE? Need them back big time.

Washington (CNN) – While the Constitution mandates the president deliver a State of the Union it does not mandate whether or not it should be delivered on the radio, television or YouTube.

The State of the Union was delivered first on the radio in 1923 by Calvin Coolidge and Harry Truman came into living rooms live via the television to deliver his address in 1947. And now Barack Obama will make State of the Union history by streaming it live on the new White House iPhone app and encouraging citizens to ask the president questions on YouTube.

YouTube and the White House announced Tuesday morning that it will open up a forum on YouTube.com/CitizenTube during Obama's address for people to submit questions to the president. Questions will also be voted on to determine what the public wants Obama to answer.

Then a week later, Obama will answer questions in a special online event.

VIDEO: Robert Gibbs spars with Chinese media

By GottaLaff



Cringeworthy:

It was media mayhem in Copenhagen Friday. The Chinese press reportedly flooded a meeting between President Obama and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, with many of Robert Gibbs' "people" left in the dust. Even CNN's Rick Sanchez seems upset. CNN

Cartoon of the Day

Click to enlarge, via.

Pew Survey: Charges of Media Bias Continue to Grow

In our polarized world, I see no way at all to correct this.

WASHINGTON More bad news for journalists: The percentage of people who believe their work is inaccurate and biased continues to grow.

Nearly two-thirds — 63 percent — of Americans surveyed by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press believe that news stories are often inaccurate. That's a flip from when Pew first asked that question in 1985, when 34 percent of respondents believed stories were frequently inaccurate.

Pew also found that 74 percent of respondents believe stories tend to favor one side of an issue over another, up from 66 percent two years ago.

(snip)

The findings indicate U.S. newspapers and broadcasters could be alienating the audiences they are struggling to keep as they try to survive financial turmoil. Pew Research's questionnaire didn't attempt to gauge how shrinking newspapers and other cutbacks at news organizations are affecting people's perceptions, though the reductions probably haven't helped, said Michael Dimock, an associate director for the center.

What Glenn Said

Jenna Bush Joins 'Today' Show as Correspondent

They should convene a panel for the next Meet the Press with Jenna Bush Hager, Luke Russert, Liz Cheney, Megan McCain and Jonah Goldberg, and they should have Chris Wallace moderate it. They can all bash affirmative action and talk about how vitally important it is that the U.S. remain a Great Meritocracy because it's really unfair for anything other than merit to determine position and employment. They can interview Lisa Murkowski, Evan Bayh, Jeb Bush, Bob Casey, Mark Pryor, Jay Rockefeller, Dan Lipinksi, and Harold Ford, Jr. about personality responsibility and the virtues of self-sufficiency. Bill Kristol, Tucker Carlson and John Podhoretz can provide moving commentary on how America is so special because all that matters is merit, not who you know or where you come from. There's a virtually endless lists of politically well-placed guests equally qualified to talk on such matters.

(snip)

UPDATE: Just to underscore a very important, related point: all of the above-listed people are examples of America's Great Meritocracy, having achieved what they have solely on the basis of their talent, skill and hard work -- The American Way. By contrast, Sonia Sotomayor -- who grew up in a Puerto Rican family in Bronx housing projects; whose father had a third-grade education, did not speak English and died when she was 9; whose mother worked as a telephone operator and a nurse; and who then became valedictorian of her high school, summa cum laude at Princeton, a graduate of Yale Law School, and ultimately a Supreme Court Justice -- is someone who had a whole litany of unfair advantages handed to her and is the poster child for un-American, merit-less advancement.

I just want to make sure that's clear.

VIDEO: C-SPAN asks the "mainstream media": "Do you tweet?"

By GottaLaff



Helen Thomas, Chris Hayes, Bill Press, ::shudder:: Jonah Goldberg, and more talk about Twitter and whether they indulge in a Tweet now and then.

VIDEO: The press, including Helen Thomas, sings "Happy Birthday" to Pres. Obama

By GottaLaff



So cute!

Patrick Gavin somehow got the Examiner's Julie Mason, Bill Press, American Urban Radio's April Ryan and others to sing the President Happy Birthday. Though we're sure the Politico reporter didn't have to twist CBS' Bob Schieffer's arm- after all, he is a professional.

Obama's choices

By GottaLaff

Marc Ambinder makes it easy to see what P.E. Obama's up to. Here are the basics. Go here for a few more details:

-- choosing Democratic comity and spending over a thinner, broader coalition by reducing the profile and scope of his tax cuts

-- choosing health care over national cap-and-trade, at least in year one. Just watch this one....

-- promising to solve the entitlement quandary by commission and consensus, rather than by proposing. Note that Obama and other Democrats, during the campaign, referred to Social Security and Medicare as promises to keep, rather than "entitlements," which transfers the moral responsibility onto the government. Now it's back to "entitlements." [...]

-- favoring journalists. Is the New York Times is out, and the Washington Post are in. Certain conservative voices are in, others are out. Some liberal bloggers have the administration's ear; others get no love. [...]

-- ignoring press fretting over a harried transition. Gallup finds that 83% of Americans surveyed believe that the Obama transition has been a success. [...] Americans are growing slightly less pessmistic and slightly more optimistic about their futures. (I said slightly.)

Keep track of Obama's promises at National Journal's Promise Audit.

Obama meets with liberal media

Nice. Didn't do it fast enough for The Nation, but I really like that Rachel was in the mix.

Obama held a meeting with several columnists and liberal commentators this morning, following up on last night's dinner with conservative writers, according to sources with knowledge of the meeting.

The group included the Washington Post's E.J. Dionne and Eugene Robinson, the Wall Street Journal's Gerry Seib, National Journal's Ron Brownstein, the New York Times Frank Rich and Maureen Dowd, The Atlantic's Andrew Sullivan, and MSNBC's Rachel Maddow, among others.

(snip)

Today's meeting was held at the transition headquarters, and lasted about an hour and fifteen minutes. All the participants sat a long conference table. Unlike dinner at Will's house, there weren't refreshments.

"It was a pretty intense back and forth about a lot of stuff," said one attendee, declining to get into specifics, since the meeting was off the record.

Intense is good.

Oprah Show coming to D.C. for swearing-in

Oooh Clancy!!! You could take Mrs C to a taping of "Oprah".

Oprah Winfrey, who gave President-elect Barack Obama a crucial boost during the early primaries, is celebrating his Inauguration by bringing her powerhouse television show to Washington for the week.

"See you there,” Winfrey told “Access Hollywood” in an interview. “That's the place to be."

Winfrey said she has rented out the Opera House at the Kennedy Center to film the show, “Access Hollywood” reported.

Fred Thompson got a job!!

Good, now maybe he'll stop doing shite like that video. Ugh. But I'm sure alot of people miss his granddaughter.

Fred Thompson is making good on his threat promise to return to acting. The former U.S. senator, whose presidential dreams went up in smoke earlier this year, has landed a guest stint on ABC's out-of-this-world drama Life on Mars, sources confirm to me exclusively. He'll play the NYPD's chief of detectives in a February episode.

Former Pressies Warn President-Elect Obama Not to Go Crazy on Web

Bloody morons. "Too accessible"?

He used the Internet to break fundraising records and win the White House, and now President-elect Barack Obama is expected to expand his reach via a greatly enhanced Whitehouse.gov website. But before he makes any big moves, former White House press aides to several presidents have a warning: Don't become so Web-accessible that it devalues the president's message making. "There is a real challenge and risk," says Don Baer, a former Clinton-era communications boss and former U.S. News staffer.

The risk: "Cheapen the president's message."

(snip)

Baer, for example, suggested that using blogs, Web chats, and video conferences is a good idea, but he said that the White House has to make sure not to overdo it and thus make the president too accessible.

Who are these troglodytes?

Former Clinton aide Don Baer, former Ford spokesman Ron Nessen, former newsman Marvin Kalb, Brookings Institution author Stephen Hess, and former Bush spokesman Scott McClellan.

Oh now I understand.

Vote for Media Person of 2008

Go vote!! (You know who I picked)

Who was 2008's leading personality in the media world? Who left a lasting imprint on the industry — for good or ill? Cast your vote in I Want Media's seventh annual online election to name the Media Person of the Year.

Readers of I Want Media have again suggested an eclectic crew of candidates to be considered for recognition as the year's biggest mover and shaker in the mediasphere.

The voting is open until 12 midnight ET this Sunday, Dec. 7, with the winner to be announced the following morning.

This years candidates- Tina Fey, Arianna Huffington, The Laid-Off Journalist, Mel Karmazin, Jason Kilar, Rachel Maddow, Rupert Murdoch, Eric Schmidt, The Twitter Trio and Sam Zell.

Headlines we've been waiting to see

By GottaLaff

How nice to see Bush's name slowly fade from the headlines:

Obama likely to renew funds for birth control clinics

Guantanamo prisoners hoping for change under Obama

Media modernizing for Obama coverage

Plan for 'activist presidency' on track despite crisis
Signs coming out of Barack Obama's transition conclave in Chicago suggest he has no intention of lowering his sights for an activist, big ideas, presidency despite the deep economic crisis. [...]

But Obama's approach to framing his administration , frequent campaign trail allusions to activist presidents of the past and possible cabinet picks may signal he views the crisis not as a constraint, but an opportunity.

Glass half full. How novel.

Right-leaning media brace for shutout

Awww, the poor things. Now if they just reported the facts, they wouldn't have that problem now would they?

Since the Weekly Standard launched in 1995, there’s one scenario the conservative magazine hasn’t yet faced: Democrats in control of both the White House and Congress.

But that’s what lies ahead in just two months, leaving staffers there and at other media outlets on the right bracing for a period on the outside. looking in.

(snip)

Looking inward makes sense now that access will likely be reduced during an Obama administration. It’s doubtful that David Axelrod will answer the phone as quickly as Karl Rove, or that Joe Biden would provide a Weekly Standard writer with the exclusive access that Dick Cheney gave when he sat down with Stephen Hayes for his biography of the vice president.

Sarah Palin "Quote" Of The Day

Hahahahaha, snort, guffaw, ahem. I bring you this via Ben-

If [the media] convince enough voters that that is negative campaigning, for me to call Barack Obama out on his associations," Palin told host Chris Plante, "then I don't know what the future of our country would be in terms of First Amendment rights and our ability to ask questions without fear of attacks by the mainstream media."

Matt Taibbi: The Return of Rove

By GottaLaff

Read. Now. Excerpts:

One is tempted to call this brilliant tactics, except that it isn't brilliant, any more than pointing a gun at a Korean store owner is a "brilliant" way to make $135. One of the most remarkable aspects of Rove's career is the way the media consistently respond to being lied to, pissed on and manipulated by Rove: They stroke his already swollen gonads even more, hailing him as a singular political genius. [...]

Rove is not a genius, or even very clever: He's totally and completely immoral. It doesn't take genius to claim, as Rove ludicrously did last fall, that it was the Democrats in Congress and not George W. Bush who pushed the Iraq War resolution in 2002. It doesn't take brains to compare a triple-amputee war veteran to Osama bin Laden; you just have to be a mean, rotten cocksucker.

The reason Rove continues to survive is the same reason that Johnnie Cochran was called a genius for keeping a double-murderer on the golf course — because this generation of Americans has become so steeped in greed and social Darwinism that it can no longer distinguish between cheating and achieving, between enterprise and crime, and can't bring itself to criticize winners any more than it knows how to be nice to losers. He survives because an increasing number of Americans secretly agree with Rove's vision of rules, laws and "the truth" as quaint, faintly embarrassing rituals that only a sucker would let hold him back.

Rove's comeback is evidence that the attack on our civic institutions in the Bush years wasn't an isolated incident, something we can pin on a specific group of now-deposed politicians. It's a trend, a thing that grows in direct proportion to our greed and ignorance. We may be a country at war, facing one of the greatest financial meltdowns of all time. But in the end, the thing that could be our undoing is the kind of generalized boredom with legality and honor that empowers Rovian behavior. If we let it.

The truth hurts.