Mainstream Media Liberal Bias Admitted, Revealed by …the Mainstream Media!

Over the past week, a minor drama has been unfolding over the exposure of the MSM engaging in a behind-the-scenes effort to push a (take your pick) liberal/progressive/democrat/far-left agenda in its reporting while maintaining a guise of neutrality. Recent events have proven, clearly and convincingly, that the mask has slipped, with the unethical, sometimes far-left, bias of purportedly neutral “reporting” by the mainstream media laid bare by its own conspirators.

I say “minor drama” only because this is being revealed almost without exception in the blogosphere. The few “mainstream” exceptions (laid out herein) have been ignored by other members of “the legitimate press.” But, tellingly, even the liberal bloggers have been forced to admit the validity of the underlying ethical violations of ostensibly neutral reporters who are no longer able to disguise an underlying liberal agenda that drives not only the subject and focus of their reportage, but its tenor as well.

Thus, we have the recent exposure, and resignation, of a far-left liberal blogger assigned (or, more honestly, posed) by that venerable anchor of D. C. reporting, the Washington Post, as its “Conservative Embed Reporter.”

An Apology to My Readers


David Weigel, who reported under the WaPo “Right Now” banner with the byline: “Inside the conservative movement and the Republican Party with David Weigel,” resigned last week when a fellow reporter leaked his “off-the-record” but shared in the liberal blogosphere rants and tirades against everything and anyone conservative to another MSM favorite, Tucker Carlson, and his Daily Caller blog.

Weigel had been a long-standing member of the “non partisan to liberal, center to left” members-only “JournoList” chatroom/listserve run by fellow WaPo resident editor, Ezra Klein. Immediately upon the Weigel revelations, Klein shut down JList.

(Andrew Breitbart, of BigGovernment, has offered a $100,000 bounty to any other disloyal or disillusioned JList member who will provide him a copy their archives. This could get REALLY interesting!)

While posing as a neutral reporter covering American conservatives for the Post, Weigel privately shared with his JList brethren, among other things, the revealing nickname of “ratf**k” he assigned his subjects and their activities; his wish that Matt Drudge set himself on fire; the psychic pain of having to report on the growing numbers of tea party activists and popularity of their agenda; his perception that conservatives use the media to “violently, angrily divide America;” with such motives as “racism” and “protecting white privilege;” and “a nihilistic thirst for power.”

He repeated his beliefs that “Newt Gingrich is an amoral blowhard … and Pat Buchanan is an anti-Semite …[jointly] polluting my inbox and TV with their bellowing and minority-bashing;” while lamenting that, “They’re never going to go away or be deprived of their soapboxes.”

Weigel privately complained on JList that the problem with the mainstream media is “this need to give equal/extra time to ‘real American’ views, no matter how f**king moronic.”

After the Huffington Post reported that many Americans believed Sarah Palin’s claim that Obamacare “death panels” would ration health care was true, Weigel suggested that reporting on the subject might be counter-productive to liberal policy aims. Weigel pointed out that as long as liberal-leaning news talked about it, the number of her believers would never go down.
“Let’s move the f**k on already,” Weigel urged his comrades.

Republicans? “Ratf**king [Obama] on every bill.” Palin? Tried to “ratf**k” a moderate Republican in a contentious primary in New York. Limbaugh? Used “ratf**king tactics” in urging Republican activists to vote for Hillary Clinton in open primaries after Obama had all but beat her for the Democratic nomination.
Daily Caller


All this is from a man who, while reporting for The Washington Independent, referred to his future subjects as “Christian fascist eliminationists,” and in the JList as “Paultards.” Even back then, after noting Weigel’s move from the purportedly libertarian Reason Magazine, to the hard-left Independent, one reporter warned of his left-libertarian, anti-conservative, tendencies: “Folks need to be careful about their allegiances.”
americanpowerblog.blogspot.com...


Name calling of, and even opposition to, a reporter’s assigned coverage or “beat” may not be indicia in and of themselves of ethical violations. But, James Tarranto of the Wall Street Journal observes that:

“One quote from the Caller piece, however, went too far even for an opinion journalist:
After Scott Brown won the Massachusetts Senate seat, threatening to kill the health care legislation by his presence, Weigel stressed how important it was for reporters to highlight what a terrible candidate his opponent Martha Coakley had been.
"I think pointing out Coakley's awfulness is vital, because it's 1) true and 2) unreasonable panic about it is doing more damage to the Democrats,"

Weigel wrote.
Remember, Weigel's supposedly off-the-record audience consisted of hundreds of journalists, both left-wing and purportedly objective. What it appears he was doing was not merely expressing an opinion but engaging in partisan politics--i.e., advising other journalists on how they should tailor their coverage so as to avoid "doing more damage to the Democrats."
We surmise that this was not an isolated occurrence--that a lot of the discussion on Journolist consisted of this sort of blatantly partisan strategizing.”

online.wsj.com...
Thus exposed as a fraud pretending to be objective, and presented by WaPo as a neutral reporter on conservatism, while surreptitiously doing his best to push an opposing viewpoint, you know that the MSM will “do the right thing.” Right?
As of this week, Weigel works for Keith Olbermann at MSNBC.
Dave Weigel joins MSNBC

Additional Sources:

www.politico.com...

www.vanityfair.com...

americanpowerblog.blogspot.com...

Related ATS threads:
The Collusion of Media

www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread582274/pg1

www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread571461/pg1

Deny ignorance

jw

EXCELLENT Thread!!

To think that Weigel now works for Olbermann?? WOW! I'm sure he'll be very comfortable where he belongs as Olbermann's new lap kitty.

There is certainly a plethora of evidence to support the claim of a progressive/liberal bias in the MSM outlets. Sadly, people still launch the attacks against ONE single network that is far more balanced and in check than any other network.

Any wonder why these goons all get together and read the Daily Talking Points Memos together and study their Media Matters marching orders for the day. Not to mention the orders and talking points issued on Obama's own official web sites.

The simple fact that Obama actually insisted that people should read Huffington Post is alarming and a tad ironic.

"If you’re a fan of Glenn Beck or Rush Limbaugh, try reading a few columns on the Huffington Post website."

"If we choose only to expose ourselves to opinions and viewpoints that are in line with our own, studies suggest that we will become more polarized, more set in our ways," So said Obama at the University of Michigan 2010 Commencement. Perhaps he should take his own advice!!

Why then did Obama boycott Fox News during his campaign? Why has he played hardball with them since his election? Why does his staff of lemmings ie. Press Sec. Gibbs et al. continue in their constant efforts to slam Fox and Conservative Talk Radio? Silence the opposition is only fare game for the Progressvies as directed by Alinsky.

They feel threatened by true conservatives and libertarians because these are the last two groups that stand in the way of the proven agenda to permanently reshape this nation.

Mind Numbing!!!

[edit on 1-7-2010 by jibeho]

[edit on 1-7-2010 by jibeho]

reply to post by jibeho

There is certainly a plethora of evidence to support the claim of a progressive/liberal bias in the MSM outlets. Sadly, people still launch the attacks against ONE single network that is far more balanced and in check than any other network.

Weigel's far-left mindset was evident in his work for the Independent, and apparently in things he did during his stint at Reason Magazine.

Surely the Washington Post knew of his proclivities when they posted him to the "Right Now" column/coverage, and I'm equally certain that he did not disguise his feelings for the editors.

Even so, WaPo assigns him to "report" on American conservatives, the Tea Party activists and the Republican Party. All as he's actively advocating for a more liberal push in his colleagues' reporting and coverage!

Pure hypocrisy and as unethical as the worst Wall Street parasites.

As one of the various commenters noted, if a corporation did what the Post did: pretend to support one position in public while pushing hard the other way in the Boardroom, there'd be front page scandalizing for weeks and heads would roll from the top on down.

Here, we see him resign, get "promoted" to MSNBC, as WaPo goes on pretending nothing happened and its brethren look the other way!

Regardless of how a reporter, blogger or commenter positions themselves publicly, you should ALWAYS "check your sources," and see what's going on when no one is looking.

jw

Well done jdub297. This is very well put together! It's great to see some people still on ATS still holding onto detail oriented and thorough threads. Kudos.

It's becoming more difficult to find a social structure that isn't undergoing a massive re-evaluation by it's members. This would generally be a good thing, as it would separate the liars, cheaters and thieves of each industry, organization or ideology. However, there is something that still doesn't feel right about any of this. The globalists are separating themselves from the herd due to their blatant openness and unforgiving drive of their intents, which is good. But at the same time, they are grabbing onto any notable 'expert' in any particular field, corrupting, blackmailing and ultimately 7-deadly sinning them into compliance with their directives. So the feeling that I'm generally having in regards to this - is that the world has become a stage in which we are currently watching all 'experts' fight and combat their own personal moral standards (if any) in the face of temptation and fear of their own personal safety and security. These types of events only showcase this struggle and bring it into the forefront, which is both terrifying and comforting to see.

reply to post by patmac

So the feeling that I'm generally having in regards to this - is that the world has become a stage in which we are currently watching all 'experts' fight and combat their own personal moral standards (if any) in the face of temptation and fear of their own personal safety and security.

Thanks for the support. It's a sad state of affairs ( and I believe a reflection of what you've observed in the quote above ) when the most popular threads here are about "Moon Landing Hoaxes" and "What's that bright light in the sky? Must be Nibiru."

As for your statement, I am convinced we're witnessing the modern equivalent of the fall of Rome.

When I was growing up, everyone wanted to get ahead, be successful and have a comfortable life. The generations before me, and I hope mine as well, were able to do this with varying levels of whatever they called "success" without sacrificing the rules and social structures within which they accomplished it.

What I've seen, at every level, is the loss of moral strength and even a cheapening or ridicule of the concept of a "moral compass." I believe it is the result of the hyperbolic expansion of a consumer, as opposed to producer, society. Modern productivity and communication have increased personal wealth, and the opportunity for greater wealth, by several magnitudes over what they had been just a generation earlier.

"I want mine, I want it now, and then I want some more," seems to be the code guiding modern behavior at every level, personal and professional. But without the foundational structures to make it ethically possible.

I think successful cultures can cope with vast wealth and wealth opportunity. I don't think they can if the next generation does not get proper guidance by training and example in the home, or in the absence of a sound, strict and rigorous educational system. These are where our moral compasses are molded and fine-tuned.

I think we've sold our collective souls, abandoning responsibilities to our children, families and each other.

When the 4th Estate, the free press, abandons its own fundamental ethical standard of non-partisan objectivity, it is a reflection of the people who inhabit it, and of us all.

jw