Why God Invented C-SPAN

My new hero. Seriously, where the hell was this guy six years ago? (probably in congress, but at least an actual sense of priorities is nice. better late than never.)

The chamber may have been empty, but it seems he wasn’t directing this at his colleagues there, but rather at members of the press.

Hmmm…. Candy Crowley seems to have decided to prove PK’s point:

CROWLEY: I think think it is one that — what he is arguing — is that it is one of perspective and [he] obviously believes that Massa’s been given too much attention where the war in Afghanistan is not. You know, we could argue one way or the other, but it is very clear that he –the Democrats in particular and certainly Congressman Kennedy in specific would like the Massa story to go away.

CNN’s newest Sunday show host would rather sniff crotch than talk about war (why is it that the retiring Congressman Kennedy “in specific” [sic] would like it to go away? Is she trying to imply something?). I’m sure she’ll have Newt Gingrich and The Man Who Picked Palin on to give us their Very Serious Thoughts on Massa (and yes, I laughed at Tickle-Me-Massa, even though I think it’s Tickle-U-Massa).

Does he have a drinking problem?

Kennedy’s comments are sickeningly true.

The quote above attributed to Crowley, “You know, we could argue one way or the other…” exemplifies CNN’s entire outlook, as well as that of most of the rest of what passes now for TV news.

It’s tragic how rotten TV news coverage has become.

You are so right Jim. This holier than thou attitude the MSM has is dowright insulting. No one outside Massa’s district had ever heard of him or his tickle and shower fight fetishes, but the media decided that it was their duty to inform us,the mass, of his behavior. So rather than reporting that over 930 servicemen have died in Afghanistan or spending more than 30 sec on the somewhat successful Iraqi elections we get the Tickle U Massa Expose’. Pathetic. I wish we could vote out of media.

this felt so true. the fact that he’s retiring gives it that much more credence. congressman, im proud of you and wish you were mine

“And, remember, the chamber was mostly empty at the time of this speech.”
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Is this not almost always the case? l mean the only time they really and truly ever gather is for photos ops.

He feels that this episode is robbing newspaper inches and front-page real estate from the coverage our brave colleagues are producing out of Afghanistan.
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Yes, who the hell does he think he is, demanding that the media stop its mindless, disgusting, bobble-headed fascination with sexy scandals and focus on substantive issues that truly impact the lives of all Americans?
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How dare he!

I owe myself 5 dollars. I bet myself Scherer would be the one to have the giggly post on this.
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Not shocked that Candy shares JNS’s attitude.
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Once again-any contempt some of us feel about the media is dwarfed by the contempt they have for their consumers.

In the (near) future, all American reporting will be reduced to this phrase:
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You know, we could argue one way or the other

Watching Countdown tonight just emphasized the truth of Kennedy’s rant. An unbelievably huge amount of idiotic time spent on Massa. Pathetic.

He talks for 3:30 about Afghanistan and :30 about the press, including a 5-second reference to Massa.

Also: Remember, the Democrats need to “stay tough” on Afghanistan. Otherwise, the “optics” would be all wrong. Not that the media would ever help push the meme that Democrats are weak on national security.

Holy sh*t!

I’m sure if tickles and gigles were there..the house would be packed with salivating “journalists” Candy Crowley and her magic board and “experts” pontificating how bad this will hurt the Dems. And they wonder why “old” media is dying.

Once again-any contempt some of us feel about the media is dwarfed by the contempt they have for their consumers.
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As evidenced by one of Jay’s responses in the ‘Bending the Rules’ thread.
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http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2010/03/10/bending-the-rules/#comments

YaYaYa.. who cares, it’s all an act.. and you all believe him? What a bunch of air heads.. He’s a Kennedy.. the only one who likes the camera more is OBAMA

Airheads. Airheads. on this thread? You don’t know what you are talking about. “he’s a Kennedy” What the hell does that mean? I’m nothing like my brothers.

Make that two of Jay’s responses.

I don’t think I’ve seen anyone get under JNS’s skin like that.

I really wasn’t trying to, until that ‘kids’ comment.

I bought my son a 4 DVD set of Edward R Murrow reports for his birthday. One of the DVDs is the “Harvest of Shame”. I remember watching it as a kid and its affect on me. That was decades ago. Can you imagine any tv report having that kind of resonance now? I wanted to share with my son what a real reporter looked like and what his words meant.

I agree. I usually watch Countdown. But, tonight I had to turn it off. It was disgusting. Lawrence O’Donnell was salivating and making as many homophobe jokes as he could. He really disappointed me. I look forward to Keith returning.

icky your nom de plume is so apt.

I’ve disliked JNS’s reporting for quite a while now, so I was gratified to see someone get that reaction out of her.

apr, one of my fave movies is “Network.” It’s still amazing how prescient that movie was in 1976 when it predicted the fast-paced, trivialization / faux reality TV vs. the “old school” news. Cronkite was still doing the news then …and his daughter was in the movie!

de: I agree. Paddy Chayefsky was such a brilliant writer. He certainly forecast the future. I play the DVD once in a while. It is funny and depressing.
I didn’t know Cronkite’s daughter was in it.
Another good movie, not as classic as Network, is Broadcast News. It captures the shallowness of t.v. news.

PK pwned the press.
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And, remember, the chamber was mostly empty at the time of this speech.
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Yes, that is the reason that it is Massa 24/7. Because the House Chamber is full when they are discussing Massa.

BTW, in case anyone cares, I would argue that TV “journalism” has always sucked. Neil Postman made a compelling argument that nature of TV, as a medium, prevents issues from being discussed intelligently and that we might be better off not bothering.

The problem with journalism today is that the print media and the internet has followed TV’s lead down into the sewer.

Cable news violates 10 journalistic ethical codes every 60 seconds. When was the last time you saw an established print journalist criticize TV news coverage with any substance? Have you ever seen a print journalist question whether TV news — and cable in particular — should even be considered journalism?

Cliff: near future?

apr2563 – Countdown Devotes 60% Of Show To Massa, Snorkeling And Homophobic Jokes (video) http://www.mediaite.com/eomji CH

to get the news you have to read several foreign newspapers and listen to foreign TV and Radio