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Opinion
Capital Gazette Communications
Published
09/03/10
Last Saturday, Fox commentator Glenn Beck organized a rally on the National Mall in Washington. D.C. Simultaneously, the Rev. Al Sharpton held a nearby march to commemorate the anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I have a dream" speech. Find Us On Facebook
Much has been said about the motives behind these events, but that's not the topic of this column. What I found disappointing was the degree to which journalistic integrity was once again thrown aside, and media bias seeped through what some media outlets present as "news." First, it's important to remember the distinction between opinion and news....
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Reynold - 2010-09-14 08:45:04
A simple, one word answer: money.
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right wing media - 2010-09-10 21:42:50
What forces have converged that allow the left-wing media to dominate the market and command the People's attention ?
What is forcing the right wing media into a less successful position, and the less popular form of media ?
Is the left-wing media and The Media one in the same ?
Are there any good sources of facts, or is that in relation to which portion of the l idelogical spectrum one lives in ?
If this is a problem, is one side blind to it ?
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Sal, here's the debt situation - 2010-09-10 21:01:25
"In the first 19 months of the Obama administration, the federal debt held by the public increased by $2.5260 trillion, which is more than the cumulative total of the national debt held by the public that was amassed by all U.S. presidents from George Washington through Ronald Reagan.
In just the last four months (May through August), according to the CBO, the Obama administration has run cumulative deficits of $464 billion, more than the $458 billion deficit the Bush administration ran through the entirety of fiscal 2008.
CBO currently estimates that the deficit for 2010 will be about $70 billion below last years total but will still exceed $1.3 trillion, said the CBOs monthly budget review for September, which was released yesterday. Relative to the size of the economy, this years deficit is expected to be the second-largest shortfall in the past 65 years: At 9.1 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), that deficit will be exceeded only by last years deficit of 9.9 percent of GDP.
http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/72404
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I was there. - 2010-09-10 20:57:50
Then I saw the aftermath on ABC, CBS, and PMS-NBC.
The author is correct. Leftist media bias is alive and well in the U.S. though the minsteam media will deny it until the cows come home.
And your Annapolis paper is right up there with the other Obama lapdogs.
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Comment removed by HometownAnnapolis staff. - 2010-09-10 18:45:10
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Bob-- not credible - 2010-09-10 18:30:15
In one ear of the other.
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Dr. King - 2010-09-10 18:05:37
So, Dr. Alveda King, MLK's niece was part of a clown show? Nice talk - if you are able to hear or read a copy of her speech, it was as moving as her Uncles's speech decades earlier. My bet is that most of those spewing remarks regarding Beck and the attendees have probably never watched his show or truly listed to him. Beck aside, it was an incredible crowd that was present - interesting to note that despite the shear number of people present, there was very, very little cleanup that was needed after the event. It was a wonderful group of people and those who were not there or did not listen nor watch, really have no right to comment on the event.
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Interesting - 2010-09-10 15:26:55
Well, in pointing out that there's plenty of gullibility to go around, it sure riled some readers. Reynold Caven even went so far as to play the race card, thus illustrating his own inability to debate the issue.
A couple of points. First, I'm not a news reporter. What I write is opinion, which by definition is slanted. Conversely, the journalists who reported on the Beck rally were supposed to be writing the news; not making commentary. Second, I'd agree that Bush piled up way too much debt as well. But, he doesn't hold a candle to spending by the current administration. That's well documented.
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Bob McWilliams - Annapolis, MD - Karma: Bad
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Bob - 2010-09-10 15:02:11
I find the debt argument as used by the right to be incredibly disingenuous. Without endorsing it, I'd like to point out the President Obama's health care plan costs 1 trillion dollars over ten years. President Bush's wars in Afghanistan and Iraq has cost 1.1 trillion dollars over the past nine years. So without even extrapolating, Bush would seem to be leading the debt race.
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Hypocrite - 2010-09-10 14:04:44
Bob,
Your response below is as slanted as the journalists you are railing against. It is horribly disappointing and it completely usurps your credibility with respect to the article itself.
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what a joke - 2010-09-10 13:58:12
Amazing what some will do to get their point across. They seen so filled with hate. I guess this karma thing is something to go by. Beck does'nt care about anyone but the green. Palin left her governorship to chase the green. They don't care about you or the looney tune tea party. Wonder what they will do saturday. They see GREEN Bob.
Hey Bob thanks for finally writing what your article was really about.
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Comment removed by HometownAnnapolis staff. - 2010-09-10 13:07:54
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John T. - 2010-09-10 11:52:17
How gullible do you characterize the vote of people who embraced "Hope and Change", only to see some of the most partisan politics in DC ever, as the so called "stimulus" package and Health Care was rammed through the Congress using techniques that make a mockery of representative government.
And, how gullible do you characterize people who voted a President who has racked up more debt than all the Presidents that went before him, all the while he campaigned on reducing the debt.
And, how gullible do you characterize people who heard Senator Obama deride the surge in Iraq, while he now takes a bow for ending that war, because of the successful surge.
And, how gullible do you characterize people heard Obama rail against miniscule cuts in Medicare, only to see him as President cut a whopping $500 billion out of that program.
The list goes on and on.
Beck isn't running for anything, nor was he elected and subsequently responsible to perform as presented. All he did was ask for the nation to embrace hope and change; that's a bit different from politicians who make the egotistical, hollow promise that, if elected, they can somehow be the source of such change.
Obama, Reid, Pelosi, Dodd and Frank have much to account for in their reliance on the gullibility of "former" supporters.
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clown show - 2010-09-10 11:13:12
A large crowd at a Beck rally proves one thing -- that we are gullible people with short memories.
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Inclusiveness - 2010-09-10 09:10:45
Beck's clown show surprisingly embraced diversity. NOT!!! The African American singers were paid to perform and the very,very few other non-white attendees were confused. Maybe they thought they Al Sharpton was going to show up.
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Lola, Brandon - 2010-09-09 23:52:30
That was a very smart move on his part. Which is what it was. A 'move'.
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William H - annapolis, md - Karma: Excellent
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All were included - 2010-09-09 19:36:13
Glenn Beck included all religions and races in his rally - most notably, Martin Luther King, Jr's niece, a pastor who went against her cousins wishes and chose to support this all-inclusive effort. Sharpton, known for playing the race card whenever it gets him airtime, chose to make it all about race and racial division. It was not older white people, but many families, young adults and yes, some middle aged and seniors. Official estimates put the crowd in the range of 300,000. Thank you for your article, Mr. McWilliams - well done.
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I stand corrected - 2010-09-09 09:06:18
William, you're right. I was thinking of another point he commonly makes.
Also, are you sure he was just speaking to oppressed Christians? Because I think he had imams and rabbis up on the stage with him as well.
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Brandon Gates - Annapolis, MD - Karma: Terrible
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Smaller Govt. - 2010-09-09 08:54:50
Brandon, so where was fox news during the Bush years when Government was getting bigger (but I guess corporate entitlement programs are ok), and the administration was walking all over the constitution?
I guess that fair and balanced thingie isn't quit accurate.....If you look at what beck is saying now in relation to 5 years ago it's laughable that he can talk with a straight face.
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Brandon: missing the point again - 2010-09-08 23:48:44
Beck was there to have a parade of 'traditional american values' and to rally in support for all those opressed christians out there who arent allowed to say they believe in christ. He was saying that its ok to be political and believe in god as a guiding force in your political beliefs.
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William H - annapolis, md - Karma: Excellent
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Point is Smaller Government - 2010-09-08 21:03:55
Large government, Barbara, makes dependents and slaves of us all. The entitlement programs are broke, and are being financed by future generations of unborn American taxpayers. Are you okay with that? Is that how short-sighted and selfish you are? Beck is against that. That's his point.
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Brandon Gates - Annapolis, MD - Karma: Terrible
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The Point?? - 2010-09-08 17:54:21
Does anyone know what the point of Beck's "Rally" was? I did try to watch some of it but there was no sense to it. There didn't really seem to be a...reason. FOX is totally laughable sometimes. They say things that are obviously ludicrous,i.e.Obama is not an American. They do everything they can to make him look like the worse person in the world. Which even if you didn't vote for him and dont like his politics he is not the horrible ogre infidel that they make him out to be. MSNBC... ok they like Obama,sometimes they don't. All I know is that right now Fox, and all the other media as well as the senate, etc. should be working with him and not against him to help get our country back on track. Then they can start arguing and fighting again like little kids. Because that is just what they sound like!
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Bias - 2010-09-08 13:40:34
All media is biased. Fox is consertavitive and all the others are liberal. I still have to agree with the jist of this editorial though. There was no reasonable justification to mention the black/white ratio. The bottom line is that statement was rediculous. When you consider the ratio of the US population, the numbers prove to be consistent with the population ratio so that makes it irrevelant. Media bias at its best. And to be fair, yes you'll see the same bias from Fox.
As far as the major networks vs FOX, let's get real. The majority of the major networks are liberal biased. If you don't think this had a huge impact on Obama's campaigne you need to get your cranium checked for leaks. The media is most definately a political tool that is deployed with meticulous calculation.
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The Media "Business" - 2010-09-08 12:12:31
Salvatorre,
Your points are well taken. But, if it's all just business, which it is, then you would think some of the other networks would shift a bit to the right, rather that let Fox continue to exclusively dominate a large and growing demographic. I guess when 88% of the people who work for CBS, ABC, NBC, MSNBC and the New York times were contributors to Democrats during the last election cycle, it makes it more difficult for them to accomodate conservative views. I don't think bias in the media is a conscious effort, it's just the natural reflection of a business, dominated by liberals. And, especially with the last election, their obligation to strip away personal preferences has been largely thrown to the wind.
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Bob McWilliams - Annapolis, MD - Karma: Bad
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Bob - 2010-09-08 11:31:12
Bob, I worked in TV news for eight years and as a media consultant for a few years after that. The mass of my experience was spent studying ratings, which are not particularly tricky once you understand them. First off, FOX News ratings have increased. As one of the youngest news networks, that is normal. But they have the monopoly when it comes to conservative news channels. Ergo, if you are conservative, you will watch FOX News and nothing else. That is called exclusivity. And FOX News has the highest exclusivity in the business. If you are middle-of-the-road, you have a P1, or First Preference. You may watch FOX sometimes, CNN sometimes, etc. If you are liberal, you have your choice of channels. But again, Conservatives have only one real choice to get a conservative slant on their news. And, when talking about ratings, it is not numbers you're looking for, but share. So no one in media looks at the number of viewers so much as share of viewers. And like you said, you add up the other outlets, and FOX does not dominate. They dominate in a head-to-head competition, of course. And it is oversimplifying to say that ratings are decreasing because their product is becoming unpopular. How do you ascertain that? You are making a pretty big assumption. In fact, ALL conventional media, print, TV, newspaper, etc., without exception, has taken a rapid downturn in the past four years. Especially in the under-50 demographics. BUT the over-50 demo is overwhelmingly conservative. As you age, your views move more towards the right. And THOSE people are sticking with their conservative media outlets...FOX, Rush Limbaugh, etc. making them very successful and profitable. But not unbiased.
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Salvatorre Bagatelli - Annapolis, MD - Karma: Good
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What Media Bias? - 2010-09-08 11:20:24
I don't really understand the charges of media bias as far as reporting on the Beck rally. I watched much of the rally on CSPAN and came away with the same impressions that were reported. The crowd was mostly white, middle aged and older. It looked like a Tea Party gathering. The only diverse elements were the black gospel singers who were probably paid to perform. This rally did not serve to unify anyone except nationalistic, right-wing white people. There have been far larger gatherings at the mall. The organizers claimed that 500K people showed up. I looked at the crowd from a number of vantage points on CSPAN. At most the crowd numbered maybe 100,000, maybe a little more. Another rally, sponsored by the NAACP and AFL-CIO, is scheduled for Oct. 2 on the national mall. It will be much larger and far more diverse than the Beck clown show
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Stephen Martin - Crofton, MD - Karma: Good
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News Ratings - 2010-09-08 09:27:57
Salvatorre:
Have you seen the ratings for ABC, NBC, CBS, MSNBC or CNN lately. It would indicate that their product is increasingly unpopular. Conversely, Fox News has shown consistent rating increases. As for media bias, they all have their slant, and to a large extent it's defined by where they see the center. Unfortunately, many in the media spend most of their time in NYC and LA, which, along with a group think mentality, distorts their perception of what constitutes "the center" for the entire nation.
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Pat - 2010-09-08 08:29:26
Thank you for clarifying your statement "Obama won because folks wanted to be part of electing the first black president". I would hope we would vote for the person we thought would be the best choice for the job.
I have said Black and African American before, it doesn't matter to me. African American is what I happened to type.
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Brandon II - 2010-09-07 22:17:22
Also, your assertion that the "liberal media" were "pushing their perverted view on an unhappy populace" is not quite correct. If the populace was indeed unhappy, the news media would have changed their presentation because, as you point out, they are in business to make money. If there is no market to buy a product, they go out of business. What you probably meant was "an unhappy PORTION" of the populace. Because in 1996, when FOX News was founded by Roger Ailes, a media consultant for Republican presidents Nixon, Reagan, and Bush the Elder, the Baby Boomers were starting to turn 50. And, as they aged, they became more conservative. Ailes, being no idiot, realized that there was a market for 81 million Americans. Water finds its own level. People gravitate towards media that emulate their core beliefs. And no one believes that their medium of choice is biased. But it is.
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Salvatorre Bagatelli - Annapolis, MD - Karma: Good
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Brandon - 2010-09-07 22:07:18
Again, I'm not defending your so-called "liberal" media. You are making a lazy argument, defending bad behavior by citing other bad behavior. Frankly, there is a massive percentage of this country that would disagree with your assertion that FOX is unbiased. You think that they are unbiased because you agree with their slant. Liberals feel that MSNBC is unbiased because it correlates with what they believe. You can enjoy FOX's reporting, but it doesn't mean they aren't biased. They most certainly are. Just as MSNBC is.
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Salvatorre Bagatelli - Annapolis, MD - Karma: Good
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Naive - 2010-09-07 21:42:45
Salvatorre, all media outlets are businesses, and the liberal media has made a lot of money over the years pushing their perverted view on an unhappy populace. Fox News is probably the most unbiased reporting out there. Have you seen the new cover of Time, BTW? Does it leave any doubt as to its bias?
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Brandon Gates - Annapolis, MD - Karma: Terrible
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Bob - 2010-09-07 20:45:42
That is a good point, but are all media one or the other? If 1 is liberal and 10 conservative, with MSNBC being 1 and FOX being 10, wouldn't most of the others fall on one side or the other of the median? New York Times vs The Wall Street Journal, etc? Bob, my problem with FOX is that most viewers forget that it is a business and it has a niche. Rather than admit that FOX interprets the news stories in a way that reconciles with their personal beliefs, most viewers cling to the "Fair and Balanced" mission, when in fact, it's not. It that was true, both libs and conservatives would alternate between agreeing and disagreeing with FOX's views. NOTE: I am NOT defending other media! They have their prisms as well. But I find Rupert Murdoch to be a latter-day William Randolph Hearst. Hearst created cleared the field for the Spanish-American War, just as the invasion of Iraq is "Rupert's War." Again, not defending other media, but I wish that the aficionados of FOX would at least admit to bias on part of their reporting. If one would argue that it is necessary to counter the liberal bias of other media, I would at least give you credit for honesty. But Bob, as someone who understands the basic tenets of journalism, you cannot read the headlines on FOX's Web site and tell me with a straight face that they are strangers to sensationalism and that their journalism isn't slightly yellow.
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Salvatorre Bagatelli - Annapolis, MD - Karma: Good
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Anthony - 2010-09-07 17:47:19
I never said that 53% of Americans voted for him just because he was black, some did, some thought her was good on TV, some believed that he really maent he was different, they got caught up in the frenzy. I said in an earlier post it was this generations Woodstock, they wanted to be part of it. And I did not say African American I said black, my god how PC are we gonna get, when I was a teenager it was African American, then you could say black, it this like clothing that it comes back in style 30 years later. I have tons of black friends and they tell me black is OK.
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Pat Magnum - Arnold, MD - Karma: Bad
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Salvatorre - 2010-09-07 16:15:58
Fox News clearly dominates "cable" news, but to say it dominates the news media in general is simply inaccurate. The combined left leaning slant of CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN, MSNBC, NPR, AP, Reuters, Time, Newsweek, The New York Times and most other major metropolitan newspapers collectively hold a significantly larger audience than Fox.
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Bob McWilliams - Annapolis, MD - Karma: Bad
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Pat - 2010-09-07 15:35:06
If FOX "clearly dominates the news channel wars" (which they do), doesn't that make them mainstream media? Yet they continually rail against mainstream media. They seem to want it both ways.
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Salvatorre Bagatelli - Annapolis, MD - Karma: Good
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Anthony - 2010-09-07 13:44:26
I don't believe Pat said 53% of Americans voted for Obama, because he is African American. In fact, I don't think anyone who's out of a job cares what color the President is. It's pretty clear that Obama's severe decline in the polls is directly related to the failure of his policies.
Conversely, for NPR, AP and MSNBC to identify the Beck rally as a "mostly white crowd", was undoubtedly meant to imply racism. The so called "journalists" who authored that bit of so called "news" should clearly be fired for this obvious attempt to disparage those who may disagree with them politically as a bunch of racists.
Can you imagine the firestorm that would erupt, if the same news story said that a "mostly black crowd" came to hear the "liberal" speaker Al Sharpton. The ACLU would immediately mobilize an army of lawyers, demanding that those journalists be summarily dismissed.
This double standard by the press and preoccupation with skin color must come to a stop. It makes a mockery of hard news.
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Bob McWilliams - Annapolis, MD - Karma: Bad
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Media - 2010-09-07 13:39:08
Another aspect of the media Mr McWilliams failed to mention was political talk shows, specifically radio. Radio talk shows are overwhelmingly conservative right now. With the exception of NPR, progressive radio talk shows are next to impossible to find. In fact I am very confident that for every progressive radio talk show host one can name I could name at least five conservative radio talk show hosts. Further, when this was finished I would still have conservative talk show hosts to rattle off but the progressive ones will have dried up. I'm not denying that their aren't progressive leaning organizations (MSNBC) but this also isn't 1980 either. The media is not one massive progressive propoganda machine as some like to insinuate for political purposes.
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Michael Thompson - Crofton, MD - Karma: Excellent
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Pat - 2010-09-07 11:44:17
Show me where its says 53% percent of your fellow americans voted for President Obama because he is African American.
I'll wait.
Note: Still waiting for proof from the previous absurb statement you made.
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Anthony Forrest - crownsville, MD - Karma: Excellent
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Said it - 2010-09-07 08:53:18
before and will say it again. Obama won because folks wanted to be part of electing the first black president. Now that reality has set in and it has become apparent that he is woefully out of his depth, the tide has turned. The folks are rallying they not afraid to show their disdain for his policies. The DEMS thought we have 8 years to run amok with their vision. We have a president everybody loves, the love is gone. The liberal media is flopping like a fish in a boat, Fox News clearly dominates the news channel wars. Everyday Fox news dominates, no wonder Beck could pull whatever size crowd it was. And the fact is, mid term elections are for the real voters these voters are following and paying attention to local and national issues. I think the presidential election people get caught up in the glitz, the speakers, the crowds cheering, it's like a Hollywood awards show. Let's face it the liberal media hates this, they know that Matthews, Olberman, Maddow, all together couldn't get a crowd together of the size Glen Beck pulled off. Love him hate him or anything in between, the bottom line is the guy was a morning DJ with a mediocre career and re-invented himself, I for one can't stand to watch or listen to him, but I won't take his accomplishment away. He has become Howard Beale, he has mangaged to get people to open their windows and shout, I am mad as hell and not going to take it anymore!!
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Pat Magnum - Arnold, MD - Karma: Bad
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June - 2010-09-06 20:02:25
*wink* Smart chicks are hot. Needless to say I agree with your comment. Maybe not the last sentence.
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William H - annapolis, md - Karma: Excellent
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A Jones - 2010-09-03 21:04:12
Took me a while to recover from your rapier-like wit! Well done, sir! But spend some of the energy that you reserve for developing devastating zingers and go back and reread some of my Glenn Beck posts. I don't dislike the man. But on the other hand, I can't let Mr. McWilliams and Rick blow by with the same hackneyed liberal-media bias thing. It is lazy. I actually agree with Mr. McWilliams about many points about the coverage, especially regarding the mention and then lack of mention of race. Inexcusable. But a couple of things. First off, AirPhotosLive has been doing this for a while and are very respected in the field. Look them up. And I don't even care how many people were there. It's the kneejerk reaction "the liberal media undercounted." That is presented as if it were fact. How do Rick and Mr. McWilliams know this? In fact, Mr. McWilliams says "Nearly all other estimates were closer to 500,000." The only organization that I heard with that estimate was FOX News. "Nearly all others?" Really? And that brings me to FOX News. Whereas, Mr. McWillams may be right somewhat as to the political leanings of these organizations, FOX News is conspicuously absent from his list of criticism. "media bias seeped through what some media outlets present as 'news.'" Does he REALLY believe that FOX News is above this failing? After all this is the organization that invented the term "homicide bomber" because they wanted to convey a certain image, never mind that it doesn't even make sense. So I find Bob's line of criticism disingenuous. And lest you take the lazy way out calling me a progressive or liberal, let me throw out there that I thought that the Vanity Fair article on Sarah Palin was a total hatchet job and an embarrassment to journalism.
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Salvatorre Bagatelli - Annapolis, MD - Karma: Good
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Do the Math - 2010-09-03 19:48:27
look at aerial shots of the crowds at the rally.
The reflecting pool is 2000 feet long, the area along the sides are about 500 feet wide each (2000x1000). How many people can you fit in 2 million square feet? A lot more than 80,000. More accurate estimates put it between 300K and 500K.
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John Taylor - Millersville, MD - Karma: Neutral
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June Halloran /Salvatorre Bagatelli - 2010-09-03 18:19:26
The newspapers are no better then the news station on our TV's. A good book and a glass of wine would be a much better idea.
Salvatorre Bagatelli. You really do dislike Glen Beck or is it you are a Beck closet follower? Just asking!! Who cares how many people were there. I really don't care but boy there are some on this site that will argue and fight about this until they turn blue in the face. Let it go. He is not running for office so try to relax a bit before you have a stroke.
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A Jones - Not naptown but Annapolis, md - Karma: Good
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Rick - 2010-09-03 15:51:06
How do you know the "liberal media" underestimated the crowd size for Beck? How do you know they overestimated the crowd size for Sharpton? I'm assuming that you are conservative, so you will not accept any number less than what you want it to be. Maybe they did underestimate it, but you have no way of knowing that for a fact.
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Salvatorre Bagatelli - Annapolis, MD - Karma: Good
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Inaccurate? - 2010-09-03 15:00:34
"Conservative commentator Glenn Beck and tea party champion Sarah Palin appealed Saturday to a vast, predominantly white crowd on the National Mall". 'describe the Beck crowd as "tens of thousands of conservatives." These statements are...'an assumption derived through bias'?
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harry trampolini - severna park, MD - Karma: Excellent
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Typo - 2010-09-03 14:03:13
Typo should read "typical"
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Rick M - Laurel, Md - Karma: Excellent
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Sal - 2010-09-03 14:02:21
It doesnt surprise me that the liberal media under estimates the crowd size for Beck, and at the same time, they over estimate the Sharpton crowd sizes.
Typo media bias horse hockey..
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Rick M - Laurel, Md - Karma: Excellent
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Size matters - 2010-09-03 13:25:04
So you say "Nearly all other estimates were closer to 500,000." Could you narrow that down a bit? But would you mind citing the other sources of these estimates? AirPhotosLive, whose job it is do calculate the size of these gatherings puts the number at 87,000, with a margin of error of 9,000. The Associated Press estimated the event in the "tens of thousands." FOX News estimated the crowd at 50 billion.
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Salvatorre Bagatelli - Annapolis, MD - Karma: Good
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News??? Media - 2010-09-03 13:14:32
I think if you take the time to look at where the money is coming from, you will know where the news is coming from. Money is running our country now. The democrats and republicans are slaves to "where their money comes from". We no longer have "free thinkers" giving the news. Only "Talking Heads" that read a prompter. And who puts the words on that prompter??? People with the money, that have their own agenda, that they are pushing. That's who. Sorry if I sound a little cynical - but watching our news can make you that way. I think it's time to turn the TV off and start reading newpapers again.
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June Halloran - Owings, MD - Karma: Neutral
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