MEDIA CRITICISM / MEDIA TURDS & CORPORATE SHILLS DEPT.
POLL OF THE DAY:
When did Bob Schieffer become a full-fledged suckup? (Scumbag is the true word but we’re being polite.)
TURD EVALUATED: BOB SCHIEFFER, Host, Face the Nation, CBS Network (USA)
• Sociology Snapshot: Like his former colleague Dan Rather, Texan, small-town, conformist background.
• About his Platform: Face the Nation is an American Sunday morning political interview show on the CBS television network. Created in 1954, it is one of the longest-running news programs in the history of television. The show has been moderated by Bob Schieffer since 1991. Charlie Rose acts frequently as co-host.
THE POLL
EVIDENCE:
Special Skills: Throwing softballs at the powerful; setting up the platform for pseudo interviews and propaganda statements; stuffing opinion panels with people representing right wing & establishment views; consistently blocking articulate voices from the real left; master at pseudo balance; smooth asskisser; expert at playing dumb when injecting leading questions; willing tool of the Zionists lobby.
FREQUENT & NOTABLE PANELISTS
Almost always establishment figures, from politicians to spin doctors to high ranking military. All obfuscatory pestilences welcome.
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John McCain, Lindsey Graham, Hillary Clinton, David Gergen, Peggy Noonan, Thomas L Friedman, Gwen Ifill, Bill Kristol, Bill Keller, Eric Schmitt, Dee Dee Myers, Benjamin Netanyahu, and many other worthies.
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NOTABLE EXAMPLE OF PSEUDO BALANCE
On 7.27.14 with the latest Israeli assault on Gaza still raging on, FTN inserted a segment in which establishment courtier Charlie Rose, renowned for his smooth technique, interviewed the Hamas’ leader Khaled Meshaal in Doha (his place of exile). The same show had Benjamin Netayanhu articulately expressing his point of view. As it normally happens with these interviews, the upshot was a disaster for the Palestinian side. While the Israelis have any number of accomplished and savvy communicators, including the abominable Netanyahu himself, all fluent in English and highly attuned to the way propaganda is played to American ears, people like Meshaal seem like fish out of water, pitiably clueless, rigid, and clumsy. A turnoff for the mainstream audience. Even though his side was clearly the victim in this latest “war” between Israel and Hamas, and that despite heavy pro-Israel propaganda the Palestinian side has been gaining popularity, he may have ended hurting his cause due to his sheer ineptitude as a communicator. This was like a crude 7th century righteous chieftain battling the wiles of devious 21st century p.r. practitioners and advanced spin doctors. (See also Mediaite: Charlie Rose Battles Hamas Leader over Whether He’ll Recognize Israel.)
Note to Hamas: Boys, level the playing field. Get some PR experts to help you translate your points successfully to international publics! This is not the 7th century and perception almost always trumps truth. Just about everyone with half a brain knows that these days. The American elites and their allies are the world’s experts at it. The central propaganda meme, endlessly repeated by Israeli and Western politicians to justify their agenda is this:
Hamas has little interest in peace, and like other militant groups such as Hezbollah, it will only be content with the absolute destruction of the Israeli nation.
Another, of more recent coinage is:
Hamas uses children and civilians as human shields.
It’s ugly and it’s a lie, but it sells. For one thing Israel is full of fanatics, too, and its military, as seen by the casualty figures, cares little about human life. So such charges are answerable. Learn to deal with it.
APPENDIX
Official Bob Schieffer resume below (excerpt).
The extravagant accolades and honors received by Schieffer over the years are eloquent commentary on the pathetic state of American journalism, and conclusive proof that being a mediocrity does not rule out success when obliging the powers that be.
[Excerpt]
At a time when most people are at least a decade into retirement, Bob Schieffer is just getting started.
In 2013, “Face the Nation” was the highest rated Sunday talk show for the second consecutive year and the broadcast attracted 4.57 million viewers for its show covering the 50th anniversary of JFK’s assassination, the highest ratings since 9/11.
But that’s not all. In 2013 Schieffer:
· Received the National Association of Broadcasters highest award.
· Was inducted into the National Academy of Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame along with CBS Chairman and CEO Leslie Moonves, actor Ron Howard, sportscaster Al Michaels and writer/producer Dick Wolf.
· Received the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence the highest award given by the Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University.
Along with Senators Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) and Saxby Chambliss (D-GA), he received the Panetta Institute’s prestigious Jefferson-Lincoln Award for public service.
Schieffer, 76, has been a reporter for more than half a century and 2014 marks his 45thyear at CBS News. Prior to joining CBS in 1969 he was a reporter at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram where he was the first reporter from a Texas newspaper to report from Vietnam.
Schieffer has won virtually every award in broadcast journalism including 7 Emmys, the overseas Press Club Award, the Paul White Award presented by the TV News Directors Association, the Edward R. Murrow Award given by Murrow’s alma mater Washington State University and in 2008 he was named a living legend by the Library of Congress.
