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Reporting Lies

By TChris, Section Media
Posted on Thu Jun 01, 2006 at 04:01:53 PM EST
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by TChris

Dan Froomkin makes an important point today about the inability of the traditional news media to call a lie "a lie" -- at least when it's spoken by President Bush.

Lying is probably the one word mainstream journalists are the most averse to using when recounting what the president said -- even when they know he's not telling the truth.

Why can't reporters brand a known falsehood as a lie?

It just won't get by the editors.

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    • Reporting Lies | 21 comments (21 topical)
    Re: Reporting Lies (none / 0) (#1)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Thu Jun 01, 2006 at 05:03:07 PM EST
    Perhaps it won't get by the lawyers.

    Re: Reporting Lies (none / 0) (#2)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Thu Jun 01, 2006 at 05:35:54 PM EST
    or like when hillary clinton said she has always been a yankees fan. or when bill said he could remember like it was yesterday that he rode to school every day on a segregated bus.

    Re: Reporting Lies (none / 0) (#3)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Thu Jun 01, 2006 at 05:44:48 PM EST
    Bearing in mind that, in TChris' world, lie is defined as follows: lie Any statement with which TChris disagrees with.

    Re: Reporting Lies (none / 0) (#4)
    by mpower1952 on Thu Jun 01, 2006 at 05:51:36 PM EST
    re: Bill and Hillary- Oh the humanity! The death and destruction which resulted from these statements is mind boggling. re: George Bush- "Bring 'em on." Had enough?

    Re: Reporting Lies (none / 0) (#5)
    by Molly Bloom on Thu Jun 01, 2006 at 06:13:19 PM EST
    One last time, when Bill lied, nobody died. When Bush lied, thousands died. Got the diff yet?

    Re: Reporting Lies (none / 0) (#6)
    by Al on Thu Jun 01, 2006 at 06:31:05 PM EST
    No, JR, this is a lie: "We know where Saddam's weapons of mass destruction are". Here's another lie: "We are not mining or trolling for information. We are only listening in to phone conversations with terrorists". Some of us don't need the media to tell us when someone is lying, just like we don't need a laugh track in a TV show to know when somebody says something funny.

    Re: Reporting Lies (none / 0) (#7)
    by Sailor on Thu Jun 01, 2006 at 06:33:18 PM EST
    Molly, they'll never get the difference. Their twisted pretzel logic will never let them admit bush lied ... over and over. ppj even said he expects the president to lie to us.

    Re: Reporting Lies (none / 0) (#8)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Thu Jun 01, 2006 at 06:59:34 PM EST
    I emailed Froomkin to ask why he was able to use the word "lie" and get it past "the editors." Is the inability to use the word a reflection of the reporter's timorousness, or is it having different editors, or what?

    Re: Reporting Lies (none / 0) (#10)
    by Ernesto Del Mundo on Thu Jun 01, 2006 at 10:17:45 PM EST
    Speaking of pretzels...my fave Bush lie of all time was when he passed out drunk, smacked his head on the floor, and then came up with the story that a pretzel kicked his ass. The last four years...comedy, farce and tragedy, all on a grand scale.

    Re: Reporting Lies (none / 0) (#11)
    by cpinva on Thu Jun 01, 2006 at 11:18:41 PM EST
    oh when the trolls, oh when the trolls, oh when the trolls come marching in!!!!!!!!!!! bmadison & JR want to be in that number! oh when the trolls come marching in!!!!!!!!! come on now, everybody join in! sorry, low hanging fruit.

    Re: Reporting Lies (none / 0) (#12)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Jun 02, 2006 at 12:45:16 AM EST
    my lord, if you read the article it is talking about a silly little pointless lie. something so stupid to lie about there was no point in even lying, I was simply pointing out two completely pointless lies told by bill and hill.
    It's not necessarily a huge deal in itself, but with credibility a paramount issue for the White House these days, it's worth noting that when asked about Treasury Secretary John Snow's future last week, President Bush could easily have ducked the question, or told the truth -- but instead, he chose to lie about it.
    you can believe gwb lied about wmd all you want, but that is not what this article is even about, and if thats what you want to make this about I can also point you to quotes by both bill and hill that say saddam had wmd. I can also show you policy signed by bill that stated regime change is the official policy of the united states. but anyways, none of that matters because this article is not even about that. that is just all you guys ever think about.

    Re: Reporting Lies (none / 0) (#13)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Jun 02, 2006 at 01:01:13 AM EST
    One last time, when Bill lied, nobody died. When Bush lied, thousands died. Got the diff yet?
    Yes. The diff is that Bill was convicted of purjury. Bush was not, but there is still time.

    Re: Reporting Lies (none / 0) (#14)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Jun 02, 2006 at 01:02:35 AM EST
    perjury rather.

    Re: Reporting Lies (none / 0) (#15)
    by Ernesto Del Mundo on Fri Jun 02, 2006 at 01:04:47 AM EST
    factoid 1: Bill didn't invade Iraq based on his lies. He just lobbed some missiles, to get the attention off his lying about a BJ. I was no fan of the guy but at least he wasn't as stupid and violent as the current pathological liar. factoid 2: Bill's lies in no way justify the lies of the current pathological liar or excuse the dumbass move of invading Iraq. So I'm not sure why you even brought it up, except for the kneejerk "Cinton did it, too" response that you've trained yourself to bark in defense of the current pathological liar.

    Re: Reporting Lies (none / 0) (#16)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Jun 02, 2006 at 03:29:58 AM EST
    Dogs are loyal. That's why they bark. Doesn't mean they are smart.

    Re: Reporting Lies (none / 0) (#17)
    by john horse on Fri Jun 02, 2006 at 04:04:07 AM EST
    Not only do journalists not call politicians on their lies but some engage in lying themselves. For example, take Bill O'Reilly's recent statement that the American soldiers massacred German POWs during WWII in the town of Malmedy. Actually, it was the other way around, with Nazi soldiers murdering American POWs. For those interested, here is the documentation. Its enough to make you open your window and yell out "I'm mad as hell and I can't take it anymore" (quote from the movie Network).

    Re: Reporting Lies (none / 0) (#18)
    by aw on Fri Jun 02, 2006 at 05:45:43 AM EST
    The diff is that Bill was convicted of purjury
    In what court was he convicted of perjury?

    Re: Reporting Lies (none / 0) (#19)
    by Sailor on Fri Jun 02, 2006 at 06:43:49 AM EST
    Sailor's Law in effect; the quicker they say 'but clinton did it' the more desperate the wrongwingers are.

    Re: Reporting Lies (none / 0) (#20)
    by cpinva on Fri Jun 02, 2006 at 12:39:42 PM EST
    john horse, bill o'reilly, by his own admission, is not a journalist. never has been one. he is a radio talk show host/entertainer. by that standard, nothing he says should be taken at face value, it's all entertainment. same goes for rush, sean, anne, et al. they are all entertainers, not journalists. oh, jon stewart isn't a journalist either, but oddly enough, there seems to be more truth on his fake news show, than on all those aforementioned shows/commentators, put together.

    Re: Reporting Lies (none / 0) (#21)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Jun 02, 2006 at 01:15:03 PM EST
    "Now, by the way, any time you hear the United States government talking about wiretap, it requires -- a wiretap requires a court order. Nothing has changed, by the way. When we're talking about chasing down terrorists, we're talking about getting a court order before we do so. It's important for our fellow citizens to understand, when you think Patriot Act, constitutional guarantees are in place when it comes to doing what is necessary to protect our homeland, because we value the Constitution." Such a good Christian man...

    Re: Reporting Lies (none / 0) (#22)
    by john horse on Fri Jun 02, 2006 at 02:35:09 PM EST
    cpinva Yes, nothing o'reilly, rush, etc. say should be taken at face value. For that matter nothing that Bush says should be taken at face value either. The problem is that there are many people who do take what they say at face value, in part because few journalists have the guts to call them on their lies. I agree that this can be seen as entertainment up to a point. That point is when their lies lead to over 2400 American deaths and billions wasted.

    Reporting Lies | 21 comments (21 topical)