Submitted by Darren Smith, Guest Blogger
In what became a highly charged row, Time Magazine Reporter Michael Grunwald posted on twitter “I can’t wait to write a defense of the drone strike that takes out Julian Assange.” After a frantic and very pointed response Mr. Grunwald deleted the post and issued an apology which read “It was a dumb tweet. I’m sorry. I deserve the backlash. (Maybe not the anti-Semitic stuff but otherwise I asked for it.”
Time Magazine issued a statement distancing itself from the controversial tweet. “Michael Grunwald posted an offensive tweet from his personal Twitter account that is in no way representative of TIME’s views. He regrets having tweeted it, and he removed it from his feed.”
The fact that a news reporter of a major publication in the United States advocates the extra-judicial assassination of another person who publishes information to the public is certainly disturbing in itself. But, is it also equally as disturbing that it might be an insight into the mindset of some reporters of their mode of being defenders of the U.S. Government’s and the administration’s practices?
One has to question what the role of a news reporter is when they publicly state they cannot wait to defend an action that the President’s Administration has been widely criticized for engaging in for many years. Defending a presidency might be a role for a Whitehouse Spokesperson or a Defense Attorney but how objective can we believe a mass media reporter to be when he, on his own volition, advocates defending those responsible for a future demise of a dissident by tweets such as this? Is this an insight into a culture that might exist in some circles of the news media where defending illegal actions by the government is considered common practice? And one also has to question the direction news outlets might be fostering in the way they might be steering their reporters in how information is presented to the readers.
So what is to become of journalism if its role is simply to be a profession that launches attacks on those who criticize a government’s actions and then rushes to defend this government if it chooses to carry out illegal activities?
the questions that stupidopoulas asked in the above clip were outrageous! What a character…
Reblogged this on euzicasa and commented:
And so it is…Truth comes to the surface
Ozzie,
No one is shocked that a reporter from a MSM fairly conservative outlet like “Time” has fascist leanings. I think the shock comes from his stupidity in saying exactly what the really thinks in a public forum like Twitter. Agree? Of course he doesn’t. The democratization of journalism is a threat to his paycheck and the agenda of those who sign it. Follow the money. It looks a lot like puppet strings.
Hey guys. What happened to the Great Democratization of Journalism? Did you think they were all going to be on your team? And now you lament that this guy doesn’t agree with you? Wha’s up with that?
James K.
I think Sullivan’s mighty mad at Cameron. He’s not too pleased with Obama, either; but Cameron is the subject of that post. And the special irony is that Sullivan is normally a fond follower of the Torys and Edmund Burke. And of course, it doesn’t hurt that this is personal for Sullivan. He knows the guy.
Related: The President appears to have lost Andrew Sullivan:
http://dish.andrewsullivan.com/2013/08/18/cameron-proves-greenwald-right/
It’s getting more odious by the hour.
laserhaas,
About Amy Goodman:
“In 1991, covering the East Timor independence movement, Goodman and fellow journalist Allan Nairn reported that they were badly beaten by Indonesian soldiers after witnessing a mass killing of Timorese demonstrators in what became known as the Santa Cruz Massacre.[8]
“In 1998, Goodman and journalist Jeremy Scahill documented Chevron Corporation’s role in a confrontation between the Nigerian Army and villagers who had seized oil rigs and other equipment belonging to oil corporations. Two villagers were shot and killed during the standoff.[9] On May 28, 1998, the company provided helicopter transport to the Nigerian Navy and Mobile Police (MOPOL) to their Parabe oil platform which had been occupied by villagers who accused the company of contaminating their land. Soon after landing, the Nigerian military shot and killed two of the protesters, Jola Ogungbeje and Aroleka Irowaninu, and wounded 11 others. Chevron spokesperson Sola Omole acknowledged that the company transported the troops, and that use of troops was at the request of Chevron’s management. The documentary, “Drilling and Killing: Chevron and Nigeria’s Oil Dictatorship”, won the George Polk Award in 1998…
“Goodman has received dozens[30] of awards for her work, including the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award[31] and the George Polk Award.[32] In 1999, she declined to accept the Overseas Press Club Award, in protest of the group’s pledge not to ask questions of keynote speaker Ambassador Richard Holbrooke and because the OPC was honoring Indonesia for their improved treatment of journalists despite the fact that its forces had recently beaten and killed reporters in occupied East Timor.[33]
“On October 2, 2004, Goodman was presented the Islamic Community Award for Journalism by the Council on American-Islamic Relations.[34] In 2006 she received the Puffin/Nation Prize for Creative Citizenship.[35]
“On November 18, 2004, Goodman was presented the Thomas Merton Award.[36]
“On October 1, 2008, Goodman was named as a recipient of the 2008 Right Livelihood Award,[37] and often refers to it as the “Alternative Nobel Prize”. The Right Livelihood Award Foundation cited her work in “developing an innovative model of truly independent grassroots political journalism that brings to millions of people the alternative voices that are often excluded by the mainstream media.” The prize was awarded in the Swedish Parliament on December 8, 2008.[38]
“On March 31, 2009, Goodman was the recipient (along with Glenn Greenwald) of the first Izzy Awards for independent media, named after journalist I. F. Stone. The award is presented by Ithaca College’s Park Center for Independent Media.[39]
“In May 2012, Goodman received an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from DePauw University in recognition of her journalistic work[40] and the Gandhi Peace Award for a “significant contribution to the promotion of an enduring international peace”.[41][42]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amy_Goodman
*****
About Jeremy Scahill:
“Scahill became a senior producer and correspondent for Democracy Now! and remains a frequent contributor to the program. Scahill and his Democracy Now! colleague Amy Goodman were co-recipients of the 1998 George Polk Award for their radio documentary “Drilling and Killing: Chevron and Nigeria’s Oil Dictatorship”, which investigated the Chevron Corporation’s role in the killing of two Nigerian environmental activists.[10]
“In 1998, Scahill traveled to Iraq for Democracy Now! and Pacifica Radio, where he reported on the impact of the economic sanctions on Iraq and the “No-Fly Zone” bombings in Northern and Southern Iraq.[11] In 1999, he covered the 78-day NATO bombing of Serbia, reporting live from Belgrade and Kosovo.[12] In 2000, Scahill reported from the Serbian parliament as the government of Slobodan Milosevic was brought down and was outside Milosevic’s home the night the former president was arrested.[13] Between 2001–2003, Scahill reported frequently from Baghdad for Democracy Now! and other media outlets. As the Iraq invasion began, Scahill appeared frequently on Democracy Now!, often co-hosting with Amy Goodman.[14]
“Scahill has reported from Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Yemen, the former Yugoslavia,[15] post-Katrina Louisiana,[16] and elsewhere across the globe. Scahill is a frequent guest on a wide array of programs, appearing regularly on The Rachel Maddow Show,[17] Real Time with Bill Maher,[18] and Democracy Now![19] He has also appeared on ABC World News, CBS Evening News, NBC Nightly News, The Daily Show,[20] CNN, The NewsHour, MSNBC,[21] “Bill Moyers Journal,”[22] and NPR.[23][24][25] In addition, Scahill has written for The Times, the Sunday Telegraph, the BBC, The Indypendent,[26] The Los Angeles Times,[27] Z Magazine,[28] Socialist Worker,[29] International Socialist Review,[30] The Progressive,[31] “In These Times,[32] and The Guardian.[33] In addition, Scahill has posted material to the websites Alternet[34] and CounterPunch.[35]
“He has been a vocal critic of private military contractors, particularly Blackwater Worldwide, which is the subject of his book, Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army.[36] The book received numerous accolades, including the Alternet Best Book of the Year Award, a spot on both the Barnes & Noble and Amazon lists of the Best Nonfiction Books of 2007, and notable mention in the New York Times.[37]
“Scahill’s work has sparked several Congressional investigations. In 2010, Scahill testified before the U.S. House Judiciary Committee on the US’s shadow wars in Pakistan, Yemen, and elsewhere, in which he stated:
“As the war rages on in Afghanistan and—despite spin to the contrary—in Iraq as well, US Special Operations Forces and the Central Intelligence Agency are engaged in parallel, covert, shadow wars that are waged in near total darkness and largely away from effective or meaningful Congressional oversight or journalistic scrutiny. The actions and consequences of these wars is seldom discussed in public or investigated by the Congress. The current US strategy can be summed up as follows: We are trying to kill our way to peace. And the killing fields are growing in number.[38]
“In July 2011, Scahill revealed the existence of a CIA-run counter-terrorism center at the airport in Mogadishu, Somalia, and reported on a previously unknown secret prison located in the basement of the US-funded Somali National Security Agency, in which – according to a US official – US agents interrogated prisoners.
“When the public became aware of President Obama’s “Kill List,”[39] Scahill was frequently cited as an expert on the topic of extrajudicial killings.[40]”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Scahill
Drones are the antithesis of the Constitutionally guaranteed rights of the American citizen.
Not to mention the uber-creepiness of anyone who ‘tweets’ their personal sense of glee at the prospect of harming a human being. It’s just gross in the extreme…
Assange got gumption
Kate Rian 1, August 18, 2013 at 6:29 pm
Gotta Love these progressive, Peace Loving, Liberals!
========================
Nope Kate.
It is the authoritarians, currently called neoCons, who make you love specific genders, ideologies, and the like.
Liberals let you decide “who ya gonna love t’nite.”
Gotta Love these progressive, Peace Loving, Liberals!
ap,
It’s a sure sign.
It reads, “We have seen the enemy and he is us.”
Joy 1, August 18, 2013 at 4:24 pm
So Time Mag so graciously anoints this as an “offensive” tweet. After it, and the MSM ignore the crimes of “droning,”
…
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Indeed.
So, Julian Assange may do the same thing Greenwald may do.
Which is to lower the standards for determining which docs not to release to the public which Snowden and many others have given them.
I mean, if the gov can’t even meet the standards of the mafia, then Greenwald and Assange need not protect them.
Elaine M. and Oky1;
I didn’t mention those; because I do Not consider them equal to the 1st three (same thing for YT’s).
I don’t follow Greg Hunter, so I’ll take a look.
With all the skullduggery going on with eToys Goldman Sachs and Bain Capital this week – I’m at the point of NOT caring anymore…
seamus 1, August 18, 2013 at 5:22 pm
“In a related tweet, Mr. Grunwald stated, “I am currently writing an article in defense of hate crime charges against those who would mock the president by wearing rubber novelty masks purchased at Spencer’s Gifts.””
==============================
Which demonstrates the affects of doublespeak inducing propaganda on a lot of the trolls who come over here to satisfy their masochism.
It is a vain thing that exposes the troll’s ideology.
“In a related tweet, Mr. Grunwald stated, “I am currently writing an article in defense of hate crime charges against those who would mock the president by wearing rubber novelty masks purchased at Spencer’s Gifts.””
anonymously posted 1, August 18, 2013 at 2:46 pm
OT:
Glenn Greenwald’s partner detained at Heathrow airport for nine hours
…
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This may change Greenwald’s mind about some docs he was holding back … docs Snowden gave him:
(HuffPo).
So Time Mag so graciously anoints this as an “offensive” tweet. After it, and the MSM ignore the crimes of “droning,” What would he think if someone he loved was collateral damage from a drone strike? These are crimes against humanity, and it shows how bankrupt and removed from any consciousness our media is. Much of the MSM deserves the most aggressive of verbal pummeling because they are nothing but propagandists and promoters of the march downward into hell of, and by, the US.
What voltaic said.
Mike Spindell 1, August 18, 2013 at 1:52 pm
Dredd’s accurate detailing of Project Mockingbird fails to give the full horror of this massive propaganda conspiracy that has shaped this nation for many decades. This wasn’t a failure on Dredd’s part, but the sheer magnitude of the effects of Mockingbird that would require tens of thousands of pages to document and to explore.
…
As I watched the horror of 9/11 unfold on my TV that day and the days following, I was infuriated with those “journalists” repeating over and again “This Changes Everything”. The concept at the time seemed ridiculous to me as if America was going to collectively act the role of “No more Mr. Nice guy” in an action movie. My prescience was limited though because I did not realize that “This changes everything” was a meme developed to justify throwing out our Constitution.
==================================
Indeed.
It seemed suspicious too me too that some of the journalistic dicta of the day that “changed everything” was scripted.
Who cares if hindsight is 20/20 it is still real, and in the following years much of “journalism” is exposed for its high propaganda content.
Grunwald NO!
Greenwald YES!
“…when they engage in behavior like what they did today – all they do is helpfully underscore why it’s so dangerous to allow them to exercise vast, unchecked spying power in the dark.” -Glenn Greenwald
Detaining my partner: a failed attempt at intimidation
The detention of my partner, David Miranda, by UK authorities will have the opposite effect of the one intended
by Glenn Greenwald
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/aug/18/david-miranda-detained-uk-nsa
Excerpt
This is obviously a rather profound escalation of their attacks on the news-gathering process and journalism. It’s bad enough to prosecute and imprison sources. It’s worse still to imprison journalists who report the truth. But to start detaining the family members and loved ones of journalists is simply despotic. Even the Mafia had ethical rules against targeting the family members of people they feel threatened by. But the UK puppets and their owners in the US national security state obviously are unconstrained by even those minimal scruples.
If the UK and US governments believe that tactics like this are going to deter or intimidate us in any way from continuing to report aggressively on what these documents reveal, they are beyond deluded. If anything, it will have only the opposite effect: to embolden us even further. Beyond that, every time the US and UK governments show their true character to the world – when they prevent the Bolivian President’s plane from flying safely home, when they threaten journalists with prosecution, when they engage in behavior like what they did today – all they do is helpfully underscore why it’s so dangerous to allow them to exercise vast, unchecked spying power in the dark.
Grunwald has spawned a new word for us to employ: journaldrone.
Grunwald is among those nitwits who twit.
Note too that this comes on the heals of the likes of old lady Feinstein calling for more rigid definition of what a journalist is so that some statute that the Senator and her flunkies draft protects some journalists but not all who publish. I wonder of Feinstein will stick up for Grunwald. Is Time Magazine really accredited? Do they have a journal license? Are the employees who are paid all graduates of a journalism school?
Does anyone remember a comedy guy named Alan Sherman? He was around in the early ’60s. He wrote a song called “Little David Susskind, Shut Up.” I think that Alan Sherman and David Susskind were in grade school together. I would like to substitute the words and have this ditty sung at the steps of the Capital:
{music}
Old Lady Feinstein, Shut Up!
OLD LAAADY Feinstein.. SHUT UP…..