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L.A. Times National Security Reporter Cleared Stories With CIA Before Publishing
New submitter Prune (557140) writes with a link to a story at The Intercept which might influence the way you look at media coverage of the kind of government activity that deserves rigorous press scrutiny. According to the story, "Email exchanges between CIA public affairs officers and Ken Dilanian, now an Associated Press intelligence reporter who previously covered the CIA for the Times, show that Dilanian enjoyed a closely collaborative relationship with the agency, explicitly promising positive news coverage and sometimes sending the press office entire story drafts for review prior to publication. In at least one instance, the CIA’s reaction appears to have led to significant changes in the story that was eventually published in the Times." Another telling excerpt: On Friday April 27, 2012, he emailed the press office a draft story that he and a colleague, David Cloud, were preparing. The subject line was “this is where we are headed,” and he asked if “you guys want to push back on any of this.” It appears the agency did push back. On May 2, 2012, he emailed the CIA a new opening to the story with a subject line that asked, “does this look better?”
The piece ran on May 16, and while it bore similarities to the earlier versions, it had been significantly softened.
Big Media == The Ministry of Truth
---Saying gnome 3 is better than windows 8 not so much a compliment as it is damning with light praise.
I came from China
I ran away from China during the Cultural Revolution. During that time, the so-called "Press" in China are but mouthpiece of the CCP - every piece of "news" from them are of the excellence of Chairman Mao and the Communist Party, and how the people must defeat the ugly filthy enemy of the revolutionaries
I ran away from China because I couldn't stand such thing. I ended up in the United States of America because back then the U. S. of A. was the epitome of liberty, freedom and democracy (at least to a Chinese refugee)
Nowadays America, my adopted country, has turned into something that I ran away from, where the "Press" no longer collaborate with the authority, where the "Media" willingly becomes the mouthpiece of the power that be
Many of my fellow Chinese from China - especially the older generation - know how bad such system can be, and the sufferings of the people under that kind of depressive government
On the other hand, many of my fellow Americans do not understand the situation they are in - for them, as long as they get to kick back with their girlfriend in a cabin on Saturday night, life is good
All I can say is that I am sad, very sad
Muchas Gracias, Señor Edward Snowden !
This is change we can believe in. That was the plan right?
Viva OBAMA!
To be fair, this is not change we can believe in, but rather change we can believe. Except it might not be change. How would we know? And it might even be something that was done in the interests of publishing information about the government, a trade of a milder tone for more information. Again, how would we know?
Given that the linked story is incredibly one-sided against the reporter yet their worst example is the rewording of a story to the same story with the same information, I'm guessing this is nothing more than the age-old observation that if you want people to talk to you you don't go and twist everything they say in the worst possible light.
He did go against his paper's ethics guidelines though, and while on an individual case I wouldn't have a problem with what he did, if government officials got used to talking to people who allowed them to review the story before publication, then they'd be less inclined to other reporters who don't offer them such favors. Therefore he should be punished for the greater good, and for violating his paper's ethics rules. Sometimes meaning well or having good results simply does not justify something.
Don't waste your vote! Vote for whoever you want, unless you live in a swing state it won't matter anyways
Lets see... Judith Miller of the NY Times... and don't forget the NY Times also delayed publishing the story of ATT illegal wiretaps until after the 2008 elections. So many more....
The days of Watergate are over. Now media is a manipulative source claiming to be guardians of freedom.
Epic Fail
Glad to read your reply, very thought provoking, even when you post it under an AC
Thanks !
Isn't having fun and sharing life with others the pinnacle of being human? I hardly see anything wrong with the example you presented
Technically you are correct, Sir
There is nothing wrong with having fun and sharing a good time with someone you love
But what I am talking about is not that fun-saturday-night-in-a-cabin-with-girlfriend
The gist of my point is on the "life-is-good" part. Too many of my fellow Americans only care about that part and never pay any attention to what the government is doing
The "good life" that my fellow Americans are having is like a frog being slowly boiled - and before long, all of us will be cooked
Muchas Gracias, Señor Edward Snowden !
The IRS scandal is pretty much all hogwash.
Only if by "hogwash" you mean a systematic harassment of political groups that oppose the expansion of the government.
Demanding membership lists is definitely beyond the pale.
-jcr
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
That's patently untrue. Unless you're looking hard for it, there really isn't much in the way of extreme-left-wing news out there. Unless you're counting those bearded men handing out poorly xeroxed socialist newsletters. The vast majority of the media is centrist or right wing.
Really vastly right leaning? Did you read about the Pew Research study that showed MSNBC to be even mored biased, and opinionated than Fox News?
---Saying gnome 3 is better than windows 8 not so much a compliment as it is damning with light praise.
Erm. Maybe a bit too much ganja, dude. You're now flaming yourself online.