WHY I CANCELED MY CHICAGO TRIBUNE SUBSCRIPTION: SIMPLE-MINDED, LOGIC-LACKING, RACE-BAITING, AND POORLY WRITTEN, ARTICLES LIKE THIS……
The Chicago Tribune’s Dawn Turner Rice scribed a real piece of hot garbage today….
Normally I do not link to hot garbage, but this article is so biased, and so poorly written….that it is worth pointing out….
Full race-baiting content below:
A few weeks ago, there was a story (a rather silly story, actually) about whether African-American journalists could cover Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama and maintain their impartiality. Now there’s a growing stink (from some conservatives) about whether PBS journalist Gwen Ifill, who’s black, can moderate Thursday’s vice presidential debate between Sen. Joe Biden and Gov. Sarah Palin because Ifill has a book coming out on Obama.
The book, which will be available on Inauguration Day, is titled, “The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama.” The publisher says “veteran journalist Gwen Ifill surveys the American political landscape, shedding new light on the impact of Barack Obama’s stunning presidential campaign and introducing the emerging young African American politicians forging a bold new path to political power.”
Ifill’s detractors say that the book is pro-Obama and that the author of such a tome couldn’t possibly sit as an impartial moderator.
They’ve got to be kidding. I’ve not read the book—-I’m certain Ifill’s detractors have not read it—-so what exactly can one glean from the publisher’s description that allows one to believe she can’t do her job? I think conservatives are nervous about Palin’s upcoming performance and are running scared.
The recent interviews I’ve seen with her and white journalists show they have good reason.
I think this is more about Ifill being black and the wrong-headed assertion that when it comes to Obama, black journalists can’t see him objectively.
Ifill is also a woman. I wonder: If she’d written a book about the Suffrage movement would detractors call her on that as well?
I’d like to hear your thoughts…
Well, since you asked for my thoughts Dawn, here they are:
I think you are biased. I do not wish to surmise on the causation of your bias, but I feel very comfortable in asserting that you are. Your darker skin pigment does not scare me from coming to this conclusion, and proclaiming the truth. I am embarrassed for you, and the Chicago Tribune, for concluding that this article was worthy of publication. You are clearly unable to view the current political landscape with any level of objectivity. With this being said, the Huffington Post just debuted a Chicago web edition, and while I doubt Ariana Huffington would find your article worthy of publication, I am quite sure it would be well received in the comments section…..
October 2, 2008 at 4:57 pm
It does not matter is the Ifill book is pro or anti Obama. What does matter is that it is being released on Inauguration Day and she will make more money if Obama is the President when it comes out. She should have told the Debate Commission about the book and she better tell the public about it tonight.
October 2, 2008 at 6:37 pm
I couldn’t have said it better myself!
October 2, 2008 at 6:38 pm
This is about a potential $350,000 to 1,000,000 payout for her if the election goes one way. I wouldn’t sabotage my own pay day – I would remove myself for that reason. I am sure she is a fine journalist, but she is an African American – 95% are voting Obama – do they think I am stupid enough to believe she is in the 5% voting for McCain… ah, no.. please. Also – the book, while not itself, is an indictment because of the financial windfall she stands to receive if the election goes on way and not the other.
This article is written my an Obama stooge – there are so many – why be surprised.
October 2, 2008 at 6:55 pm
Btw – Burning down the house, What caused the financial crisis is back on youtube. Time warner and Universal tried to shut it down – but it’s back up and spreading like wildfire again. We need to keep it moving… think you can help?
here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RZVw3no2A4
October 2, 2008 at 7:00 pm
Ray, great letter sent to the “Chicago Tribune.” We constantly need to let the media know out outrageous they are becoming in the outlandish bias in their reporting. We must not be silent!!!
Gwen Ifill and PBS have shown a definite bias towards Senator Obama for months now; dating back to the Democrat Party Primary. A few days ago, WHYY/NPR the local Philadelphia Radio station affiliated with PBS TV (where Gwen Ifill works) had a radio show entitled “Talk of the Nation” which showcased Conservative Columnist, Kathleen Parker’s absurd attacks on Gov. Sarah Palin. The following is excerpted from the protest e-mail that I sent to NPR/PBS:
“[I am very disappointed in the fact that NPR/PBS continues to show obvious bias in your reporting, coverage and "opinion pieces" regarding the Presidential Election this year. NPR/PBS coverage is one-sided and continuously negative towards Gov. Sarah Palin. In my opinion you are showing the same bias against Gov. Sarah Palin that you continuously demonstrated against Senator Hillary Clinton (during the Democrat Party Primary). It is very obvious to me who you want to have win the Presidential Election; your coverage continually reflects that bias. This biased reporting is very unfortunate because I had always looked to NPR/PBS as a source for truth and factual reporting and that sadly is no longer the case.
Regarding the interview, of Conservative Columnist, Kathleen Parker on "Talk of the Nation," Gov. Sarah Palin is definitely not hurting the Republican ticket and as a matter of fact Kathleen Parker is absolutely wrong on this issue. In order to ensure, some balance in the discussion, why didn't you have another Conservative Columnist (who is positive in viewpoint towards Gov. Palin) on the show to debate this issue with Parker; instead of just letting Parker have a soap box to spew her bogus ideas?
At the very least having a pro and con discussion on the Candidacy of Gov. Palin would have been more helpful to the debate. Instead NPR/PBS, you continue to show your obvious bias. Gov. Palin held her own in the MSM Interviews; she spoke with grace and dignity. Though the various MSM Interviewers set lots of "traps" for Palin; she was able to rise above the obvious efforts (by the various MSM Interviews) to play "gottcha" and derail her.
I have in the past been a (long term) supporter and significant financial contributor to NPR/PBS. Public Radio and TV (to me) means that you report the news as truthfully and unbiased as possible. At this point, I can no longer just feel this incredible sense of disappointment and betrayal with out letting you know. I have spoken to many others who also feel the same way that I do (some have told me that they have written to you in protest and some like me may have remained silent until now).
As I noted, it was earlier this year that I had noticed the bias (throughout your reporting) against Senator Hillary Clinton (in the Democrat Party Primary) and I then chose NOT to renew my membership with NPR/PBS until I felt that the reporting had become more fair and objective. At this point, I feel so betrayed by the bias and by the obvious desire to unfairly defame Gov. Sarah Palin that I may totally boycott NPR/PBS and NEVER donate to NPR/PBS again.
Please believe me there are a lot of folks who feel just as I do.
A healthy Democracy requires truth and unbiased news reporting from the media and we no longer have a major media outlet in this Country that is not tainted by the biased opinions held by it's own staff and reporters (and powers that be).
NPR/PBS (since it is publicly funded) and touts itself as being unbiased was one of the last bastions of open dialogue and truth in the media. The Interview of Kathleen Parker (without any counter argument to her outlandish opinions) is for me the last straw that broke the camels back. As I noted earlier, I intend to share my opinion about the failure of NPR/PBS to fairly represent the public interest with as many others as I can reach. My hope is that NPR/PBS will decide it is more important to fulfill it's public mandate and promise to offer the unbiased truth then abandon the commitment to the public good by proselytizing for a particular candidate in the Presidential Election. Simply put, please NPR/PBS let’s have some balance in your reporting and let’s go back to serving the public good].”
I did receive a return e-mail (from NPR/PBS)with an apology and a suggestion that I should contact the Ombudsman to report my complaint (which I am definitely going to do along with an added complaint about the obvious conflict of interest regarding Gwen Ifill’s book publication).
Yesterday, when I read the first reports on the potential “conflict of interest” problem for Ifill, she also tried to make it into a racial issue. It is amazing how quickly the “race card” gets played to ensure that no questions are asked.
One simple solution to this problem is to replace Gwen Ifill with Tavis Smiley (also with PBS). Tavis Smiley is a much better choice; he actually is the only person on PBS that has worked to remain balanced and fair in his shows. Gwen Ifill on the other hand has gotten more and more outlandish in her biased reporting and obviously she is also more secure that no one would dare challenge her in any way.
If you can, just take a minute to go onto the PBS website,
http://www.pbs.org/
and send a protest regarding Gwen Ifill’s role in the VP Debate. There is no way that she is unbiased and at least with enough protests she might be way more careful (she can be very ‘snarky’) in how she (Ifill) conducts herself tonight.
No matter what, Palin is a class act and she will do just fine!!!
Reform, Peace and Prosperity
McCain/Palin08
October 2, 2008 at 7:44 pm
What a typical angry liberal….. Good job C.A.O.!!
October 2, 2008 at 8:06 pm
The more we ask the real Is America Ready? question the more likely people will get the facts straight before they vote.
October 2, 2008 at 10:10 pm
Where’s the article about ” Sarah Palin ” making history ?
Or should I say…” Herstory ” .
October 3, 2008 at 12:23 am
It’s been reported that if Obama wins Ifill stands to make a minimum of $350,000.00 and could make upwards of 1Million . . . plenty of reason to be less than objective in tonight’s debate
October 3, 2008 at 12:53 am
Whatever happened to our Country?
October 3, 2008 at 1:01 am
I know, I know, it’s really tiresome to hear the steady drumbeat for BO coming from unusual places. You would think the Pacifica Radio teams would be careful not to give the impression of bias…wrong! They are for the most part, foresquare in Obama’s camp. I wrote them that I would contribute because I support free speech but had to take them to task for their largely unquestioned and solicitous campaigning for him.
Air America lost my favor when most hosts fell to their knees in supplication for the Messiah. It is one thing to be liberal and a loyal Dem; it is another to be shortsighted and deny the obvious. BO is unqualified at any speed; race has nothing to do with it. I do not find him trustworthy or genuinely interested in service to others. And I made that decision before any of his negatives hit the Internet.
Something about him that did not compute. When he walked up to acknowledge his Iowa caucus win, he tipped his hand. There was a flash of arrogance–just for a few seconds–almost imperceptible but it signaled his immaturity, his sense of self and entitlement…he thinks he deserves the presidency. He believes his press releases and has conditioned himself to fill the role. And it will be a scripted role; much like Reagan, he has internalized the concept of leader without the inner strength of
conscience.
The tragedy will become apparent only after it is too late. I fear he will be inaugurated because the kingmakers need another Bush-like toadie to parrot their edicts. We squander our resources and lose our freedom.
October 3, 2008 at 2:53 am
Either they’re biased, corrupt, inexperienced, liars, mud-slingers… all of which is nothing new in politics. but given the state of things, we just need someone who won’t make things worse than they are. personally i don’t care who it is. we have too much at stake- health care, the ongoing war (and there will be more wars to come) financial problems. forget race forget who’s biased or not, all i’m looking for in the next president is someone who has this country’s best interests at heart, has some kind of plan or at least ideas on how to help or fix something somewhere in the country even if it’s just one thing. they need to prove how they are going to do things and not just talk about each other
October 6, 2008 at 10:22 pm
kudos for your comment to the Chicago Tribune! They simply want to make one of their own POTUS without any regard to what is happening to our political process in the meantime.
Rice’s commentary, as you noted, was stupid and disingenuous. For her to even consider the content of the book, whether it was pro-Obama or not, completely missed the point. Ifill has financial stakes in the outcome in this election, which is a clear direct conflict of interest. And as result, Ifilll allowed Biden second rebuttals without offering them to Palin, numerous times throughout said debate. So her bias did come out. But Palin still held her own and was gracious during the process.
Sadly, as CarlyinNJ pointed out in her excellent thoughtful letter to PBS/NPR, they have also been tainted by this election since they have presented too little too late about Obama’s background, and also failed in their lack of investigative reporting in general. Their regurgitation of Obama media talking points about what occurred during the primaries and the near suspension of a roll call vote during the convention, made it obvious which candidate they supported. They are also complicit in the virtual end of the 4th Estate. Just part of the points I had pointed in out in my emails to PBS. The only thing we even watch PBS for anymore is the British shows and nature programs.
Being a LIBERAL Democrat, it pains me to say this. BO does not have America’s best interests at heart! This is increasingly clear through his associations, Muslim sympathies, and demonstrated lack of leadership during this financial crisis, he only has one interest at heart — his own. McCain has shown leadership and sacrifice, just as recently as last week. Without his flying to Washington and suspending his campaign, the issues of the bail out bill would never have been made public and the House Dems would have voted for it (that is, ramming it down our throats with little investigation) because of the sweetheart deals offered by Paulson. McCain’s presence actually made the bail out bill front page news!
This is an undenial fact. The Dems, Reid in particular, tried to make the bail out bill a political situation and McCain jumped at the opportunity to do something about it. It was Obama who looked like the school kid wishing he was one of the big kids.
If you all haven’t done so yet, check out Hannity’s report on Obama’s associations. It’s a 6-part clip on Youtube, which gives an excellent sketch of Obama’s deep ties to the Weather Underground terrorists, and others as well.
October 20, 2008 at 9:04 pm
Cancelled The Tribune today.Not only did they back Obama but today Dick Durbin.
November 1, 2008 at 1:47 am
Go Obama!!!!!!
December 29, 2009 at 10:49 pm
A year later….4truth, just curious…still backing this loser?
August 25, 2011 at 7:52 am
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WHY I CANCELED MY CHICAGO TRIBUNE SUBSCRIPTION: SIMPLE-MINDED, LOGIC-LACKING, RACE-BAITING, AND POORLY WRITTEN, ARTICLES LIKE THIS…… « Chicagoans Against Obama…
November 13, 2011 at 8:13 pm
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May 2, 2012 at 10:17 pm
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