Best of Cincinnati 2003 - Public Eye Staff Picks

"Best Use of New Communications Technology: Blogs"

I am debating if I am going to add the graphic to my blog. I don't want to be arrogant, but I like to puff my feathers as much as the next Joe Blogger on the street. The biggest negative is that my picture is included again. I am not arrogant about my looks, for obvious reasons.

The Gulf War Drinking Game
If I was back in college, I would be playing 24/7. Well, I might make it an hour before passing out.

[Link via SledgeBlog]

Queen City Soapbox
Chris Anderson has a new graphic and takes on the issue of the War and local media coverage.

Bird: Press provides front-line spin
The headline is spin as well, so it starts out with a slight bit of hypocrisy. I am in favor of embedding reporters. My view is not really about the value of getting the instant coverage, which is good, but rather instead what I hope will be a semi-objective accounting of the war and the actions of the U. S. military. Bird seems to be looking for some kind of cure all to know about the war. That is a fool's dream. Wars are not easy to understand. There is no way that anyone can provide big answers to the war, during the war. What they can provide are the basic elements of the war itself. It would be nice if outlets like FOX were not so horrifically cheering for the war, and it would be nice if the BBC and Al Jazeera would not be so hostile to the USA. Most of the rest of the TV outlets are doing fairly well. The real media star of this war is the Internet and print in general. Pictures, contrary to popular myth, are not worth 1,000 words, at least when those words are trying to convey fact, not emotion.

The Cincinnati Post also had an editorial on this subject: Watching the war.

Truck scatters antiwar protest
This guy will get off light. It was interesting to hear the various opinions on talk radio today. Jay Love of 1230 the Buzz was critical of Mike Allen, yes a shock, and wondered why the truck driver was not being charged with attempted murder, as I asked yesterday. Mike McConnell of 700WLW was basically tacitly condemning the man's actions, but he and most of his callers clearly understood why this guy might be upset. Mike said "he went a little overboard."

It is typical that Jay took the position he took, and Mike took the position he took. Jay is anti-war, while Mike is pro-war. Both incorrectly addressed the issue, Jay was over playing the seriousness of what happened, and Mike was making light of it, even stating that his station would report any information on a "defense fund" for the trucker if one is formed. The issue of the "defense fund" came up when someone called the newsroom at WLW asking if one had been set up. Not surprisingly this issue did not make the Blogosphere, but flags on fire trucks was hot-hot-hot with the knee-jerk stupor-patriots.

Other Coverage: WLWT, WCPO, Post, WKRC, and Dawn's Life.

Cole vows to be 'team player'
The question still is unanswered, which team: the boycotters or the City?

Scoop: Poor Reporting on Iraq Weapons Claims
Peter Bronson of the Enquirer is criticized on a New Zealand Website:

Even so, the next day, columnist Peter Bronson (Cincinnati Enquirer, 3/23/03) was still writing, "The Scuds he swore he did not have were fired at Kuwait, and Iraq was launching lame denials while the craters still smoked." Apparently the corrections of the earlier, incorrect reports had not reached even all of those whose job it is to follow the news.

Peter did use this in his Sunday Column, but seemed to not be checking his sources. There are no reports that have been verified indicating the Iraqis have launched Scuds. Peter is not the only journalist to make this mistake during the war. Umm Qasr was reported has been under control several times before it was finally relatively under coalition control. Columnists get some leeway for this type of error, but nearly all reporters on the major TV outlets made this error regularly, which is where I would surmise Peter got this information from, most likely from the cheerleading FOX news. This report originated from FAIR.org, a liberal media watchdog.

Dems back Cole for council
I am torn on this. Yes, she was the 10th highest vote getter, but the Democratic Party did not endorse her, even though she is a registered Democrat. Why was she not endorsed? Was it her lack of experience or false projections of unelectability? Her stance on the boycott as reported by the Enquirer is one of a true politician:

On the boycott: "My stance has always been that it's important that we work to bring the community together. It's mostly about economic issues, and we all want to improve on those issues and move the city forward."

With comments like that she will fit right in with the rest of weak-kneed hacks on city council. She needs to take a full stand on the boycott. If she supports it, she should not be picked for council, and will create a nasty fissure on council that will solidify opinions, creating a more polarized city.

Police Arrest Trucker, Say He Drove Toward Protesters
I hope this fool was just trying to scare the protestors and was not really trying to kill them. I wonder why he was not charged with attempted murder? I can only assume that the protestors were never in any significant danger. I would like to know if this man was listening to any particular radio station, or is he a regular listener of a particular show/station or other specific media outlets? With all of the talk radio ranting, it is no wonder that people's anger would be purposely juiced up by some radio/TV hosts. People are being demonized for the most trivial of things. Next thing we will see are Mt. Adams partiers trying to run over Main Street partiers, oh the humanity.

Chris Anderson comments on a variety of topics today: Canada, Great American Ballpark, and Baghdad vs. Beirut.

City Beat News Editor Arrested During Anti-War Protest
Greg Flannery, news editor of City Beat, was arrested on Friday during the anti-war protests downtown. Mr. Flannery's charge was obstruction of official business by refusing to move from the middle of a downtown street, according to court documents.

In the past I have strongly criticized City Beat's news coverage for being more opinion and less news, basically practicing what has become known as advocacy journalism. Many would not call it journalism at all, but in today's media world where everyone is a journalist, even I might qualify as one, making that charge against Greg or City Beat would not be fair. I do find this kind of participation in a news event to be a big problem. If Greg reports on this issue, I think it will be a huge blow to his credibility. The charge of creating news could be easily and correctly made. I hope Greg assigns another reporter to the story, and that he leaves out coverage of the local protest in his weekly column. A good journalist rarely gets involved with the story. That is why advocacy journalism is something I do not consider to be valuable journalism. It comes across more like propaganda one might read in the Worker's World.

The Enquirer and the Post both reported on the protests, with only the Post reporting the 6 arrests. I guess the Enquirer reporter left the protest early and missed the arrests.

Rick Bird of the Cincinnati Post reports on the local happenings in the Dixie Chicks faux scandal (bottom of article). Based on his report WLW's Bill Cunningham's debasement knows no end. He actually is willing to help gin up hatred for a county music act to entertain his listeners and build his ratings. I know the guy is full of crap, but could he be more fake? What is worse is that there are still a huge portion of his listeners who think that Cunningham is really talking to the wife of Clear Channel's CEO. I don't know who is worse; Darryl Parks for letting the Cunningham crap go on, or the morons who think it is real.

Rick Bird also reports on CNN's Bill Hemmer, a Cincinnati Native and Miami University graduate.

Watching war on live TV wrenching for military families
Yesterday while at work I watched war coverage during lunch with the mother of a US Marine currently stationed in Kuwait, who will likely move forward soon. She was in good spirits, but appeared very tense under the surface. I was amazed mostly that she was keeping a very close eye on all of the news. She knew almost every detail of what was going on minute by minute. The most telling moment was when the television anchor reported that a US Marine was killed in action, she slightly bowed her head for a few seconds in what I can only assume was a moment of thought for the mother of the fallen Marine. That brings home the issue of our troops and their families. I have heard some really horrid comment from the extremists in the anti-war gang and it disgusts me. It does their cause no good to act like thugs in the streets. Breaking the law to protest something that will not change is futile. The war can’t be stopped. What you can demand in your protests is liberation for Iraq. Keep pressure on the Bush Administration to release plans for the post-war Iraq and make sure those plans are just and not politically biased.

Does the Guardian Unlimited report the real reason the Oscars will have no red carpet? The last sentence from the article reads: "More protests are planned to disrupt the Oscars ceremony in Hollywood tomorrow."

TBOGG's line is a classic: "George Bush! You've just started WWIII? What's next?"..."I'm going to Camp David!" It is over the top, but it is an image problem that I really take issue with Bush on. He can at least make people think that at least the first weekend he is burning the midnight oil. Couldn't he have saved a little money and stayed at the White House? Why should the cabinet have to commute? I would bet this costs a lot more than closing an airport for a haircut. I truly hope that he is paying more attention to the war then the press is, but I would not be surprised if he is already in bed.

Firefighter dies in house fire
Horrible news for Cincinnati. My condolences go out to Oscar Armstrong's family and friends.

CNN Ordered Out of Baghdad
Still in Baghdad (as reported)
NPR: Anne Garrels - Plans to stay throughout
Peter Arnett - freelance for MSNBC and National Geographic. - Plans to stay throughout
ITN
BBC: Total of 7 including 3 reporters - Rageh Omar -Plans to stay throughout
Washington Post -Anthony Shadid
AP - Hamza Hendawi
Reuters - Staff of 19
Sky News
Independent - Robert Fisk (what an ass)
Christian Science Monitor -Scott Peterson
ZDF (Germany)
Al Jazeera
Sydney Morning Herald/The Age - Paul McGeough
San Franscisco Chronical - Robert Collier
Los Angeles Times - John Daniszewski
Irish Times - Lara Marlowe
New York Times - John Burns and Photographer Tyler Hicks
Al-Arabiya (Dubai)
Abu Dhabi TV
Lebanese Broadcasting Company
Richard Engel - Free lance for ABC (and BBC?)
Guardian - Suzanne Goldenberg
and other various French, German, Japanese and Dutch media outlets.


Not in Baghdad are NBC, ABC*(has free lancer in Baghdad), CBC Radio, FOX News (kicked out), China's official Xinhua news agency, Boston Globe (kicked out), USA Today, Daily Telegraph, London Times, Newsweek (at least ordered to leave by Bosses), US News & World Report, Time, Wall Street Journal, CBS, CNN (kicked out).

Mother of all bad deals
Wow, I agree with Bronson! I have to wonder about his "franchise" comment, when I read what I wrote a while back about Lynch and a boycott franchise.

1 killed, 2 injured in Over-the-Rhine shooting
Number 19 of the year so far. I wonder if more people will be murdered this year in Cincinnati, than will die in battle in Iraq.

Protests held downtown, at UC
Good coverage of this protest and of other responses to the war. The morons in the street should be ashamed of themselves. They claim to be protesting an "illegal" war, but they break the law by blocking taffic to do it. Irony, thine name is true.