Right-wing media decides it might need "to adopt a code of ethics of some sort."

James O'Keefe is viewing the world from 'neath a moving transit unit.

Ah.

We're loving a concerted conservative movement (of the bowel type) that's excreting him onto the shit pile of stuff the right wants to cover up. 

O'Keefe, 26, is the activist videographer who caused all the uproar shaming ACORN out of existence with tapes of him and a bounteously bootayed babe posing as pimp and hooker.

After the success of all that, he claimed, in the mad whirl of the right-wing think-tank parties and fat-cat back-slapfests, that he's the new "new journalism."  A citizen journalist." He modestly told slavering media conservatives and their mainstream media butt-boys that he was simply doing "a job that the mainstream media won’t do and refuses to do.”

That was before he got caught trying to weirdly infiltrate a US Senators' office. His  ACORN "story," looped endlessly on FOX News, proved later as edited and produced in ways that were grossly misleading and unfair.

As activism it was a stellar piece, but journalism it was not.

The frosting on this already overbaked kuken was his exposure last week in a wackadoo plot to seduce a CNN reporter on tape. 

(photo: O'Keefe's big-ass scoop)

Politico's Ken Vogel summed up all the ways that powerful conservatives and their moneybags are deserting him. Read that here.

We thought most telling was Brent Bozell, (bullgoose conservative of the rightist Media Research Center) who, in his shove of O'Keefe 'neath the Metro called the [CNN] prank “sleazy” and told Politico (revealingly) that it,

'... highlighted the need for conservative citizen journalists to adopt a code of ethics of some sort. [Emphasis ours]

We’re getting to that point where there’s going to have to be a serious assessment of the rules of the road,” he said, explaining the ethical guidelines should be based on simple overarching concepts: “You’ve got to seek truth. The ends can’t justify the means. And, for God sakes, grow up.” 

Brent Bozelle, self-appointed conservative media watchdog since 1987 is just learning that journalists need rules? Hope he can pass the word on to other conservative "citizen journalists."

Comments

[Andrew]

Lately there's been a lot of talk about how the church's view of gays and the right's stand on gay marriage tacitly justifies the cruel treatment of gays that has led to high profile suicides, and at the same time theres this mega-pastor in Atlanta who fucked a bunch of little boys. And there's the Shirley Sherrod character assassination. Huckabee comparing sick people to houses. The emergence of unelected personalities like Gingrich, Beck and Limbaugh as conservative brain trusts while simultaneously having a gutless turd like John Boener for a minority leader. The Republicans/Conservative party is an unmitigated wreck, and the news is that middle American conservatives are embarassed to be associated with this media circus.

The Republicans were really ruined in 2006 after the string of spectacular Bush failures in 2004 and 2005. The solution in 2008 was Sarah Palin, proving the party was still ruined, and in 2010 the tea party victories show that they're just as fucked as they ever were. Sure Democrats look bad right now with the jobless rates being what they are, but the Republicans just don't have their shit together at all.

[KS]

Right-wing media decides it might need "to adopt a code of ethics of some sort."

Or they could be like the numbnuts in the mainstream left-wing media with zero ethics (with all due respect).

[Pete]

Not interested (like KS) in using a call for ethics for "conservative citizen journalists" to haul out the idiotic "liberal media" trope once again. (MSM is no monolith, but generally it's culturally liberal, economically conservative, and always biased toward whomever's in power. How hard is that to understand?)

But "ethics" like "seeking truth" ought to apply to all citizen journalists, left, right, or indifferent publicity-seekers alike. There's plenty of ends-justify-means examples of all of these.

[Sydney Joel Goldberg]

"Citizen Journalists" is an oxymoron, if James OKeefe, David Goldstein, Stefan Sharkansky, are examples. I know it's unhip and out of fashion, but the old rules still must be followed. The right has discredited and demonized the press so much even the press believes it. All the while they lionizing Fox News! which is far more biased than any MSM product. It's back to journalistic basics or the Republic is doomed.

[panko]

If Hanna Giles didn't have a nice ass, James O'Keefe would be a nobody. Fox news loves a nice ass.

[KS]

"(MSM is no monolith, but generally it's culturally liberal, economically conservative, and always biased toward whomever's in power. How hard is that to understand?)"

You took the bait. I don't see the the MSM monolith as being economically conservative - I'd go along with moderate. Always biased toward whoever is in power ? Since when was the MSM biased toward Bush when he was in power - you are kidding - hahahaha.

"But "ethics" like "seeking truth" ought to apply to all citizen journalists, left, right, or indifferent publicity-seekers alike. There's plenty of ends-justify-means examples of all of these."

In case you didn't notice, when does ethics matter any more ? That has been supplanted by post-modernism and narcissism and irresponsibility (because they believe they can get away with it). Accountibility is gone - no one out there is willing to set the example. Basically, the numbnuts media monolith (or whatever you want to call them) are no different from the politicians and the caliber of objective reporting has diminished greatly over the last 30+ years. Yeah, ethics ought to apply, but you know it doesn't because fame and $ are more important, accountibility be damned. End of story.

[BlackRhino]

Another celebrity Teabagger “poof” up in smoke. Creating fabrications for dumb shits like the baggers is the only way these clowns get famous. Conspiracies, half truths and outright lies are spread by one web site to another until the stupid reacts with “..Ahh seen it on the web, so it must be true…”

[tigsnort]

At least we now have a clear look at how these young right wing McCarthyite creeps operate.

[ExPatBrit]

KS "Since when was the MSM biased toward Bush when he was in power - you are kidding - hahahaha. "

That would be from Sept 2001 to late 2005 when the MSM finally realized that we had "turned the corner" so many times in Iraq that we were back up shit creek with no WMD.

[BlackRhino]

Fraud, breaking and entering, wire tapping and now conspiracy to rape. Speak ill of the “lame stream media” but no one posses a record as disastrous as O’Keefe. He’s not a reporter; he’s a punk with backing from the right wing clatter contraption. Nixon would be so proud.

[Pete]

Since when was the MSM biased toward Bush when he was in power - you are kidding - hahahaha

As another poster noted, most media was solidly behind Bush for the first part of his presidency - I'd actually date it from his inauguration (when a massive counter-protest in DC was completely ignored) to when Bush failed in his social security push and it became apparent that D's would sweep the midterms in 2006. At that point they started piling on Bush.

And I said ethics ought to matter. On that, we agree. From the media standpoint, I'd put its failure less on "post-modernism and narcissism and irresponsibility" and more on greed and the opportunity to make money (or gain power) by pandering. But that's a quibble.

As for Sydney, no, the old rules don't still apply, because "objectivity" has always been a myth - people always have biases, paid or unpaid, acknowledged or not, that come into play in everything from story selection to placement of paragraphs to adjective selection to what doesn't get mentioned.

Who signs your paycheck (if anyone) shouldn't matter. I like knowing exactly where Goldstein and Sharkansky (to use two of your examples) are coming from; what I don't like about them is their willingness to cut corners to score cheap points. It's possible to have both a clear point of view and a commitment to truth (and to admitting when you're wrong). But you don't see it much.
Greenwald comes to mind as a guy who started out unpaid and quickly got an audience (and an income) by doing things well.

[The Anti-Dori]

Hope he can pass the word on to other conservative "citizen journalists."

I hope he might pass the word on to a few GOP politicians as well.

The Christian Science Monitor and the old Wall Street Journal did a pretty good job of giving the full story. Most people won't take the time to read such long accounts. Today people go where they hear what they want to hear.

Facts are still facts. Objectivity is not a myth. And there are places where you can get it if you're willing to look. It is sophistry to hold that just because people write it, it can't be objective. Yes, it can.

[BlackRhino]

Lube boat, hidden cams, and a bag of dorks; I wonder what the Christine O’Donnell wing of the party has to say about this.

[Tommy008]

Nancy Grace has obviously declared Anne Bremner a nonperson- it has been month since she hS Appeared on her show. I think this is a little harsh.

[KS]

Nancy Grace should interview Gloria Allred, her mentor. Like Allred, she is an ambulance chaser who has "evoloved" to talking head.

I call her Nancy Grace-less. She resorts to the harsh for ratings.

[KS]

correction -"evolved"

[Tommy008]

Imagine, if you will, that you turn on KIROfm radio tonight at about a quarter to eleven. The banal, asinine voice of Frank Shiers is talking about "a big log" of Tootsie Roll Candy. Repulsed, and disgusted, you turn off KIRO and punch up KTLK on your computer , grinning as you anticipate streaming the hilarious Phil Hendrie, from L.A. As the player buffers up the radio station stream you're apalled when you hear the voice of - Frank Shiers. A message on the station homepage says- "We're proud to announce that we are now All Frank, All The Time". Reeling from the computer desk, you run back to the radio and switch over to KIRO AM THE SPORTS STATION. Shiers' voice crackles over the speakers, now talking about how bright his daughter Sarah May is ,"she for whom the sun rises and sets". yOU TURN THE DAIL...komo...kjr..kvi fRANK'S RELENTLESSLY BORING VOICE POPS UP NO MATTER WHERE YOU TURN THE DIAL... Frightened now, you jump back on the computer....KGO.COM, WABC.COM, all the online radio websites are streaming one and only one voice-Frank Shiers. Ladies and Gentleman, you have just entered -The Twilight Zone.

[BlackRhino]

Imagine that you turned the dial of the radio, moved to the computer for a refreshing streaming audio, but you didn’t. You just imagined it. You’re sitting up in bed, half dressed staring at a blank wall. In desperate need of a shave, and drool running down your chin.
You’re in the Tommy zone…
Dun. Dun. Dunnnn….

[The Anti-Dori]

When I read Tommy, I picture Gabby Hayes without a beard.