Time's Calabresi Pours Cold Water on Lib Blogger Giddiness Over FBI Probe of NewsCorp
While some leftist bloggers are positively delighted that the FBI has opened an investigation into NewsCorp regarding possible hacking of 9/11 victims' voicemail accounts -- dreaming of an existential threat to Fox News -- Time's Massimo Calabresi is perplexed as to what could justify the investigation other than political pressure (emphasis mine):
What are they evaluating, exactly? As I pointed out Wednesday, the allegations about the 9/11 hacking are almost laughably thin: single-sourced second-hand hearsay published by a British tabloid that specializes in colorful soccer stories. None of the more respected news outlets that have repeated the allegation have added to the Mirror’s “reporting” a single supporting fact.
This is either because the facts don’t exist, or because the NewsCorp scandal has actually brought the quality of journalism down to the News Of The World‘s standards rather than up from it. See for example The Guardian‘s correction of its allegation (quoted at length by me here) that the Sun (another NewsCorp tabloid) had obtained the medical records of then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s son.
[...]
Justice Department officials know the allegations are thin and feel that no one should jump to conclusions, but given the calls from Republican and Democratic lawmakers and the sensitivity surrounding 9/11 victims, they have to look into the matter.
It's politics that accounts for the probe being initiated, not rational detective work.
And it's politics that has and will account for liberal Foxophobes cynically using the development to openly fantasize about a media environment devoid of Fox News.
- Ken Shepherd's blog
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Comments
And yet it's Peter King who's
Submitted by cathartic1 on Fri, 07/15/2011 - 1:42pm.
And yet it's Peter King who's asking for the investigation?
King's keen on anything
Submitted by Ken Shepherd on Fri, 07/15/2011 - 3:32pm.
King's keen on anything pertaining to 9/11 and rightfully so. But yeah, I think it's incredibly unlikely anyone at Fox News did any of the tabloid crap that was done by the tabloids in the UK. Indeed, I don't think anyone outside the tabloids for NewsCorp does that kind of crap. NewsCorp also owns respectable broadsheets which have a much higher ethical standard.
The Left are wetting themselves over this because they can bash Murdoch and bash Fox News by tarring the latter with association to the former, although it's highly unlikely Murdoch personally approved the sort of crap that was pulled in the UK as far as hacking into murder victims' voicemails, etc.
Yep
Submitted by Rukus on Fri, 07/15/2011 - 7:42pm.
Moonbats trying to turn one bristle into big 'ol broadbrush, as usual.
Funny thing about Investigations
Submitted by richb313 on Fri, 07/15/2011 - 5:23pm.
Funny thing about Investigations is that they often bring to light things that those that proposed the Investigation would prefer left in the dark. The limited scope, hacked E-Mails, could easily morf into Illegal Practices which could also lead who knows where? Something about Glass Houses and stones comes to mind.
Connection here?
Submitted by nkviking75 on Fri, 07/15/2011 - 9:14pm.
Admittedly I'm speculating here, but I find it interesting how this hit so soon after the Fox News stories on George Soros' meddling in the American MSM.
“Always love your country — but never trust your government!" -- Bob Novak (1931-2009)
When you put the clowns in charge, don't be surprised when a circus breaks out.
election time
Submitted by jessieH on Sat, 07/16/2011 - 10:20am.
Make up a story and run with it. That's the liberal Democrat's call letters, these days.
FBI Probe
Submitted by stan25 on Sat, 07/16/2011 - 11:11am.
Seems to me they are looking at the wrong side of the media spectrum. The state controlled media are more guilty of this practice than Fox News. Dollars to a donut, when things get all sifted out, the state controlled media will be the ones that are hauled into court for hacking emails of the 911 families, not Fox. They are doing this to cover their own butts. Like when PMSNBC faked those gas tank explosions on the Chevy pickups.