Shuster Shredded for Tasteless 'Gotcha' Game

Photo of Mark Finkelstein.
  • Bookmark and Share

David Shuster's tasteless game of "gotcha," that we reported here and here, in which the MSNBC "correspondent" exploited the name of a fallen American soldier to put Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) on the spot, is getting considerable media attention. Brit Hume featured it in last night's "Grapevine" segment of "Special Report."

View video here.

A number of commentators have also weighed in with criticism of Shuster's lamentable "gotcha" game, including Mike Gallaher, Investors Business Daily and, notably, Rich Galen, who observes:

This is journalist crapola. Anyone can find a fact - important or not - which the subject of an interview is not likely to know and then beat him or her over the head with it.

Do you think al-Anbar province is important to the stabilization of Iraq? You do? Name the current provincial leader. Can't do it? HYPOCRITE!

You voted against raising the minimum wage. What's the average hourly wage in your district? Don't know? IGNORAMOUS!

See what I mean?

. . .

I will not impugn Shuster's motives because I don't know what they were - although I am willing to speculate that the words "Guest host for Keith Olbermann" enter into it.

What I will do, though, is suggest most strongly that Shuster is guilty of practicing faux journalism at its worst. This isn't "gotchya" journalism. This is on the level of a grossly unprofessional and ugly Three-Stooges-Whoop-Whoop-Nyuk-Nyuk fraternity prank.

. . .

As it happens, Shuster was wrong. The Newsbusters.[org] website found out that the soldier Shuster named had not lived in Blackburn's district after all.

Here's what NBC should do: Suspend Shuster until he agrees to take his parents (if they are still alive) with him to the home of the soldier's parents and apologize to them, not for some staffer having mis-read a ZIP code map, but for having abused their son's memory to perpetrate a despicable on-air stunt.

What if someone on the Fox News Channel had done this to a Democrat who had been defending the MoveOn.org ad? The Popular Press would demand the offending "journalist" be removed from his or her job. And rightly so.

We're waiiiiitttttting.

—Mark Finkelstein is a NewsBusters contributing editor and host of Right Angle. Contact him at mark@gunhill.net.


Comments Policy

All comments are owned by whoever posted them and are subject to our terms of use. They should not be assumed to represent the views of NewsBusters.

Viewing options

Select your preferred way to display the comments and click "Save settings" to activate your changes.

Without FOX and other radio

Without FOX and other radio talkers, these moronic journalists will keep on going unscathed. Not ANYMORE! They can't do this kind of reporting. They should just report the facts and let us decide. I thank NB, MRC, Michelle Malkin, Coulter, Rush, even BOR, Hannity and Savage for their efforts in exposing these idiots. Now Brit is opining... 

Without FOX,etc

I agree with you 200%   we just gotta keep

after these moronic journalists.

just scratching the surface

just scratching the surface as usual - but still nice to see - Fox could easily go 24/7 with NB material...

the shusters of the world are so lucky - they get a free pass from this kind of TV exposure most of the time

Moveon.Shuster

Moveon.Shuster

Neither Shuster nor his

Neither Shuster nor his supporters are likely to be bothered by the fact that he misused and abused a deceased soldier and his family for the sake of a stupid stunt. They likely think it was in a good cause. Shuster only apologized for attacking the wrong representative. He apparently has no misgivings about the indecency of perpertrating such an attack to begin with.

I will not impugn Shuster's motives because I don't know what they were -Rich Galen

I don't know why not. I don't think there is any possible decent, innocent, motive that he could have had for doing what he did.

The Stupidity Never Ends

The likes of Schuster, Olberman, Scarborough and Matthews cannot stop themselves.  I believe they actually enjoy watching people react to their stupidity; unfortunately, MSNBC is the real culprit for allowing these people to have the latitude to do some of the stuff they do without recourse.  I can only suggest that when these incidents erupt, we continue to hammer the named culprit with e-mails, but that we also take the time to hammer the corporation - and in this case I mean GE, not the affiliate MSNBC.  For any of them to allow Schuster to get off the hook with that meaningless apology is outrageous; he owes that family a huge apology.

We're waiiiiitttttting. I

We're waiiiiitttttting.

I am not, I think he believes that his side of the double standard has been well served

Shuster, his cronies, and

Shuster, his cronies, and ilk, as well as his management, have no concerns about what he did. And his apology wasn't about attacking the wrong rep. His apology was that his attack information was wrong. There was no apology for the attack itself or the defamation of a US soldier's memory, or the anguish caused to his family. If the attack-ee didn't matter, then this type of gotcha interview would have been standard practice, even more so on Dems. The Dems are the ones so vocally against the war. One would hope they're keeping track of the deaths of their constituents if it's such a big issue for them. Not to mention their support of the resolution condemning the despicable MoveOn ad. After all, the Repubs are the heartless ones keeping the war going, supporting the evil Bush regime, and showing their bias every time they speak. The wonderful Dems, with their concern for "average Joe" are the ones one would expect to know the name, home address, family members, GPA, and shoe size of every person in their district. Or not. 

The Closed Mind Erects Strong Barriers

The man should be fired.

The man should be fired. But their bosses don't care as it's about agenda.

They'll keep it up till the go off the air. When the lights go of because so few people watch the power company throws the switch for not of paying the bill. 

Anyone know the members of the board for the parent company for these creeps?

"There is a clear attempt to establish truth not by scientific methods but by perpetual repetition."
- Richard S. Lindzen, Ph.D. Professor of Meteorology, MIT

Breaking News

Anonymous, High Ranking, Inside the Beltway, Unnamed sources confirm that Schuster is a HACK!

 

I'm a refugee from the Democratic Party.

 

Schuster, Olberman, Scarborough and Matthews

One MUST resist the natural instinct to compare these supposed "journalists" to Jerry Springer, for THAT would be very inaccurate, (and unfair to Mr. Springer).

No, the above mentioned overpaid jaw-flappers, and slobberers,  are more directly related to (possibly even by DNA standards) to those folks ON Springer's show who physically jump out of their chairs and attack fellow guests, after looking like complete idiots during their interviews ...

 

Also, this is EXACTLY why the Bush Administration and the Pentagon have NOT allowed these rear end tunnels to have access to the Flag-draped coffins of our troops coming home ... THANK G-D!!!

Shuster is a 3rd rate wanabe

Shuster is a 3rd rate wanabe liberal.  We have bigger fish to fry!

respectfully disagree

wrt Shuster. Little imps like Shuster grow up to be big imps if they aren't put in their place. He needs to go and we need to keep the heat on him until he goes away.

CRAPOLA

The best new old word to describe MSNBC and their Smear Merchants.

David Shuster

Shuster is a far left idiot posing as a journalist. If you read some of these far left website comments, it seems as if he has succeeded. They think he should have his own show even after his mistake was reported. They think Rep. Blackburn should have corrected Shuster's mistake when asked about the wrong soldier, as if it was her responsibility. They don't see what Shuster has done to the memory of the fallen American soldier and his family. There is no place for this kind of crap on a major news network. Shuster should never be on air again.

Schuster is a joke. A

Schuster is a joke. A total DNC hit man who is an asset of MoveOn and the ultra-left fever swamps. Hysterical self-righteous liar. Fits the MSNBC model exactly & is probably being primped for another Kraven Odorboy slot.

But the Republicans are correct to boycott MSNBC just as John-boy scared the Dems into staying off Fox.

Hilliary/Hsu

It is supriseing all this is coming out about BOR/RUSH from Msm.Then again how much attention is paid to Hilliary and the contributions from Hsu.The best defense is a strong offense.

David was right!

"But Shuster's apology may have been premature. The tiny hamlet of Bon
Aqua, Tenn., is where Bohannon lived in the months immediately prior to
entering the Army. The Census Bureau places his home in Blackburn's 7th
Congressional District."

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2007/sep/28/e28gotcha/

The biggest threat to the Bush Administration is an informed public.

In the military

You put down your home of record.That is your home.