You know it's bad when your own ombudsman compares you to Richard Nixon, or suggests that you need an ombudsman devoted only to you. But that's exactly what PBS Ombud Michael Getler has been pushed to with the latest Bill Moyers "editorial", which was covered by our own Noel Sheppard.
Set aside for the moment that in a tirade Moyers referred to the Commander in Chief as "an intellectually incurious draft-averse naughty playboy in a flight jacket with chewing tobacco in his back pocket". That's the PBS equivalent of 'fair and balanced'. At question here is whether or not Karl Rove is a religious man. Moyers postulates that he is not, going off various dubious sources (that Moyers referred to as "circulating reports") such as the outright conjecture of bloggers. Church-attending Karl claims Moyers is wrong. Who are you going to believe?
Getler rightly points out that this type of sourcing "is not up to his [Moyer] standards", which apparently are already far below average journalistic standards. He also points out that, again, Moyers has violated PBS's Editorial Standards and Policies which require that when "a program, segment, or other content is devoted to opinion or commentary, the principle of transparency requires that it be clearly labeled as such" and "should identify who is responsible for the views being presented."
Continue reading the ombud report if you like, but I found it a tiring report of the obvious: Bill Moyers is, as Dan Rather would say - a partisan political operative, cloaked in the auspices of a journalist taking tax money from the public against the will of the majority.
Editor at Large
Comments Policy
Fareness Indoctornation
August 24, 2007 - 17:06 ET by upcountrywaterMy tax dollars STILL pay for this drivel.
Fire him, nope can't fire a government employeeeeee.
Bill is so over-due for a post- birth abortion.
Entitlement over infrastructure every SINGLE time.
Bill who?
August 24, 2007 - 17:22 ET by NBFBill who?
Another Job for Noel
August 24, 2007 - 17:38 ET by mattmLast night PBS aired another Bill Moyers special which included an interview with Dan "The Forger" Rather. The topic - the false claim of Liberal media bias!
Libs talking to Libs about how "objective" they are.... I laughed, I cried, I stuck in a DVD....
Wow, when even Rove himself
August 24, 2007 - 18:15 ET by Del DolemonteWow, when even Rove himself feels compelled to call PBS and complain, you know Billy Joe Moyers has jumped the shark.
It was encouraging to read the comments that the ombudsman posted. Many called Moyers out.
But sure enough, there's a Moyers Kool-Aid drinker in there...from California, of course!
"Bill Moyers, you are a true hero. You speak truth to power, albeit in a soft, well-spoken voice. Karl Rove is no Christian when he does the work of Satan (no matter if he occasionally sits in the pew of an Episcopalian church.) Rove helped elect a "true believer" though, a "born again" Bush, who thought that God "wanted" him to run for President. Talk about delusions of grandeur! The "God" that then "talked" to Bush is living in Hell now — or in Iraq."
When Stephanopoulos grows old...
August 24, 2007 - 19:38 ET by ThalpyThis is what we would have to look forward to if Stephanopoulos grows old in the news business. Little or no objectivity-claptrap.
I see, so Bill Moyers flat out lied
August 24, 2007 - 19:44 ET by SportPoliticsabout Karl Roves beliefs.
Liberals like Moyers are lying slimeballs.
I saw he had a big fat lie again for his excuse when he was supposed to explain himself. What a LOSER.
It's just amazing what the skumbags get away with.
Moyers
August 24, 2007 - 20:33 ET by Felicity RandNote to Billy Moyers:
I wouldn't be throwing around the phrase "intellectually incurious" if I were you.
You don't have an incurious bone in your body when it comes to talking about the subjects you "examine."
Moyers is...
August 24, 2007 - 20:49 ET by c5thenNothing more than an angry old man who sees his ideologies proven wrong more and more over the years.
The day that "politician" became a career choice is the day we started losing the Republic
Actually, he nailed it
August 24, 2007 - 20:54 ET by takingmyconstitutionalCharacterizing Bush as "an intellectually incurious draft-averse naughty playboy in a flight jacket with chewing tobacco in his back pocket" is a relatively kind way of describing the biggest loser to occupy the White House since Harding.
Yeah, you're right. As a
August 24, 2007 - 21:34 ET by Del DolemonteYeah, you're right. As a drunk driver himself, Moyers knows his fellow travelers.
By the way, let me correct your post. Jimmy Carter was the biggest loser to occupy the White House since Warren Harding.
And Jimmy would be followed by Bill Clinton, whose Presidency was described by longtime JFK aide and speechwriter Richard Goodwin as a failure before he even left office. And Goodwin's conclusion was reached long before the USS Cole, or the pardons, or what happened 9 months after he left office.
tmc speaks, yet
August 25, 2007 - 14:56 ET by MikeBtmc speaks, yet again.
"A communist is someone who reads Marx. An anti-communist is someone who understands Marx." Ronald Reagan
As far as I can tell,
August 25, 2007 - 17:56 ET by hydrodynDMAs far as I can tell, takingmyconstitutional has never posted more than
one comment under any topic and has never responded to a post directed
at him.
Never.
Just throwing that out there.
-
August 25, 2007 - 22:51 ET by dahliatraversYou are correct, sir (or ma'am). The term "fraidy scared" comes to mind.
Actually, douchebag, that
August 25, 2007 - 18:01 ET by fitzfongActually, douchebag, that characterization is more appropriate for your draft-dodging, secretary-raping "First Laddy" Clinton. And everyone knows that Jimmy Carter is the biggest loser ever to occupy the White House.
PBS
August 24, 2007 - 22:46 ET by pbthinkerSO, as we look for fair and balanced, from the network our tax money helps fund, when will there be a Conservative with the same type of show Moyers has? DId I hear someone say, "When pigs fly!"? Since I don't watch PBS, except for an occasional Rock and Roll review, I can't say whether he's the only one expressing his point of view. We all know about the slant on PBS, but Moyers is well beyond that.
Hell, you can't even get a Conservative to head the CPB, let alone get a Conservative on the air.
Never argue with an idiot. They'll drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.
Note To BM
August 25, 2007 - 08:12 ET by mytwocentsBill, you need to re-take "Objection Journalism 101". Say it with me - objective, objective - fair, balanced. What a total empty suit! Can I have some of my hard-earned tax dollars back. I didn't get anything of value.