SPJ Misses Mark

The lamestream media told you:

According to the Center for Media and Democracy: The Society of Professional Journalists has issued a statement strongly criticizing the National Broadcasting Corporation for its continued use of retired Gen. Barry McCaffrey as an on-air military analyst, while failing to disclose McCaffrey's multiple conflicts of interest." NBC, CNBC and MSNBC give viewers the impression he is an objective observer speaking from the depths of his experience. "What the networks have failed to tell viewers is that McCaffrey has a financial interest in the war." The networks -- owned by defense contractor General Electric, is a powerful reason to be skeptical about their neutrality and credibility. Writing for the Columbia Journalism Review, Charles Kaiser asks if there is any limit to the shamelessness of NBC News, which "has never once disclosed any of McCaffrey's multiple conflicts of interest on the air."

The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:

It is unusual but refreshing to see SPJ attack one of its own for gross corruption and bias that is endemic in virtually all lamestream media. However, SPJ has found no time or space to issue a strong statement condemning NBC (or the rest of the lamestream) for running stories up to four-to-one in favor of their preferred presidential candidate (or 4 to 1 against the one they hated, who not surprisingly lost by a few percentage points). The McCaffrey deceit concerns a single news item. The twisted coverage of the presidential candidates helped swing the national election, an act that would be typically considered criminal fraud, but apparently not important enough to mention.

Tags: Center for Media and Democracy, Gen. Barry McCaffrey, Society of Professional Journalists