Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Lawrence O'Donnell - Channeling Hannity

I really and truly thought that Lawrence O'Donnell was different (i.e., from the rest of the cable-news partisans). Apparently not, folks. I mean, I don't know if you saw it or not, but on last night's program, Mr. O'Donnell treated Orlando Sentinal crime reporter, Rene Stutzman, with both treachery and disrespect. He specifically accused Ms. Stutzman of not attributing key information to a source. And, yes, folks, he did it in the same stupid-assed way that Sean Hannity and Rachel Maddow have been doing it; by selectively leaving out key phrasing..............................................................................................Exhibit A: O'Donnell reads from the transcript; "He was on his way to the grocery store when he spotted Trayvon walking through his gated community." Of course, what Rene Stutzman actually said was, "HE SAID (he, of course, being Zimmerman) he was on his way to the grocery store when he spotted Trayvon walking through his gated community." Clearly, the woman in fact WAS providing context here...............................................................................................Exhibit B: O'Donnell again reads from the transcript; "With a single punch, Trayvon Martin decked the Neighborhood Watch volunteer who eventually shot and killed the unarmed 17-year-old, then Trayvon climbed on top of George Zimmerman and slammed his head into the sidewalk, leaving him bloody and battered." Contrast this with the entire text: "With a single punch, Trayvon Martin decked the Neighborhood Watch volunteer who eventually shot and killed the unarmed 17-year-old, then Trayvon climbed on top of George Zimmerman and slammed his head into the sidewalk, leaving him bloody and battered, law-enforcement authorities told the Orlando Sentinel. That is the account Zimmerman gave police, and much of it has been corroborated by witnesses, authorities say." YET AGAIN, the information IS referenced - in this case, law enforcement officials AND Mr. Zimmerman..........................................................................................I don't know, folks, it looks to me as if Lawrence O'Donnell owes this Stutzman lady an apology. Not that I'll be holding my breath for it, obviously.


12 comments:

The Prophet Dervish Z Sanders said...

I don't get what you're objecting to.

Will "take no prisoners" Hart said...

Mr. O'Donnell accused this woman of not referencing her statements and sleazily tried to prove this by omitting words from the text. That's an F for journalism and an F- for integrity.

dmarks said...

Will: Don't worry. It's not Fox, so the MSNBC journalist who makes up false reports by intentional lies of omission will get a free pass.

The Prophet Dervish Z Sanders said...

Will: "...That is the account Zimmerman gave police, and much of it has been corroborated by witnesses, authorities say".

Sounds like you think this was a case of self-defense. But, Trayvon Martin Investigator Wanted Manslaughter Charge.

As for Lawrence O'Donnell, I KNEW he was bound to disappoint you eventually. I'm surprised it took this long. I didn't see the airing you refer to. Was it Monday's program? I have that one on my DVR, so can watch it to see if what you say is accurate (otherwise I cannot).

Maybe this is a case of an updated article replacing the orginal online (and the original article could be criticized for not citing sources)? I find it hard to believe LO would go after a reporter for something the reporter didn't do.

What did he have to gain by doing this? Didn't the reporter correct LO and say she *DID* cite a source? I'm very doubtful that you're accurately describing this.

dmarks said...

Will said: "Mr. O'Donnell accused this woman of not referencing her statements and sleazily tried to prove this by omitting words from the text. That's an F for journalism and an F- for integrity."

So how is Fox News 100% different from MSNBC, I wonder?

Because their "journalists" get and F- instead of an F for journalism? I am looking forward to the amazing splitting of hairs and mental somersaults in order to defined the difference. Not from you, of course. You are pretty good at looking at things from an objective POV.

Will "take no prisoners" Hart said...

wd, I don't know if it was self-defense or it wasn't (my suspicion is that this Zimmerman guy probably initiated the confrontation). My only point here is that Mr. O'Donnell (probably because he wanted to continue with this whole "the white man as the oppressor" narrative) used a an either sloppy or devious approach in his interviewing of this poor woman.......And, yes, she TRIED to correct him but he frigging bullied/yelled at her; just like O'Reilly and Hannity do when they're frigging backs are up against the wall.

Will "take no prisoners" Hart said...

http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-03-26/news/os-trayvon-martin-zimmerman-account-20120326_1_miami-schools-punch-unarmed-black-teenager......This is the original article in which she clearly gives context.

The Prophet Dervish Z Sanders said...

Will: This is the original article in which she clearly gives context.

How do you know it's the original? I was reading the comment thread on a story about this at the Daily Kos and someone there claimed the story was re-written (and the version Lawrence O'Donnell was referring to wasn't the version on the Orlando Sentinel website).

Also, the article is pretty slanted, IMO. Someone reading it could get the impression that Zimmerman's account of the events were being presented as fact.

*If* a mistake was made I don't think Lawrence O'Donnell did it on purpose.

Will "take no prisoners" Hart said...

I'm not saying that the article wasn't slanted. I'm just saying that Mr. O'Donnell either intentionally or sloppily left out important words.......Somebody in the Daily Kos comment section claimed something? Seriously, that's what you're going with? wd, the article is dated 3/26/12.

Rusty Shackelford said...

This looks more and more similar to the Duke lacross incident.Again the left jumps the gun,throws race cards all over creation,wants Zimmerman castrated at the very least and again they might very well be eating crow.

Will "take no prisoners" Hart said...

My mind is open, Russ. I would also add that all of this talk about the fact that Zimmerman wasn't bleeding from the nose and therefore he couldn't have had a broken nose stuff is bunk. I had my nose broken id a high school gym class basketball game (the asshole gave me a hard foul as I was going in for lay-up - which I still made, btw) and I didn't bleed a drop. Just like I never bled when I broke my arm......Still, though, I suspect that Mr. Zimmerman could have avoided this entire confrontation with a little more common sense. Just a feeling.

The Prophet Dervish Z Sanders said...

The Left is not "jumping the gun" (poor choice of words considering we're talking about a shooting). They simply want an investigation, which is, or wasn't being done. None of this would be happening if the police had done their job.

This looks nothing like the Duke lacross incident. In that case they were found innocent, in this one it doesn't look like it's going to turn out that way. Also, in that case there was no hard evidence, and in this one we have a dead body. I think Rusty is jumping the gun here in implying Zimmerman is innocent... Apparently just because he doesn't like the Left's reporting on the story.

Will, I'm not "going with" what someone on the Daily Kos comments section said... I'm pointing out that it's possible the article that is there now is not the original. So what if it's dated? That's the date of original publication... it could have been modified later.

In any case, I'm not going to waste my time worrying about how the author of a slanted article was "wronged".