David's+Page


 * = =Obama Tax Policy=
 * = =Obama Tax Policy=

- Controversy has surfaced recently with regards to the proposed Obama tax policies that will take affect next year. Coupled with the record-breaking spending of the Obama Administration, the proposed policies have sparked heated debate and even provoked the assembly of conservative and liberal tax payers alike to protest the administration’s handling of taxes in the USA. The April 15th “TEA (**T**axed **E**nough **A**lready) Parties” took place nationwide to protest the high spending and high taxes proposed by the new Administration. This page will examine both mainstream and citizen media coverage of the TEA Parties as well as other events and debates that have taken shape in recent weeks. || Fox News: ON THE RECORD w/ Greta Van Susteren
 * How about some TEA with your taxes, Mr. President?** ||
 * = =Brief Overview and Summary=
 * = =Mainstream Media Coverage=

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The Huffington Post ||
 * Certainly underlying support for tea parties
 * Many camera shots of picket signs
 * Long interview with Republican Governor
 * Discussed "success" of the tea perties
 * Many mentions of history add to the portrayed message ||
 * = =Citizen Media Coverage=
 * = =Citizen Media Coverage=
 * = ==[|Fox News "Tea Party" Coverage Crosses The Line: Media Matters]==

Fox News is throwing some serious promotional resources behind its coverage of the conservative-driven, anti-tax "Tea Party" movement. The network is encouraging viewers to participate in protests, which it plans to cover live from at least four locations across the country. Now [|Media Matters says], the network has gone one teabag too far.

Fox News is making a mockery of its famous slogan, the progressive media watchdog says:

Despite its repeated insistence that its coverage is "fair and balanced" and its invitation to viewers to "say 'no' to biased media," Fox News has frequently aired segments encouraging viewers to get involved with "tea party" protests across the country, which the channel has described as primarily a response to President Obama's fiscal policies. The Media Matters item goes on to beat up Fox for dozens of recent on-air statements it views as too favorable of the tea party movement, such as Glenn Beck's exhortation to "celebrate with Fox News" on tax day. Fox's Tea Party cheerleading stands in stark contrast to the studied silence observed by CNBC, whose own Rick Santelli got this whole movement started. Since Santelli's impromptu rant blasting government spending on bank bailouts and mortgage relief, [|he and his network have kept their distance]. The Huffington Post has been asking readers to help us cover -- [|but not to "infiltrate," per Neil Cavuto] -- the many-hundred events as they happen across the country.

The Washington Post || =//White House Cheat Sheet: Tea Party, Part Deux//= //
 * Direct attack on Fox News
 * Certainly meant to provoke a negative image of Fox
 * Carefully avoids taking a stance on the tea parties themselves ("Cover and not "infiltrate")
 * Calls out specific Fox News contributors
 * Encourages readers to pay close attention to next tea parties
 * Article is a good example of the "war within the media" ||  ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   || **[|Mitchell Bard: The "Teabag" Protests Smack of Neo-McCarthyism]** Today's "teabag" protests would be funny, if they didn't make me think of Sen. Joseph McCarthy, and what he might have accomplished ||   ||   ||
 * = =Mainstream Media Coverage=

 The April 15 Tea parties are coming back, sort of. (AP Photo/Corpus Christi Caller-Times, Todd Yates) // Two prominent GOP governors will host a telephonic anti-tax tea party today, an effort organized by the Republican Governors Association to capitalize politically on the [|outrage expressed in last month's nationwide protests]. The call, which will be led by Govs. Rick Perry (Texas) and Mark Sanford (S.C.), [|will feature 30,000 participants in a sort-of virtual town hall], according to RGA spokesman Mike Schrimpf. "I have never before seen this level of political energy," said Sanford yesterday in an interview with the Fix. The goal of today's town hall, added Sanford, is to figure out "how do you take that energy and continue building it toward a movement that accomplishes change." The first incarnations of the tea parties -- a coordinated series of protests on April 15 in cities across the country -- drew a huge amount of attention from the media, and provoked strong opinions on both sides of the partisan divide. Republicans pointed to the events as the first stirrings of activity from their conservative base since then President George W. Bush's reelection race in 2004. Democrats savaged the tea parties as fake grassroots demonstrations organized out of Washington, D.C. and populated by radicals pushing a panoply of odd issues. Perry, whose [|comments hinting at secession] that day dominated the coverage of the protests, insisted in a conversation with the Fix that the caricature of the events was a far cry from what he saw. "These aren't crazy people," said Perry. "These are sane, thoughtful folks [who] are seeing something that never happened in their lifetimes." Perry added that the tea parties are a sign of "a legitimate tempest that is brewing across this country." While [|some noted that the lack of establishment Republicans who attended these tea parties], the RGA's attempt to bottle the energy surrounding the tea parties for political gain suggests that the party establishment was paying attention. "Our efforts is by no means to take over the tea parties, it's out of respect for them," said RGA communications director Mike Schrimpf. Schrimpf added that part of the reason the RGA organized the call was to make sure disgruntled voters know that their best chance to express their disapproval with growth in government spending is to vote against Democrats in governors races in New Jersey and Virginia this fall. "If you are looking for a bogeyman of the tax and spend agenda, [New Jersey Gov. Jon] Corzine represents it," said Schrimpf. It remains to be seen whether the anger expressed at last month's tea parties can be shoe-horned into a political context to benefit the GOP. While some of the attendees of the tea parties were certainly Republicans, there were also a fair number of people who don't view themselves through that sort of political lens. Sanford, for one, hopes that today's town hall is a step toward understanding what he believes to be a movement and figuring out whether "you can plug a piece of that energy into Republican governorships."


 * A fine example of bipartisan coverage
 * Presents opinions from both sides of the aisle
 * A great deal of information regarding the background of the tea parties
 * Opinion: illustrates a very sharp critisizm of the events from the Democrats
 * A reasonable amount of focus placed on the question "what next?"


 * = =Citizen Media Coverage=

posted at 6:49 pm on May 12, 2009 by Allahpundit
====Sounds cool in theory, or at least it would have if they had pulled in grassroots people to speak too and spent more time promoting it. As it is, this smells like a joint campaign event to remind the base who the real fiscal cons are ahead of a likely Sanford presidential run and Perry’s re-election bid against Kay Bailey Hutchison. Slapping the Republican brand on “tea party” won’t please partiers who want the events to remain bipartisan either, but I suppose that rubicon was crossed when Fox News went whole hog to promote the protests.==== ====**Hoping to recapture the grassroots energy of last month’s “tea parties,” Republican Govs. Mark Sanford of South Carolina and Rick Perry of Texas will host a tele-town hall Thursday that’s being dubbed “Tea Party 2.0.”** **The Republican Governors Association said it is expecting 30,000 people to participate in the town hall, which will take place roughly one month after the much-publicized anti-tax tea party rallies held in hundreds of locations across the country on April 15, the tax filing deadline.** **Sanford and Perry will each speak for several minutes before opening up the town hall to up to an hour-long question and answer session…** **The RGA, Ayers said, is hoping to use the town hall as a springboard for organizing support and fundraising for key gubernatorial races this year in Virginia and New Jersey.**==== ====I might watch just for the entertainment value of seeing them field questions about [|secession] and the inevitable ranting from Paulnuts about the Federal Reserve, but I’m guessing the informational value of this will be relatively low. What do you think, photo op or something more? To the extent that it puts grassroots conservatives in mind for better organizing, it’s all to the good.==== Comparative Analysis: The Tale of Two Sources As we have studied this term, there exist two primary sources of media: mainstream and citizen. With the vast amount of technology available to the public in our day, we are all bombarded with different coverage of events and, of course, different opinions of those events. But, which media is “good” media and which is “bad” media? Since all media is biased in some way (some more than others), there isn’t a clear-cut answer to this issue nor is there a definite manner of finding one. Thus, we have created this Wiki to analyze the differences between a few examples of mainstream and citizen media coverage of different events.
 * General support for tea parties, but too much
 * Makes good use of mainstream media coverage to illustrate points
 * Expresses an opinion of the organization of the parties/the Republicans
 * Writer is interested in the big issue of Texas's possible "secession"
 * In addition to opinions, offers readers a bit of background on the parties ||

The first examples of the media coverage of the April 15th TEA Parties that took place nationwide are perfect examples of the “war within the media” that we are all experiencing today. ON THE RECORD with Greta Van Susteren presented a documented analysis of the success of the Tea Parties coupled with a few words from South Carolina Governor and Tea Party contributor Mark Sanford. The coverage of the events was certainly portrayed on Television with a message of support for the Parties and an elegant illustration of historical context. The citizen media example is a blog written by a contributor for the Huffington Post in which the writer criticizes Fox News’s coverage of the Tea Parties, stating that the mainstream media company took their support a step too far. The blog then went on to call out specific Fox News contributors such as Glenn Beck and mention statements made by them. The blog was very careful not to specifically take a stance on the parties themselves, but encouraged readers to pay close attention to future events.

In my opinion, the message and bias of these two examples are polar opposites. In the case of Fox News, ON THE RECORD is demonstrating a self-acclaimed support for the Tea Parties through its mention of their success, their heartfelt interview with a Republican Governor (who happens to be one of the masterminds of the event), and a great outlining of historical context which plays out in favor of the Conservative viewpoint. On the other hand, the blog entry in the Huffington Post is a great example of attacks made by citizens at certain types of news media. The blog talks down to the tea parties (even though it did not take a clear stance) and also attacks Fox for taking its coverage of the event too far. The blog even goes on to say that Fox has damaged its slogan of “Fair and Balanced” due to its behavior. In terms of pure coverage of the event, neither source made a considerable effort to report the facts because that simply was not the objective of either source. Therefore, these are two ideal examples of media that does not report, but presents opinions.

The second set of examples are taken from a respected a media source (the Washington Post) and a blog website. The Washington Post article is a magnificent example of a remarkably bipartisan coverage of the Tea Parties. It mentions all the facts and provides context and quotes that cater to both sides of the political divide. It does not take a stance in anyway on the tea parties but at the same time provides fuel for arguments both for and against them. The article also took on a tone in which the writer is constantly asking the question “what’s next for the GOP?” The blog entry is a series of disjointed opinions jotted down out of the mind of the writer. He first comes out with a slight bit of criticism and general support for the event. Then, he stops and takes the time to cite a piece of a mainstream article which covered the Parties. This is what automatically makes this blog superior to some others because it offers a context taken from a respected source to substantiate its claims.

The Washington Post article is certainly the most impressive piece of reporting out of any of the other examples cited. It is a prime example of good media because it reports the facts, it provides context, and it illustrates both sides of the argument. Therefore, this page has accomplished its goal of sorting through different types of media coverage in an attempt to discover a “checklist” for “good news”. The Washington Post article employs that checklist and is truly what could be considered a model for great reporting. ||