If there were any doubts that Ron Paul is indeed the most feared candidate
running, how much more proof do we need??

Saturday, May 5, 2007

http://anachronisticfuturist.blogspot.c ... hould.html
Media Matters (More Than They Should)

I'd recently written about the fact that we in the public are often spoonfed our views based not on journalistic integrity, but on the foundation of ratings, personal bias and outright incompetence. I hadn't really intended to be revisiting this subject quite so soon, in fact I had already half written a blog piece today about the 'soldier of tomorrow' and the new technology aimed to make our soldiers into advance warfighters.

However, I was arrested in this action when I came across a piece of information directly relating to the recent Republican Party Debate held on MSNBC.

Over the course of the debate, I became very much interested in Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX) and the fact that he was the only candidate who not only deviated from the current GOP party line, but managed to stand out in his earnestness and sincerity when he spoke. Very far from John McCain's awkward rants about Osama Bin Laden, and Giuliani's duck and cover response to nearly every question. I was pleased to see that I was not alone in this and as such something of a grassroots internet movement sprung up supporting Congressman Paul.

Following the debate, MSNBC launched a web poll in which Congressman Paul came out on top across the board. Very strange that there was very little reporting of this and that Giuliani's abortion comments blasted across the internet as the only thing that happened in the debate well that and the fact that Ronald Reagan's name was used 36 times in an hour and a half.

I was disheartened that the dark horse of the Republican Party was getting the shaft by the mainstream media, but I somewhat expected it given that the media has a raging news-on for Giuliani and McCain at the moment.

Then this morning via reddit the following ABC News Story and Poll Came to my attention. When asking who won the debate...Congressman Ron Paul wasn't even listed. Nowhere to be seen. Apparently, I imagined him at the debates and he was a figment of my imagination after all. But wait...it gets worse. When I looked at the comments section for the article, there were 80 strong. Many of these comments were questioning why Congressman Paul was left out of the Poll. ABC's response? Delete every comment asking the question.


"I just got off the phone with Senior Vice President of ABC News Media Relations Jeffrey Snyder. He seemed suprised and dismayed the comments were being delelted. I told him I will to promote the story of the blatant censorship using my websites I affiate with, social networking sites, et al., until I personally feel they have gone above and beyond rectifying the situation and that he should begin working toward rectifying the situation on his end. I made my stance clear, and gave my full real name and location. He was genuinely impressed and thankful for bringing this to his attention.

It remains to be seen how all this will turn out, but I will posit that the fact that this even has happened is very telling. Even on MSNBC who hosted the debate and where Ron Paul is at the top of the 'who won' poll he remains absent in the window below- where you can click to visit each candidate's profile his name is missing.

So what does this mean to you? It should mean a lot. It means that the ones who hold the purse strings are the ones who dictate our American elections...or at least that's what it used to mean.

The past few days have shown me a few things. We are in a new age of media and electioneering. Hell every current declared candidate has a myspace page and youtube is ad hoc allowing people to air any relevant data. Things candidates let slip no longer fade into history, they live on in the constant exposure of youtube and web 2.0 blogsites like this one. And whats most important, we as individuals now have the tools at our fingertips to be educated, active, and hold the mainstream media, and the candidates accountable.

--UPDATE---
It appears that through the efforts of a great many people, ABC has actually added Congressman Paul to the poll, reset their counters, and stopped deleting comments This goes to show that we can insist that the media maintain it's integrity and not be given simple lip service.