Thread: Glenn Beck Issues Challenge to News Media

Glenn Beck Issues Challenge to News Media

Monday, October 26, 2009
By Glenn Beck

America, there is reason to have some hope today for change.

On Thursday, we saw a step in the right direction: All of the news outlets wanted to interview the new pay 'czar,' Kenneth Feinberg. So the Obama administration tried to make him available for interviews to every member of the White House pool, except for one.

You see, the press pool is a five-network rotation. It shares all the costs and the duties of daily coverage of the presidency, which can be a little pricey. They have been doing it for decades and the rules are clear: We're all in or all out.

The Washington bureau chiefs of the five TV networks — when the White House said, "Yes, but not Fox, because they're not really news" — they consulted and decided that none of the reporters from any of the networks would interview Feinberg unless Fox News was included.

The administration backed down. That was the media being a real watchdog; putting aside any bias to do what is right.

It reminds me of Walter Cronkite. Do you remember Walter Cronkite? I grew up watching Walter Cronkite. I think all of America loved him. What I loved, not at the time, but what I grew to love afterwards is that I had no idea the guy was a one-world government advocate. I mean, he was like, yes, we have to lose some sovereignty and everything else. What?

But that's the point. You couldn't tell. Other than what he did during the Tet Offensive in the Vietnam War, Cronkite kept his ideology to himself. He seemed unbiased, a journalist.

I think we saw a glimmer of journalists standing up Thursday and now we just need to see a few more.

Where are the Woodward and Bernsteins? Remember them? Just to refresh your memory: They were the two journalists working in Washington for The Washington Post who are responsible for uncovering massive corruption in the Nixon White House.

They started reporting on what they had found in June 1972, nearly five months before the election, but nobody else covered the story. Sound familiar? Then, in November, Richard Nixon was re-elected in a landslide. The White House denounced The Post and Woodward and Bernstein as biased and misleading.

They said the attacks were a smear campaign. Sound familiar? The Post's publisher worried about the administration's unveileds threat and harassment. Eventually, of course Woodward and Bernstein's front-page reports on Watergate were vindicated:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FORMER PRESIDENT RICHARD NIXON: Therefore, I shall resign the presidency effective at noon tomorrow.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

And President Nixon went away. Woodward and Bernstein won virtually every journalistic award imaginable, including the Pulitzer Prize for The Washington Post. You aren't going to win any prizes for saying, you know, how enchanting the president is.

Do journalists even remember Edward R. Murrow? He was the man who finally put a stop to Sen. Joe McCarthy and the hearings on communists in the government.

McCarthy was a powerful U.S. senator. Now, people who despise me will say, "Yes, does he sound familiar?" Yes. See, I'm not Joe McCarthy. I'm not using the full might and weight of the political power that I have in the Senate, to subpoena, interrogate and investigate virtually anybody of my choosing.

Edward R. Murrow was the guy onto other side, the guy who stood alone, the CBS newsman, a journalist who believed that senator had too much power. Bravely he stood up against the power and the might of the Senate and affected significant change in the direction of the country.

These men took their responsibility as journalists seriously. They understood that they represented the fourth estate for our nation. It was essentially the fourth branch of government: Journalists, the press, the media, to serve as another check and balance in our system.

I'm not either one of those guys, but both of those guys are out there someplace. Both of those guys are currently either in Washington or here. Woodward and Bernstein are out there, too.

Go claim your prize. Better yet: Do the right thing. Stand up against corruption no matter where you find it.

But before you do that, figure out what you believe and what you're prepared to do, because the White House has sent you a warning this week:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WHITE HOUSE CHIEF-OF-STAFF RAHM EMANUEL: I suppose the way to look at it and the way the president looks at it is and we look at it, it's not a news organization so much as it has a perspective and that's a different take. And more importantly, does not have — the CNNss and the others in the world basically be led and following Fox.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

That is an interesting line, isn't it? It is more important for CNN and the rest to not follow Fox — even though Fox gets the story right.

And is it more than a coincidence — I'm sure it's just a coincidence — that last month, the ombudsman at The New York Times blasted the paper for missing the stories that Fox had covered. The stories that the talk radio was covering and they said that they were going to watch and listen a little bit more.

Wow. The watchdogs of the Republic; you have been warned.

It's time to decide, journalists of America, are you are going to be a lapdog or are you going to be watchdog?

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,569637,00.html

I saw the press conference when the other MSM's stood up for Fox News.I was pleasantly surprised to hear a reporter from CBS say Fox News has more viewers then any of the other MSM's.