I don't watch much TV, but here is what America saw from the couch tonight.
Not one network broke away from Clinton. He gave a good speach.
But after -- NBC viewers saw the police firing rubber bullets at thousands of kids who went to the concert.
CBS viewers were switched instantly to a show ominously called "Big Brother."
All networks cut the broadcast and quickly returned to commercial broadcasts upset the Clinton's had stolen a hour of free air-time.
I think we understand what prevents democracy these days. We don't have real news anymore. News has been sold off and killed so the airwaves can bring us commercial messages.
feeling a bit creeped out, how about you?
Love,
Winston Smith
Here in LA, it's tough getting fair coverage of what has been happening, but despite the total failure of the networks to cover the protesters, one local television station rose to the challenge. KCAL, Channel 9, a local Los Angeles station showed a lot of what was happening outside the Staples Center, including the police forcing the concert-goers to disperse from the pit (with their cameramen filming from within the crowd during the initial removal of everyone from that area). This local station also filmed and broadcast the police pushing the crowd back with helmeted officers on foot, mounted polic, motorcycle officers, followed by police cars. Most interesting is that the reporters repeatedly commented on how incongruous the whole situation was: with the folks inside Staples Center gushing over Clinton, while outside activists who were attempting to exercise their First Amendment rights were promptly shut down.
KCAL is still broadcasting from outside the Center and reporting "unconfirmed" that at least one person was hit by a rubber bullet and another who was trampled by a mounted police officer is now being taken away by ambulance. More later . . .
Well ... you guys were the top news story at C-SPAN, for what it's worth. People know you're there, even if the corporate media does its best to distort your message.
Speaking of which, I think I'm going to make a little rant here.
I've seen more than one example, at multiple protests, of reporters talking to very intelligent, articulate protestors, but once they get on the air, all they have to say is "Well .... I don't really understand what these protestors are protesting ..." The sell-out nature of their careers aside, don't most of these people have at least some basic level of intelligence? Isn't *paying attention* in their job description? I really don't understand why this is so difficult. All I know is that I see these elderly white men walking past groups of young people, and practically saying, "I just don't understand these dang kids these days." Anyone else getting deja vu?
The difference is that a lot of people in the previous generation did something very similar to what we're doing now, and engaged in massive generational protest. So there's even less excuse for their ignorance.