The Modern Journalist

Undocumented Journalist, Media Analyst: Eric Boehlert of Media Matters

2010-11-28T10:14:00.002-05:00

In an effort to expose unqualified journalists working in the field without documentation, I will identify whether or not a so-called 'professional' journalist actually holds a degree in journalism or communications.

Why is this important?

'Documented' journalists have been taught in college to cover the who, what, where, when, why, and how of news. But more importantly, they have also been taught the reasons why the framers of the Constitution protected the press from the government in the First Amendment and the role the press plays as the Fourth Estate by providing final checks and balances over the political process in the United States. Thus, regardless of work experience, the most basic forms of journalist malpractice can be measured through training, or lack thereof.

Simply put, it is not the job of the press to hold one ideology more or less accountable than another. It is the job of the press to objectively report the truth. In the age of Internet news, it is no longer the job of a journalist to decide what is the correct news; it is the job of a journalist to be an educated, skilled professional.

Eric Boehlert is a Senior Fellow at Media Matters for America, a liberal Web site self-discribed as, "dedicated to comprehensively monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation in the U.S. media."

Boehlert is the author of Lapdogs: How the Press Rolled Over for Bush (Free Press, 2006). He worked for five years as a senior writer for the liberal blog Salon.com, where he wrote about media and politics. Prior to that, he worked as a contributing editor for that proud paragon of investigative reporting and balanced journalism, Rolling Stone.

Boehlert has a bachelor's degree in Near Eastern studies from the University of Massachusetts and is an undocumented journalist because he does not hold a degree in journalism or communications. More disturbing, Boehlert writes as the premier analyst for a Web site routinely quoted by members of the mainstream media as a credible and reliable source for news.

Undocumented Journalist: Rachel Martin of ABC News

2010-03-20T11:36:00.001-04:00

In an effort to expose unqualified journalists working in the field without documentation, I will identify whether or not a so-called 'professional' journalist actually holds a degree in journalism or communications.

Why is this important?

'Documented' journalists have been taught in college to cover the who, what, where, when, why, and how of news. But more importantly, they have also been taught the reasons why the framers of the Constitution protected the press from the government in the First Amendment, and the role the press plays as the Fourth Estate by providing final checks and balances over the political process in the United States. Thus, regardless of work experience, the most basic type of journalist malpractice can be measured through training, or lack thereof.

Simply put, it is not the job of the press to hold one ideology more or less accountable than another. It is the job of the press to objectively report the truth. In the age of Internet news, it is no longer the job of a journalist to decide what is news; it is the job of a journalist to be an educated, skilled professional.

Rachel Martin works for ABC News as a general assignment correspondent based out of Washington, D.C.

Martin joined ABC News from NPR, where she was a newscaster for Bryant Park Project.

An Idaho native, Martin was awarded a Master's degree in International Affairs from Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs in 2003 and is a graduate of the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington, with a degree in Politics and Government.

Martin is an undocumented journalist because she does not hold a degree in journalism or communications.

The Decline and Fall of Barack Hussein Obama, March 20, 2010

2010-03-20T11:23:00.000-04:00

RASMUSSEN POLL:
Obama Approval Index: -21 (matching trend low)
Strongly Approve 23%
Strongly Disapprove 44%

Total Approval 43% (trend low)
Total Disapproval 56%

Liberals' Big Mistake

2010-03-19T09:08:00.000-04:00

The biggest mistake liberal Democrats have made in their rush to reform health care by 'any means necessary' is to forget that they will not be in power forever. Imagine a United States where Rush Limbaugh is president and conservative Republicans hold a supermajority in the legislature. Imagine again Limbaugh and Republicans bringing to bear the full force of the precedents recently set by power hungry liberals.

Delicious.

Inept News Organizations Whupped by Cartoons

2010-03-19T08:55:00.000-04:00

When MSNBC and CNN are beaten by the Cartoon Network in ratings, you have to ask yourself a simple question: If it is a journalist's job to have a sense of what's news, whey then, don't they have a clue about the news that they are failing? It is, after all, a journalist's only job to objectively report the news.

I guess you would have to assume that either they are poor excuses for journalists or perhaps they are not even journalists at all....

Source.

Democrats, Undocumented Journalists Tout Fake Health Reform CBO Numbers

2010-03-18T12:37:00.001-04:00

"This estimate is therefore preliminary, pending a review of the language of the reconciliation proposal...."

Horse race reporting unhinged?

Read the source.

Health Vote Sun: End of Dems for Years or Generations?

2010-03-18T09:48:00.000-04:00

News reports speculate the House will vote on Obamacare Sunday.

It's a bad situation: end Obamacare and Democrats are voted out of power for years -- pass Obamacare and Democrats are voted out of power for decades, perhaps for generations.

Organizations: Community, Commune, Communism

2010-03-14T10:58:00.001-04:00

They all share the same root word.

Undocumented Journalist: Chuck Todd of NBC, MSNBC

2010-03-07T12:11:00.004-05:00

In an effort to expose unqualified journalists working in the field without documentation, I will identify whether or not a so-called 'professional' journalist actually holds a degree in journalism or communications.

Why is this important?

'Documented' journalists have been taught in college to cover the who, what, where, when, why, and how of news. But more importantly, they have also been taught the reasons why the framers of the Constitution protected the press from the government in the First Amendment, and the role the press plays as the Fourth Estate by providing final checks and balances over the political process in the United States. Thus, the most basic type of journalist malpractice can be measured through training, or lack thereof.

Simply put, it is not the job of the press to hold one ideology more or less accountable than another. It is the job of the press to objectively report the truth. In the age of Internet news, it is no longer the job of a journalist to decide what is news; it is the job of a journalist to be an educated, skilled professional.

Charles David “Chuck” Todd, born April 8, 1972, is an American journalist, White House correspondent and political director for NBC News, MSNBC, and contributing editor to Meet the Press. He is an occasional contributor to other news outlets, including the Atlantic Monthly.

Todd attended George Washington University from 1990 to 1994. He majored in political science and minored in music. However he did not graduate. While in college, Todd worked for the 1992 presidential campaign of liberal Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa).

Todd is an undocumented journalist because he does not hold a degree in journalism or communications.

The Democrat Banzai Charge

2010-03-03T08:47:00.002-05:00

Wikipedia defines "Banzai charge" as a term applied during World War II by the Allied forces to human wave attacks mounted by infantry forces of the Imperial Japanese Army. These attacks were usually launched as a suicide attack to avoid surrender and dishonor or as a final attempt at maximizing the odds of success in the face of usually numerically superior Allied forces.

It seems very fitting to characterize the last-ditch efforts to pass ObamaCare with reconciliation as a Banzai charge.

The Wall Street Journal today opined:

A string of electoral defeats and the great unpopularity of ObamaCare can't stop Democrats from their self-appointed rendezvous with liberal destiny—ramming a bill through Congress on a narrow partisan vote. What we are about to witness is an extraordinary abuse of traditional Senate rules to pass a bill merely because they think it's good for the rest of us, and because they fear their chance to build a European welfare state may never come again.

***
The vehicle is "reconciliation," a parliamentary process that fast-tracks budget measures and was created in 1974 as a deficit-reduction tool. Limited to 20 hours of debate, reconciliation bills need a mere 50 votes in the Senate, with the Vice President as tie-breaker, thus circumventing the filibuster. Both Democrats and Republicans have frequently used reconciliation on budget bills, so Democrats are now claiming that using it to pass ObamaCare is no big deal.

President Obama is expected to endorse reconciliation in remarks this morning.

And in doing so, Obama is asking volunteering Democrats in Congress to Banzai charge into the withering fire of voter discontent. If voters who elected Obama as the great unifier have become disillusioned by his failure to bring about the change he campaigned on, just wait until Democrats pass Obama's health care reforms.

We can only "hope" that voters will remember the damage wrought by liberal exteemism married to a complicit press and prevent a Democrat majority for generations to come.

Undocumented Journalist: Campbell Brown of CNN

2010-03-03T08:08:00.001-05:00

In an effort to expose unqualified journalists working in the field without documentation, I will identify whether or not a so-called 'professional' journalist actually holds a degree in journalism or communications.

Why is this important?

Documented journalists have been taught in college to not only cover the who, what, where, when, why, and how of news, but they have also learned the reasons why the framers of the Constitution protected the press from the government in the First Amendment, and the role the press plays as the Fourth Estate by providing final checks and balances over the political process in the United States. Journalist malpractice can thus be exposed through training or lack thereof.

Simply put, it is not the job of the press to hold one political party more or less accountable than another. It is the job of the press to objectively report the truth.

Campbell Brown was born Alma Dale Campbell Brown on June 14, 1968 in Ferriday, Louisiana, the daughter of former Louisiana Democratic State Senator, Secretary of State, and Insurance Commissioner James H. "Jim" Brown Jr. She grew up in Natchez, Mississippi and attended Trinity Episcopal Day School. She was also a cheerleader. She was kicked out of the elite Madeira School for sneaking off campus to go to a party.

Brown graduated from Regis College in Denver with a bachelor of arts degree in political science. Brown is an undocumented journalist because she does not hold a degree in journalism or communications.

My country, left or lefter, the results of a Democrat poll

2010-02-28T10:24:00.015-05:00

If Sarah Palin was at your feet dying of thirst and you had a cold 2-liter bottle of Diet Pepsi, what would you do?

Seventy-one percent said they would "probably let her lick the sweat off their balls."

Twelve percent said they would offer her a "nice turd" or a "couple of rocks."

What animal does Sarah Palin remind you of?

Forty-one percent asked, by way of clarification, if a maggot is an animal.

What would you do if Jesus was at your door?

Forty-one percent said they would keep him at bay with a bong pipe or a baseball bat until their local school board arrived.

Twenty percent said they would sell their house before the neighborhood got any worse.

Is there anything more exciting than watching people arguing in circles with straw men?

Seventy-six percent said no.

Twenty percent said, "Unprotected sex, but only with multiple members of the same sex."

What is the greatest scientific achievement in the history of humankind?

Twenty-four percent said, "man-made global warming."

Fifty-nine percent said, "trying to find clean clothes when our parents are on vacation."

Is it ever okay for men to touch the remote?

Twenty-two percent said, "Only to switch to MSNBC."

Twenty-six percent said, "Only to switch to Bravo."

Twenty-nine percent said, "Only to switch to Project Runway."

Do you trust any mainstream TV or print publications?

Eighty-one percent said, "Only MSNBC."

Nineteen percent said, "Bravo."

Is it ever okay to be against abortion?

Twenty-one percent said, "Yes, but only when the parents are crack heads and have an IQ of 75 or lower."

How God-damned is America?

Twenty-nine percent said, "Humongously."

Twenty-seven percent said, "Ginormously."

Twenty-six percent said, "Bodaciously."

Twelve percent simply hyperventilated.

~~Source~~

Coffee Party? Don't Burn Your Bottom Lip

2010-02-26T10:53:00.007-05:00

Click here for a Tour de Insipide from The Washington Post.

The Decline and Fall of Barack Hussein Obama, Feb. 26, 2010

2010-02-26T10:22:00.000-05:00

RASMUSSEN POLL:
Obama Approval Index: -20
Strongly Approve 23%
Strongly Disapprove 43%

Total Approval 44% (all time low)

Undocumented Journalist: Diane Sawyer of ABC News

2010-02-25T06:34:00.002-05:00

In an effort to expose unqualified journalists working in the field without documentation, I will identify whether or not a so-called 'professional' journalist actually holds a degree in journalism or communications.

Why is this important?

Documented journalists have been taught in college to not only cover the who, what, where, when, why, and how of news, but they have also learned the reasons why the framers of the Constitution protected the press from the government in the First Amendment, and the role the press plays as the Fourth Estate by providing final checks and balances over the political process in the United States. Journalist malpractice can thus be exposed through training or lack thereof.

Simply put, it is not the job of the press to hold one political party more or less accountable than another. It is the job of the press to objectively report the truth.

Diane Sawyer attended Seneca High School in Louisville, Kentucky. In 1963, she won the "America's Junior Miss" scholarship pageant as a representative from the State of Kentucky.

In 1967, she received a bachelor of arts degree with a major in English from Wellesley College in Wellesley, Massachusetts. She attended one semester of law school at the University of Louisville before turning to journalism. Sawyer is an undocumented journalist because she does not hold a degree in journalism or communications.

Health Insurance Reform for Idiots

2010-02-22T12:08:00.000-05:00

The quickest way to fix any cost and coverage issues with health insurance is to simply let insurers sell across state lines. Period.

The Decline and Fall of Barack Hussein Obama, Feb. 22, 2010

2010-02-22T09:08:00.000-05:00

RASMUSSEN POLL:
Obama Approval Index: -19
Strongly Approve 22% (all time low)
Strongly Disapprove 41%

Total Approval 45%

Democrat Election Wish List

2010-02-17T08:44:00.010-05:00

Incumbent Democrats can help their defeat in the 2010 and 2012 elections by doing the following things:

1. Continue to blame Bush

2. Tout the failed stimulus bill

3. Laud themselves for the bogus jobs saved or created numbers

4. Refer to inflated GDP numbers that in truth only show the government's cash injection into the economy and not real GDP (the shell game)

5. Continue to push President Obama's health insurance takeover plan

6. Have Obama campaign for them (the kiss of death)

7. Complain about "dangerous" partisanship bogging everything down in DC when everyone knows Democrats are in control and have held a supermajority for most of 2009

8. Continue to support the unraveling fraud that is global warming (elect Bigfoot and the Easter Bunny as Dixiecrat representatives of the Bermuda Triangle, the 57th State of the Union)

9. Continue to ignore their constituents

US News Media Unwilling to Report On Global Warming Fraud

2010-02-16T12:00:00.001-05:00

Fake journalists ignore the news.

The revelations this weekend by the man in the middle of the ClimateGate scandal have gone almost completely ignored by America's press.

When news of the fraud first broke, the only outlet reporting was FOX News.

* No mention by the New York Times
* No mention by the Washington Post
* No mention by USA Today
* No mention by ANY major U.S. newspaper EXCEPT the Washington Times
* No mention by the Associated Press
* No mention by Reuters
* No mention by UPI
* No mention by ABC News
* No mention by CBS News
* No mention by NBC News
* No mention by MSNBC

I have been asleep since 1941 and woke to find Japan had won the war....

2009-11-14T10:00:00.006-05:00

Obama gives Japan's Emperor Akihito a bow....

Economy Grows in Q3, Recession Over? Not by Definition, Technically....

2009-10-29T12:10:00.006-04:00

October 29 update: The Commerce Department, in its first estimate of third-quarter gross domestic product on Thursday, said the economy grew at a 3.5 percent annual rate, the fastest pace since the third quarter of 2007, after contracting 0.7 percent in the April-June period.

[. . .]

The surge in consumer spending and residential investment was likely driven by government stimulus programs.

The same-old, same-old shuffle scam....

A recession is defined simply as a period when GDP falls (negative real economic growth) for at least two quarters. Some economists prefer a definition of a 1.5% rise in unemployment within 12 months.

Keep this in mind and apply it to any media or government claims that the recession is easing or over.

U.S. GDP by quarter at a glance.

Economy returns to growth after a year of declines

Fair and Balanced: Mmm, Mmm, Mmm.....

2009-10-26T11:13:00.002-04:00

Some undocumented journalists at play.

White House Boasts We "Control" News Media

2009-10-19T08:17:00.005-04:00

If ever there was a time to be very afraid in the American newsroom, the time is now....

Here are some recent quotes from administration operatives about their relationship with the Fourth Estate. It's time journalists started taking them at their word.

"Very rarely did we communicate through the press anything that we didn't absolutely control," White House Communications Director Anita Dunn recently said.

"One of the reasons we did so many of the David Plouffe videos was not just for our supporters, but also because it was a way for us to get our message out without having to actually talk to reporters," said Dunn, referring to Plouffe, who was President Barcak Obama's chief campaign manager.

Continued Dunn: "Whether it was a David Plouffe video or an Obama speech, a huge part of our press strategy was focused on making the media cover what Obama was actually saying as opposed to why the campaign was saying it, what the tactic was. … Making the press cover what we were saying."

Dunn was speaking at a Jan. 12, 2009, event focusing on Obama's media tactics and hosted by the Global Foundation for Democracy and Development.

On Sunday, White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel told CNN that President Obama does not want "the CNNs and the others in the world [to] basically be led in following Fox," urging other news organizations to stop reporting and instead join the administration's attempt to marginalize the FOX News channel.

Obama senior adviser David Axelrod went further by calling on media outlets to join the administration in declaring that Fox is "not a news organization."

"Other news organizations like yours ought not to treat them that way," Axelrod counseled ABC's George Stephanopoulos. "We're not going to treat them that way."

While journalists cannot redeem themselves for their lack of professionalism in covering Obama's election by now taking an objective look at his administration, perhaps journalists will, out of a desire for self-preservation, actually start to take an objective look. Then again, I know better.

Recession Over? Not by any Definition, Technically....

2009-10-02T09:32:00.008-04:00

October 12 update: despite idiotic media reports to the contrary, nothing has changed to alter the realty of the data released less than two weeks ago....

A recession is defined simply as a period when GDP falls (negative real economic growth) for at least two quarters. Some economists prefer a definition of a 1.5% rise in unemployment within 12 months.

Keep this in mind and apply it to any media or government claims that the recession is easing or over.

U.S. GDP by quarter at a glance.

October 2, 2009: U.S. unemployment at 9.8 percent, adjusted to a real 17 percent.

KY Police Say AP Story on Census Worker Had "Errors"

2009-09-24T18:45:00.004-04:00

Claim Of Hanging And 'Fed' Scrawl False?

Here's a link to the original story where AP reported that a U.S. Census worker found hanging from a tree near a Kentucky cemetery had the word "fed" scrawled on his chest, a law enforcement official said Wednesday, and the FBI is investigating whether he was a victim of anti-government sentiment.

Kentucky police say the initial AP story contains "flaws and errors." AP's claim that he had the word "fed" scrawled on his chest may be based on an anonymous source and could be false.

Kentucky state police have not ruled out the possibility that the death was a suicide or even that it was accidental.

Read it.