CNN and Chuck Roberts should pay for the "al qaeda candidate" remark.

[DireStrike]

In case you haven't heard him, a CNN anchor, calling Ned Lamont "The Al qaeda candidate" : http://www.thinkprogress.org/

During the 04 campaign, Sinclair broadcasting was going to air a "documentary" on its stations that was basically slander against Kerry. All of the progressive internet community banded together in a boycott of their advertisers, and the station was forced to backpedal. This is a company ruled by koolaid swilling thugs, and we still got them to edit the BS out of the documentary.


I say we do the same for CNN. We can't force faux news to become balanced, but we can keep those stations perceived as mainstream and balanced closer to the line. Nobody else is going to try to make them honest and honorable. I say we organize a massive boycott until we get the following:

Primary goal: Chuck Roberts' anchor position.
Secondary goal: A 5 minute apology from Chuck Roberts for his irresponsible behavior, poor journalistic integrity ("some people say"), and dismantling of the myth that right wingers are somehow "harder" on terror, after half a decade of nothing but failures from right wing methods.

Dan Rather apologized for poor journalistic methodology, and his information was never even shown to be wrong!


The first thing we need is a list of CNN's advertisers.

[DireStrike]

1. Kick and title change -nt-

[monarch]

3. Good grief!!

Is it worth it even to dignify this idiocy with a comment?

[DireStrike]

4. Please do.

What exactly is so stupid about this idea?

[MrCoffee]

5. ABSOLUTELY

Just because we here in DU "know better", there are literally MILLIONS of people who get this beaten into their heads day after day after day...Ned Lamont = AQ...Dems = AQ...Dems = AQ

Let these fuckers know that SWIFTBOATING is bad news...and let the sponsors know as well.

Yes, we've emailed them thousands of times. Yes, they're a big bad corporation and they don't listen. BUT THEY DO!

[tbyg52]

20. Ummmm...... YES, it is.

What's the alternative? If you're a parent or a teacher, what happens if you ignore bad behavior?

[patdem]

23. Are you one who claimed Kerry did not fight back quick enough

when the swiftboaters attacked him?

[MrCoffee]

2. There's been a couple of posts on this...

Email CNN HN and Chuck Roberts. Tell them they suck, and tell them you're forwarding the email to the sponsors.

CNN HN general comments : http://www.cnn.com/feedback/forms/form1.html?33

CNN HN "Report Errors" : http://www.cnn.com/feedback/forms/form6a.html?3

Chuck Roberts : http://www.cnn.com/feedback/forms/form4b.html?76

[DireStrike]

7. Done... where can I find a list of sponsors?

I googled, but it wasn't that helpful.

[caledesi]

6. Apparently that is the new talking point for the rethugs.

They are so desperate with Lamont's win. Hey you idiots. Lamont is with 60% of the American people and this should be the Dems comeback for this horrible meme. The rethugs know now that more Dems will jump on board with Lamont and Dean and not be characterized as a nut.

How low can they go? Don't ask!

[Lochloosa]

K/R and writing...great idea....

[Imagevision]

14. These hacks called newscasters should be held accountable for their

opinions expressed, talk abount slandering someone to gain ratings...!

[Lochloosa]

8. K/R and writing...great idea....

[Lochloosa]

9. K/R and writing...great idea....

[Lochloosa]

10. K/R and writing...great idea....

[ewagner]

11. K&R

too bad this is on a weekend, we need to get the other major bloggers on it too...

Jane Hamser's NETROOTS group should be on this...I'll email a link.

e

[Imagevision]

12. Ned Lamont's people should demand an apology - this isn't news, it's

controversial tripe!

[Lusted4]

13. Calling my cable provider and telling them I'm blocking CNN

and I may go to direct TV over this, and there imbalance of Conservative programming.

[femrap]

33. Go to Direct TV and you will be able to

get the Free Speech TV channel! It is wonderful....! Everyone who has the ability to get either Dish or Direct should do so....!!!! They actually broadcast news that is TRUE!

[wryter2000]

15. Already wrote to them

Mr. Coffee put up at link yesterday. They need to hear from us.

[Liberal In Texas]

16. You need to cite the EXACT QUOTE!

"And might some argue, as some have, that Lamont is the al Qaeda candidate?"

Chuck was saying that this is what others are saying and wanted a reaction. SHEESH!

[DireStrike]

26. Yeah, I'm sure that's exactly what he was saying.

Journalists always use such language, and in a responsible manner too. :sarcasm:

Right on its face it is bad journalism to use blind attributions. To even dignify such ridiculous smears by considering them is atrocious and should not be overlooked.

[Liberal In Texas]

36. He probably should have attributed it. But not doing so does not make

it bad journalism.

Bad journalism is like what we see in the OP, quoting only PART of what he said.

This whole Chuck Roberts bashing thread is misguided. Chuck is one of the more liberal anchors at CNN. He is far from being a RWer.

[sandnsea]

40. New to the game are ya??

This is how they get the right wing talking points drummed into people's heads. "as some might" "some people say" "what do you think". In fact, people do it on DU quite often too, post some right wing bullshit and then ask oh so innocently "what do you think" -- and then they disappear while the thread bursts into flames.

That was one of the worst things I've heard on CNN in a while, there are NO liberals on CNN and if you think Chuck Roberts is then you need a new crowd of politicos to hang around. It's an outrage and if the Dems don't nip it in a hurry it will be the reason we lose in November.

[patdem]

17. Wrote the asshole..here is the content

Are you really an idiot or do you just play one on TeeVee? Cause enquiring minds want to know. You want to call 60% of Americans Al Queda...do it at your own risk!

[Liberal In Texas]

19. If you send something off you probably should spell it correctly. n/t

[patdem]

22. Sorry dearie...I call TV TeeVee..if you object it does not equate

to misspelling...sorry...

[Liberal In Texas]

24. Enquiring is not a word. n/t

[WinkyDink]

29. My dictionary says it's a variation of "inquire".

[KharmaTrain]

18. Good Luck...Been There, Done That

In 2004...some here may remember that we attempted to bombard CNN with calls and letters about their bias during the election. What did we end up with? Lots of pissed off people here and even greater bias...and how "bloggers are mean and vulgar".

Sadly, boycotts have never worked against these outlets as getting an accurate list and then getting people to participate it is impossible.

I've long suggested CNN get a good luck at say 100,000 of us sitting in front of their corporate headquarters and then on to Faux...let 'em see the real faces and voices of the people they've been pissing off. Force them to cover a mass demonstration on their doorstep and engage them to explain how they gather their "news" and to be more accountable.

FYI...the Sinclair deal wasn't because of a consumer boycott...it was caused by some intrepid souls who started to spam the Sinclair business message boards and scare away investors. When their stock price began to take a hit, then they backed off.

Cheers...

[tbyg52]

21. Hmmmm.....

You say "FYI...the Sinclair deal wasn't because of a consumer boycott...it was caused by some intrepid souls who started to spam the Sinclair business message boards and scare away investors. When their stock price began to take a hit, then they backed off."?

What would be the equivalent for CNN?

[KharmaTrain]

25. CNN's Too Big...That's Why Feet Would Work

CNN's a division of Time/Warner...to hurt one part you'd have to hurt several...

Here's a list of the Time Warner holdings: http://www.cjr.org/tools/owners/timewarner.asp

Time Warner Book Group
Warner Books

The Mysterious Press

Warner Vision

Warner Business Books

Aspect

Warner Faith

Warner Treasures

TW Kids

Little, Brown and Company

Little, Brown Adult Trade

Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Back Bay

Bulfinch Press

Time Warner Book Group UK

Time Warner Audio Books

Time Inc.

Southern Progress Corporation

Sunset Books

Oxmoor House

Leisure Arts

Time Warner - Cable
HBO

CNN

CNN International

CNN en Espanol

CNN Headline News

CNN Airport Network

CNN fn

CNN Radio

CNN Interactive

Court TV (with Liberty Media)

Time Warner Cable

Road Runner

New York 1 News (24 hour news channel devoted only to NYC)

Kablevision (53.75% - cable television in Hungary)
In Demand

Metro Sports (Kansas City)

Time Warner Inc. - Film & TV Production/Distribution
Warner Bros.

Warner Bros. Studios

Warner Bros. Television (production)

The WB Television Network

Warner Bros. Television Animation

Hanna - Barbera Cartoons

Telepictures Production

Witt - Thomas Productions

Castle Rock Entertainment

Warner Home Video

Warner Bros. Domestic Pay - TV

Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution

Warner Bros. International Television Distribution

The Warner Channel (Latin America, Asia - Pacific, Australia, Germ.)

Warner Bros. International Theaters (owns/operates multiplex theaters in over 12 countries)

Time Warner Inc. - Magazines
Time

Time Asia

Time Atlantic

Time Canada

Time Latin America

Time South Pacific

Time Money

Time For Kids

Fortune

All You

Business 2.0

Life

Sports Illustrated

Sports Illustrated International

SI for Kids

Inside Stuff

Money

Your Company

Your Future

People

Who Weekly (Australian edition)

People en Español

Teen People

Entertainment Weekly

EW Metro

The Ticket

In Style

Southern Living

Progressive Farmer

Southern Accents

Cooking Light

The Parent Group

Parenting

Baby Talk

Baby on the Way

This Old House

Sunset

Sunset Garden Guide

The Health Publishing Group

Health

Hippocrates

Coastal Living

Weight Watchers

Real Simple

Asiaweek (Asian news weekly)

President (Japanese business monthly)

Dancyu (Japanese cooking)

Wallpaper (U.K.)

Field & Stream

Freeze

Golf Magazine

Outdoor Life

Popular Science

Salt Water Sportsman

Ski

Skiing Magazine

Skiing Trade News

SNAP

Snowboard Life

Ride BMX

Today's Homeowner

TransWorld Skateboarding

TransWorld Snowboarding

Verge

Yachting Magazine

Warp

American Express Publishing Corporation (partial ownership/management)

Travel & Leisure

Food & Wine

Your Company

Departures

SkyGuide

Magazines listed under Warner Brothers label

DC Comics

Vertigo

Paradox

Milestone

Mad Magazine

Online Services
CompuServe Interactive Services

AOL Instant Messenger

AOL.com portal

Digital City

AOL Europe

ICQ

The Knot, Inc. - wedding content (8 % with QVC 36% and Hummer
WinbladFunds18%)

MapQuest.com - pending regulatory approval

Spinner.com

Winamp

DrKoop.com (10%)

Legend (49% - Internet service in China)

Time Warner - Online/Other Publishing
Road Runner

Warner Publisher Services

Time Distribution Services

American Family Publishers (50%)

Pathfinder

Africana.com

Time Warner - Merchandise/Retail
Warner Bros. Consumer Products
Theme Parks
Warner Brothers Recreation Enterprises (owns/operates international theme parks)
Time Warner Inc. - Turner Entertainment
Entertainment Networks
TBS Superstation

Turner Network Television (TNT)

Turner South

Cartoon Network

Turner Classic Movies

Cartoon Network in Europe

Cartoon Network in Latin America

TNT & Cartoon Network in Asia/Pacific
Film Production
New Line Cinema

Fine Line Features

Turner Original Productions
Sports
Atlanta Braves

Other Operations
Turner Learning

CNN Newsroom (daily news program for classrooms)

Turner Adventure Learning (electronic field trips for schools)

Turner Home Satellite

Turner Network Sales

Other
Netscape Communications

Netscape Netcenter portal

AOL MovieFone

iAmaze

Amazon.com (partial)

Quack.com

Streetmail (partial)

Switchboard (6%)
last updated 8/11/2004

A "boycott" of CNN would have little effect on the overall corporate scheme of things at Time/Warner. Murdoch started Faux Noise and never expected to make a dime off the news channel...funding it with revenues from his other newspaper and broadcast ventures. Salem, a right wing hate radio company, funds their shows like Laura Ingraham, Bettamillion Bill Bennett and others through the company's sale of religious airtime..."dollar a hollar" preachers and James Dobson (with money funneled by various Repugnican pac groups). Broadcasting has become so conglomerated and corporate that a "consumer" boycott against a CNN would be laughed off. Plus, all the commercials you see aren't CNN's...some are from your local cable system. Now those advertisers are another story, as a local boycott can have some effect just due to its localized nature...but again, the coordination and then to get people to cooperate and participate is asking for a lot from a culture that has the attention span of a fruit fly.

I can't go into all the specifics on the Sinclair situation, but it involved people who were able to get into the eyes and ears of the corporate investors...many who don't like to be involved in controversial companies or have their role or investment in that company exposed. When the Sinclair flap broke, several message boards (Yahoo is the most popular and I'll bet those messages are still there from 2004 on the Sinclair message board) and within a few hours, the stock price began to tank. Some also involved some third parties who were going in and buying and dumping stock to really mess around with the price...since Sinclair is a small company, it didn't take much to do this. Things didn't stabilize for them until they backed off on their requirement that all stations carry the Slime Boat fiasco and then, after another attack on their stock price, drastically edited the video. Investors don't like companies that call too much attention to itself.

Again, I'll say putting 100,000 in front of CNN Center would surely get their attention...and that of their viewers and advertisers. It'd be hard to ignore a story with so many people outside your doors and all the other news outlets covering it. Plus, I think it'd be one hell of a fun party.

Cheers...

[Ammonium]

27. Sounds good.

I'm in Atlanta, I say lets do it.

[DireStrike]

28. I've always been a fan of the CNN protest idea

I think it would be a real challenge though. We would need a big rallying cry, and powerful organization. Too often these days protests get dragged off-message.

And then there's the kneejerk reaction that pops into everyone's head - "Why cnn? Why not fox?" It doesn't really matter that we can explain that with a sentence or two, being required to explain it already weakens the protest.

I think, unfortunately, we need a bigger event to incite a protest. And the way the news cycle moves, almost any story will be gone by the time a protest could be organized!

Hmm... what to do...

[KharmaTrain]

37. Sadly, It's Like Herding Cats

You're spot on about how tough a challenge...and why I admire the protest organizers of the 60s who could energize thousands of people in to the streets. I was almost encouraged by the large protest in NYC during the Repugnican Convention, but then came the Cindy Sheehan rally in DC that turned into a Code Pink commercial and I haven't seen any real protest of any size or of any substance since. As you state, the protest got dragged off message and with it the motivation for people to get involved.

CNN is a far better target than Faux since CNN is still regarded by many to be either "neutral" or "librul"...which we know is far from the truth. While spin on Faux gets limited play these days, misinformation and distortions on CNN travel into all strata of the corporate media...domestically and worldwide.

You can't fight everyone at once...the problem with many here isn't finding a reason to protest, its the over abudance of those reasons...and then people who think their cause or reason is more important than someone elses...or that they need to piggy-back their cause on a far bigger one...which Code Pink tried to do with the Cindy Sheehan protest. People who watched it at home on CSPAN didn't see the thousands of marchers...instead they saw endless speeches about Palestinian and Native American rights, Darfur and a laundry list of ancillary causes.

As we saw in Connecticut, organization is the key. Tom Swan did a masterful job of coordinating a lot of people and making something positive happen. We surely need more of those type working on a myriad of campaigns and issues.

The good thing is we have a conduit...sites like DU and Kos...that can reach and rally hundreds of people...but dare I say I've seen many a great idea go un-noticed around here or petty personal squabbles get in the way of people working together in a big way.

Thanks for your posts...

Cheers...

[femrap]

35. What division of Time/Warner brings in most of the revenues?

That would be the one to attack.

[KharmaTrain]

38. No Such Animal...

A company that big has a constant stream of winners and losers. The movie division can be either highly successful if they have a big box office hit, or take a major fall with a dud. The other divisions are small pieces in a big machine...insulating the corporation from any "vulnerabilities". For example, TW lost billions on its acquisition of AOL and Netscape...and they're still hemoraging money, but the overall corporate structure is so large that there's other revenues that can offset the losses.

A boycott of CNN would also require people actually boycotting...not just lip service. And it'd be most effective if it were corporate wide...meaning not watch TNT or reading Time or cancelling their subscription to Field & Stream or not using Mapquest. You see how nebulus this is. Boycotts, in conjunction with on-going protests can work on a local level where your target is narrower and can have a more dramatic effect, but not with a multi-national conglomerate. Our only hope is one day to "regulate" or return the airwaves to more local ownership and forcing large corporations to divest of their "horizontal monopolies"...limiting the number of stations a company can own or creating incentives for smaller companies to buy into and operate media properties.

Connecticut showed us what people power can do...something we DO have in abudance these days and there's no reason we can't use all this pent up energy and frustration in a common cause that could enact change, and have a lot of fun doing it, too.

Cheers...

[femrap]

41. Even Ted Turner got out of Time Warner....

I think he was disgusted with them.....he was the one who started CNN, TNT, TBS...I want to bust up these monopolies so bad. We did it before and I guess we'll just have to do it again.

[tbyg52]

39. CORPORATIONS SHOULD DIE

Just like meat people. Given the above, I rest my case. WE DESPERATELY NEED TO CHANGE THE LAWS RE CORPORATIONS!

[femrap]

34. Everyone who has Time Warner Cable needs to switch to

Dish or Direct TV....that will definitely get their attention. Plus Dish offers both Free Speech TV and Link TV channels which actually speak the TRUTH!!!!

Hit them in the pocket book.

[Julius Civitatus]

30. From now on we should call CNN the "Dick Cheney News Network"

I'm sure they would love that.

Every time we mention CNN, we should add the following statement in parenthesis:

...as some say, the Cheney News Network...

They sure behave like they are getting their marching orders straight from the VP.

[onecent]

31. I sent a note to CNN re: this. n/t

[Imagevision]

32. Without Lou Dobbs CNN is irrelevant... Wolf is a situation in his own room

[KelleyKramer]

42. Ha Hah, good one!

Wolf's room is nothing but a bubble.

We need to break that bubble.. good idea by the OP.