Students launch "Meet the Facts" urging fact-check of NBC's Meet the Press

[spanone]

We've noted that ABC's This Week is working with PolitiFact.com on a trial basis to provide a weekly fact-check of the network's Sunday show and that rival David Gregory, host of NBC's Meet the Press has said of fact-checking his program, "people can fact-check Meet the Press every Sunday on their own terms."

Not content with letting Gregory off the hook, a pair of college students has launched MeetTheFacts.com in an effort to put pressure on the NBC Sunday show to do the right thing. Says the website:

Meet The Facts is a non-partisan grassroots effort to encourage the NBC television program Meet The Press to incorporate a formal fact checking procedure for all statements made on air by its guests. That analysis would then be released to the public, preferably within several days of the broadcast.

Reached for comment, MeetTheFacts.com co-founder Chas Danner -- a journalism and writing student at The New School in New York City -- said the website was launched because, "Meet the Press has lost a lot of its journalistic relevance. Guests from both ends of the political spectrum know how to come on the show and get away with making false statements."

Danner added, "Jake Tapper and This Week are definitely out in front on this issue, but even they have said it's only an experiment. This should be an essential component of all Sunday shows."

http://mediamatters.org/blog/201004220055

[daleanime]

1. "Should be an essential component'.....

of ALL news shows/networks.:grr:

[BrklynLiberal]

2. Intelligence and courage. glad they are being demonstrated somewhere, by someone.

[Lasher]

3. I am enthusiastic about this.

The biggest failing of TV talk shows is that most hosts feel they have no moral obligation whatever to police the many lies that are routinely told on their shows. If I hosted one of these shows I would have a whole herd of internet nerds in the background, ready to put up quotes and video clips to expose these liars on the spot.

[The_Commonist]

19. And that's why you don't have your own show.

Because you would never have any guests.
And that's why these weenies DO have their own shows.
Because their guests know that they will never be called on their lies...

[Lasher]

25. You're right.

But if every one gets fact checked somehow, the liars will have to go on because they need to peddle their snake oil. And just maybe they'll be a little reluctant to lie if this plays out as I hope.

[handmade34]

4. excellent

this is a good thing... too much rope is given to the guests

[KonaKane]

5. It's a sad day when

the fact checkers (originally the calling of the press) need to have fact checkers for them.

[Joe Bacon]

30. They will do the job Gregory won't do.

I lost all confidence in Meet The Press when NBC canned Bill Monroe and replaced him with Roger Mudd. I still remember the night of the 1984 Pennsylvania Primary when Roger Mudd just humiliated Gary Hart on live TV and just was so over the top in the sarcastic way he treated Hart. When Mudd took over, Meet The Press started its love affair with Republicans.

[Oceansaway]

6. dances with Rove don't care 'bout facts....nt

[Motown_Johnny]

7. Nice... lets give it some hits

http://meetthefacts.com/

[underpants]

8. The thing that kills me about this is that ABC This Week now will have a fact check of last week

on each week.

I'm sorry but I could call most of the crap spewed (by both sides but mostly by the Republicans) but the anchors of these shows act like they just walked into the studio from the Iditarod. Like they had no idea what GuestX was going to say THAT.

Oh PUHlease

They live on their Blackberries and they have an entire week to prepare for 42 minutes of air time.

So ABC now stands out by factchecking what was said LAST WEEK while what was said drove discussion for the entire week.

The reason they don't call anyone out is because if they do then they won't get "access" which is a word used to excuse the outrageous canned statements to direct the "news" AND for money to control (write during the Bush years) legislation.

[Lasher]

10. Well it's a start.

Politicians will be shopping around for shows where they can continue to lie with impunity. That is for sure.

[hootinholler]

14. I don't buy the access meme...

The politician intent on getting lies out is more dependent on the airtime than the show is on the politician. The show that suspends a politician for a lie for say 6 months I think would become widely popular.

-Hoot

[underpants]

15. David Gregory's email(s) to SC Gov. Sanford exposed that this is all PR and not news

Left you a message. Wanted you to hear directly from me that I want to have the Gov on Sunday on Meet The Press. I think it's exactly the right forum to answer the questions about his trip as well as giving him a platform to discuss the economy/stimulus and the future of the party. You know he will get a fair shake from me and coming on MTP puts all of this to rest.

... So coming on Meet The Press allows you to frame the conversation how you really want to...and then move on. You can see (sic) you have done your interview and then move on. Consider it.


http://crooksandliars.com/john-amato/mark-sanford-emails-expose-how-david-gr

[cui bono]

23. Yep. It's too late by then. Real journalists know their subject

and can question someone right when they make the statement. Like Shuster, O'Donnell and Maddow do. Remember her tearing Dick Armey to shreds with her stack of facts?

Gregory not only doesn't come prepared, he does not think it is his job to question anyone or call them on their lies:

Several months before he was named as moderator of Meet the Press, David Gregory went on MSNBC to categorically reject Scott McClellan's accusations that the American media failed to scrutinize the Bush administration's pre-war claims. Gregory vigorously praised the job which he and his "journalistic" colleagues did in the run-up to the Iraq War -- the period which Salon's Gary Kamiya called "one of the greatest collapses in the history of the American media." Proclaimed Gregory, with a straight face: "Questions were asked. I think we pushed. I think we prodded. I think we challenged the President. Not only those of us in the White House Press Corps did that, but others in the media landscape did that." Most revealingly of all, Gregory said:

I think there are a lot of critics who think that . . . . if we did not stand up and say this is bogus, and you're a liar, and why are you doing this, that we didn't do our job. I respectfully disagree. It's not our role.

http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2008/12/29/gregory

[ericinne]

9. Do that to Fox News

You could make your own Network TV station by doing a fact check of Fox News.

[mrmpa]

11. should be mandatory for Fox News

[johnaries]

13. There's a great website that does just that. Newshounds.us.

Their motto is "we watch Fox News so you don't have to."

Check it out:

http://www.newshounds.us/

[Mojeoux]

12. Time for some REAL reality shows

How great if "truthiness,"became passe' and critical thinking became the latest craze!!

[Downtown Hound]

16. Ironic that it's the students teaching the professionals something. n/t

[goclark]

17. Yes! Just what we need and the youth are the ones to do it

Wish they would check on 'Lil Chuck Todd and his "numbers" that he loves to quote.

This is a golden idea!

[calimary]

22. "...and the children shall lead..."

LOVE that david gregory email expose! Soundly confirmed what I've suspected about him ever since he went soft and schmoozy on the bush regime. And that softening occurred shortly after he'd come down quite hard on Scott McClellan at a White House news conference just after junior's Texas Air National Guard scandal broke (when people started wondering how dubya managed to weasel out of so much of his get-outta-vietnam champagne unit duty before his tour was over. After that, david gregory rattled NO further White House cages. Somebody evidently sat on him and threatened him with his precious access drying up if he didn't start playing ball again. For a brief time there, though, david gregory was worth his weight in gold. Knew it wouldn't last!

[sabrina 1]

28. I remember that. He was among a very few during that whole

AWOL debate who did ask questions and was pretty relentless airc. I used to look forward to him being there and not letting Scotty off the hook.

Maybe he saw what happened to anyone who refused to be intimidated, like Dan Rather eg, or Helen Thomas at the time. Whatever happened, he has sold his soul and he has been rewarded. I guess they all do in the end, or they end up being marginalized completely, or dead.

[calimary]

29. Considering the way that damnable regime operated, I'd bet that he got a phone call -

probably from the NBC brass, that - itself - got a phone call from the White House - threatening them all to put a leash on david gregory. They probably insinuated in that low-volumne dick cheney hiss that gregory's access would dry up and he wouldn't be worth anything as a reporter, and that before they'd even finished with him, all of NBC News would be next. They did that sort of stuff, absolutely.

I attended a presentation given by Michael Moore several years ago. He talked about being interviewed by Katie Couric on the "Today" show during the height of the left's objection to the war. He'd talked, among other things, about the bush white house's suppression of the news, how the other side wasn't being allowed to be heard, and more. He said the interview ended and they broke for commercials. While they were unhooking their lavalier microphones, Couric leaned over to him and quietly confided - "you're so right!" And then she proceeded to tell him about the day following an interview she'd done on the show with some White House higher-up. Afterwards, she got a memo from "upstairs" telling her she better cool it on the air, regarding her reporting and her questioning of the White House people. The memo, she learned, was prompted by a call that came from the White House - complaining to the network brass about the tone of voice she'd used during that interview. Michael Moore said he found this startling and told her - "WHY don't you SAY SOMETHING???!?!?! You're Katie Couric! You're one of three people in the United States who can't be fired! Why don't you write an op/ed in the New York Times about this?" He said she wussed out - mumbling something about "someday, I will."

So it's no huge leap of the imagination to think that the bushies - probably cheney or libby or david addington - SOMEBODY undoubtedly in cheney's office because he was the hard-ass - undoubtedly called NBC to complain some more - this time about david gregory. Remember how - after all that Texas Air National Guard stuff went down, all of a sudden we started seeing a different david gregory, who'd clearly dialed back his reportorial zeal substantially. They probably carrot-&-stick'ed him, telling him there'd be rewards if he cooperated, and a dead-end to his career if he didn't. Wouldn't surprise me at all. And at that point, he evidently decided to get in touch with his inner whore.

[sabrina 1]

32. I didn't know that about Michael Moore and Katie Couric.

But I'm not surprised. I remember on the night of the 2004 election when it had looked like Kerry won, then suddenly everything changed. Wolf Blitzer looked stunned. He told the audience they were waiting for the results from N.Mexico. Then, he said something about getting a call from the WH telling him that the election was over, it had been decided. But he again said, sort of apologetically, that they, CNN, would rather wait for the results from N. Mexico ~ it seemed to me he was trying to resist being pressured but he seemed flustered maybe even scared. But before long, it was over and CNN called the election for Bush.

I wish I had a better memory of that episode, but I thought he said that the call he received was from Karl Rove. But I could be wrong.

However, I agree with you completely that the Bush regime controlled the media. And I'm sure Katie Couric and Gregory and everyone else, remembered what happened to Ashley Banfield, Donohue and Brown not to mention Dan Rather and a few others like Christiane Amanpour eg, who has spoken about how they were not allowed to report on the real news from Iraq. She too disappeared from CNN for quite a while.

I also remember one newspaper reporter apologizing later for how the press had allowed the WH to control what they were reporting.

And there was the time when Bush went to Ireland and a well-respected reporter there was not used to how the press was supposed to deal with Bush. So she asked questions that should have been asked her, and as she later reported, the Bush gang became very angry. To let her know how angry they were, they canceled an interview she was supposed to do with Laura Bush the following morning. Of course in Ireland, it just made the people angry as they could not control things there the way they could here.

It's too bad they all didn't get together and refuse to be intimidated. It would have been more difficult to go after everyone. It was truly a very dark period for the press in this country. I hope they all do reveal what went on someday. But I wonder how they feel, people like Couric and Gregory, about themselves. I admire people like Ashley Banfield who spoke out.

[calimary]

33. Yeah, it was a great story!

What always stumped me was - WHY didn't the networks fight back? They're threatening you with yanking your White House press credentials? Threatening to choke off your access? HEY YOU ASSHOLES, GUESS WHAT?

THAT becomes the story, then! They've handed it to you on a plate!!!

There would be NO lack of other people to interview on the other side of ANY of the issues the White House was suppressing. There were hundreds, if not thousands of aspects to this! You'd get all the reaction, giving that valuable broadcast time to the opponents and other people decrying this flagrant imperialistic trampling on the First Amendment and YOUR (YOU the public!) right to know. They could have made a HUGE stink about it. Ridden that horse for MONTHS - no - THROUGHOUT the rest of the bush administration, which at that time might actually have worked out to be one term that they COULDN'T cheat themselves past. And, Mr. & Mrs. America and all the ships at sea, we must ask - WHAT ELSE are they denying us access to? WHO ELSE are they keeping us from speaking to? WHAT OTHER TRUTHS are they keeping hidden from the AMERICAN PEOPLE??? WHAT ELSE are they hiding from you, Ladies and Gentlemen? WHAT ELSE don't these so-called "public servants" - who presumably WORK FOR YOU - want you to know? Then, let the investigations begin! If every network and newspaper and bureau (well, except Pox Noise of course) joined forces and pushed this, the White House wouldn't be able to hold them all off. Every investigative reporter would be standing in line hoping for a Pulitzer.

But they all would have had to do it.

And I've certainly seen far lesser and lower-priority campaigns chickened out of, before.

[glinda]

18. Now there is a tv game show that would work!

[WCGreen]

20. This is why I haven't bothered to watch these shows...

They are just puff pieces for the political elite.

I use to watch them 20 years ago, but there is no point anymore. It's all spin and the hosts are all frightened by their loss of access.

So it really should be called Press the Meat instead of Meet the Press.

[cui bono]

21. Great! I don't trust anyone who dances with Karl Rove and likes it.

Gregory is a tool and doesn't deserve that show. I'd like to see David Shuster, Lawrence O'Donnell or Rachel Maddow host it. They don't let the BS slide.

[goclark]

24. Gregory is not worthy of Meet The Press

I'm backing the youngsters 100%

[AnArmyVeteran]

27. Gregory isn't a journalist. He just sits there and lets people blatantly lie...

Gregory should be replaced with a real journalist who knows the facts and confronts anyone on the show who lies. At least Meet the Press should have a segment at the end where they do fact checks on the previous week's guests and if they lied, SAY they lied. I am sick of people in the media seemingly terrified to utter the words "You just lied" or "You're a liar".

Gregory was a White House Press correspondent, or in other words, he was a member of a club of incompetents. To be a member of the White House Press corp means you stop asking tough questions and you have no regard for getting to the truth. If a real journalist got into the White House Press corp and asked a serious question that created a controversy they would be ousted. No one confronted Bush when he told one lie after another and brought our country to an unnecessary war against a country which never threatened us.

The problem is all (ok, most) those who become WHP corp members are working for corporations. Corporations love conflict and division. That makes them more money. From the total absence of anyone in the WHP corp asking Bush any questions regarding his honesty and his true motives it seemed obvious that the media wanted war.

I believe any White House press conference should be made up of regular, informed citizens with different people at each press conference. And none of the people asking questions should be working for any corporation. Face it, the WHP corp is just an exclusive club of incompetents, who could never make it as an investigative journalist.

If we had real journalists in the WHP corp we would not have gone to war against Iraq and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and 5,000 American soldiers would still be alive.


Note: Having said the above, there have been a handful of adequate WHP corp members, but they are very, very few.

[malaise]

26. "...Meet the Press has lost a lot of its journalistic relevance

Guests from both ends of the political spectrum know how to come on the show and get away with making false statements."
-
So does the host. :puke:

[Oilwellian]

31. I'm leary of any new group...

claiming to research facts and promote Howie Kurtz in the same breath. Howie could have some fact checking done on his own vapid program. Ugh.