Send a message to CNN about the cable network's partnership with the Tea Party Express, a far-right group with a history of virulent racism, to produce a Republican presidential debate: See "CNN Throws a Tea Party," FAIR's latest Action Alert.
Please post copies of your messages to CNN, or comments on this Action Alert, in the comments thread below.
Sep
12
2011
Action Alert: Why Is CNN Partnering With Tea Party Express?
By 110 Comments
About Jim NaureckasExtra! Magazine Editor Since 1990, Jim Naureckas has been the editor of Extra!, FAIR's bimonthly journal of media criticism. He is the co-author of The Way Things Aren't: Rush Limbaugh's Reign of Error, and co-editor of The FAIR Reader: An Extra! Review of Press and Politics in the '90s. He is also the co-manager of FAIR's website. He has worked as an investigative reporter for the newspaper In These Times, where he covered the Iran-Contra scandal, and was managing editor of the Washington Report on the Hemisphere, a newsletter on Latin America. Jim was born in Libertyville, Illinois, in 1964, and graduated from Stanford University in 1985 with a bachelor's degree in political science. Since 1997 he has been married to Janine Jackson, FAIR's program director. You can follow Jim on Twitter at @JNaureckas.
CNN has decided that news is not relevant anymore and sold Out!- Just that simple.
The Tea Party Express "company" does not represent the Tea Party. It is solely a business enterprise of Sol Russo that bilks Tea Party members out of their hard earned money. According to CBS, Russo took $4+ million as commission off the top of $8+ million raised by the Tea Party last year. It is a for-profit company and the profit is for Russo. At the kickoff they got 600 people, in Elko only 30, in Utah less than 300, in Mass. (with Romney's speech) about 1000. That was their largest crowd. Those who did show up were made sure the local news knew that they in no way supported the Tea Party Express but wanted to see the carnival workers. The Express's biggest scam was what they did to CNN's reputation. Buyer Beware.
This was my response to CNN:
I find it offensive that CNN, a supposed neutral news organization, would be involved in partnering with a Tea Party group in televising Monday night's Republican candidates' debate. The Tea Party Express has been shown not to be a "grass-roots" group, but one of the "astroturf" organizations. You at CNN sacrifice your objectivity as journalists by partnering with them in this endeavor. Will you also partner with a progressive group to televise an event promoting their point of view?
Sir/Madam,
Why have you decided to mimic Fox News and become a megaphone for extreme conservatism? By aligning yourself with a political action committee you have relinquished any claim to being a fair and reliable news organization. So go ahead and join the hackocracy. It won't save you. Not only will your ratings continue to deteriorate as people discover what you've become, you will also be pitied as they remember what you once were.
[...] http://www.fair.org/blog/2011/09/12/action-alert-why-is-cnn-partnering-with-tea-party-express/ . [...]
I used to believe that CNN was a "fair and balanced" news organization. Why did you decide to damage your reputation and credibility by partnering with the Tea Party Express for this week's Republican debate? Many Tea Party members have extreme views including a basic nonbelief in science and many are downright racist. Certainly a Republican debate can take place so that all questions, answers, facts and opinions are heard.
By having a very strong collaboration with one of the more radical right wing (and racist) branches of the Tea Party movement you are doing a great disservice to those of us who have formerly regarded CNN as a fairly decent news source.
DON'T DO IT. It's one thing to report (or mis-report) Tea Party bullshit and shenanigans as "news", even while you ignore much larger group actions from groups who are more centrist politically. It's quite a different thing to be making moves to become the same sort of propaganda outlet as Fox "News".
This is the sort of creeping social revisionism that allowed the Nazi Party in Germany to gain so much ground in the 30's, because there was not enough concentrated opposition to their message of racism, disinformation and hatred.
Had to send another message to CNN after receiving FAIR's response to CNN's response:
If the powers at CNN care at all about their journalistic credibility, the most recent statement from FAIR answering your defensive response(9/16/11) regarding your Tea Party Express relationship clearly defines your deliberate move towards actual endorsement in your co-sponsorship of the debate.
The day after I was even more sickened by watching/listening to your pundits slap each other on the back all day for a job well done – including Wolf Blitzer whose show I've long intentionally avoided, but who managed to pop in all too frequently for peer applause during your day long celebration.
I've been a long time viewer, but I'm finally done with CNN except to occasionally tune in to take your temperature. Your gradual shift in focus from reporting on real issues to now endlessly inflicting your audience with the hysterically voiced gossipy political infighting drama of the day, (Wolf in a nutshell) is becoming far too persistent, pointless, and irritating for anyone with functioning synapses.
Lack of critical thinking skills really is increasingly sweeping our nation – particularly due to our fourth estate decreasingly modeling their use. PLEASE don't continue your slide into becoming Fox Lite
Really?? So wanted to protect ourselves and families, cutting wasteful spending, cutting taxes, etc is extremely right and disgusting?? You all are the problem with this country now a days with your entitlement society. Whatever happened to working everyday? Libs are disgusting.
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