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03/08/2004 Archived Entry: "Scrub City."
Scrub City.
MSNBC ran a story about Bush's campaign ads the other day, and it included this paragraph:
Another less-publicized aspect of the ad flap: the use of paid actors—including two playing firefighters with fire hats and uniforms in what looks like a fire station. "Where the hell did they get those guys?" cracked Harold Schaitberger, president of the International Association of Fire Fighters, which has endorsed John Kerry, when he first saw the ads. (A union spokesman said the shots prompted jokes that the fire hats looked like the plastic hats "from a birthday party.") "There's many reasons not to use real firemen," retorted one Bush media adviser. "Mainly, its cheaper and quicker."
I checked the story this morning. Now it says this:
Another, less publicized aspect of the ad flap: Everyone but the firefighters were paid actors. The firefighters posing in a firehouse was "stock" film footage of volunteer firefighters -- shot and available for purchase to the general public.
Archived version here. Scrubbed version here. Compare and contrast.
Replies: 6 people speak up
Liberal media my pink fuzzy arse.
Posted by Maru @ 03/08/2004 04:50 PM NY
How about a new google bomb?
Making shit up
Or even liars
Posted by Jason @ 03/08/2004 08:59 PM NY
Maybe Michael Powell of the FCC threatened them with a 7-figure fine for using the word "hell" instead of the FCC-approved "h-e-double-hocket-sticks."
Posted by Norbizness @ 03/08/2004 08:59 PM NY
Everything, and I mean everything, about this administration is as phony as a three-dollar bill. The depressing thing is that so many of our happy, little lemming fellow citizens fall for this bullshit.
Posted by Metropolitan99 @ 03/08/2004 10:13 PM NY
Has anybody ever put together, on a single website (a book would be out of date too fast to be worth much) the structure of corporate media ownership?
I'm getting a headache every time I hear a news story and my first questions are: (1) who's reporting it? and (2) who are they owned by?
Maybe it's time to give up ANY sort of pretense or expectation of objectivity in the media. After all for the first 150 years or so of this country, you KNEW the viewpoint of the paper (all they had at the time) that you were reading, because it was called the "Podunkville Republican" or the "Northwest Southumberton Whig" or (most honest of all) the "Anytown Advertiser".
Bloggers are returning to this tradition of up-front honesty about viewpoint, but let's face it, blogs are still just a freckle on the butt of the Mass Media in terms of readership and influence.
Posted by Xan @ 03/08/2004 10:15 PM NY
Just heard that someone is going to pepper the airwaves with $4 million worth of anti-Bush ads and Bush's peope are screaming soft money and election rules fowl. This wouldn't have anything to do with TBTM? Saw the overtime ad it was great!
Posted by Demeur @ 03/09/2004 06:30 AM NY
