Lies, Damned Lies, and Olympic Journalism - Comments Page 2

Wow, this article is really disheartening, because Richard Engel is one of my favorite reporters. As a reporter in theaters of war, he is unbelievably courageous. And I've always found his pieces to be intelligent and insightful. Richard, you screwed this one up big time.

Bob,

I learned long ago (yes,...even before the internet age) that journalism has become more about selling a newspaper, magazine or a TV network news program than it is about the truth. With this bit of wisdom in mind, I believe NOTHING that I see in print, read on the Internet or hear on radio or TV until I have verified it from several reliable sources. So I am not shocked to hear this about NBC (or any other news source for that matter.) Be assured that I will be confirming your story as well before passing it on. 'LESSON TO BE LEARNED,'...Believe NOTHING that is proclaimed by ANY single source, regardless (or in spite of) it's reputation. Personal and corporate agendas are afoot everywhere.

Bravo,Bob...thanks for your reporting!

Speaking to the topic of truth in Journalism, let me share with you a personal experience here in the States.
I was (un)lucky enough to be in Harrisburg, PA when Three Mile Island happened. We were inside in a training class, and the local news on the radio said to stay inside and everything would be fine. After we had heard this more than a few times, the national news interrupted the local news and stated that the freeways were jammed as people fled the city. From inside the classroom we could look out at the freeway and see that was not the case, and that the national news was outright lying about the situation.
I haven't believed anything on TV or radio since without researching it.

Another great job of background reporting. Keep up the good work, Bob

Good work Bob. Another reason could be because NBC wanted to depress or stop reporting over the Internet by people posting on Twitter or Facebook. NBC has lost viewers and they would be willing to mislead people to not using other sources and tune in to NBC.

Thanks for the information, Bob. There were so many negative reports leading up to the opening of the Games that it sure began to sound like a hatchet job, for whatever reason - fear of those big, nasty former USSR types? News reporting is so biased it's a wonder they can still call it news - and everything has to be related with such over-the-top drama.

Bob ... Doesn't surprise me, in the least! Main Stream Media has been fabricating the "truth", for decades. I don't watch the Local News, it is just as bad, even on the Local News.

What makes it so bad ... Not only is the Main Stream Media "lying" to us ... But, much of what is read on the Internet is fabricated, as well!!! So, where can you go, to check things out?

The Internet is basically, autonomous ... Though, many governments are trying to regulate the Internet. Now, with autonomy, comes a freedom, that allows many people, to say many, many things, that simply are not true and never were meant to be. What makes that action, so bad, is that too many people "believe" what they read and don't ever bother to research the facts, of truth or false!!!

As for the Main Stream Media, I included the 24 hour News Cable/Satellite Channels ... These people are responsible, for their actions and statements! There is NO "pass" for what their staff tells them, anymore than there is a "pass" for politicians, when their aides give them the wrong information. These news reporters have either a National or Local following, where if, they want to remain as a reporter ... Telling the truth is paramount!!! Or at least, make a statement of correction, up front, like the newspaper do/did.

I simply, don't trust the News Outlets and haven't for decades, like many have said, already. My distrust, started during the Vietnam Conflict, as it was called ... When, the Main Stream Media began to call our servicemen and women "mass murders"!!! I know, that war is violent and sometimes, soldiers do not do the right thing and need to be punished ... However, the Main Stream Media treated all soldiers with great distain, so that those who came home ... Came home in disgrace.

Didn't mean to be political ... Just wanted to explain, when I lost all faith in the Main Stream Media.

After spending 24 years in major market broadcast TV, I can unequivocally say that journalism, real journalism, is dead. The people that are hired to actually do reporting, in whatever medium, have no command of English. Bob, you admonish us that "spelling, punctuation, grammar and proper use of UPPER/lower case are important!" before posting one of our replies; not so with internet and broadcast TV news sites. These are rife with spelling and grammar errors, not mention the blatant misuse of the apostrophe to signify possession. I read the "news" every day, but place no credence in the veracity of what has been written. It's very sad.

I hope I don't get "Hacked" for saying this but . . . Whomever is Really MAD at Russia for harboring the fugitive, Mr. Snowden!
All of these scare tactics is pure & simple - - Revenge.
. . . that's all I got.

Bob, I’m with you since the time of the Tour bus. And I am so very, very glad that there are still people in the States, people like you and our fellow “bus passengers” that keep their eyes peeled and don’t believe just about everything and just because they have seen it on CNN, CBS or NBC…
Thank you and respect!

It's just NBC being NBC. Not that the other networks are noticeably better.

Another thing the news media really tried to put in a bad light was the Olympic Rings at the opening ceremony. So one ring had a malfunction and did not light up on cue. Big deal. But the new media showed this over and over and over like it was the only thing at the opening ceremony.
I also read about how the TV news shows such as 60 minutes are fed many stories by trial lawyers trying to get a favorable verdict for a client. They feed the info to the news mag show, and the bad publicity encourages the defendent company to seek a settlement.

any "news" these days has been redacted for the average American mentality....which is far below average.

Thanks for this article, Bob. I stopped watching network news years ago. They try to sensationalize the news in order to drive ratings which then results in higher advertising rates. Accurately reporting the news isn't one of their functions anymore. The only things that matter are the bottom line and getting their liberal political candidates elected.

I guess I'm too old to deal with today's anchorpeople. I remember when the news was just news. No commentary. No political lean. No made up stories just to get people to watch the TV. Yes, newspapers printed news with their slant, but not TV. Or was I too young to see the lies?

I got rid of my television decades ago, for as George Gerber (rip) said, TV has little to tell but a whole lot to sell.

For anyone wanting to learn about the severe drawbacks of this medium, read Jerry Mander's classic "Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television," if you can still find a copy.

I get information from the Internet which also must be evaluated, and hope that this column sticks to informative articles about technology.

All "reporters" start with a premise they want to promote and then edit the "facts" to fit that premise. Lacking facts that support their position, they make them up. This is not new with television. My college history professor told us that the first thing we should do when reading history is consider the source and the biases of that source. ALL sources/reporters have biases. Know them and evaluate their reports accordingly.

Good job, Bob!

NBC = NO BRAINS CENTRAL

Has anyone thought about wrapping all of this feedback up in a nice neat little package, and sending it off to Brian Williams and/or the producer of his program?
They did a good job of packaging this story for the general public.