Originally Posted By DVC_dad I don't get why the big deal about crowd size? Where do you draw THAT line? At "there really weren't any gatherings" or even "there really is no one who disagrees with Obama, it's a scam by Fox News!" Big deal.
Originally Posted By hopemax If Cavuto is playing fast and loose with something as mundane as crowd size, what else might he be playing fast and loose with? Why say "Oh, it's about 5000 off air, but then suddenly make it double or maybe even triple on air?" Does he have a habit of doubling or tripling other numbers when it suits him?
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan >>Does he have a habit of doubling or tripling other numbers when it suits him?<< He reports. You decide.
Originally Posted By DVC_dad Reacting like that "they are lying about the numbers, a newspaper reporter said so!". LOL! I'm certain we should believe one over the other. Who cares what was discussed? It doesn't matter, we dismiss it out of hand because they are the enemy."
Originally Posted By DVC_dad Anything to discredit "them" regardless of who "them" is. This mentality of "disagree or at least be contrary to the opposing camp" is why nothing gets done. It's childish. Oh wait, they said 15,000 were there but it was only 8,000; therefore all else is lies as well. But I'll give you credit, "Its true, I read it" is a great argument.
Originally Posted By DVC_dad I would feel this way if it were Obama there last night and Cavito was fussing about attendance.
Originally Posted By piperlynne I say "GOOD FOR THEM" Whatever the content of the rally etc, GOOD FOR THEM. That's what this country is about. Being able to speak your mind and say when you think something is wrong. (just for the record, I don't agree with the teabaggers, but its not the point) The conservative base DOES need to get activated and exercise the voice of their base. The future of this country DEPENDS on individual involvement and concern about our country. If they have solutions, let them speak up and voice those solutions. If they have grievances, let them be aired. As long as none of them are shooting into the crowd or starting riots - good for them. Just because I don't agree with them doesn't mean I think they should shut up.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan >>Oh wait, they said 15,000 were there but it was only 8,000; therefore all else is lies as well.<< If crowd size doesn't matter, then why not try to get an accurate count and report that? If he is spinning the numbers, then it is fair to question whatever else he might say. It suggests an agenda. Same with people who underplay the numbers. If there were 15,000 and someone is lying and saying there were 5,000, it is fair to consider that source too biased to trust. Typically, event organizers of these sorts of things fluff up the numbers quite a bit.
Originally Posted By hopemax Cavuto got caught with a live mic, there is video and audio evidence showing what he said on air and prior. I can't believe that we are at the point where it is okay for someone to misrepresent something. And it's the people who dare to point it out who are in the wrong, and they must be doing it because they don't like the messenger. " therefore all else is lies as well" No, the point is that instead of accepting something at face value, the listener then has to fact check. "Is this a time where he is giving the facts, or is this a time where he is embellishing?" People watch the news so that they don't have to fact check, they expect the person reporting the news to have already done it for them.
Originally Posted By mawnck We're not discussing numbers here so much as the reporting of same. However, "Fox News made stuff up" is turning into "you aren't answering the question Doug." Kind of redundant.
Originally Posted By gadzuux Fox is invested in the success of this event - or at least the perception of success. The first order of journalism is accuracy and verification of facts. What fox is doing isn't journalism or reporting - it's advocacy. They endorsed and marketed this "event" to serve their own interests. So a fox pundit reporting facts that he knows to be untrue is a "big deal". Except apparently to viewers of fox news. They don't necessarily want accuracy, they want advocacy and affirmation - that's why they watch in the first place.
Originally Posted By DVC_dad Ok fair enough. I didn't know it was factually establishedxthat Cavuto lied.
Originally Posted By DVC_dad Well I've given my somewhat unbiased first hand views of the one in Atlanta. That's all I promised. Just take it at face value.
Originally Posted By hopemax And just to be fair...Keith Olbermann tonight said that "tens of thousands of people turned out nationwide. Nate Silver on <a href="http://www.fivethirtyeight.com" target="_blank">http://www.fivethirtyeight.com</a> collected the totals reported by the local media in the 300+ cities participating, and has the total at about 311,000. So the more appropriate statement would have been "hundreds of thousands."
Originally Posted By Mr X ***I didn't know it was factually establishedxthat Cavuto lied.*** There's a video, actually. It was on the Olbermann show. Pretty pathetic. On the other hand, I noticed that the MSNBC "coverage" (aka mocking) downplayed the numbers by continuously saying "a few hundred" where the number on the bottom of the screen said 1500 or whatever. Like I said to that other guy, propaganda is propaganda (and our American system of infotainment is alive with it...like a cancer, which is sad to say the least if anyone takes it seriously). On the other hand, DVC, let it be known that in all the coverage I watched, they spend at least the bulk of their time making fun of FOX news' "coverage" and not the protest itself, which they said went over pretty well and it was a "fair point" (runaway spending), etc., etc... To take that fwiw. Glad to read your take on things, if I'd been around I've have checked it out myself just to see what all the fuss was about! Good stuff.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan And just to be fair...Keith Olbermann tonight said that "tens of thousands of people turned out nationwide. << I didn't see that, but I'm glad you mentioned it, hopemax. Sort of underscores what I said before -- if someone is inflating or diminishing the numbers, it shows an agenda is present. It's disappointing the MSNBC more and more has become Fox's mirror image, preaching to their own choir. Finding truly balanced news coverage and true journalism is getting more difficult than ever.
