I hate Fox News with a passion but lately I have seen some surprising things. Nine days after the crisis started and unrest continues in Ferguson Missouri. And, I hate to say it but I found myself watching Fox News because their coverage was better. It was after midnight and Rachel Maddow and Lawrence O'Donnell were pulling late duty covering events live with Chris Hayes on the ground in Ferguson. I flipped over to Fox to see their spin for a minute and ended up staying because the reporting seemed to be a little better. The Fox crew had better placement and Shepard Smith was doing a pretty good job on that big screen thing they have in the studio. Sorry to say it but Fox was out reporting both CNN and MSNBC at that particular moment. That is with the caveat that I had to put up with listening to them report unsubstantiated hear-say from Darren Wilson's girl friend(not sure about relationship) that, of course, improves Wilson's image. Wilson is the cop who shot Micheal Brown. And, counter to reports by the chief of police, this hear-say witness to Wilson's comments said that Wilson was responding to probable cause related to cigars in Micheal Brown's hand resembling those allegedly stolen in a "strong armed robbery". How could this be? When the owner's of the store swear up and down that they never called the police and there is video of Mr. Brown paying for the cigars. But, of course she was allowed to prattle on unchallenged... I digress.
The moment I am speaking of is when the residence of Ferguson began pushing back and dispersing the demonstrators. Words were exchanged and interesting police tactics were used in concert with the actions of the residence to make arrests. It seemed like Fox was better positioned to capture all that. Hey, a broken clock is still right twice a day.
Bottom line is you don't need a PhD to cover an ongoing story efficiently. In any competitive business, success always comes down to the basics. True, perspective rather than basic reporting is really the specialty of the MSNBC crew at night. But, even though MSNBC kicks ass at big picture concepts and historical perspective, covering events as they unfold is crucial to maintaining and building an audience. It's not good if I gotta go somewhere else(especially to Fox - for God's sake!) to get the facts when the shit hits the fan.
More below the noodle:
As a side note:
While looking for an image of Shepard Smith I ran across the story of him referring to Robin Williams as a coward hours after the suicide. I was almost ready to despise ole Shep until I read his apology and saw the video of his actual comments. It was a pretty well said apology and the original comments weren't that bad. So, I guess I'll forgive him.
From the New York Daily News:
“To the core of my being, I regret it. It just came out of my mouth. And I’m so sorry. And to anyone and their families who see that, I am sorry.”
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/...
And don't throw too many tomatoes but Megyn Kelly's interview with Bill Ayers wasn't that bad either. Caveat: if you can stomach the "American terrorist helps Obama win Presidency" spin. The interview is good not just because Ayers was on point, but because Kelly lets him breath a little. I got this funny feeling watching the interview that we might be in for a sea change of some kind over at Fox. Just a feeling. I could be wrong. ---Okay, there was a specific moment when Kelly had this look in her eyes that gave me hope. It was almost a Wizard of Oz glimpse behind the curtain kind of thing. Not really a Red-pill-Blue-Pill Morpheus thing, but...well...you tell me.
Here is the page for the interview:
http://www.foxnews.com/...
Tue Aug 19, 2014 at 11:26 PM PT: It's 2:20 Am and Shep has Peter Kinder Lieutenant Governor of Missouri crying about the rush to judgement on Darren Wilson. This is in reference to comments made by Jay Nixon Governor of Missouri pushing for "Justice for Micheal Brown". Even when Shep is trying to sound impartial, he sounds partial.
11:05 AM PT: These comments from below are posted here so that any factually questionable statements in this post are more immediately balanced.
I regret any factual errors I may have made and will fact check more rigorously next time. And, I agree that a rush to judgement is never appropriate. Feel good justice is often hollow.
* [new] This is inaccurate (8+ / 0-)
How could this be? When the owner's of the store swear up and down that they never called the police and there is video of Mr. Brown paying for the cigars.
The original call to the police came in at 11:51 AM. The report does not say who made that call, but the officer who responded arrived at 11:54 AM and was met by the manager, a clerk, and a customer, who told him what had happened and gave him a description of the two individuals, and pointed in the direction where the individuals had gone. The officer broadcast that description over the radio.
Ferguson Offense/Incident Report
As for the video, many people are claiming that it shows Brown paying for the cigars, when it does nothing of the sort. It does show the manager or the clerk confronting Brown as he tried to leave the store, and being pushed back against a display case. Additionally, Florian Johnson, the second individual who was with Brown, has admitted to the FBI that Brown took the cigars.
There is no question that the situation is horrible, and very confusing, but we really need to try to stay factual in discussions. Continuing to raise points which have been debunked only contributes to the confusion.
I am a warrior for peace. And not a gentle man... Steve Mason, 1940-2005
by Wayward Wind on Wed Aug 20, 2014 at 03:26:03 AM EDT
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* [new] Agreed. A rush to judgment is a rush to judgment. (1+ / 0-)
whether the accused is "one of us" or "one of them".
We really don't know yet what actually happened, except "cop shoots young black man." We know bits of info, but not a credible, smooth narrative that deals with the various discrepancies in the account.
(see: Rashomon)
However, the bigger outrage, that contributed to Michael Brown's death, is that we have a problem in Ferguson, and a problem with the cops in Ferguson and their leadership and the DA, and ultimately the problem extends up to the Governor.
Whether it's racial indifference, corruption, or incompetence, in whatever proportions, there's a problem, and it's replicated in states and cities around this country.
This problem is familiar to most Americans.
You can't make this stuff up.
by David54 on Wed Aug 20, 2014 at 09:04:35 AM EDT
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11:12 AM PT: And, whoever voted for "Cat", "Olive Oil", and "Cantaloupe," Thank you! and may God bless!