September 6, 2006

That old "liberal media"

The Anonymous Liberal reminds us of how the right wing killed a docudrama on Reagan because it portrayed him badly in parts. Now, ABC plans to air a docudrama that blames 9-11 on Clinton, and there are plans in the works to hand out free dvds to high school teachers to make sure that the wingnut perspective is taught.

Les, maybe you can remind me again where the so-called "liberal media" is, again? Can you imagine the outcry if that same film focused on Bush sitting moroningnly while someone read him a memo about UBL wanting to hijack planes inside the US?

Sigh.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sadly, it's more than a few DVDs being handed out. Scholastic (yes, that Scholastic, beloved of parents and kids for their book-fairs and catalogs, not to mention Harry Potter) has put out a whole lesson plan/ study guide series on the blasted thing.

It's mind-bending. ABC gets to call it FICTION to escape any requirements for objectivity or facts, but then partners with a respected publisher like Scholastic to market the propaganda as HISTORY. And pitches the whole thing to the teenagers who will be voting in 2008, and to their parents who will be voting in these midterm elections ("But Mom, Dad, I've got to watch it, it's for a class!").

Makes me want to scream.

The study guide is up online at

http://content.scholastic.com/browse/lessonplan.jsp?id=415

Writer said...

I'm totally shocked and bewildered! ABC has been the anti-conservative network for so long that this shakes my worldview of news institutions. What's next? A conservative CNN? :)

Streak said...

Well, like I posted earlier, CNN's headline news channel has a right winger with his own show mostly devoted to stirring up support to attack Iran, you know, because this time it will work!

And you might be slightly joking, Les, but this isn't conservatism. This is propaganda of the worst kind.

Small Glimpses said...

Scholastic pulled their support today. Instead they will provide information about the difference between a docudrama and a documentary. Can we read into their decision that Scholastic realized they were being used as a means to spread political propaganda to our youngsters??


*** snip ***

While ABC is sticking by the TV movie, one of its key partners isn't. Spooked by the firestorm the film has provoked, Scholastic Inc. announced Thursday that it was scrapping a Path to 9/11-branded "field guide" intended to allow high schoolers to use the movie as an educational tool. Instead, the publisher will distribute discussion materials focusing on "critical thinking and media literacy skills."

"After a thorough review of the original guide that we offered online to about 25,000 high school teachers, we determined that the materials did not meet our high standards for dealing with controversial issues," said Dick Robinson, Scholastic's chairman, president and CEO.

Among the topics Scholastic says its new "media literacy" kit will tackle: "What is a docudrama; how does it differ from a documentary; what are the differences between factual reporting and a dramatization?"

reference: http://www.eonline.com/News/Items/0,1,19958,00.html?fdnews