Media need to report news, not create it
Enough already about Dick Cheney and the accident. This was an unfortunate event, and, yes, I am sorry that someone got hurt. Will someone in the media please tell me why this was such a huge deal. The gentleman that was shot was not a public figure; the accident in no way affected national security, the economy or anything else that really matters nationally.
For the press to even think they should have been told at all irritates me. I thought the press was supposed to report news, not create stories where none exist. If newspeople would go back to reporting news instead of trying to be celebrities, this country would be a lot better off. This was a private hunting trip between two friends. The only reason the press is mad is because they didn't get an extra day to blow everything out of proportion.
I would be willing to bet most people feel the way I do. If everything that happens to a public figure like Cheney is news, then let's report how many times a day he uses the bathroom. Or maybe people should know he brushes his teeth side to side instead of up and down. Could the press please grow up.
Jeff Rhudy
Greensboro
Comments (7)
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OK Jeff, so explain something to me. You are tired of the media "creating" a story out of the accident and are advocating letting this die. How? By writing a LTTE (the media) about not mentioning this anymore?
Posted on March 2, 2006 5:12 AM
I disagree. This Cheney shooting incident, getting off scott free from not having a $7 upland gamebird stamp on his hunting license and the delay in reporting this to the media reeks of a culture of secrecy and collusion.
A Congressional investigation is warranted and a special proscecutor needs to be assigned asap.
Posted on March 2, 2006 7:52 AM
Hugh, we should also impeach Bush over this. Cheney should have been working, not playing around on some ranch. Cheney was in Texas when the accident occurred and Bush is a resident of Texas. Bush is his boss, so it's ultimately his fault, just like when he created Hurricane Katrina by not signing the Kyoto agreements. I second your motion for a congressional investigation and call for his impeachment.
Posted on March 2, 2006 8:13 AM
Dear Jeff,
If the second most powerful man on Earth shooting another man in the face is not a story, I would beg you to tell us what a real story is. Maybe there's a pretty white girl missing somewhere...
Yes, it got media attention, but, like Yvonne noted above, the only folks talking about it are those that are angry about how much it's being talked about.
Posted on March 2, 2006 8:42 AM
Poor old Dan & Hugh,
They don't realize that what they think is humor actually happened to a man who got blown and then lied about it! Cheney shoots another person and they want to treat it like it was no big deal---people do that kind of thing all the time.
Posted on March 2, 2006 12:40 PM
From a historic perspective, it kinda is a big deal. When was the last time a sitting VP shot somebody? Course, that time it was on purpose, but still.
I think it was definitely newsworthy. All the crap about secrecy and conspiracy is just that. But I don't see how you can argue that this story should not be heavily publicized.
All I can say is that I'm glad they weren't shooting for larger game or it would be more than just minor wounds.
What kinda pansy hunting is that anyway? Riding around in a jeep and waiting for somebody to point out the birds to you and then shoot at them? What kinda sport is that? Heck, I wouldn't blame Cheney for getting bored and going after a more exciting target.
Posted on March 2, 2006 3:16 PM
Yellow Dog,
I will excuse your words on another thread, but at least you are not walking "lockstep" with Bush like Dan, Hugh, and neoCON. Cheney shooting a man was news and it should have been covered. Had it been Clinton shooting someone, I can assure you, those three would have been all over it. They want everything one way, and that is THEIR way. Remind me of the Prayer in Schools crowd---they want prayer, but they want THEIR prayer.
Posted on March 2, 2006 7:11 PM