News-Record.com

The journalism school at Carolina isn't backing down. Good for them. So Edwards can go ahead and "cut off access."* Doug

John Boy has been trying to control the media for some time like most candiates. Last week he and his media campaign promoter try this little trick on the Bill Maher show before the 9/11 Truthers jump in and screw up the show.

What most people don't know is that Maher and John Boy try to make it look like a live interview, when he interview Maher and sorted endorsed John Boy during the interview at the end with large cheers from the audience. The TV screen flash " Live" during the interview.

The interview was tape early that morning with the audience being bus in by local Union workers supporting the Edwards campaign.

If that was Auto dealership doing the same thing, it would have been arrested for doing a false AD to fool the people....

Dems/libs are all for Freedom of Speech....as long as they get to decide who may exercise it.

For those who are interested in the segment, it is available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lb8r0XIZs7Y .

The segment itself is poorly done. Edwards established a poverty center at UNC. It's natural that his headquarters would be there. Also, the segment uses journalists' lamest and laziest device, which is to find two people with opposing views, not evaluate either set of arguments, and then conclude that "opinions are split." The laziness is compounded by the fact that the second "man in the street" is another UNC reporter. The hypocrisy of a student reporter who (a) has chosen to locate at Chapel Hill, (b) can't bother herself to leave the safe confines of the city, and (c) instead turns to another student reporter who has chosen to locate at Chapel Hill to criticize the Edwards' elitism for locating at Chapel Hill pretty much does the piece in.

The campaign clearly got burned by the reporter. However, once the clip was out, demanding that it be pulled just compounded the problem and gave the story much longer legs than it would have gotten otherwise. Strategically, it's just dumb (par for the course for the Edwards camp).

The bigger lessons here are first (as mentioned above) the laziness of the press and second the sleazy way that reporters and politicians work to manipulate one another. One the one hand, you have a reporter who appears to have used false pretenses to get special access to campaign staff (outside newspaper and video editing rooms, that's still called "lying"). On the other hand, you've got a campaign petulantly trying to squash unfavorable stories written about it.

On the other hand, you've got a campaign petulantly trying to squash unfavorable stories written about it.* Dave

When a presidental campaign is so involved in own little back yard about a simple issue as free speech and ends up on the authoritarian side as anti-speech. It deserves to get clobber for not focusing on the real issues facing America today. Clearly the Ghost of Tom Thumb is running the Edwards campaign.

I'm surprised the student reporter didn't comment on the fact that Edwards misappropriated money from the Poverty Center to use for his own campaign. It's not like Edwards didn't have the money, he just prefers to squander the money of others. Sort of like he plans to do with our tax money if he's elected.

Jaycee:

That would have required research or investigation on the part of the reporter. Why go to all of that work when, like Pigpen raising a cloud of dust on an empty sidewalk, you can just get two students to argue and create a "controversy" over the address of the campaign headquarters?

I believe this is the closest one is going to get at this phony issue created by the local republican driven agenda in this state by some obessive republicans who just can't stop hating the Edwards. What I find interesting is why the Republicans in this state spend more of their time attacking the Edwards campaign almost everyday since they appear to the Republicans that the Edwards have seize democrative presidential race as the winner

The. Edward campaign should be noted as being sucker punch and baited by these people. Truely a sign of not being professional...

The below comment by Anglio at Blue NC gives a honest look at the issue.

The UNC School of Journalism has been spending your tax dollars promoting and defending a hit-piece on John Edwards.

I discovered the story on the blogs yesterday, where the Dome did the best job tracking the events. Here's my take on what happened.

1. A UNC student approached Edwards campaign under what were probably false pretenses to do a hit piece. The campaign cooperated.

2. The student [register Republican] produced a video, which was judged by a Republican faculty member to be fair and balanced. The dean of the UNC J-School also signed off. Apparently neither (they are husband and wife) put much stock in accuracy. The video opens with a factual error about the Southern Village being the most expensive part of Chapel Hill, which is simply not true.

3. When they found about about the video, the Edwards campaign then contacted the student and the faculty adviser. According to those two, the campaign demanded the video be pulled and threatened the student. No names were given and no direct quotes were offered to back the claims of "demands" and "threats."

4. The faculty adviser then went public saying that students need to hold their ground in the face of disgruntled sources, even when that source is a candidate for president.

Did the Edwards campaign behave badly in this? Probably, but there's only the word of a Republican faculty member and a seemingly Bushbot student to go on, so you'll forgive me if I'm a bit skeptical. But even if they did, is it the proper role of a state-supported blog and a state employee to ignite and fan the flames of controversy?

Note to J-School: You know all those solicitations you send me for contributions? You might want to save yourself some postage in the future.

******************************

For the record, the faculty adviser, Leroy Towns, used to be a senior staffer and campaign manager for Senator Pat Roberts (R) of Kansas. Wrapping up the sad saga this morning, Towns posts to his own taxpayer-supported blog in an attempt to turn the travesty into a "teachable moment." You can read all about it here where I hope my own comment will eventually clear through the site's moderators. Just in case that doesn't happen, this is what I wrote:

As a graduate, I have had many occasions to be embarrassed by the School over the years, but this one takes the cake. I followed the story closely as it unfolded in the blogs, and found opportunity for plenty of criticism all around. The Edwards campaign perhaps behaved badly, but faculty and students have nothing to be proud of either.

The first problem is the “story” itself. I use the word in quotes because the actual video is clearly a hit piece that is both factually incorrect and sloppy. In the good old days, such a piece would have received an automatic F - or at least been relegated to the back of a remedial editorial-writing class.

The second problem involves the overblown rhetoric involving “threats” and “demands” supposedly made by the Edwards campaign. Nowhere do we have exact quotes of anything said by anyone involved besides the inept student “reporter” and the writer of this blog.

The third problem is this comment by that very writer, which appeared Under the Dome:

“The Carolina Week staff learned the importance of standing their ground against a disgruntled source, even when that source is a candidate for president.”

As both a technical and practical matter, no candidate for president was a source in this dispute. Nor is there any evidence that a candidate for president was disgruntled. Mr. Towns was either sloppy or purposeful in implicating Edwards personally.

North Carolina’s newspapers are bordering on disgraceful these days, filled with bush-league reporters, factual errors, “gotcha” stories and corporate agendas. Now at least we know one source of that sad state of affairs: the UNC School of Journalism.

Full disclosure: My wife teaches in the School of Journalism. She has no knowledge that I'm writing this and no involvement in my online political activity.

Spokeswoman Colleen Murray, as quoted by the N&O, summed up the Edwards' campaign take on this affair: "We love all reporters, the problem is the feeling isn't always mutual."

Clearly, there would be no problem if all reporters loved the Edwards campaign.

Spokeswoman Colleen Murray, as quoted by the N&O, summed up the Edwards' campaign take on this affair: "We love all reporters, the problem is the feeling isn't always mutual."* Doug

Clearly, the Edwards campaign is lying out of their front teeth about loving all reporters. Do you really believe the Edwards campaign would give you kisses and hugs, if they saw you at a Greensboro Gay Pride parade asking questions about them supporting Edwards?

I do not believe the Edwards campaign loves reporters from Fox News, which it considers part of an axis of evil with Wal-Mart, Smithfield Foods and now the right-wing UNC School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

I do not believe the Edwards campaign loves reporters from Fox News, which it considers part of an axis of evil with Wal-Mart, Smithfield Foods and now the right-wing UNC School of Journalism and Mass Communication.* Doug

No doubt you have aquired the Edwards enemy list by unknown parties like Nixon. Congrats....you are not on it. Of course, If I were you, I would watch myself since they just might creampuff you in a New Hampshire Krogers parking lot.....

I'm continually dismayed by Edwards.

Yesterday he came out with a proposal to stop "misleading" advertising by pharmaceutical companies. Here's the first bullet point from the news release on his Web site:

"Delay New Ads to Put Safety First: Edwards will institute a two-year delay on consumer advertising of all new drugs."

http://johnedwards.com/news/headlines/20071028-drug-marketing/

See the problem?

He's attacking "misleading" ads but says he'll slap a delay on all advertising. Why? These are products that have passed the regulatory process and have the FDA seal of approval. Just not the John Edwards seal of approval -- apparently no matter how beneficial they might be or how honest and accurate the advertising might be. Just label them "misleading" right off the bat and question their safety, nevermind any facts.

I propose a two-year delay on this sort of nonsense from presidential candidates.

See the problem?* Doug

Yep! The campaign is reaching for anything to get atttention. Today he said Hillary was a insider! Wow! I guess his stunning retainer from that investment firm he advise about business does not count....What a rich hypocrite he is....For the life of me, I do not understand why he is running against the meanest political machine in Democrat history except for personal ego or something like that.....you got me!

Meanest political machine in Democratic history? The Clintons? Connie, that's the funniest thing you've written here in weeks.

Woodrow and Edith Wilson could eat the Clintons for breakfast.

Dave's hit it spot on above. This is the cheapest kind of manufactured controversy. On the other hand, Edward takes the cheapest demagogic potshots of any candidate in recent memory. So it all evens out in the end. Karma.

Meanest political machine in Democratic history? The Clintons? Connie, that's the funniest thing you've written here in weeks.* Doug

"Meanest!" With all the bodies the Clintons have left behind in their poltilical past. You wouldn't catch me near a former Clinton employee funeral or graveyard.

I bet the Ghost ofJim MacDougal does not think I am funny!

Woodrow and Edith Wilson could eat the Clintons for breakfast.* Doug

You mean Col E. Mendel House don't you? Did you ever read his Book " Phillp Dru"? He was Wilson's personal wizard and wrote Dru years before laying out the whole game plan for the Democrats , after Wilson got elected in a 3 way political deal that screw the Republicians. Sorted like Perot did to Bush in 92 and we ended with up Clintons.

Meanest political machine in Democratic history? The Clintons?* Doug

I forgotI I do have more proof that they are the " Meanst" political machine in Democrat history or so I thought , until I realize that the Clintons gave the Blackwater group their glorious business start in Republican political " meanst" history. After all it was the Clintons that gave a whole new meaning to the term "Whitewater". Why is it that all political scandels start with Water? " Watergate" Teapot Dome Water scandel, Hope Arkansas, Great Hot Springs Democrat Gambling scandel, Whitewater, Blackwater, and on and on? When it Katrina rains! It pours political scandels....