September 19, 2007
Bingo
Shankar Vedantam, a columnist for the Washington Post explained on NPR's "On The Media" that "Good myths die hard. Recent psychological studies suggest journalists' attempts to set the record straight may in fact be perpetuating falsehoods". As we now know, this tactic has worked splendidly for Republicans. MoveOn.org adopted the tactifc by placing their "General Betrayus" ad in the New York Times just before his testimony before Congress.
Predictably, the spin hit the fan. Media Matters reports " there were more than 500 mentions of the MoveOn ad last week. According to the decisions being made at cable TV news, the advocacy newspaper ad was 250 times more important than a rash of American fatalities in Iraq". The "liberal' mainstream media was in a frenzy. Five hundred mentions!!! Money well spent.
George Lakoff, master of the reframe, says
MoveOn's "General Betray Us?" ad has raised vital questions that need a thorough and open discussion. The ad worked brilliantly to reveal, via its framing, an essential but previously hidden truth: the Bush Administration and its active supporters have betrayed the trust of the troops and the American people.MoveOn hit a nerve. In the face of truth, the right-wing has been forced to change the subject -- away from the administration's betrayal of trust and the escalating tragedy of the occupation to of all things, an ad! To take the focus off maiming and death and the breaking of our military, they talk about etiquette. The truth has reduced them to whining: MoveOn was impolite. Rather than face the truth, they use character assassination against an organization whose three million members stand for the highest patriotic principles of this country, the first of which is a commitment to truth.
It's hard to hear the name Petraeus these days without associating to its rhyme ---which has, by now, been indelibly etched into the collective unconscious.
Stephen Colbert was not impressed.
Photo note: Spin, shadows, light and triangles What more could a girl ask?
Posted by Dakota at September 19, 2007 07:14 AM