The Corporate Media Deference That Endangers Us All | Scheerpost

[Scott]

Thought the article with the same name as this thread on Scheerpost was well worth reading and perhaps having a bit of a discussion on, so posting an excerpt here...

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November 26, 2022

A comment from an editor at the Associated Press epitomizes the danger mainstream media creates with its routine deference to intelligence sources, writes Caitlin Johnstone.

By Caitlin Johnstone / CaitlinJohnstone.com

The Associated Press journalist who reported a U.S. intelligence official’s false claim that Russia had launched missiles at Poland last week has been fired.

As we discussed previously, AP’s anonymously sourced report which said, “A senior U.S. intelligence official says Russian missiles crossed into NATO member Poland, killing two people” went viral because of the massive implications of direct hot warfare erupting between Russia and the NATO alliance.

AP subsequently retracted its story as the mainstream political/media class came to accept that it was in fact a Ukrainian missile that had struck Poland.
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Full article:
The Corporate Media Deference That Endangers Us All | Scheerpost

Unsurprisingly, Corporate made sure to muzzle the fired reporter James LaPorta. The New York Post did a good article on James LaPorta's story:

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LaPorta sent a Slack message to AP European desk editor Lisa Leff on Nov. 15, saying the report came from a US source vetted by AP vice president of news and investigations Ron Nixon.

“From a senior intelligence official (vetted by Ron Nixon) yes, Russian missiles crossed into Poland. At least two people dead from initial reports,” LaPorta wrote.

“Can we alert from that or would we need confirmation from another source and/or Poland?” Leff answered.

“That call is above my pay grade,” LaPorta responded.

“Yes should be ok I see source vetted by @rnixon,” AP deputy European news editor Zeina Karam chimed in via Slack.

[snip]

“I would love to comment on the record, but I have been ordered by the AP to not comment,” [Laporta] said after being fired.
**

Full article:
Associated Press’ internal messages show what led to retracted missile story that got reporter fired | New York Post

So the brass approves the story, but they sure don't take the blame for it, and they make sure that the guy who is lumped with the blame can't talk.

 

[Nordberg]

He got fired. Do you want him killed?

 

[Yakuda]

He got fired. Do you want him killed?

Why not? That's what you like would want.

 

[Scott]

He got fired. Do you want him killed?

I suspect you didn't read through my opening post in this thread. If you had, I doubt the following explanation would be necessary.


James LaPorta, the reporter in question, played things strictly by the book. He never made the call to do an alert. All he did was alert Lisa Leff, AP European desk editor, that a source approved by Associated Press VP Ron Nixon had said that the missile had been fired by Russia. I find it comical while sad that Lisa Leff asked -him- whether an alert should be made. Apparently, AP has fostered a newsroom culture where people are willing to offload responsibility to anyone to avoid any negative flack. LaPorta, no fool, responded quite bluntly: "That call is beyond my pay grade". Lisa, in turn, while perfectly willing to let him make the call (and take any negative flack), clearly didn't seem willing to make the call herself. The call was actually made by her deputy, Zeina Kara, perhaps too green to understand that these types of decisions should be left to those above her station. Fortunately for Zeina, she wasn't at the bottom of the food chain, and so LaPorta was fired despite never having even suggested that the story be made into an alert, and that despite being asked to make the call by Lisa Leff.

 

[archives]

I suspect you didn't read through my opening post in this thread. If you had, I doubt the following explanation would be necessary.


James LaPorta, the reporter in question, played things strictly by the book. He never made the call to do an alert. All he did was alert Lisa Leff, AP European desk editor, that a source approved by Associated Press VP Ron Nixon had said that the missile had been fired by Russia. I find it comical while sad that Lisa Leff asked -him- whether an alert should be made. Apparently, AP has fostered a newsroom culture where people are willing to offload responsibility to anyone to avoid any negative flack. LaPorta, no fool, responded quite bluntly: "That call is beyond my pay grade". Lisa, in turn, while perfectly willing to let him make the call (and take any negative flack), clearly didn't seem willing to make the call herself. The call was actually made by her deputy, Zeina Kara, perhaps too green to understand that these types of decisions should be left to those above her station. Fortunately for Zeina, she wasn't at the bottom of the food chain, and so LaPorta was fired despite never having even suggested that the story be made into an alert, and that despite being asked to make the call by Lisa Leff.

So they f*cked up and the low man on the totem pole was fired, considering the vast number of stories passed thru the AP on an daily basis I don’t think one instance of incompetence can lead to a general condemnation of the AP nor view it as a national threat to all of us

And what exactly out there is not “corporate media?”

 

[Scott]

So they f*cked up and the low man on the totem pole was fired, considering the vast number of stories passed thru the AP on an daily basis I don’t think one instance of incompetence can lead to a general condemnation of the AP nor view it as a national threat to all of us

I believe Caitlin Johntone was suggesting that this type of spineless corporate behaviour is common, which I can easily believe. Had there been no one of integrity in the corporate sphere, NATO might have considered that it now needed to officially go to war with Russia, hardly much of a leap from its present proxy fighting with Russia, but a significant step nonetheless.

And what exactly out there is not “corporate media?”

You may not have noticed, but I almonst never source articles from the corporate media. The article I referenced in the opening post was from Scheerpost, which, while it certainly has many writers who have worked for the corporate media, was founded by left wing journalist Robert Scheer, who has quite a resume to his name:

Robert Scheer | Wikipedia

Robert Scheer is the founder and publisher of ScheerPost | Scheerpost

 

[Geeko Sportivo]

Here we go- THROW OUT THE BABY WITH THE BATH WATER!

Can I just mention that the same people who own and operate FAUX NEWS also owns and operates the NEW YORK POST!

TRY AGAIN!

NEXT!

 

[Geeko Sportivo]

The Corporate Media Deference That Endangers Us All | Scheerpost?

I agree with Scheerpost! I mostly always do!

When this became a topic here in the forum, and I saw just about everyone making opinions that were based on SHEER guesses that played into their own personal set of political naratives, I warned the members of this forum to let the investigation carry out before embarrassing themselves.

Now granted, The Russians had already bombed a train station on the border of Ukraine just two miles from the border of Poland That did kill innocent civilians- men younger than 18, women, and children- who were trying to escape the War- over 3 months ago. And that missile was proven to be from a Russian origin. So, suspecting Russia as the source for the recent explosion, was at the top of most people's minds.

I mean that thought did cross my mind, but then I also thought it could have been friendly fire.

But in the interim, AP NEWS came out and claimed they had a source from the intelligence community that said it was a Bona Fide Russian Missile.

So my question is why are we blaming the AP Wire when it was someone from the Intelligence Community that GOT THE STORY WRONG TO BEGIN WITH?

Isn't that the SON-OF-A-Bitch that needs to be fired here?

Let me just say this- The AP WIRE folks did not invade the Ukraine- And they are not a world threat as they just repeated what they considered to be a reliable source- OUR INTELLIGENCE community.

The real threat is the ASSHOLE PUTIN!

And anyone here blaming the AP Wire for propagating FAKE NEWS, when they were not even the TRUE source of the MISINFORMATION, and not pointing to the more serious THREAT of Putin is a FUCKING TRAITOR TO THE UNITED STATES!

THAT GOES FOR YOU TOO OPIE!

NEXT!

 

[Scott]

Here we go- THROW OUT THE BABY WITH THE BATH WATER!

Could you elaborate on what you mean here?

Can I just mention that the same people who own and operate FAUX NEWS also owns and operates the NEW YORK POST!

TRY AGAIN!

I imagine you're pointing out that Fox News and New York Post are both part of Murdoch's news empire. I'm certainly not a fan of Murdoch, but that doesn't mean that a news company he owns can't come out with some good articles.

 

[Scott]

The Corporate Media Deference That Endangers Us All | Scheerpost?

I agree with Scheerpost! I mostly always do!

When this became a topic here in the forum, and I saw just about everyone making opinions that were based on SHEER guesses that played into their own personal set of political naratives, I warned the members of this forum to let the investigation carry out before embarrassing themselves.

Now granted, The Russians had already bombed a train station on the border of Ukraine just two miles from the border of Poland That did kill innocent civilians

I remember a train station bombing that was blamed on the Russians. From what I read, the evidence strongly suggested it was the Ukrainians, and that they were falsely blaming the Russians.

 

[Geeko Sportivo]

I remember a train station bombing that was blamed on the Russians. From what I read, the evidence strongly suggested it was the Ukrainians, and that they were falsely blaming the Russians.

Hey look, you are new here. But, so far, it seems most of your threads, in fact, all of them I have seen are all are limited to the Ukraine war.

There seems to be a narrative to all of your comments regarding the Ukraine war. And, that is UKRAINE, EUROPE, AMERICA, NATO, Biden, the MEDIA- ARE ALL BAD- VERY BAD!

And Russia and Putin all GOOD- could never do anything wrong!

My first question to you, is- Why are you so tunnel-visioned on the Russian Invasion of the Ukraine, yet seemingly have no interest in any other subject matter, news event, or political issue discussed here in the forum?

Please, let's get this out of the way, before I ask anymore questions? I just want to make sure that I haven't overlooked anything here!

Thanks in advance for your response!

 

[archives]

I believe Caitlin Johntone was suggesting that this type of spineless corporate behaviour is common, which I can easily believe. Had there been no one of integrity in the corporate sphere, NATO might have considered that it now needed to officially go to war with Russia, hardly much of a leap from its present proxy fighting with Russia, but a significant step nonetheless.



You may not have noticed, but I almonst never source articles from the corporate media. The article I referenced in the opening post was from Scheerpost, which, while it certainly has many writers who have worked for the corporate media, was founded by left wing journalist Robert Scheer, who has quite a resume to his name:

Robert Scheer | Wikipedia

Robert Scheer is the founder and publisher of ScheerPost | Scheerpost

“suggesting” doesn’t mean it occurs, especially when used in an opinion piece.

I see your point, but I don’t think NATO or anyone else for that matter is going to go to war over a piece running on AP or any other wire service, they all have their own intelligence services which they rely upon

And I only asked what was “corporate media” because one sees it, and “mainstream media,” plus a few other generalizations out there employed without ever offering an explanation, even seen one network in particular use “mainstream” when they themselves are part of the mainstream