Recent praise of Ron Paul in the mainstream media is a study in careful propaganda.
Follow this link to the original source: "Buzz Maker of the Week: Ron Paul"
Ron Paul supporters have always alleged that the support their favored candidate gets is real and that it goes far beyond the Internet. Until recently, mainstream news outlets have discounted Paul's widespread appeal, arguing that online polls showing Paul's popularity are skewed by the Internet activism of his supporters.
But, with the fundraising results for the last quarter now in, the media has had to cope with Paul's $5 million quarterly haul — a figure that puts him solidly in line as a front runner in the campaign.
ABC News, in partnership with USA Today, took note of Ron Paul's fundraising success with their "Buzz-o-Meter" at their "Vote 2008" Website. According to ABC News/USA Today, "Paul, R-Texas, can be ignored no longer."
The brief article appears to praise Ron Paul, but it really takes underhanded potshots at the pro-freedom candidate in an effort to undermine his candidacy.
How does it do this? Let us count the ways:
To start with, the article begins this way: "To the extent that Rep. Ron Paul had broken through at all so far ... it was probably his online army...."
In an article that purports to report on a candidate's success, this one begins by dwelling on inaccurately perceived and inaccurately reported failures, suggesting that Paul's campaign to date has been marked by failure to break through and that his supporters are limited to his "online army."
On the contrary, the real story, as reported by The New American, has been that the Ron Paul campaign has done something entirely new in American politics by successfully utilizing the resources and social networking technologies that have been enabled by the Internet. But the ABC News/USA Today report makes no mention of this historic success.
How else does the article attack Ron Paul? Despite the clear success the Paul campaign has had, the article dismissively insists: "It's not that Paul is going to seriously compete for the Republican nomination; he will not."
Say what!? The supposed point of making Ron Paul the "Buzz Maker of the Week" stems from the fact that his fundraising puts him in league with other front runners like John McCain. Will ABC News and USA Today suddenly insist that John McCain has no chance? That's doubtful.
Then there is this nugget that comes from the way ABC/USA Today handles a quotation from Ron Paul. Here it is in full:
"People are really frustrated — frustrated with both parties, frustrated with the war," a clearly surprised Paul told ABC in announcing his figures.In the quoted sentence, Congressman Paul is discussing the war, not his fundraising success. So why does ABC News/USA Today editorialize about Paul's supposed astonishment at his fundraising success in wrapping up this quote? It's simple: It's a rhetorical trick used to diminish the content and meaning of the quoted material while simultaneously redirecting the reader back to the subtle point the article is trying to make, i.e., that Ron Paul's success is unexpected, ephemeral, and meaningless.
The way the media handles Ron Paul is a lesson in spin. The lesson for Americans who pay attention to the news is that the media applies spin of this sort to most, if not all, of the stories it reports. The full truth is out there, but it won't always be found in the mainstream media.
Follow this link to the original source: "Buzz Maker of the Week: Ron Paul"
Ron Paul supporters have always alleged that the support their favored candidate gets is real and that it goes far beyond the Internet. Until recently, mainstream news outlets have discounted Paul's widespread appeal, arguing that online polls showing Paul's popularity are skewed by the Internet activism of his supporters.
But, with the fundraising results for the last quarter now in, the media has had to cope with Paul's $5 million quarterly haul — a figure that puts him solidly in line as a front runner in the campaign.
ABC News, in partnership with USA Today, took note of Ron Paul's fundraising success with their "Buzz-o-Meter" at their "Vote 2008" Website. According to ABC News/USA Today, "Paul, R-Texas, can be ignored no longer."
The brief article appears to praise Ron Paul, but it really takes underhanded potshots at the pro-freedom candidate in an effort to undermine his candidacy.
How does it do this? Let us count the ways:
To start with, the article begins this way: "To the extent that Rep. Ron Paul had broken through at all so far ... it was probably his online army...."
In an article that purports to report on a candidate's success, this one begins by dwelling on inaccurately perceived and inaccurately reported failures, suggesting that Paul's campaign to date has been marked by failure to break through and that his supporters are limited to his "online army."
On the contrary, the real story, as reported by The New American, has been that the Ron Paul campaign has done something entirely new in American politics by successfully utilizing the resources and social networking technologies that have been enabled by the Internet. But the ABC News/USA Today report makes no mention of this historic success.
How else does the article attack Ron Paul? Despite the clear success the Paul campaign has had, the article dismissively insists: "It's not that Paul is going to seriously compete for the Republican nomination; he will not."
Say what!? The supposed point of making Ron Paul the "Buzz Maker of the Week" stems from the fact that his fundraising puts him in league with other front runners like John McCain. Will ABC News and USA Today suddenly insist that John McCain has no chance? That's doubtful.
Then there is this nugget that comes from the way ABC/USA Today handles a quotation from Ron Paul. Here it is in full:
"People are really frustrated — frustrated with both parties, frustrated with the war," a clearly surprised Paul told ABC in announcing his figures.In the quoted sentence, Congressman Paul is discussing the war, not his fundraising success. So why does ABC News/USA Today editorialize about Paul's supposed astonishment at his fundraising success in wrapping up this quote? It's simple: It's a rhetorical trick used to diminish the content and meaning of the quoted material while simultaneously redirecting the reader back to the subtle point the article is trying to make, i.e., that Ron Paul's success is unexpected, ephemeral, and meaningless.
The way the media handles Ron Paul is a lesson in spin. The lesson for Americans who pay attention to the news is that the media applies spin of this sort to most, if not all, of the stories it reports. The full truth is out there, but it won't always be found in the mainstream media.
No comments:
Post a Comment