In The Eye's Of NBC The 'SNL 40' Anniversary Is More Important Than The Brutal Beheadings Of Christians By ISIS

Daily Caller: NBC’s ‘Today’ Devotes 10 Times More Coverage To ‘SNL 40′ Than ISIS Be-headings

The morning after the much anticipated Saturday Night Live 40th anniversary special, NBC’s “Today” Show gave the SNL special more than 10 times the coverage during its first three hours Monday than the brutal beheadings of Egyptian Christians by ISIS.

The terror group’s five-minute long video, which was released Sunday afternoon, purports to show 21 ISIS hostages being beheaded. Egypt responded by firing airstrikes at ISIS targets on Monday, following the lead of nearby Jordan after one of its pilots was burned alive by the terror group.

WNU Editor: I can this say about most U.S. media coverage of wars and conflicts. But this is what the viewers want .... and the networks are meeting that need .... and I will confess that I am sometimes baffled on why is this the state of affairs.

Why Does The Islamic State Get All The Headlines When Boko Haram Is Just As Vicious?

(Click on Image to Enlarge)

Charlotte Lytton, Washington Post: Boko Haram is just as vicious. Why does the Islamic State get all the headlines?

WNU Editor: The rise of Boko Haram has been extensively covered in Africa (of course), but Russian and Chinese media have also extensively covered it .... especially since last year. Why the West is focused elsewhere is open to debate, but with many parts of the world now engulfed by conflict .... I guess for Western news networks and agencies .... it is just a questions of budgets, resources, and a limit on time.

Is CBS News Corrupt?

Ex-CBS Reporter’s Book Reveals How Liberal Media Protects Obama -- New York Post

Sharyl Attkisson is an unreasonable woman. Important people have told her so.

When the longtime CBS reporter asked for details about reinforcements sent to the Benghazi compound during the Sept. 11, 2012 terrorist attack, White House national security spokesman Tommy Vietor replied, “I give up, Sharyl . . . I’ll work with more reasonable folks that follow up, I guess.”

Another White House flack, Eric Schultz, didn’t like being pressed for answers about the Fast and Furious scandal in which American agents directed guns into the arms of Mexican drug lords. “Goddammit, Sharyl!” he screamed at her. “The Washington Post is reasonable, the LA Times is reasonable, The New York Times is reasonable. You’re the only one who’s not reasonable!”

Two of her former bosses, CBS Evening News executive producers Jim Murphy and Rick Kaplan, called her a “pit bull.”

That was when Sharyl was being nice.

Read more ....

My Comment: As one who is always using U.S. news media sources, I am looking forward to her book. As to what is my own personal take on the U.S. news media .... I have always believed that these U.S. news monopolies deserve to be broken .... their biases are always revealed by by how they ignore the news that does not fit into their agenda. Unfortunately .... I do not see them changing their pattern of operation anytime soon. But on a positive note .... the "new media" via through the internet is having an impact as well as providing a consistent and alternative source to the news .... my hope is that this trend will continue.

Some Reporters Were Not Impressed With President Obama After He Had Made His Remarks On The Murder Of James Foley

Pool: after statement Obama headed to the Vineyard Golf Club
— Zeke Miller (@ZekeJMiller) August 20, 2014

Update: Obama blasts terrorists, returns to golf -- Sophia Rosenbaum, New York Post

My Comment: The above are just two of the many negative comments that were made today from "beltway reporters". Optics and perception is everything when you are the U.S. President .... and the media class (especially after the loss of one of heir own by a beheading) .... are making their opinions known today.

Hamas Controlled And Threatened The Press Corp In It's Coverage Of The Recent Israel - Gaza War

The Electronic Intifada

Hamas Manipulated And Intimidated The Media In Gaza. Why Was That Kept From Us? -- Alan Johnson, The Telegraph

We should normally say if our reports are censored or monitored or if we withhold information, and explain, wherever possible, the rules under which we are operating.- Section 11.4.1 of the BBC Editorial Guidelines on accuracy and impartiality in times of War, Terror and Emergencies

The Foreign Press Association (FPA) issued an astonishing protest yesterday about "blatant, incessant, forceful and unorthodox" intimidation of journalists in the Gaza Strip by Hamas. "In several cases," they complained, "foreign reporters working in Gaza have been harassed, threatened or questioned over stories." The FPA said this amounted to "denying readers and viewers an objective picture from the ground," adding "we are also aware that Hamas is trying to put in place a 'vetting' procedure that would, in effect, allow for the blacklisting of specific journalists. Such a procedure is vehemently opposed by the FPA." The statement raises a lot of questions. Here is one: why have British broadcasters not mentioned any of this to their viewers?

Let's review what we know.

Read more ....

My Comment: Whenever there is a report from Gaza .... the news network should do what they use to do .... at the beginning of the story they would say that all reports from Gaza are under strict Hamas censorship and control. In this current conflict .... from my vantage point in Canada .... viewers definitely did not get the impression that these news stories were actually carefully orchestrated and that all of them had to follow strict Hamas media guidelines.

Update: It should also be noted that Western coverage of the conflict that was critical of Israel has also come under fire .... NBC decision to drop Ayman Mohyeldin raises questions over Gaza coverage -- Al Arabiya

The Optics Of President Obama's Presidency

President Obama golfs in Oahu. Official White House Photo by Pete Souza

No Optical Illusion: Obama Balances World Crises With Golf, Time Off -- Reuters

(Reuters) - President Barack Obama gave Americans an update on U.S. military strikes in Iraq on Saturday from a podium on the White House lawn with Marine One, the presidential helicopter, parked in the background.

Four hours later, he offered an altogether different tableau: a golf game with friends at a lush course on Martha's Vineyard, the upscale Massachusetts island where the president and his family began a two-week vacation.

The contrasting scenes, which quickly sparked some hostile commentary from critics, illustrate the dilemma of taking time off when you are the most powerful leader in the world and, by definition, handling major issues all the time.

Part of the problem is dealing with appearances, or 'optics' as Washington pundits like to call it.

Read more ....

My Comment: All that I know is that if President Bush was doing this .... the Washington press corp will be having a "shark feeding frenzy".

CNN’s Wolf Blitzer: Iraq ‘Falling Apart,’ ‘Not The Way It Was Supposed To Be’

Wolf Blitzer: Iraq ‘Falling Apart,’ ‘Not the Way It Was Supposed to Be’ -- Washington Free Beacon

CNN’s Wolf Blitzer described to viewers the grim reality Iraqis face. Speaking on television Thursday afternoon, Wolf said, “The whole country of Iraq is seemingly falling apart right now. This was not the way it was supposed to be after President Obama announced that all U.S. forces would be leaving. He was hoping obviously, that there would be some peaceful transition there.”

He continued, “Iraq right now falling apart and tens of thousands of minorities- Christians and Yazidis and others, Iraqi Shiites, are being endangered as we speak right now.”

Read more ....

My Comment: Yup .... I also remember the promises that were made and the remarks by President Obama that Al Qaeda/Islamic radicals were on the run two years back .... and I was super-duper skeptical then. But it looks like CNN’s Wolf Blitzer just figured it out now.