Friday, November 07, 2008

Carl Cameron and the White Queen

Poor Carl Cameron. He starts out with a face and speaking style that don't project serious thinking. Not even a scintilla of gravitas.

Now we discover he’s the kind of guy who, upon having an interview with Ahmadinejad, would rush back with the breaking news that there was no holocaust after all.

He gleefully and uncritically reports everything that falls into his lap.

How can you start a report on a successful mayor and governor by saying that she knows nothing about state and local governmental responsibilities? And all based on anonymous sources with no specifics cited. But that’s what Cameron did on the Bill O’Reilly show regarding Gov. Palin.

Or how report that any person who has a college degree, let alone a state governor, does not know that Africa is a continent and expect to be believed? I wouldn’t believe it about my 18 year old nephew just starting college. Much less about the governor of my state. It’s the stuff of gossip magazine stories. Like the stories that Trig Palin was not Sarah and Todd’s son.

Unlike the White Queen in Through the Looking Glass I haven’t practiced believing impossible things. So, Cameron’s lack of fact checked journalism doesn’t slide down easily. It’s unbelievable gossip–like the New York Times’ infamous story on McCain’s maybe affair with a lobbyist based on several anonymous "people involved in the campaign".

I had a hard time taking Cameron seriously before because his look and speaking style were against him. But, now his look and speaking style blend seamlessly with his journalistic gullibility.

(For specifics on other problems with Carl Cameron's report see previous post.)

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