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Archive of entries posted on 14th July 2008

MSM torquing the headlines again

Posted by Joanne on 14 July 2008, 3:45 pm

When I first read the headline "Expert Contradicts Cadman Tape Claims", I thought oh boy, there goes the lawsuit against the Liberals.

However after closer examination I saw that Bruce Koenig merely said he needs the "original recording, his tape recorder and an external microphone if Mr. Zytaruk used one" to be able to "conduct a conclusive authenticity examination in a forensic audio laboratory."

Big difference from the original headline. As reader Kathy observed in a previous post:

…If Mr Koenig’s examination has only been partially completed (he still needs to exam the original tape); how can Tim Naumetz draw the conclusion that Mr Koenig’s findings contradict the other two anaysts?

It is interesting that Tim Naumetz drew his conclusion before all the evidence has been analyzed?

So, what we have here is another case of MSM using misleading headlines to either sell papers or influence headline-only readers, or both.

And BTW, why does Zytaruk refuse to cooperate?

* * * *

Update: Experts at odds over Cadman Tape (Juliet O’Neil):

…All the affidavits by audio experts have been submitted to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice by Harper’s legal team headed by Ottawa lawyer Richard Dearden. Dearden is expected to apply this week for court orders to compel Zytaruk to turn in his tape and testify about it in British Columbia.

Zytaruk has refused so far to voluntarily turn over his tape, fearing the integrity of the tape may be destroyed …

Destroyed by whom, pray tell?

And from the same article:

…Alan Gough says in a court affidavit that he identified Cadman biographer Tom Zytaruk’s voice as saying "um" at the beginning of the tape as "a matter of convenience," that he is not an expert in voiceprint analysis and "my findings remain inconclusive" on that point.

In an earlier affidavit Gough said the "um" was Zytaruk’s voice. That contrasted with another expert, Tom Owen, whose affidavit said it is Harper’s voice and matches two other "ums" on the tape. ..

Um, how about coughing up the original, Mr. Zytaruk? If what you say is true, there should be no problem.

Filed under MSM bias.
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What makes you keep coming back?

Posted by Joanne on 14 July 2008, 9:28 am

After just having returned from several blissful days of golfing, swimming and a wee bit too much partying, I’ve achieved a more introspective view of the activity of blogging.

As Sandy notes, it can take over your life to the point that you feel compelled or obligated to write something when someone sends you a tip or you see something in MSM that angers you, or some new story breaks.

Another problem is that many bloggers become addicted to their own stats and can’t take it when their readership begins to decline. So they try to pump it back up with provocative posts designed to increase their hits and promote a lively discussion.

And trust me, they don’t do it for the money. A blogger solely relying on revenue from ad sources would be living far below the poverty line.

Personally, I blog for the purpose of being able to vent, and to allow my readers to do the same. Sometimes they agree with me, and often they don’t. But we try to keep it civil.

My question to you is, why do you keep coming back to read a particular blog? What attracts you and makes that blog part of your daily routine?

Some bloggers grow a large readership by making liberal use of four-letter words while pillorying other bloggers. It becomes their modus operandi, and they spend their days trolling the blogs of rival bloggers for fodder in their next mud-flinging campaign.

The interesting thing is that these types of blogs can have a substantial readership which tells me they are fulfilling some kind of need far beyond a particular political partisanship.

My theory is that just like rubberneckers that seem fascinated with car wrecks on the highway, these readers get some kind of schadenfreude-ish kick from seeing a blogger with opposing views being humiliated and defiled.

Perhaps it is addictive, the way porn or gambling can stimulate certain brain centres.

Anyway, those are my theories and I would love to hear from you. Are you one of those people that regularly visits blogs that put other bloggers down?

What about this blog? Why do you keep coming back here?

Please enlighten me. Thanks in advance for your input.

Filed under Life after blogging?.
52 Comments