Thursday, November 10, 2005
CONTRARY MARY
An excerpt from ex-CBS producer Mary Mapes’ searing new book, I Used To Work In TV:
Within minutes of Buckhead’s original posting, Freepers began to repeat and embellish Buckhead’s thoughts. Not surprisingly, they all agreed with him, they all agreed with one another, and they all agreed this should be pursued aggressively.
Sounds like a 60 Minutes II story meeting. Except Buckhead and the Freepers (note to self: register as band name) got it right.
Freethinkers they are not.
But if they aren’t freethinkers, why did they question your report?
The Freepers and their lockstep like-minded fellow travelers moved as a group, like a school of sharks sweeping toward an unaware and unarmed victim.
Great new slogan for CBS news: “Unaware and unarmed!”
CBS was like some sunburned, overweight Florida tourist with a cut foot, floundering and flapping in the water alone in the surf.
Fair call.
The Freepers swarmed CBS not because it was right or fair but because they could.
And they could because CBS was wrong and unfair. The woman’s delusions are extraordinary; CBS is able to “swarm” practically every household in the US, but websites find obvious fault with a story and suddenly CBS is some kind of Dickensian orphan boy brutalised by Big Media tyrants posting one-liners from their PCs. Get a grip, Mapes!
On Web sites such as Powerline, INDC Journal, Allahpundit, and Spacetownusa, the bravehearts of the blogging world worked anonymously ...
Wrong, as INDC Journal points out: “Neither Powerline, nor Spacetown, nor INDC Journal worked anonymously during the scandal.”
... in what appeared to be huge numbers, in unison, to destroy the Bush-Guard story, to uphold one another’s wild and hateful claims, to outshout, outargue, and outblog anyone who dared to disagree.
On behalf of those sites, Mary, I apologise, and pledge to not challenge your next brace of lies. If you ever work again, that is.
And on their Web sites there is no disagreement. They hate in unison, they speak with one angry voice, they each make themselves bigger by staying as close together as possible.
We also have labrador memorials. Enjoy retirement, Mapes.