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Feature
They Shoot Cats, Don’t They?
Recollecting the time Mike Wallace and 60 Minutes actually apologized.
(Page 3 of 3)
Wallace: “Well, in any case…”
Livingston: “And frankly, you’ve proven me right.”
Bingo. You could almost hear the phone line sizzle. Wallace had no answer. There was no good answer. Livingston was correct.
Yes, Wallace did apologize on the air—not for a whole host of other falsehoods that I had detailed, but for saying Livingston had flat-out refused to be interviewed on camera. But the apology was clear, unambiguous. It left no wiggle room. We now had it, on TV, that Wallace had wronged Livingston.
And the apology for one part of the report had the same effect as an apology for all of it. Columnists and radio hosts, all over the country, rushed to Livingston’s defense. The Washington Post’s famous peacenik Colman McCarthy, a man who ordinarily would agree with Livingston on nothing, was especially strong. His thorough, concise, and eloquent column called Livingston an “honorable” congressman who had done the right thing throughout.
ONE NOTE, THOUGH, about the McCarthy piece. It was the only one that really covered all the other dishonesties in the 60 Minutes report. It was the only one that made real use of my 27-page manifesto. A number of journalists defended Livingston, but only McCarthy really explained the underlying dispute. The one thing that drew the attention of the rest of them was the simple, straight apology, based on the original simple, straightforward demand that a TV show not splice an interview out of context.
I, the press aide, had forgotten the nature of the press. But Livingston remembered: Keep it simple. Keep it straight. Keep it absolutely clear. And play it smart by collecting evidence that cannot possibly be denied.
Conservatives today are dealing with an even more hostile establishment press—but it is a press that treats President Barack Obama as a savior. Witness 60 Minutes itself, both last December and in March, dropping its usual hardball tactics and offering a friendly forum to Obama with nothing but puffball questions. In contrast, Obama’s critics come off as obstructionist trolls.
In fighting those media tactics, conservatives all too often forget the same lessons I forgot. They were the lessons of concision and clarity that Ronald Reagan always taught. They are lessons that conservatives will need if they want to get their message out and make it stick—because, when dealing with the establishment media, we aren’t necessarily dealing with gentlemen.
About the Author
Quin Hillyer is a senior editor of The American Spectator and a senior fellow at the Center for Individual Freedom. Follow him on Twitter @QuinHillyer.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (27) | Leave a comment
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Pingback| 5.19.09 @ 7:29AM
All About Cats » Post Topic links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Merlin | 5.19.09 @ 8:27AM
Quin,
Great article as usual.
Now, while were one the subject of Mike Wallace:
I recall that in about 1970, 60 Minutes did several reports on labor unions, each time, the union boss came off looking like a thug, and Wallace and his cameraman generally got shoved out of the office. After a few segments like this over a two or three months period, they stopped completely with anything on unions. Is my memory correct?
It seems that Mike Wallace did more to discredit unions than anything businesses or conservatives have done.
Aaron| 5.19.09 @ 9:06AM
Great article Quin.
Merlin,
I believe I remember the same thing about 60 min and the unions, no doubt they got a visit from cousin Vinnie. That was the wrong time in history to be messing around with the Teamsters.
Mattled| 5.19.09 @ 12:35PM
Mr. Hillyer,
What are we going to do about the media? Mr. Steele seems incapable of handling these snakes. The agenda is clearly laid out and they are going to cover, mislead and NOT report for years to come.
My spouse works for a news organization and I am constantly asking/stating that if the media wanted some credibility back, now would be the time. There is so much material on this guy and his flip-flopping is amazing.
But they continue to report at HIS word.
Take the so-called abuse photos for example; they report hook, line and sinker that he "bravely" did an about face and that releasing those photos would harm our image (LOL).
What they don't report is that he didn't issue an executive order. He wants those photos released and they will be. What a bunch of suckers he takes his supporters for. And they are. Just watch the Sunday morning shows and see for yourself.
Oldefarte| 5.19.09 @ 12:58PM
Great story, Quin! There is an old joke concerning prostitution, that ends with "...we all know what you ARE---- we're just not sure WHAT PRICE YOU CHARGE". This, to me, describes the MSM [ie 60 Minutes] to a T. The most blatant case in recent history was the NYT's front page story concerning McCain's alleged affair with a female lobbyist 10 years prior; that was nothing more than an attempt to smear his reputation and discredit his presidential election possibilities [a HIT JOB in Quin's terminology]. When I read that, the excrement was coming out both crevices of my body. Instead of running daily investigative articles concerning Obama's relationships with Wright, Ayers, Jackson, his upbringing inside Chicago style politics, and other truthful/factual information; these partisan idiots were attempting to place McCain's feet in political concrete and dump him into the Hudson River. Why McCain did not sue the NYT for slander, etc; I'll never understand [but if you've ever seen the movie ABSENCE OF MALISE you may begin to understand why not]. This unfortionately is just a drop in the bucket of what the MSM is capable of doing; and it's astonishing to me that normal, intelligent people can daily read these biased rags and not have the common sense to see/understand the partisan slant on every line of every [so-called] news article. When liberals [ie bloggers] comment/argue their point, it is almost a Dowd plagerism moment, since they almost quote word-for-word what they have just observed in their respective newspapers. It's not by accident that, when a dictator takes over a country/region, the first course of action is to confiscate the local newspaper[s] in order to effectuate the brainwashing of the populace. In my entire lifetime, liberals have migrated from this country's [university] journalism schools into the news rooms of our nation's papers; and of course, for 4+ prior years, they have been brainwashed by liberal college professors. Now, the movement is afoot to re-introduce the FAIRNESS DOCTRINE, which in effect, would surpress any conservative thought and opinion. Folks, all this IS NOT BY ACCIDENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Frank Marschino| 5.19.09 @ 1:52PM
The mainstream media lie in almost every political story they do...they can't help themselves, since they are liberals who scream intolerance by the Right when they are the ones who are intolerant. I play a game occasionally when watching TV...I switch over to PMSNBC and count how many seconds until they say something negative about conservatives or Republicans. The longest I have waited is 1 minute 18 seconds...several times it has been less than 10 seconds....if anyone wants to bet on it, the over/under is 14 seconds.
Pingback| 5.20.09 @ 12:58AM
Ed Driscoll » They Shoot Cats, Don’t They? links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
P. Smith | 5.20.09 @ 11:55AM
I have really come to the point where I can't even look at these so called newsmen anymore. I feel that at every turn these people are attempting to manipulate the American people in a way that is foreign to us.
When you read of these bizarre stories of Keith Olbermann’s behavior, you have to conclude that we may be dealing with people who are psychopaths or at least have severe psychological imbalance’s. My conclusion is that our media is only portraying on a larger than life scale the direction of most American. Where have the real men gone; have they left the room?
Oldefarte| 5.20.09 @ 12:29PM
P.Smith: As another who is disgusted with this lunatic Olbermann and his nightly rantings on MSNBC, could you tell me where I might find the stories concerning him that you just referred to? Thanks.
LeChat| 5.20.09 @ 1:02PM
60 Minutes and the MSM lost any credibility many years ago. It simply doesn't matter what they say anymore. Nobody takes them seriously.
P.Smith| 5.20.09 @ 2:23PM
OldefarteHere are some links about Olbermann. There is evidence that he may be a sexual predator type.
www.olbermannwatch.com
http://www.marklevinshow.com/Article.asp?id=1291114
Enjoy,... I guess
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