MoveOn, CNN

MoveOn has a petition that it is going to send to CNN president Jon Klein, demanding that Lou Dobbs be reigned in on his "birtherist" rants. I haven't seen any of the clips, and really have no interest in doing so. However, it infuriates me that a "reputable" news organization- which CNN, "The Most Trusted Name in News," purportedly is- allows unsupported allegations, rumors, "Some say" fictions, and outright lies, to continue to be part of its daily output.

Below is the note I sent with my information on the petition. (Here's the link to Saturday's post.)

I put up a blog post on this issue on Saturday (July 25).

http://outsidetheinterzone.blogspot.com/2009/07/controversy-dead-on-facts-says-cnn-exec.html

Do you also want viewers to "make up their own minds" regarding the non-existent controversy regarding the spherical nature of the earth? Or will you allow the "Some say..." phrase to be used to re-ignite that debate as well?

It's "reporting" such as that of Dobbs that has driven me from television news completely. And people wonder why "traditional media" can't compete.

I have mixed feelings about MoveOn; I joined pretty early, I think spring or summer of 2000, in the run-up to that election. But I get awfully sick of their constant "Can you chip in?" begging. No, I can't. The suggested minimum amounts are most often more than I spend to stay alive for a day. Furthermore, I have no way to get money to you, short of paying extra for a money order and mailing it. And you provide no way for me to tell you that- that every time one of your little begging notes shows up in my inbox, it breaks my heart a little further.

Next there's the lack of followup. I don't know if there's any way to see what others are saying in notes such as the above, nor does MoveOn regularly send me followups saying "we delivered the petition with your comment and two (or two million) others." So I have little idea what kind of response is raised.

Nevertheless, even in age in which the pen (virtual or otherwise) is less powerful than the bank card, this virtual pen is the only tool I have.

And I intend to use it.