Epic media fail from CBS; as Ed Morrissey writes at Hot Air, “Of all the complaints about Sarah Palin and her bus tour, this one’s easily the strangest:”
CBS reports that the media has begun to grumble that Palin’s decision to keep them out of the loop on the tour’s stops have created a dangerous working environment for reporters:
Since Palin and her team won’t share where the potential candidate is headed, reporters and producers have little choice but to simply stay close to Palin’s bus. This has resulted in scenes of the Palin bus tooling down the highway followed by a caravan of 10 or 15 vehicles – including a massive CNN bus – all trying to make sure they don’t lose sight of the Palin bus.
AdvertisementIt adds up to a dangerous situation, says CBS News Producer Ryan Corsaro.
“I just hope to God that one of these young producers with a camera whose bosses are making them follow Sarah Palin as a potential Republican candidate don’t get in a car crash, because this is dangerous,” he said.
Corsaro asked a member of Palin’s team if he thought it was dangerous to have reporters forced to chase her from stop to stop. “You’re the ones that are trailing us,” he replied.
Here’s your first option: stop chasing her. If it truly presents a danger to journalists to drive behind the bus and attempt to keep up, then don’t bother doing it. Palin probably won’t provide much breaking news on this bus tour anyway. The only reason the media’s “chasing” her is because she’s good for their ratings and page views.
I realize that Palin Derangement Syndrome is a powerful force that can warp the brains of the savviest journalists (and Andrew Sullivan and Naomi Wolf as well). But how can a news producer say that a candidate/possible soon-to-be-presidential candidate’s bus tour is putting journalists at risk with a straight face?
Besides, what is it with candidates’ buses on both sides of the aisle that causes CBS to look like laughing stocks anyhow?
“(and Andrew Sullivan and Naomi Wolf as well)”
Ow, that’s going to leave a mark.
Palin has her “intellectual betters” following her around like puppies. She’s manipulating them to further her goals. Just like she outlasted Katie Couric, so will she allow these people to disgrace themselves and fail. Meanwhile, Palin’s stock will rise.
Savor the delicious irony here listening to the “elite media” complain about how a political figure they all consider to be a dimwit is outwitting them.
If they’re worried about danger on the campaign trail, then the only humane thing to do is to lock the reporters in a closet to keep them safe. After all, that’s the accepted treatment of political reporters, right? They’re used to it, and they’ll thank us for it.
Well, I hope to God none of the remaining 12 or 13 viewers of the CBS Evening News should have a heart attack while watching a Ryan Corsaro-produced segment on Sarah Palin’s bus tour — but if one of them does, we’ll certainly know who to blame.
Yep. Mission Accomplished, Ryan Corsaro!