14 August 2004

Daily Show

The Daily Show had Spinsanity's Bryan Keefer on this week. First of all, watch The Daily Show! I finally remembered to TiVo it and had a slew of caustic ribaldry to greet me and my hangover this morning.

Second, the guys at Spinsanity have a book out called All the President's Spin detailing how the administration manipulates a hapless press. Keefer sold it as non-partisan, and by the end of the interview I almost believed him. After I went to the Spinsanity site, I did believe him. I had known about Spinanity for a while but never took the time to peruse their articles. They appear clearly written and well-researched. Good stuff.

On The Daily Show, Keefer told of how he and his friends started the site after the 2000 election. They were disgusted with what happened and how it was reported, and they wanted to have a resource that could be used to clear up similar confusion in the future--and Spinsanity was born.

He had oddly kind words, kind in a left-handed way, for Bush's handling of the media. He told Jon Stewart that the Bush administration carefully avoids lying but deftly presents their information in a misleading way. The media is so busy chasing down the volumes of talking-points that they can't focus on the actual emptiness of the statements being given. Keefer was impressed but concerned.

[ posted by sstrader on 14 August 2004 at 5:34:45 PM in Politics ]