New Bedford Standard Times and WBSM 1420 - My Take on the Breakup

Bob Unger’s blatant and shameless attempt to bully WBSM into towing the “Progressive” Party line on how information is dispensed to the masses is just the latest attempt by the “liberal” (I say Totalitarian) left in this country to stifle free speech…

Anyone even casually following the events in this country over the last couple of months can see that the Totalitarian Leftist Media (henceforth TLM), has been trying to use the Don Imus affair as an opportunity to impugn conservative opinion, (The irony that Imus is a liberal was lost in this debate long ago).. Their objective is quite clearly to get the “Fairness Doctrine” reinstated, with the intended consequence of castrating conservative talk radio being the ultimate goal..

The fact that this media attack on conservatives coincides with efforts by fellow traveling Elected Totalitarian Liberals (Henceforth ETL) doesn’t exactly seem… What is that word I’m searching for??? “Fair”.. Yes that’s the word.. But hey, I never took an ethics in journalism class, so who am I to say what‘s fair…

In the interest of “Fair”ness & objectivity perhaps a closer look at Mr. Unger and what his S-T Lemmings have had to say since Imusgate is in order…

In the immediate weeks that followed Mr. Imus’ idiotic statements, Mr. Unger had an article which openly impugned the integrity of Fox News and it’s on air personalities.. In truth, unbiased reviewers find Fox to be consistently the most rounded of all major TV news outlets with all sides being given their fair say..

(Anyone who has ever seen Donnie Deutsch, Chris Matthews or Keith Olberman could hardly disagree)..

That opinion was expounded upon within a day or three by Susan Pawlack-Seaman who furthered the attack by going after Bill O’Reilly.. I quote

“Here's the thing: there are a lot of people out there right now who, often in the name of entertainment, are zinging all kinds of arrows at all kinds of targets.

Some of them make me laugh. Jon Stewart and David Letterman, almost always. Conan O'Brien and Jay Leno, sometimes.

Though, on occasion, I have to say they've all made me wince. ("Ouch, did they really say that!?")

Others in the public arena are simply obnoxious (can you say Bill O'Reilly?), deliberately outrageous or calculatingly mean-spirited. Think Ann Coulter and her attacks on the 9/11 widows. For the record, I personally despise her.”

Here is a link to the entire article.. See I don’t mind promoting the S-T..

http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070416/LIFE/704160317

Apparently, Al Franken, Michael Moore, & Rosie O’Donnell‘s sensationalistic claims and antics are un-noteworthy & Ann Coulter (one of the rights few pundits) is scum we are encouraged to despise?

I dunno Susan and Bob.. Me just a dummy who had to go in military cuz I owney had a hie skule edge-u-kay-shunn, but it seems to me…

Omitting a whole group of folks that many reasonable people find extremely destructive to the level of debate in our society, in an article ostensibly pointing to the vile limits of free speech in America, just doesn’t seem very objective or & (I detect a theme developing here) "Fair"…

Like wise the vilification of Bill O’Reilly.. Last summer I watched Nic Robertson of CNN cheerlead for Hizbollah during the summer border war with Israel.. During the 2004 Presidential election coverage, network anchors were positively giddy when the early returns and exit poling had John “the Waffle” Kerry the “clear winner“..

Dan Rather, Chris Matthews & Bill Moyer carried on like school girls expecting their prom dates immanent arrival until well into the early morning, only to realize that they had been stood up for the dance..

Dan Rather, went so far in the election run-up as to try and alter the outcome by using falsified documents to impugn the Presidents military service; while Moyer wondered on air about the possibility of having to use the military to remove the President if Mr. Bush didn’t get re-elected.. This type of over the top chicanery is OK and bears no mention in your articles on the perils of free speech, is that “fair”?

I believe what really drove Mr. Unger to end his affiliation with WBSM is the Liberal Totalitarian’s desire to marginalize the affect conservative talk radio has had upon the great multitude of Americans.. This is a very targeted campaign where The Liberal Elites in the Mainstream Media (TLM) are going to attack conservative opinion by going after their revenue sources in this case advertising dollars.. See article linked below..

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/T/TV_FOX_PROTEST_GTV--?SITE=MABED&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Advertisers at WBSM take notice…

Your first indication that readership is way down and interest flagging with the Standard Times is the 400 dollar price tag for an obituary.. (Benefitting by death is at least in keeping with their support of the Inheritance Tax, so at least in matters of death and taxes the S-T gets a triple AAA for consistency)..

However the key to understanding just how ineffective your advertising dollars are when applied to their pages is easily illustrated by their most recent failure..

Unfortunately for Mr. Unger his paper is so obvious in its bias and anemic in readership, that even when they un”fair”ly try to jade the debate on a subject, as they did with the proposition 2 & 1/2 override initiative in the Town of Dartmouth, they fail..

The tactics employed by the S-T were a well thought out plan, where not only did the S-T use the weight of its editorial opinion page to sway the minds of its readers; it also enjoined the politicians and other recipients of the tax payers largesse to try to ensure it passed.. Along the way they derided anyone who opposed their agenda as anti-children or completely uninformed (a nice way of saying stupid)…

This type of rhetoric seems not only unfair, but to me supremely hypocritical coming from people who are supposed to be so "progressive".. If you ask anyone who voted for G.W. Bush they will tell you this is a common liberal practice… (I.e. I can’t believe any one would vote for that moron.. Anyone who voted for him is a moron... If it wasn't for Evangelical Christians & toothless rednecks he would never have got re-elected etc.. )..

The day after the override failed the S-T was still droning on about how people who voted against the override were anti-children.. Interestingly enough, every parent I know in Dartmouth, (many), that isn’t a recipient of the public’s dime opposed the override..

Their general lack of credibility as a respectable unbiased forum was best captured by the inability to deliver a successful override initiative.. Any advertiser thinking about investing in the S-T should remember; even after publishing pro letters at about a 4 to 1 clip the override initiative still failed..

I wonder if WBSM is quaking over the possibility that such an esteemed and objective news medium and source of so much of their advertising revenue as the Standard Times is no longer available to them..

I am a firm believer in free speech and I vigorously oppose both bullying and childish behavior especially when it comes to venerable institutions such as the press.. As such I feel compelled to wish you an early good luck in all your future endeavors Mr. Unger..

Considering the new owner, (Rupert Murdoch), of your propaganda ra.. Er.. I mean newspaper, I have a funny feeling your departure as Editor of the Standard Times will happen long before the demise of Conservative Talk Radio...

Call me a glass half full kind of guy...

Human pride World-Wide

Bob Grant