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Thursday, August 21, 2008

Throwing down on 'Big Media'

Rep. Steve Urquhart (likely to be St. George's next state senator) is really giving the Deseret News, political editor Bob Bernick and "Big Media,*" in general, H. E. double hockey sticks.

To bring you up to speed, Bernick and Leigh Dethman wrote an article earlier this week that claimed Legislative leadership was considering changing the state's referendum law. If you recall, citizen groups used the law last year to drop kick the Lege's beloved educational voucher program in oblivion.

After Senate leaders called BS on Bernick's story, the church-owned paper printed a lame corrective story under Bernick's byline that somehow avoided accepting responsibility for the error. As an outraged Urquhart (and nobody, outside of certain jihadists, expresses outrage like the Urq) recounts it:

When called on the lie, the editorial board was forced to acknowledge it. They, then, forced Bernick to write a retraction. He didn’t. Instead, he furthered the lie.

Though Bernick admitted privately to President Valentine that he’d acted unethically, he publicly lied again. The D News didn’t publish anything approaching, “We made it all up.” Instead, Bernick wrote that Legislative leaders weren’t going to change the law after all – as if they’d seen the light only after reading Bernick’s article where he first told this lie. That is a significant misrepresentation. . . . .

Urquhart demands the recording of the DNews editorial board meeting* at which Bernick alleged the Senate leaders discussed the referendum law:

It is important that they exercise a little of the transparency they supposedly laud, and give people a chance to see how accurate the DNews is with the facts.

What Urquhart really wants, of course, is Bernick's head.

*I'm not sure if the DNews, with circulation in the triple digits, qualifies as Big Media. But why interrupt Urquhart when he's on a roll?

8 Comments:

At August 21, 2008 5:01 PM , jeffjames said...: Glen, for all the crap I've tossed you, in a way at least, you fit your format. Blogs are supposed to be a step below hard news, and be full of opinion. The whole Tribune online portion makes it a bit strange, with a paid newspaper employee involved, but I think you catch my drift.

Bernick, on the other hand, is not shy about tilting his pieces, and in this case, trumping it up. He got away with a big one here, but I really do think Urquhart and the Leg Leadership have a good point here. Bernick's head should roll.
At August 21, 2008 7:21 PM , Anonymous said...: If the D-News subscription is triple digits, then the Tribune must be quadruple digits.
At August 21, 2008 7:26 PM , Anonymous said...: Jeff,

Thanks for commenting on this blog. I was beginning to wonder if I was the last person to be commenting on this blog.
At August 21, 2008 11:31 PM , The big whiner said...: Steve is a big mouth, blow-hard. The GOP has been busted and they want blood. "Do what we say, NOW!"

Bramble is a little whiner and he needs to go.
At August 21, 2008 11:48 PM , tobiaz said...: Jeffjames is a blowhard dummy who has yet to produce an original thought.

Bernick and the Deseret news are cowards and love to cave in when threats are made. He and the News should have told Urquhart to suck a hatchi (that's not obscene, just Japanese). He should have said that he stands by his story and let Urquhart prove him wrong.

Secondly, Urquhart is in a whiplash mode, striking out with violent nonsense. Bernick has his faults - I've monitored his scratchings for many years - but in this case he should have given the jerk from St. George the finger.

Like the lovely pizza girl blogger calling Mr. Important to his knees, Bernick and the News should have done the same to Urquhart.

Another Republican (of course) without a brain.

Thanks, Glen, for sharing.

Speaking of fingers, here's one for Jeffjames.
At August 22, 2008 7:15 AM , Anonymous said...: "He should have said that he stands by his story and let Urquhart prove him wrong."
. . . But you forget who his boss is: Joe Cannon, the right-wingnut who drove Geneva Steel under and has no compunction about returning the DNews to its hypocritical, political pandering roots.
At August 22, 2008 9:15 AM , steve u. said...: Glen,

"Outside of certain jihadists." Okay. I've gotta hand it to you on that one; that was funny.

Tobiaz,

Bernick has admitted that he made it up. Why should he stand behind made up news?
At August 22, 2008 12:49 PM , Anonymous said...: Bernick should be axed. Joe Cannon too. Bernick makes reporters look bad (and they're already pretty low -- 2 steps away from pond scum).