James O'Keefe

Bozell Denounces O'Keefe's 'Ugly, Dishonest and Filthy' Stunt
By Brent Bozell | September 29, 2010 | 3:23 PM EDT
The following is NewsBusters publisher and Media Research Center (MRC) founder Brent Bozell's statement regarding news of James O’Keefe’s sting operation attempt to embarrass CNN.

The MRC unequivocally denounces James O’Keefe for his attempted assault on CNN. It isn’t just childish and immature; it’s ugly, dishonest and filthy. There is no place in the conservative movement for this type of behavior and that’s exactly what I warned about in a commentary piece I submitted to CNN.com just two days ago.

"Could the Citizen Journalist abuse the public trust?" I wrote in this piece that should run in the next few days. "Hypothetically, of course. Conservatives must all guard against this. Let there be scrutiny, by all means." And I repeat: there must be scrutiny.

Bottom line: We want nothing to do with O’Keefe or his dirty antics.

Former Dem Aide Stephanopoulos Lectures James O'Keefe: 'You're More of a Political Activist Than a Journalist'
By Scott Whitlock | June 1, 2010 | 12:35 PM EDT

Former Democratic operative turned journalist George Stephanopoulos lectured James O'Keefe on Tuesday, deriding, "And some of your critics say that you're more of a political activist than a journalist..." [Audio available here.]

The Good Morning America host, and former aide to Bill Clinton, quizzed the conservative investigative journalist and dismissed, "So, you're a conservative activist, not a journalist."

Stephanopoulos, who also worked for Michael Dukakis' 1988 presidential campaign, repeatedly chided O'Keefe over an aborted undercover investigation into Senator Mary Landrieu.

CNN Uses Misleading Headline to Further Smear James O’Keefe (Update: CNN Responds and Corrects)
By Rusty Weiss | March 27, 2010 | 6:13 AM EDT

(March 27th, 10:06 a.m. -- Please see update at the end of the post.)

What is the first step in the main stream media's handbook of liberal bias?  Why, alter the headline to fit your agenda, of course.

To say that CNN was misleading in their headline about James O'Keefe is to be kind:

CNN Headline

Feds punish ACORN filmmaker?  Seems an odd choice of headline considering the article itself does not mention any punishment being doled out by the Feds - in fact the word ‘punish' or any other variation does not even appear in the article. 

The actual story concerns the fact that prosecutors have reduced the charges against O'Keefe and three others involved in the Landrieu phone incident.  Perhaps CNN is confusing allegations and charges with actual punishment.

The opening paragraph of the article reads:

ACORN Disbanding; Press Not Handling It Well
By Tom Blumer | March 23, 2010 | 1:16 AM EDT
acorn_rotten

The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) has announced that it is disbanding.

Though the hard-leftists that formed or were running it are likely to show up in some other venue and perhaps in a successor organization down the road (Update: or perhaps burrow themselves into the government, as NB commenter "Hunter 12" suggests), this is a moment to savor. Two twenty-somethings, acting entirely on their own, assisted later by a skilled mentor who knew the value of their work and how to maximize the mileage to be gained from it, brought down what had turned into a pretentious, intimidating, fraud-riddled wing of the Democratic Party's get out the vote effort. All that remains -- frankly more than should be allowed to remain -- is ACORN Housing Corporation. According to USA Today, the Wall Street Journal, whose related article is behind its subscription wall, is saying that ACORN Housing "has a separate budget and board."

In one last act of sympathy, most of the press is giving ACORN's leaders a chance to vent without rebuttal and in some cases supplying their own sour grapes. Here are some examples:

Breitbart Takes On Salon's Blumenthal For Calling O'Keefe Racist
By Noel Sheppard | February 20, 2010 | 6:52 PM EST

Conservative publisher Andrew Breitbart had a heated exchange with Salon's Max Blumenthal at CPAC Saturday.

A few weeks ago, Salon published an article by Blumenthal disgracefully titled "James O'Keefe's Race Problem."

The subheadline was even worse: "A photo of the righty stuntman at a white-nationalist confab illustrates a career marked by racial resentment."

With pressure from Breitbart's website Big Journalism, Salon was forced to issue a correction.

Regardless, when Breitbart bumped into Blumenthal in Washington, D.C.'s Wardman Park Marriot Saturday, fireworks were set ablaze (h/t Big Journalism via Story Balloon):

CJR to Salon's Blumenthal: Stop Giving Fodder to Critics of Liberal Media
By Lachlan Markay | February 10, 2010 | 4:24 PM EST

Salon columnist Max Blumenthal continues to get flak for his slanderous, factually-challenged hit piece on conservative filmmaker James O'Keefe last week. The column, premised on a host of omissions and baseless assumptions, contended that O'Keefe's is a racist.

Blumenthal's latest critic is Columbia Journalism Review, Old Media's paragon of journalistic elitism. CJR has requested that he correct but one of the many errors that comprise his column.

But CJR really has a problem, it seems, that Blumenthal has given ammunition to critics who claim Old Media is rife with liberal bias. CJR contributor Greg Marx lamented that Blumenthal and other quasi-journalists, in ignoring facts to support their agendas,give "ready-made ammunition for that broader campaign."

Left-wing Websites Don't Bother With Truth in Smearing James O'Keefe
By Lachlan Markay | February 5, 2010 | 1:51 PM EST
When the far-left finds a character to assassinate, it doesn't let facts get in the way. That, at least, is the lesson we can draw from the latest bout of liberal character assassination, this one aimed at James O'Keefe.

The slandering of his reputation has occurred mostly at Salon.com, the Village Voice, and an obscure hard-left organization called the One People's Project. Together, they have waged an all-out war on James O'Keefe's character by associating him with supposedly racist people and organizations. Just one problem: their claims are predicated on falsehoods, exaggerations, and assumptions (but mostly just falsehoods).

Max Blumenthal, who penned the Salon piece, and the stalwart non-journalists at OPP (the Village Voice, for its part, issued a mild retraction) alleged that O'Keefe had helped to organize a gathering of "anti-Semites, professional racists and proponents of Aryanism." They also claimed (and produced a cropped picture that could not possibly validate this claim) that O'Keefe had manned the literature table at the event.
Schultz Still Accusing O'Keefe Of Trying To 'Tap' Phones
By Mark Finkelstein | February 2, 2010 | 8:32 PM EST

MSNBC reprimand coming for Ed Schultz?  

Five full days after MSNBC rapped David Shuster's wrists for improperly accusing James O'Keefe of attempting to "tap" Sen. Mary Landrieu's phones, Ed Schultz has pulled the same stunt.

Here was Schultz, teasing an upcoming segment on his show tonight:

James O'Keefe Accuses Media of 'Journalistic Malpractice'
By Noel Sheppard | January 29, 2010 | 11:38 AM EST

James O'Keefe, the man that helped bring down ACORN and is now embroiled in a controversy involving Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.), has accused the media of journalistic malpractice.

In a statement released at Big Government moments ago, O'Keefe specifically pointed fingers at the Associated Press, MSNBC, and the Washington Post as a "few examples" of press outlets guilty of "inaccurate and false reporting" concerning this matter.

O'Keefe also explained why he was investigating Landrieu's office, and how press accounts of the incident have been in his view largely false:

James O'Keefe Makes Olbermann Worry About 'Journalistic Integrity'
By Noel Sheppard | January 29, 2010 | 10:54 AM EST

This is one of the funniest things I've seen in years: MSNBC's Keith Olbermann, the man who on a nightly basis drags journalism deeper and deeper into the abyss, is actually worried about integrity in his industry.

"From a professional standpoint, how do you determine whether these guys or just [James] O`Keefe by himself, whether they qualify as journalists, rather than political provocateur?" the "Countdown" host ironically asked guest Greg Mitchell of the Huffington Post Thursday.

It got better: "[E]ven as a journalist, you can espouse views and maintain sufficient journalistic integrity."

I'm serious. He really said that. With a straight face no less (video embedded below the fold with transcript):

MSNBC Brass: Shuster Tweets 'Inappropriate'--Breitbart Forces Retraction
By Lachlan Markay | January 28, 2010 | 4:21 PM EST
A spokesperson for MSNBC told Politico today that the channel's brass has reprimanded David Shuster for derisive tweets he directed at James O'Keefe Tuesday. Within hours, he had retracted portions of his tweeted comments on air during an interview with Andrew Breitbart.

This humble blogger documented the Twitter exchange yesterday, and pointed out that Shuster was much quicker to assume O'Keefe's guilt than he was the guilt of Major Nidal Hasan, the shooter at Fort Hood.

“The comments were inappropriate. We have talked to David about them," said the MSNBC spokesperson, referring to a series of tweets that included this one: "a) you are not a journalist b) the truth is you intended to tap her phones c) it's a felony d) you will go to prison."

Shuster retracted his accusation that O'Keefe had attempted to tap the phones in Sen. Mary Landrieu's office on his show this afternoon after Breitbart blasted Shuster for his false accusations.
Media Continue to Falsely Accuse O'Keefe of Wiretapping
By Lachlan Markay | January 28, 2010 | 1:07 PM EST

Some in the liberal media continue to insist that James O'Keefe and his three cohorts were trying to "bug" or "tap" Sen. Mary Landrieu's phone lines when law enforcement officials have clearly said that they were not. Since the left doesn't like O'Keefe, the liberal media seems to think standard practices of journalistic integrity don't apply here.

According to MSNBC, one law enforcement official, who was not named, said "the four men arrested for attempting to tamper with the phones in the New Orleans office of Sen. Mary Landrieu (D) were not trying to intercept or wiretap the calls." This statement comports with the affidavit filed in court after O'Keefe and company were arrested, which did not mention wiretapping or bugging, and only referred to the "tampering" of phone lines (h/t Patterico).

But the Boston Globe parroted this false accusation this morning in a gossip blog post about one of the alleged perpetrators, Joe Basel. The Globe--the same Globe that complained about ACORN's "trial-by-video"--called him a "political dirty trickster who was busted in a Watergate-style bugging operation earlier this week," and said again a couple paragraphs later that Basel was "bagged by the feds allegedly trying to bug the phones" in Landrieu's office. At least the Globe writers said "allegedly" the second time.