'60 Minutes' Trashed For NSA Piece

[marmar]

"60 Minutes" was trashed all over Twitter on Sunday night for a two-part story on the NSA which critics dubbed obsequious at best.

The piece was fronted by reporter John Miller, who had to tell viewers this at the top of the segment: "Full disclosure: I once worked in the office of the director of National Intelligence, where I saw firsthand how secretly the NSA operates." Miller is also likely set to leave CBS soon to work for the NYPD.

Miller also said that the NSA agreed to speak to "60 Minutes" because it believes it has "not told its story well." It certainly found a comfortable place to do that on CBS News. The 25-minute segment consisted mostly of NSA officials dismissing concerns that their surveillance has gotten out of hand and showing off their gadgetry to the CBS cameras. There were no anti-NSA advocates or civil libertarians interviewed on-camera for the piece.

The last words in the segment came from NSA chief Keith Alexander: "This is precisely the time that we should not step back from the tools that we've given our analysts to detect these types of attacks." ....................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/16/60-minutes-nsa_n_4452568.html?ncid=txtlnkushpmg00000037&ir=Politics

[Autumn]

1. "60 Minutes" is trash

[jsr]

5. +1.

[Scuba]

2. I'm absolutely astonished ...

... that anyone still watches 60 minutes.

[Cleita]

29. Me too. I haven't in years. My husband noticed twenty years ago that the

star reporting they did for so many years that made them the platinum of news magazine shows was starting to deteriorate and that they were starting to show biases and sometimes factual errors. It was especially noticeable after Dan Rather was canned and they started putting in light weight personalities in as correspondents who really were not hard news people. Today, it might as well be The View and The View seems to be more accurate and unbiased in its reporting than 60 Minutes today.

[Wilms]

3. Yep. And their logo is starting to creep me out.

[Octafish]

6. Scary!

Also scary:

The Seizing of the American Broadcasting Company

[TeeYiYi]

37. Bookmarked... Thanks Octafish. ..nt

TYY

[jsr]

7. They're an approved media outlet of the surveillance state

[AtheistCrusader]

15. And this one..

The mission badges are getting more awesome, and WAY more creepy at the same time.

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/12/new-us-spy-satellite-features-world-devouring-octopus/

[TeeYiYi]

36. Wow...

Brazen. They're not even trying to hide it anymore.


TYY

[TeeYiYi]

38. As a kid, that logo seemed so innocuous...

Now, I can't look at it without seeing the eye. Weird. I wonder if they've gradually tweaked it. That, or my mind has gradually been tweaked by CBS. Once you see the eye, it can't be unseen; and I've been seeing it for years.

TYY

On edit: So, apparently, it's always been an eye from its inception. (I didn't notice as a kid, or don't remember.) If you go to the 1:21 point in this video about the history of the logo, you'll see that the "design" was a blatant ripoff of a shaker design from the 1800's; printed in a book. Some designer. No wonder he tried to change it the following year.

[L0oniX]

4. "not told its story well." Oh gee ...redaction problems?

[bvar22]

8. DURec.

When the comedians and cartoonists like Jon Stewart and Tom Tomorrow
are the last remaining sources of Truth,
then the answer to the question, "Is it Fascism Yet" is frighteningly clear.

[otohara]

9. Take Lara Logan, Steve Kroft w/ You John Miller

60 Minutes can not be trusted.

[SCVDem]

10. Word of the day, " obsequious"

ob·se·qui·ous adjective \əb-ˈsē-kwē-əs, äb-\
: too eager to help or obey someone important

I especially note the injection still again of fear.

The last words in the segment came from NSA chief Keith Alexander: "This is precisely the time that we should not step back from the tools that we've given our analysts to detect these types of attacks." ....................(more)

9-11 was bad but our own domestic gun violence terrorism is worse. We are not going to any length to protect America from these with even the most inexpensive background checks.

Who is bullshitting who?

[Plucketeer]

27. You're Sooooooooooooooooooooo right!

We've got an on-going "9/11" in just about every burg of this nation - gangs. Yet in spite ( or because ) of this menace killing without 737s or huge explosive devices, the only (and half-hearted) countermeasures come from local coffers and enforcements.

[Jefferson23]

41. That works.

kick

[libodem]

11. I used to keep track on Sunday evening

When 6:00 was coming because it was time for 60 minutes to come on.

Yesterday I thought it is almost 6 pm, I'm going Christmas shopping. Eff them.

[Swede Atlanta]

12. Agree, I will no longer watch 60 Minutes.....

I used to find their reporting interesting and at least partially credible.

Now I know they are just mouthpieces for the fascist state in which we live.

I have plenty of good books in my library that are much more entertaining.

[libodem]

31. The story about the US soldier

Beaten at Gitmo, was a favorite of mine. I referenced it frequently, as proof of the abuse of the prisoners being held there. That was the last story I remember having a huge impact on my psyche.

I think it can still be Googled, lest we forget, how we treat the Afgan farmers and villagers who were sold into Hell.

[ChisolmTrailDem]

40. I was a news nerd growing up and 60 Minutes never came back on fast enough for me. >:( n/t

[radhika]

13. More background on John Miller...

As this article points out, he spent 6 years working in the Office of Director of National Intelligence. I recall (forget when, what vacancy) his name being floated as a possible nominee for CIA head. Obviously that didn't happen officially, but he's surely working for/with the agency from a key position.

https://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/john-miller-eying-leave-from-cbs-news_b207419

[toby jo]

14. Watched this to check out the bs level.

I give NSA credit for one thing - it's a nice and cozy little bubble they live in.

"We here can say the stupidest things, and you, there , will believe cuz you are afraid".

Reminds me of the church.

[Rex]

16. CBS is trash, the station gave up on journalistic integrity in the name of MONEY.

Money will be our ultimate downfall. America is too addicted to it, to remain safe and secure. Certainly CBS being apologists for the Big Brother nation - tells us all we need to know about where we currently stand as citizens. Namely, we are nothing but serfs in a game played by the rich and powerful. And CBS approves of that.

Thanks CBS, you've turned OFF more people to your station then ever before! And this once was a great news channel!

Pity, I see giving up TVEE was the best thing I ever did!

[Jack Rabbit]

17. Well, I learned a new word today

obsequious (ob SEEK qwi us) adj. obedient or attentive to an excessive or servile degree.

That sounds like a word that applies nowadays to the relationship between the MSM in general and the 1%.

[Plucketeer]

28. When you hold ALL the cards...

you expect subservience like "Yes sir" - "no sir" - "can I wipe for you sir?" - "do you prefer that I wipe in a particular direction sir?"

[Jack Rabbit]

32. "Wipe in a particular direction, boy?"

"Wipe in a particular direction, boy?" The fat man in the three-piece suit pulled the cigar out of his mouth and leaned over his breakfast of croissants and champagne. "Why, yes, as a matter of fact," he continued. "Go over there and wipe out the middle class for me today, boy."

[lpbk2713]

18. Faux Snooze Lite

I gave up on 60 Minutes weeks ago. I was a long time viewer when they were
worth watching. Now I won't even tune in just out of morbid curiosity to see
how really and truly bad they are. I feel bad for Ed Murrow and Don Hewitt.

[calimary]

19. MAN what a come-down.

I'll bet the ground over the final resting places of Walter Cronkite, Edward R. Murrow, Mike Wallace, and certainly Don Hewitt - is seriously displaced. Because those gents buried underneath ARE spinning in their graves!

Dear GOD what has happened to "60 Minutes." Never thought I'd see the day when that program was finally perverted by the wrong-wing. But it sure has happened. Never thought I'd see the day when you can't trust "60 Minutes" anymore. NEVER. And it is indeed here - now.

[Bonhomme Richard]

20. What amazes me is that they didn't see this coming?

Actually it is a perfect example of right wing ideological blindness.

[Bonhomme Richard]

21. Not to mention...these are spooks and they lie for a living. n/t

[spanone]

22. what's the problem, that's how faux nooz does it?

[FlyByNight]

23. They must be proud of themselves

CBS: c*ck-and-bull stories.

Quite a roll they're on.

[SaveOurDemocracy]

24. The Nation: The Sad Decline of 60 Minutes Continues...

http://www.thenation.com/blog/177598/sad-decline-60-minutes-continues-weeks-nsa-whitewash

[lpbk2713]

25. Good article. Right on target.

Andy Greenberg: “This 60 Minutes episode has been
a pretty good infomercial for the NSA so far."

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

26. 60 Minutes was once an interesting, reasonably credible program.

It's really gone down the drain, too bad. I pretty much quit watching after they sacked Dan Rather, which I think was the beginning of their slide into propaganda.

[marsis]

30. I am really glad

others caught this report. It disgusted me the way the whole story went down.
Hoped it wasn't just me.

[woo me with science]

33. Corporate fascism and its propaganda machine.

Investigative journalism has been deliberately strangled. We live in a propaganda state now.

[xchrom]

34. du rec.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

35. Translation of NSA statement: "We didn't put enough lipstick on the pig."

[Jefferson23]

39. Miller is going to work for the NYPD? That sucks. n/t

K&R

[Blue_Tires]

42. I'm guessing 60 minutes will be hiring a new manager soon...