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You could say the same thing about the suppressed NYT NSA story a few years back. Incentives are more complicated than short term profits of the firm. Being in

You could say the same thing about the suppressed NYT NSA story a few years back. Incentives are more complicated than short term profits of the firm. Being in the good graces of powerful government actors is certainly a strong incentive in terms of personal benefits and long term profits. Given the above, and not making any judgment as to the veracity of the claim, there isn't enough evidence for mainstream media to publish. Compare with allegation of the Syrian government's use of Sarin for which there is equally little evidence but media outlets are quick to publish because it is inline with government interests.

tptacek 13y ago
Is there a single major media outlet --- The New York Times, The Washington Post (which is already out in front of this story), The Wall Street Journal (a Murdoch paper), The Washington Times (a strongly partisan anti-Obama paper), Bloomberg News, heck, Le Monde --- a single one that appears to be taking this story seriously? Why not? Is your argument that every reputable major media outlet in the world is somehow cowed by the administration?
- foobarqux 13y ago
  There is systemic influence by the US government on US institutions. To be clear I am only speaking to media influence and bias, not the veracity of the claim in question. Again look at the sarin example or consider how readily this would have been reported if it were about an enemy of the United States. Your point about international media outlets is taken and it is the best evidence of how less-biased outlets feel about the story. I can't find the story on Russia Today or Al-Jazeera for example.
  - tptacek 13y ago
    I have a pretty high opinion of Al Jazeera, which has not run a story about how the NSA might have spied on pre-candidate Barack Obama, and a very very low opinion of Russia Today, which is likely to have at some point in the past run a story about how Obama is actually a space alien.
    - foobarqux 13y ago
      My point had nothing to do with the credibility of either of those outlets only that they both routinely publish stories critical of the United States and since they didn't publish this story then they must not have faith in it. In short, I agree with you that lack of reporting from foreign outlets is indicative that they think there isn't enough evidence to report it. Just to be clear we are talking about different things: You are talking about whether the claims are true, or more sensibly, whether they are supported by credible evidence. I am making a more narrow point about the fact that media institutions are strongly influenced^ by government and corporate interests. That is true independent of whether Tice's claims are. ^ Obviously foreign institutions are far less influenced by other foreign governments and are therefore more reliable when reporting on those foreign governments, though not always (e.g. Iraq WMD claims).

tptacek 13y ago

Is there a single major media outlet --- The New York Times, The Washington Post (which is already out in front of this story), The Wall Street Journal (a Murdoch paper), The Washington Times (a strongly partisan anti-Obama paper), Bloomberg News, heck, Le Monde --- a single one that appears to be taking this story seriously? Why not? Is your argument that every reputable major media outlet in the world is somehow cowed by the administration?

foobarqux 13y ago
There is systemic influence by the US government on US institutions. To be clear I am only speaking to media influence and bias, not the veracity of the claim in question. Again look at the sarin example or consider how readily this would have been reported if it were about an enemy of the United States. Your point about international media outlets is taken and it is the best evidence of how less-biased outlets feel about the story. I can't find the story on Russia Today or Al-Jazeera for example.
- tptacek 13y ago
  I have a pretty high opinion of Al Jazeera, which has not run a story about how the NSA might have spied on pre-candidate Barack Obama, and a very very low opinion of Russia Today, which is likely to have at some point in the past run a story about how Obama is actually a space alien.
  - foobarqux 13y ago
    My point had nothing to do with the credibility of either of those outlets only that they both routinely publish stories critical of the United States and since they didn't publish this story then they must not have faith in it. In short, I agree with you that lack of reporting from foreign outlets is indicative that they think there isn't enough evidence to report it. Just to be clear we are talking about different things: You are talking about whether the claims are true, or more sensibly, whether they are supported by credible evidence. I am making a more narrow point about the fact that media institutions are strongly influenced^ by government and corporate interests. That is true independent of whether Tice's claims are. ^ Obviously foreign institutions are far less influenced by other foreign governments and are therefore more reliable when reporting on those foreign governments, though not always (e.g. Iraq WMD claims).