Thursday, April 07, 2005
How Jeff Gannon Faked An Interview
One day before Jeff "copy-and-paste" Gannon makes his triumphant return to the National Press Club (yep...he's been there before), I thought it would be appropriate to showcase one more example of Jeff Gannon patented, plagiarized "journalism."
The last "article" that Jeff Gannon "wrote" for the now-MIA Talon News "service" appeared on February 8, 2005. Jeff's Sudan Begins 3rd Consecutive Term on Human Rights Panel is touted as an interview with Fred Gedrich, who according to the Washington Moonie Times - where he sometimes provides the "Outside View" - is "a senior policy analyst at Freedom Alliance, a defense policy organization, and a former U.S. State and Defense Department official" (cache link).
Jeff Gannon: "Fred Gedrich, a former U.S. State and Defense Department official who has traveled extensively throughout Africa and the Middle East, explained to Talon News that politics is at the center of the incongruity."
But Jeff Gannon lied.
This wasn't an interview he conducted. All Jeff Gannon did was copy-and-paste his "story" from a press release issued by Fred Gedrich which appeared the next day at the Christian News Wire, a part of the Christian Communication Network: cache link.
At the Christian Communication Network there is a place where "journalists" can fill out a form which "allows you to specify only the news you wish to receive by categories" (cache link):
"Journalists - Let Us Make Your Job Easier - Receive Press Releases Via Email - This is a free service to journalists and members of the media."
My favorite part:
"You must be a member of a recognized news organization."
This isn't the first "story" that Jeff Gannon "copy-and-pasted" from this "professional news distribution company" and if he continues to work as a "jounalist" and "blogger" you can be damn sure it won't be his last.
Great News! ePluribus Media to Cover National Press Club Panel: "ePluribus Media and the diarists at DailyKos.com will be represented at Friday's National Press Club panel discussion, Who is a Journalist?. One of our members will be present to report the event...John Aravosis of Americablog has refused to attend the panel discussion. We respect his decision. We plan to cover it, not participate."
I've linked to ePluribus Media, formally known as Propagannon, many times before, so I guess it's time to disclose that I'm one of the "790 citizen journalists" that have "joined [the] cause."
However, the work I've done on the rampant plagiarism at Talon News is an entirely separate matter. Except for the help of Ryan Fenno - and others that have sent me tips which I have used and given credit for - I've done this work on my own, ever since the first week of February (I missed the Super Bowl because I was feverishly working on the Steve Roeder article, the first GOPUSA plagiarist I outed here).
The e team is on a mission drive to collect financial contributions, but as proud as I am to be a part of the "cause" I'm not going to beseech my readers to give money. Please do it on your own, if you want; it's a damn, worthy cause. But I've only used this blog to ask for people to donate money a few times in the past, and I decided a few months back that I never would again.
In the past, one organization that I recommended to my readers as an organization deserving of support is an organization that I will never support again because I believe they've failed us - and the millions of dollars they've received - miserably.
Of course, I'm 100% certain that this would never happend with ePluribus Media, because I believe this movement will revolutionize the very form of journalism itself when things really get cooking. But, just the same, I don't run ads on my blog and I don't ask for donations (hell...I lost my job a month ago because of my dedication to the Talon News story primarily) because I just don't feel right about it.
But don't take my personal feelings on this as a slight to other bloggers who do both or either. Because it's not. Many of my favorite blogs do one or the other and I have absolutely no problems with that.
It's just the way I am, and the way I'll probably continue to be. Perhaps I might change my mind about this sometime in the future (but believe me that there couldn't possibly be a time when I might need it more than now), and I definitely wouldn't be averse to selling some sort of merchandise (ummm like signed copies of my play for instance...hint...hint), but for now, I'll try to keep doing what I do unsupported and unfunded even if my Internet provider cancels my account for non-payment (if that happens I'll still blog just not as often...I wasn't able to blog for much of the month of December, the last time I was unemployed).
And I've recently learned, I'm not the only struggling blogger out there. There are many of us who have similiar financial problems, some of those bloggers are even more widely known and read than me. I'd like to get paid with hits, links, comments and e-mails, but what I really want to do is make a difference, and I feel more-than-satisfied that I have so far.
Peace.
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