Agenda Journalism...

Edward Lee Pitts is an "embedded reporter" from the Chattanooga Times Free Press traveling with the Tennessee National Guard in Iraq. Instead of simply reporting the news, he's staging events to report on.

It seems that he set up a couple of the National Guardsmen to ask planted questions at the "town meeting" a few days ago Rumsfeld held with the troops.

For two days, Pitts allowed the nation to believe that this National Guardsman came up with the tough questions regarding a lack of armored vehicles. Pitts kept his mouth shut publicly, but like all prideful people, had to brag on his exploits to his co-workers back at the Chattanooga, Tennessee paper where he is employed in the form of an email explaining exactly how he planted the questions and made sure that at least one of the two National Guardsmen with the planted questions would be called on by the Seargent in charge of picking the questioners to question Defense Secretary Rumsfeld. The email was leaked to Matt Drudge.

This is a perfect example of what's wrong with the liberal news media. Instead of simply reporting the news, they help to stage events and then report on them as if they were spontaneous.

In times past, reporters got away with antics like this. However, in the age of so much instant communications, things like this will likely be quickly discovered.

Publically in the paper he works for, Pitts published an article entitled "Hillbilly Armor" about the Rumsfeld town meeting where he reported the tough questions for Rumsfeld as if it were a spontaneous event, never mentioning his role in planting the questions. The "Hillbilly Armor" title of the article is a bit offensive to me -- I guess it shows just how he thinks of his readers back in Chattanooga.

This is the type of stuff that's bringing down the conventional liberal media.

That's my take.

TOM