Robert Parry dissects the MoveOn / Petraeus / New York Times debacle, focusing on return on investment, rather than the more commonly discussed angle, freedom of speech.His conclusion:
MoveOn has taken $142,083 from American donors and given it to the New York Times for the privilege of running an ad that served to undermine the goal of reining in President Bush’s Iraq War. Talk about getting a reverse bang for your buck.Note to MoveOn leadership:
The New York Times is now and has always been our enemy.Parry continues:
Let them raise their own money.
Please!
(By contrast, for many independent media outlets, the cost of that one ad would cover all their expenses for a year or more. In 2006, the entire budget of our Web site, Consortiumnews.com, was $109,000.)I can't even imagine what sort of coverage this cold website could provide if it had a hundred thousand a year to work with. But even without that ... What an unbelievable waste of money!
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For the full impact of Robert Parry's analysis, please read these three columns from Consortium News:
Hard Lessons from MoveOn Fiasco
MoveOn & Media Double Standards
The Left's Media Miscalculation (Redux)