Misplaced Pages

Talk:Insight on the News: Difference between revisions

Article snapshot taken from[REDACTED] with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
Browse history interactively← Previous editContent deleted Content addedVisualWikitext
Revision as of 21:26, 14 February 2008 editRedddogg (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users2,368 edits Echo chamber aspect: sorry to break in on someone else's post :-)← Previous edit Latest revision as of 18:02, 9 July 2024 edit undoEric Schucht (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users21,721 editsNo edit summary 
(68 intermediate revisions by 16 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Talk header}}
{{JournProjectArticles|class=Start}}
{{WikiProject Media|class=Start}} {{WikiProject banner shell|class=Start|
{{WikiProject Magazines|importance=low}}
{{talkheader}}
{{WikiProject Conservatism|importance=low}}
{{BLP}}
}}
{{Archivebox|] <small> Feb 2007 - Jan 2008 </small> </br> ] <small> not yet in use </small> }}
{{Archivebox|] <small> Feb 2007 - Jan 2008 </small> </br> ] <small> Feb 2008 </small> }}


=="in its present state"==
== Best title for Insight/Clinton/Obama section. ==
I removed this expression from the sentence about Obama's school. As far as I know no one is asserting that the school was different in the past. ] (]) 16:53, 10 February 2008 (UTC)
:In fact multiple interviewees say things aren't much different. ] (]) 01:04, 11 February 2008 (UTC)


:And this quote is relevant, as well as bearing on the question of whether "madrassa" is a word used in Indonesia, as well as how it's understood there:<blockquote>Bandung said he had heard the rumor that Obama went to a radical Islamic school. He showed a picture of Obama with the Scout group.</br>"The girls wore miniskirts. There's no way miniskirts would be allowed at a madrassa," he said. Another photo of teachers at the school shows both males and females wearing Western-style clothing. The women are also wearing miniskirts.</br>Bandung said there was nothing to worry about in any case as Indonesian madrassa had been noted for teaching a moderate form of Islam.</blockquote>] (]) 23:32, 11 February 2008 (UTC)
If someone new to the article is reading the contents, then ''Allegations against 2008 Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's campaign'' (or suchlike) is surely much better than ''Indonesian "madrassa" media controversy'' (or suchlike).


More info:
Any views on putting Clinton in the heading?
<blockquote>Submitted by Gandydancer (United States), Feb 7, 2008 at 19:28<br/>
...a question: Is the word "madrassa"/"madrasah"/etc. used in the Indonesian language(s)? My understanding is that it just means "school" in Arabic, but Insight magazine seemed to think it was equivalent to "seminary" and the article with the longer ABC news video( http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/story?id=2823943) actually wrote "Madrassas are conservative Islamic schools, many of which teach a virulent hatred of America." So, as an Indonesian, do you use the word, and what would it mean for you? ... </blockquote>
<blockquote>...Submitted by Muhammad (Indonesia), Feb 11, 2008 at 21:04<br/>...The word Madrasah is commonly used here in Indonesia to describe a conventional (not modernized) Schools (elementary, middle to high, mostly located at sub-urban areas) whose curriculum weighs more in Islamic teachings. Later, they are more modernized and secularized. I believe all of these schools are private and ussualy associate themself with the Nadhatul Ulama organization (formed by former President Abdulrahman Wahid's father). On the other hand, at rural areas they are usualy called Pesantren. Their tuitions are low so mostly affordable by low income families. I rerely use these words. ...</blockquote> ] (]) 23:44, 12 February 2008 (UTC)


Andyv, too bad '''''neither''''' ], nor the '''''anonymous''''' users ''"Gandydancer"'' or ''"Muhammad (Indonesia)"'', who post reader comments to his discredited stories, are reliable sources. Man, life must suck if one needs to scrape the barrel this far down to support the Insight take on "Madrassa". What a hoot! I'm ROTFLOL at the the way our "Gandydancer" (above) intentiononally and deceptively context-snipped ''"...actually wrote "Madrassas are conservative..."'', and then sourced his hack-job to a jan 25 2007 ABC piece!!! Gandydancer pulls an amateur Kuhner!!! Even funnier, check out the that our funnytroll "Gandydancer" was commenting on.
This Insight article should be an acurate and dispassionate record of Insight's reporting - any "''media controversy''" is surely a side-issue to that - so why struggle to formulate it in a heading at all? Insight wrote the article about Clinton having so-called 'plans' - so lets keep it simple. --] (]) 19:18, 5 February 2008 (UTC)


Good job A, I needed a couple of laughs, and I really do have to thank you for feeding me the material I need for expanding the "echo chamber" and "loaded question" aspects of this article. Pipes' 12/2007 "feeder story" headline is a grade school attempt at asking a ] , which brings to mind a classic ] phrase ''"What a maroon"'' that fits Pipes perfectly here!. Better yet, (I'm 'bout busting a gut here), Pipes the maroon '''''anwers his own question''''' in his very next headline . Thanks again A, and keep it coming, your stuff is ''classic''! ] (]) 19:07, 14 February 2008 (UTC)
:Matt, please review ] and allow me to remind you that ] is a '''''POLICY''''', not a guideline, and it is non-negotiable. Specifically, see "Misplaced Pages is not a democracy", "Misplaced Pages is not news" and also, "polling is not a substitute for discussion". There is a discussion in play, points are being made from non-negotiable policy perspectives, you are free to offer your own policy interpretations, but given your passion and your edit history on this topic, you appear to be engaging in ] and I think you've crossed the line into ] editing. Suggesting that you slow down a bit and work through the process of generating an encyclopedic presentation. ] (]) 19:38, 5 February 2008 (UTC)


:Gandydancer is me, of course. And the identification of Muhammed as Indonesian is by the site, perhaps from the ip address as I am identified as from the "United States" despite not having supplied that information when I posted my question.
::I haven’t made any main edits in 10 hours - and none since you filed a report on me for losing my temper with you! I've had no need to make edits - the section itself is fine now (largely thanks to me I'm obliged to say - and you now 'suggest' that I look at "encyclopedic presentation"!). fine - you've now changed the title back (though ''entirely without consensus'' as User:Athene cunicularia clearly isn't happy with your take on an apropriate title either). ''The title is my only issue now - and I'm entitled to discuss it!!'' RE your comments above - you're making error after error after error. Or its abusive 'head games', one or the other. I ASK YOU - GIVE ME ONE EXAMPLE OF THE DISRUPTIVE EDITS YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT? Rather like with your report about me to Wikiquette, you are just trying to make me look like a villain (3RR and complete rubbish like that - you are getting very close to plain lies, and you mentioned something about me complaining about your 'double splatter' edit, which was just not true either - why ''would'' I?). People can follow edits you know - it's not all based on impressions given.


:Your comments are incoherent and gratuitously insulting. I asked a straightforward question and was given a straightforward and informative answer by someone who appears to be a real Indonesian, which answer I supplied here to be helpful to Redddog and such other editors as might actually be interested in the question of what "madrassa" means to an Indonesian. The idea that I violated WP:RS is this talk page post is ''fully'' as idiotic as the idea that Kuhner could violate WP:OR when writing in ''Insight''.
::If this was a populated article you simply would not get your own way, as you have done here, with no other support. Unfortunately nobody is around. I am simply asking for discussion and two-way dialogue for heaven's sake! - your problem is that you simple just don't ''read'' anything properly - I honestly don't think at any point you have read a single comment of mine properly. And you are now telling ''me'' to 'slow down'! From doing what? What an utter wind-up! Apart from addressing you (and boy I wish I held my tongue when I realised what you were like), all I've contributed in 10 hours or so is this new Talk section on the best heading! You've pretty much done my head in - keep the title however you flipping want it. I'll only come back if the Clinton/Obama content needs help again. You can try and get me in trouble again if you like - you are either an idiot or the biggest wind-up merchant on Misplaced Pages. There are plenty of ways to be uncivil - you seem to know all the nondirect ones in the book. --] (]) 21:37, 5 February 2008 (UTC)


:In the future I will, however, be able to refer to you as "the ", immediately identifying the quality and tenor of the editor I am dealing with. That should prove useful. ] (]) 22:54, 14 February 2008 (UTC)
::::* Ok Matt, cmon...you make 13 edits without commenting on the "journalism v. politics" arguments I have been making, then you go off on me on my talk page and here in the article talk. '''''I'm sorry I subsequently referred you to as being a ]''''', but whaddaya do when someone goes off like that? So, if you will ], and kindly go to my talk page and delete entire "bias" section, I will likewise retract the Wikiquette alert, and then we can discuss ''politics v. journalism''. Deal? ] (]) 22:03, 5 February 2008 (UTC)


::Holy shit A, ...YOU are gandydancer? I had no idea...sorry, I was poking fun at gandydancer with no idea it was you. Had you made that clear when you posted the exchange you initiated, then I certainly would not have ridiculed gandydancer in quite the same way as I did. Suggest next time you start out with ''"Using the name gandydancer, I posted the following question and I got this answer from a user in Indonesia"''. Now that I know you and gandydancer are the same, please accept my apologies. Still, it ''was'' funny... ] (]) 00:31, 16 February 2008 (UTC)
::::::half of those edits were '''m''''s - I did a lot of work on the links (a couple were in a mess anyway) and the code got skewed - took me about 6 to get it right.--] (]) 22:27, 5 February 2008 (UTC)


]:"'''This guideline does not require that editors continue to assume good faith in the presence of evidence to the contrary.''' ... Assuming good faith also does not mean that no action by editors should be criticized, but instead that criticism should not be attributed to malice unless there is specific evidence of malice." The question posed to "Muhammad" by "Gandydancer" is perfectly staightforward and exhibits no particular POV that I can detect. Nor does "Muhammad"'s very informative answer. Your cackling derision was so wildly off the mark and inappropriate to itc cause as to indicate an hysterical state of combativeness. And malice. Rather pathetic malice, when expressed so childishly, but useful when so obvious. ] (]) 01:53, 18 February 2008 (UTC)
::::::And don't forget you 'went off' in the same way yourself! I was at least getting it back to consensus. --] (]) 22:29, 5 February 2008 (UTC)


:AVP, if you will merely read again what you yourself posted here ( as "gandydancer") above...
:::::::Matt, (1) I did not go off in the "same way", see . (2) I apologized for the retort I gave you in response to your personal attacks, (3) I invited you to simply remove them from my talk page as a means to end the Witiquette , and yet you (4) respond instead with more personal attacks, and this frivolous claim that I "went off in the same way". I could cite ] and reply candidly, but instead I will just characterize your comment above as a ]. ] (]) 16:01, 6 February 2008 (UTC)


::*Submitted by Gandydancer (United States, aka andyvphil)''"...a question: Is the word "madrassa"/"madrasah"/etc. used in the Indonesian language(s)? My understanding is that it just means "school" in Arabic, but Insight magazine seemed to think it was equivalent to "seminary" and the article with the longer ABC news video actually wrote 'Madrassas are conservative Islamic schools, many of which teach a virulent hatred of America.' So, as an Indonesian, do you use the word, and what would it mean for you?"''
::::::::You don't have a leg to stand on - any observer can see that I simply took it back to consensus, after you steered it away entirely along your own personal (and entirely unsupported) 'this myth propagating is not WP policy' route. Of course you 'went off yourself' - without any possible doubt! When I got it back to normal I carried on improving it. It took a consecutive row of edits to get it back - that is '''NOT''' a '3RR', like you are now boasting (with your link above) that you have complained to WP that I made!! The 3 Reversal Rule is a fundamental WP policy you have refused to understand. I've actually not 'edit warred' with you ''even the once''! (It involves more that 1 revert). You have actually got your own way each time you reverted my all-different changes back. This section without question became an improved base to work on since you finally stopped simply reverting my various edits. Your individual change of direction did not represent a new Genesis! You displayed a crazy 'how dare you 3RR!' attitude to all attempted changes to your misguided 'no to propagating myth' route. It's just been improved again by someone I notice, which it what happens when the details are actually ''there'' for people to edit!


:...and now review ], you'll see that "gandydancer"'s leading question was designed specifically for the answer that he (you) wanted. The fact that gandydancer snipped the ABC text out of context, and then snipped "Muhammad"'s answer in a similarly deceptive way, well...that is the crux of my criticism of your entirely misleading presentation here. That and the fact that all of this is useless here on Misplaced Pages per ]. ] (]) 01:35, 19 February 2008 (UTC)
::::::::I also don't want these constant curve-ball WP:'s flung at me like 'wp:spade' etc (which is a pretty cold projection). Have you thought what might happen if I actually reported ''you'', the way you (unsuccessfully) reported me? I'm not the type at all to do it, but you should think for a minute - you just may yourself get the 'warning' you have said you wanted me to get. Your retorts to me have at times been underhand and just too far from the truth (which is far worse than my own temper-loss and subsequent curtness). You won't fool people with the 'persuasive' comments you've been writing - they will simply look at the evidence, and weigh it up against the various accusations you have all the while been making (supposing I did make the equivalent complaint - but what would be the point of that?) This started when I complained in your Talk page that you 'wasted my time' by only pretending to listen to my patient reservations over your 'edit run' - and you then promptly went and reported me for rudeness, wasting loads more of it. You then stubbornly protected your edits as if they were the consensus! Aaaaaaaggh! You wonder why I've been so p*****d off. Underneath every squabble there are always the facts, however the waters have been muddied.--] (]) 18:34, 7 February 2008 (UTC)


::Your "criticism" doesn't have a detectable "crux". "So, as an Indonesian, do you use the word, and what would it mean for you?" is in no way a ]. The assertion that it is is idiotic. I explained why I was asking the question, but didn't suggest the answer, and indeed Muhammad's answer is in no way something that I suggested to him. And while its content cannot be inserted directly in a Misplaced Pages article it is rich in specifics which can be further researched and then cited to the RS found. And what is the information from ABC or Muhammed that I have supposedly concealed by artful "snipping"? Go ahead. You don't have an answer -- change the subject again. Veer off into another silly assertion. You have such a threadbare bag of tricks. It's pathetic. ] (]) 14:33, 22 February 2008 (UTC)
:::I am okay with '''Indonesian "madrassa" media controversy''' if it gets people to stop squabbling, but I personally think heading could easily be '''Barack Obama''' or '''Barack Obama madrassa controversy'''. In my opinion, it is perfectly acceptable to use a basic header and focus on maintaining a high standard of detail for the section's content.] (]) 21:56, 5 February 2008 (UTC)


:::Here is the '''''stuff you snipped''''' from the post from . Whether it was concealed by "artful", snipping as you assert, is a matter for others to debate, but you certainly did snip the post. I'll >>illustrate<< the most important snips '''''>>like this<<'''''. ] (]) 21:57, 3 March 2008 (UTC)
::::I keep referring to an old consensus but nobody is around. I'm going to take a break till there are more people. In importance Insight is 1, clinton is 2, Obama is 3 - it just so simple to me. We all need to read the Insight article closely again. I made my thoughts clear in one of the sections above, a while ago. I am also worried now appeasement is getting involved here - it is no basis at all for proper consensus. We clearly need a break! --] (]) 22:23, 5 February 2008 (UTC)


----
==Article quality dropping==
I don't know what's going on here. These petty little fights are too much to wade through. Whatever it is, the quality of this article is suffering at its expense. Please pay attention to spelling, grammar, weasel words, references, etc. when editing. I just made numerous copyedits that were necessary only because it's obvious that someone or some people are letting their emotions get in the way of making constructive edits.] (]) 20:42, 5 February 2008 (UTC)


::::<blockquote>Submitted by Muhammad (Indonesia), Feb 11, 2008 at 21:04 --
:Thanks Athene, I like your , agree with your assessment and will admit to some frustration as a result of some pretty extensive and noisy disagreement over what this article is and what it is ]. I am presently taking a half-step back to digest flurry of edits to see what can/should be done, and awaiting some feedback on the perspective I offer as to how this article should proceed.


First, I should thank you for straightening up that my intention is only to submit info about situation in Indonesia. And also for the splendid link. Nice work. --
:Would appreciate your comments on my discussion point as to perspective re: politics vs. journalism. Thanks, ] (]) 21:32, 5 February 2008 (UTC)


I think the clip we refer to >>was not from middle eastern 'seminary'<< but >>from the sub continent areas (maybe Kurdistan, Afghanistan or Pakistan)<<. Anyways, as shown from your link, in his book Mr. Obama was saying "In the Muslim school, the teacher wrote to tell my mother that I made faces during Koranic studies" so clearly he was admitting openly that he did learn (practised if you will) Islam in some point of his life. So even Mr Obama was confusing his public school as a Muslim school. Mustn't have been the highlights of his life. --
::I can see how this is distracting, but things are not so petty when you have actually been reported by someone, as I have. Wnd142 is now 'in the process of reverting' me, as he says. He has never looked at current consensus! If ANYONE has any comments, please say!! I've put nothing but real graft into this subject for a few weeks now. It could now get grotty if we don't look for ''consensus''. Don't be shy!!!!--] (]) 21:49, 5 February 2008 (UTC)


'''''>>In my opinion, it is evident that what mr Obama said was that he was never a Muslim in heart and to me, that means that he never was a believer. And it is his right to do so.<<''''' --
:::::I haven't had time to even look at the page, but distinguishing between what he thinks and what he knows is evidently not Wndl42's strong point. ] (]) 00:45, 6 February 2008 (UTC)


Like many people, I was curious to know whether Sen Obama was ever a Muslim or not. That curiosity brought me to Mr. Pipes's articles and I think I've got me the answer. --
:::I will look for arbitration if things don't settle down here. Personally, I think that both of you should take a deep breath. On a side note, if you're truly proud of everything you've done, then you shouldn't have to worry about being reported. I want to see some semblance of stability for this article and will closely monitor edits made over the next few days.] (]) 22:00, 5 February 2008 (UTC)


>>The reporters and analists must have their own agendas.<< We haven't seen the last of the crossfire specially when the campaign will come to the next level. --
Athene, I like your fixes too. I have been mostly staying out of the fray, but I do hope we can achieve neutrality. I recommend a summary of the Obama incident, followed by a balance of the two opposing analyses.


Btw, i think the core of terrorism is 'hatred' and that can only be defeated by 'love'. But that's another issue.</blockquote>
#Insight published a story '''claiming''' that Clinton's campaign was going to make an issue out of Obama's background.
#Clinton's campaign fired two staffers for sending emails related to this.


----
The rest is analysis, on the part of Insight critics saying variously that Insight either got its story wrong (innocently) or made false claims deliberately. We might also consider putting in a few statements by Insight defenders as well.


What I really hope to do is separate fact from analysis. We can all agree on the facts, right? The chronology of statements and events? --] (]) 02:25, 9 February 2008 (UTC) ::So...the comments of the user look very different from what you posted, no? Now, since none of this can be used as a reliable source for a Misplaced Pages article, nothing posted in this thread is useful here anyway. Please give it a rest. ] (]) 21:57, 3 March 2008 (UTC)


== Journalistic POV overview removed...please discuss here ==
:- The article is about Insight and it's journalistic practice.
:- It is not a [[WP:COATRACK|coat rack on which to hang Kuhner's political speculations.
:- This article is in the media and journalism categories, not politics. This is not a place for discussing the "news".
:- What is notable about the incident is that Insight created a scandal. The VICTIMS of the scandal are not the subject of this article.


The following overview was removed, I think it's essential for journalistic context:
Ed, as you have before on many occasions (see your speculative essay above), you again appear to be attempting to rehabilitate Unification Church credibility around it's media holdings by proposing that Kuhner's allegations deserve equal weight. Reliable sources reflect no such "balance", the opinions are overwhelmingly against Insight and that is an unfortunate fact of life. The attempt to "spin" wikipedia's presentation (even here on the talk page) is an attempt to provide ] weight to Kuhner's speculations (in your case) reflects badly in the context of your Unification Church COI as a "writer" for the church. Your comments here have in the past and continue to now to harm Misplaced Pages by presenting the illusion of a consensus. You should recuse from this and other articles where your COI is (now and historically) presenting every indication of pro-church bias. ] (]) 03:57, 9 February 2008 (UTC)


"Journalistic analysis of the Insight story began by examining the first sentence of the report, which asked the loaded question of whether the "American people were ready" for a candidate who was "educated in a Madrassa as a young boy and has not been forthcoming about his Muslim heritage?" The second sentence alleged "This is the question Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s camp is asking about Sen. Barack Obama." No basis was found for Insight's question and allegation, and throughout the ensuing controversy Insight steadfastly refused to present evidence or qualify it's sources."
==Block quote removed==
I took off the block quote from Insight itself that just repeated the charges against Obama. The article should be about Insight not a coatrack for what they have to say about people. ] (]) 04:01, 6 February 2008 (UTC)
::I put it back. I think that Insight should be allowed to explain. Let's discuss it here first. Perhaps we could shorten it to the first two sentences, since they seem to be the meat of Insight's rebuttal. Any thoughts on that?] (]) 05:28, 6 February 2008 (UTC)
:::There was another quote from Insight removed awhile ago that was much more favorable to Obama. Let me get back on that. ] (]) 06:03, 6 February 2008 (UTC)


This is an absolutely 100% spot on overview of the "essence" of every journalistic critique. I can see no good reason for taking it out. let's discuss any issues with the presentation here. ] (]) 20:36, 11 February 2008 (UTC)
:::Here is the quote that was removed. If we want to include a quote where Insight defends itself I think this would be better:


:I didn't remove it, since I'm giving you your head to write in as "loaded" a fashion as you desire. Which is what you've done. ] (]) 22:47, 11 February 2008 (UTC)
::::On ] Kuhner responded to the ''New York Times'' story, saying in part:
:::::The Times is trying to obscure the real issue: Hillary Clinton's campaign had been conducting extensive opposition research on her main '08 Democratic rival, and they were zeroing in on his Muslim background. This is the truth. This is exactly what we actually reported. This is what actually happened. We got it first and we got it right. No amount of spinning and mud-slinging from the liberal media can change this.<ref></ref>


Next topic, why was the extremely notable reference to Fox V.P. John Moody removed? First time in history (afaik) that Fox has apologized for picking up garbage and reporting it, so why is his name and title out? ] (]) 20:52, 11 February 2008 (UTC)
:::Absolutely not. ''Insight has used the entire issue (a criticism of it's "journalistic practice") '''''solely''''' as an opportunity to repeat it's idle speculations about the candidate's "thinking".'' Misplaced Pages should not be used serve the Rev. ] "media arms" as part of the ]. FYI, ] (which, contrary to popular misconception applies to '''''all''''' articles) and ] are two '''''policies''''' that preclude the echoing of Kuhner's "titillating claims" here. Let's just keep it in the '''''journalistic context''''', refer back to Kuhner's defense of his sources, and maybe contextualize that with the statement from Insight's web explaining anonymous sourcing policy. Also, I think my first sentence above (in italics) should go into the article to characterize Kuhner's "defense" of his story. I know this is a politically popular topic, but this is an article on journalism and media. The politics of the issue are well covered elsewhere. ] (]) 14:40, 6 February 2008 (UTC)


:I removed the paragraph. For one thing it was uncited. For another it was basically repeating what the paragraph before it just said. The article on Obama's campaign and the one on him himself give the basic information on his school days in Indonesia. That is where people who want to find out about him will go. This article should be about Insight. Just the basic facts about the story given one time should be enough, and then of course the opinions of RS's about it. I also put back the link to Insight's story itself. I think that if we don't do that people would feel it is unfair. ] (]) 04:23, 12 February 2008 (UTC)
], may I gently remind you that you have a conflict of interest ] that you and Ed and I have discussed repeatedly and I believe we reached a gentleman's agreement on this. Your post above could be construed in the of providing "cover" for Rev. Moon's . Of course you are welcome here, but please respect our efforts here to provide an objective POV in this article. Thanks.] (]) 14:59, 6 February 2008 (UTC)


::Redddogg, I did a copyedit instead of a revert. I think I addressed your above concerns...how does it look to you now? ] (]) 04:34, 12 February 2008 (UTC)
::I am holding off from doing much editing on the article itself. I just made a suggestion on the talk page. The editor of Insight is not a church member and seems to have a personal dislike for Senator Clinton which drives much of his editing on the subject. For the record, I think he made a mistake by not waiting for Obama's team to get back to him before running the story.] (]) 16:35, 6 February 2008 (UTC)
:::It is much better now. ] (]) 04:50, 12 February 2008 (UTC)


:::Whew...thanks. ] (]) 15:28, 12 February 2008 (UTC)
:I agree with the anonymous editor who removed the quote. The article is supposed to be about Insight, not a forum to repeat what Insight says about people -- especially if they are running for president. You are right about ] Wndl42. I am considering mentioning it on the BLP board. ] (]) 16:24, 6 February 2008 (UTC)


== Third opinion ==
Nearly all of the block quote was already in a pragraph, but was a bit awkward I felt (and I found it hard to improve)- I made it the big-ish block as it seemed best in their own words (the idea of a block after all!). I think it's OK as it covers what they have had say, and plenty of balance can be found around it (even more than is already on the page - a lot of it is in the long NY Times article). Ther was another smaller block too, which I removed, but could always be included again - I was just trying to improve, basically.--] (]) 16:48, 6 February 2008 (UTC)


Hey. I saw that there was a pending request for a third opinion on this page. 3O is meant for articles that only have two active editors, and since there are more than five users active on here, I've removed the request. If you guys need further help, I'd recommend opening an ]. If there's anything else I can do to help, please message me. Thanks. &mdash; ] <sup>]</sup> 19:56, 12 February 2008 (UTC)
:Here is another quote that shows Insight's hostility was more towards Clinton than Obama:
::Indeed, Barack Obama has exceptional qualities and deserves kudos for his achievement. He is genteel, articulate, poised and charming. He is a Harvard-educated lawyer, yet he remains accessible to the common man. He has been married since 1992, has two lovely daughters and is by all accounts a devoted family man. He is a pious Christian and a member of the United Church of Christ. He has virtually sky-rocketed into the national spotlight—winning a landslide victory in his Senate race in 2004; he became the fifth African American Senator in U.S. history and the only current African American Senator. His fame has been enhanced by the publication of two-bestsellers, Dreams from My Father (1995) and The Audacity of Hope (2006). He now trails only behind Hillary in his bid to secure the nomination of his party. And he has done all of this even before he celebrates his forty-sixth birthday later this summer. - ] (]) 02:53, 7 February 2008 (UTC)


=="picked up" vs. "mentioned"==
::: *Steve, if (as the universal opinion of NPOV, non-partisan experts say) Insight's Jan. 2007 "double smear" was intended to harm "evil frontrunner Sen. H.R. Foo" by inventing and publicizing "Foo's evil plan" to discredit "underdog Sen. O."Hussein" Fee" -- by showing Fee to be a "closet islamist", then '''''OF COURSE''''' Insight's follow-up propaganda would be designed to position Fee as a "sympathetic" character! If the primary target of the smear is Foo, then the Fee must be silmultaneously "madrassa slimed" and also positioned as the innocent victim of Foo. This is Muckraking 101. Again, this is not an article about politics, the "thinking" that Insight ascribes to people, not a place for discussing Insight's "assessment" of the candidates -- all of that is inconsistent with ]
I see that this was just changed and then changed back. Did Fox really "pick up" the story, that is repeat it as if it were true? Or did they just "mention" it? I'm not sure myself. ] (]) 03:33, 14 February 2008 (UTC)
:I was the one who changed it to "mentioned." The NYT said that Fox and the others "devoted extensive discussion" to Insight's story, not that they repeated it as if it was true. ] (]) 13:45, 14 February 2008 (UTC)
::I will try some new wording and see how people like it. ] (]) 16:23, 14 February 2008 (UTC)


:::Now, unfortunately I find myself needing to say ''again'' (to you ''and'' Ed Poor)that the combination of:
::::*(a) your Unification Church ] and
::::*(b) your single-issue ] editing history as a ] apologists and "rehabilitators" of Moon's image, and
::::*(c) the fact that '''''Kuhner reports directly to the Board of Directors of ]''''' (his own words), all of whom are known to be Moon Church members and "proxy votes" for Rev. Moon,


=== Echo chamber aspect ===
...then (as I and many others Wikipedians have asked previously), I'm asking you to recuse yourself from editing pages or participating in discussions where you are promoting or advancing editorial directions that reflect the vested interests (political or otherwise) of ]. ] (]) 16:49, 9 February 2008 (UTC)


:::Redddogg, like your recent edits! To answer this question, click and click and check it out, especially :


More on Kuhner's take here: (if that link doesn't work -- right now it's timing out -- the text is also at ). ] (]) 07:27, 9 February 2008 (UTC)


::::"In today’s New York Times, FOX News senior vice president John Moody criticized FOX & Friends hosts for reporting on the now-discredited Obama/madrassah story. “The hosts violated one of our general rules, which is know what you are talking about,” Mr. Moody said. “They reported information from a publication whose accuracy we didn’t know.” '''''Evidently, Sean Hannity didn’t get that message or else he chose to ignore it on his personal website. Hannity.com continues to showcase this false report as truth.''''' While Hannity’s site is not officially connected to FOX News (as far as I can tell), '''''FOXNews.com does promote it with a link and a suggestion that readers visit the page."'''''
== We must always get "Madrassa" right - it's not radical in itself. ==


:::Recently I found a report that Fox commentators last week have revived the Obama-madrassah stink-bomb. Seems now that Insight's "double splatter" achieved it's primary goal feeding the wing-nut media with malarky for harming Sen. Clinton, the shit-bomb has backfired by creating record turnout among the opposition and propelling Obama. '''''' Now the "madrassah" smear is being revived to re-smear the (now dangerous) Sen. Obama.
The word "Madrassa" is not one-dimensional - it has negative connotations. (Which are even connected to the story too).


:::Classic Sun Myung Moon black propaganda. Use the "echo chamber".
I had previouly edited the intro to this section, to indicate that it simply meant 'school' - but that sentence has been re-written. Why? Nothing at all was added - only taken away. At various points the 'definition' issue ''has'' been there - at the moment it's confusing - which is very frustrating.


:::See "The American Right achieved its political dominance in Washington over the past quarter century with the help of more than $3 billion spent by Korean cult leader Sun Myung Moon...according to a 21-year veteran...George Archibald, who describes himself "as the first reporter hired at the Washington Times outside the founding group"...has now joined a long line of disillusioned conservative writers who departed and warned the public..." ] (]) 18:03, 14 February 2008 (UTC)
I'm simply not going to have Madrassa look like a radical word - at the moment it (becuase the connecting Obama details have been moved down, and the defining word "religious" (relating to the Insight version) has simply been ''removed''.


::::Here's the diff and the link to the recent revival ] (]) 18:05, 14 February 2008 (UTC)
'''Please take the word "Madrassa" into account when re-writing prose.''' And why re-write decent prose if nothing is being added? We are not going to be able to just 'simplify' all this - we have to get the valid and relevant detail and ''balance'' right.


Ok...as it seems clear that it's still ''unclear'' (even among us ''editors'') that the "echo chamber" effect was in play big time, I'm putting back a portion of the MediaWeek criticism that was earlier stripped -- specifically the "amplified by Fox, etc..." Hope we can agree now why it was necessary in the first place. I still see no reason to censor Grossberger's use of the word "lies" to characterize the report, but I'm hoping to avoid an overly contentious edit for now. ] (]) 18:28, 14 February 2008 (UTC)
I'm going to try and blend it in from the better version --] (]) 15:39, 6 February 2008 (UTC)
:::I've tried a new title in here too - please revise not revert!--] (]) 16:26, 6 February 2008 (UTC)


:Just added this to flesh out the "Echo chamber" aaspect.
:Agreed, the use of "madrassa" should be referenced back to , specifically:


::Ten days after the Insight story broke, ABC News quoted ] of the conservative ] ] saying "There's now almost a predictable process here. People have learned how to get things covered, even when they shouldn't be covered...You either start with a revelation in the ] or Insight magazine, then that gets picked up by the New York Post or The Wall Street Journal and Fox News and by the blogs, and before long there's enough noise out there and enough buzz that comes from it that everybody from The New York Times to The Washington Post to the network news broadcasts decide they have to cover it. And it doesn't matter if it's true or not."


:I like it because it adds a conservative voice to the topic. I'm glad I took a few minutes to read the Daniel Pipes nonsense...gave me a reason to check the context of the stuff that was quote farmed from ABC... ] (]) 20:00, 14 February 2008 (UTC)
===Negative connotations applied to the word===
==Kuhner in first sentence==
I don't think it's really a problem but it does seem a little odd that Kuhner's name is just about the first thing stated in the article. I don't think that articles about other publications, or even websites, would have the name of the editor in the first sentence. He is mentioned 4 or 5 times later on in the article, so there is not much chance that the reader would miss his name. ] (]) 03:14, 22 February 2008 (UTC)


:From what we know, Kuhner is not only the managing editor (reporting directly to Rev. Moon's BOD at Insight), but is the ''only known source'' for the anonymous reports "Insight" publishes. It's an arrangement that is unique (as is widely reported) among outfits like Insight. That's why it's notable, IMO
The ] examined bias in United States newspaper coverage of Pakistan since the ], and found the term has come to contain a loaded political meaning:<ref name="YG20070621"/>


== Stating ownership in the lead ==
<blockquote>"When articles mentioned 'madrassas,' readers were led to infer that all schools so-named are anti-American, anti-Western, pro-terrorist centers having less to do with teaching basic literacy and more to do with political indoctrination."</blockquote>


In the specific case of Insight, and in the context of Insight's history, describing the ownership chain is essential from a journalism standpoint. ] ownership is (as demonstrated elsewhere) indeed the single MOST notable thing about Insight. ] (]) 15:40, 23 February 2008 (UTC)
In recent times, various American public figures have used the word in a negative context, including ],<ref name=YG20070621>{{
cite web
|first=Susan
|last=Moeller
|title=Jumping on the US Bandwagon for a "War on Terror"
|url=http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/display.article?id=9324
|work=Yale Global Online
|publisher=Yale Center for the Study of Globalization}}</ref>
],<ref name=Rumsfeld20031016>{{
cite news
|first=Donald
|last=Rumsfeld
|title=Rumsfeld's war-on-terror memo
|url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/executive/rumsfeld-memo.htm
|work=USA Today
|format=Transcript
|date=2003-10-16
|accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref>
and ].<ref name=tribind20040311>{{
cite news
|title=Madrassas breeding grounds of terrorists: Powell
|url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2004/20040312/world.htm#2
|work=]
|date=2004-03-11
|accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref>


==Insight's influence==
The word ''madrasah'' literally means "school" and does not imply a political or religious affiliation.
Checking out this article again I was amazed to read that Insight's stories about President Clinton had lead directly to his impeachment. When the New York Times tried to do the same thing to Senator McCain they were laughed out of the room. :-) ] (]) 18:18, 3 March 2008 (UTC)


:Steve, the article '''''actually''''' says that the Insight stories ''"...became '''enmeshed with''' the '''Independent Counsel's investigation''' of Whitewater scandal and '''eventually led to the impeachment''' of the president."'', so you are reading the article incorrectly.
===Feb 08 AM edits, comment here please===


:Now, the comments in the article are (a) sourced to an ex-employee of Insight and (b) supported by dozens of other sources (how many do you think are necessary) and (c) worded properly in accordance with ]. Steve you have been reminded by very many users and admins here that your membership in the ], combined with the long-established ] nature of your edits means that you have a ] issue. Your COI has been a topic of discussion on Misplaced Pages for a very long time.
(new subsection for discussion ] (]) 16:05, 8 February 2008 (UTC) )


:Please don't continue attempting to mitigate the facts or de-controversialize the media properties of the ] of Rev. ], ok? ] (]) 21:30, 3 March 2008 (UTC)
::Matt, I liked the direction you went in this of yours, but I ''think'' my go further in the same direction and add some clarity around this, I think that with all the damage that's been using the word 'madrassa' (which only means "school") we really need to be strong here. Look forward to comments. ] (]) 14:16, 8 February 2008 (UTC)
::I stand corrected. They ''indirectly'' led to Clinton's impeachment, according to the article that is. ] (]) 21:49, 3 March 2008 (UTC)


:::Hi again Steve, nice hearing from you again! Do you think it needs better sources that what's there? Now...fair notice...when I spend more time on sources, I generally find "better" ways to word things.. Cheers! ] (]) 22:04, 3 March 2008 (UTC)
I was hoping we'd discuss this morning's changes here and not a new section, this talk page is getting too long and needs some organization of ideas and topics.


== Madrassa again ==
Anyway, responding to the comments about ] below, I'm not sure I understand them. the section "Criticism by CNN...etc." seemed to present the idea that this was merely a left-right controversy between CNN and Insight/Fox. The 'Echo chamber' metaphor is well known and has been to describe this kind of journalism, for just one specific and notable example (Also traced back to Sun Myung Moon)...see :


RE parag: "Insight's report falsely characterized State Elementary School Menteng 01, an Indonesian public school which Obama attended as a child, as an Islamic "madrassa". Although the Arabic word "madrassa" literally means any kind of school, in post 9/11 United States political contexts it has often been used to refer singularly to Islamic madrassas - especially in the context of anti-Americanism and radical extremism. In the wake of the Insight story, the New York Times has publically apologised for misusing the word "madrassa" in this way."
:"The story is familiar: A ''distorted claim'' is fed into the '''''echo chamber''''', where it is increasingly twisted as it is repeated over and over until it becomes conventional wisdom."


I am explaining my changes in the above paragraph. Anti-Americanism and radical extremism are different things, so have used both. The subtle way "madrassa" has been used makes it wrong to simplify the line on it. We must avoid making it look like it is acceptable and in current use! I've included the NYT apology, which was actually in the wake of the story.
The use of 'Echo Chamber' in academic and media research is found extensively in Google's Scholar archives


If anyone has a critique of exactly what might be ] in the changes I made this morning, please see diffs I provided above and post anything that looks like OR here '''''and''''' at the BLP noticeboard. ] (]) 18:21, 8 February 2008 (UTC) Regarding the negative use of madrassa being "primarily" used - the Yale article is not enough to back that word up (it strongly refers to the Obama story and offers too little proof). I've said it "literally means" school, as "refers too" is too weak alongside the other 'meanings' of the word. --] (]) 23:24, 3 March 2008 (UTC)


:Matt, I'm not arguing what you say is true or not true, but the criteria for inclusion on Misplaced Pages is verifyability, not truth, so it does not matter what you or I ''think''. Now, I spent a ''lot'' of time finding, reading and citing that source. I cannot find ''any support whatsoever'' in the document for either "singularly" or...oops, looks like you just revised it again...looks good to me...debate over...thanks for bringing it to talk. ] (]) 00:34, 4 March 2008 (UTC)
== More "bumping" up against ] ==


::"Singularly" was just meant to highlight the word "Islamic" - it doesn't need it though, and it wasn't the best word. Current version is this:
All, there's a discussion pending, please discuss changes before making extensive changes like . I have gone ahead and undone the reverts. ] (]) 16:24, 6 February 2008 (UTC)


::"Insight's report falsely characterized State Elementary School Menteng 01, an Indonesian public school which Obama attended as a child, as an Islamic "madrassa". Although the Arabic word "madrassa" literally means any kind of school, in post 9/11 United States political contexts it has often been used to define Islamic madrassas - especially in the negative context of anti-Americanism and radical extremism. In the wake of the Insight story, the New York Times has publically apologised for misusing the word "madrassa" in this way."--] (]) 00:54, 4 March 2008 (UTC)
::*and I personally don't consider to be discussion. ] (]) 16:31, 6 February 2008 (UTC)


=== Linking to a locked page ===
:I've made a new change which is hopefully a better base to work on - please give opinions--] (]) 16:28, 6 February 2008 (UTC).


Bad form in my opinion. Can you explain why the link to a "scandals list" is needed? Why put it in place of the Obama 2008 link? I don't understand.
::Matt, thanks, but I think we should settle the issues before making more changes, as Athene has suggested (I think). ] (]) 16:31, 6 February 2008 (UTC)


:::RE - your revert! Heaven's sake!!! The current Madrassa title is yours and yours alone (it is no consensus) - you have no right to dictate the way you do!!! I discussed my change!!! Stop bullying people into your own personal 'one at a time' process - this is Misplaced Pages, not your classroom. And try revising not reverting too. --] (]) 16:58, 6 February 2008 (UTC) In my opinion the "US journalism scandals" page should have been deleted in the AfD (and surely would have been deleted if anyone knew about it). There is no place for these hotbeds of POV junk on Misplaced Pages.--] (]) 03:22, 6 March 2008 (UTC)


:Appreciate your opinions. That the page is locked has nothing to do with anything.
::::Matt, the overwhelming perspective on this whole incident is that it was a "smear" that caused a major news organization (Fox) a great deal of embarassment. That is what is notable, as I have demonstrated per ]. Your revert was also in conflict with ], I have brought this issue to the fore and you have not addressed this in any of your comments. Also, failing to acknowledge that '''''the primary notability of the event was the resulting "mess"''''', which caused a Sr. VP of Fox to publically rebuke his staff and apologize to Obama, while moving focus to the candidates and away from Insight is in conflict with ]. From a media and journalism POV, (the categories to which this article belonds), the failure of journalistic integrity and Insight's role in that failure is the '''''primary element''''' and ''failure'' to reflect that is ].] (]) 17:12, 6 February 2008 (UTC)


:As for your question, here's why. As Insight started this '''''"journalism scandal"''''', and the '''''"scandal"''''' is covered from the '''''journalistic''''' angle at ''''']''''', that's why it's linked. The "Obama 2008 election" link is about Obama, not Insight, right? The logic seems clear to me.
Proposal...can we agree to use a heading that includes ''neither candidate's name'', but clearly identifies the "controversy" in the context of a journalistic failure that was sparked when Insight yelled into the ? In my view, that's the journalistic/media angle that reflect the story most accurately. ] (]) 17:25, 6 February 2008 (UTC)


:Now, if you insist on also linking to Obama, I don't really care, but I still don't for the life of me understand your issue. ] (]) 01:04, 7 March 2008 (UTC)
:In preventing names in the titles you are simply stopping play here.


::I personally think the ] should be deleted: 'list articles' like that end up as hotbeds for POV pushers who have often failed to make headway in the main articles, imo. I don't insist on linking to the Obama 2008 article at all - it just seems clearly the better link to me.
:Can you actually prove that the connotations of the word "Madrassa" are more notable and central to the story than it being about Clinton? Remember WP:Original Research. The heading we originally ended up with (which wasn't mine) was this;


::As for the page being locked baving "nothing to do with anything" - hmmm! If it was locked in a state that you didn't support would you still be so keen to link to it? --] (]) 12:07, 7 March 2008 (UTC)
:''Allegations against 2008 Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's campaign''


:::Can you answer this before you put the link in again WNDL? And as for your other new "further reading" link - "Black Propaganda" - I'm more than tired of you playing Misplaced Pages entirely by your ''own'' rules. If every article linked in your manner Misplaced Pages would collapse under the weight of millions of those kind of "related" links! Why won't you listen? --] (]) 18:49, 10 March 2008 (UTC)
:I was happy with it, and it seemed others were too. Both the headings after it were your changes: "''Anonymous smears''" then "''Indonesian "madrassa" media controversy''". You call it a 'contentious issue' in your revert notes, but you are basically speaking for just yourself in WP terms. Others must have their say too.


==My recent change to Obama section==
:I've tried 'Events surrounding Clinton/Obama story' and you remind me WP is not News. YOU DON'T HAVE TO KEEP REMINDING ME OF THAT!! Sorry but it really annoys me - its so rude and believe me, I ''know'' WP is not journalism or a newspaper. The article has to be reasonable, balanced and objective though - and '''nowhere''' does it say in WP that we should ''avoid'' using news in a title just because it is or was once news!!! It's just a warning about notablility!
I just changed the opening of the Obama/Clinton section. I thought it was better to just say what it was about in the opening sentence rather than repeat what Insight said. Sorry that I pushed save before finishing my edit summary comment. ] (]) 16:23, 10 March 2008 (UTC)


==David Brock==
:The Clinton element is clearly both central and notable - I'm not "guilty" of anything wanting her name in!
The source given for the information about Brock does not mention Insight at all. The article about Hill was published in the American Spectator. Why should he have a section in this article? ] (]) 21:11, 14 March 2008 (UTC)


:I will try taking the section out and see what happens. It seems a bit coat-racky to me since Brock's notable stories were not published in Insight. ] (]) 06:21, 9 June 2008 (UTC)
:The current "Madrassa" title I am seriously not happy about. Madrassa always needs some kind of explanation of meaning, now that it's been abused the way it has.


==Section removed==
:''"Clinton/Obama story"'' is minimal - and contains Obama's name too, if you are unhappy with just 'Clinton' being highlighted (as you once said).


I took out:
:By the way, stop saying I ignore your arguments too - I always address them. You're not playing fair saying stuff like that. I've written loads in here and its been so difficult to advance on the main page, as you are policing it so pointlessly. --] (]) 18:43, 6 February 2008 (UTC)
=== CIA leak scandal ===
On February 5, 2004, ''Insight'' teamed up with ] sister company ] to publish the first anonymously sourced reports from "Federal Law Enforcement officials" of "hard evidence" against Vice President ] staffers ] and ] as the guilty parties in "]". Hannah subsequently testified, and Libby was convicted. Questions about who the "Federal Law Enforcement officials" were, and what "hard evidence" might have existed at the time of the scoop have fueled wide speculation that Libby was chosen as a "fall guy" <ref name=google1></ref> to take the rap for higher-ups in the Bush Administration, with speculation focused primarily on Cheney.{{Fact|date=February 2008}} Some journalists and bloggers commented that if a media outlet were needed to set up Libby for the fall, ''Insight'' would have been a logical first choice.<ref>{{cite news | first=Richard | last=Sale | coauthors= | title=Cheney's Staff Focus of Probe | date=] | publisher=] | url =http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0205-12.htm | work =Insight Magazine and United Press International | pages = | accessdate = 2008-02-04 | language = Straussian }}</ref><ref name=google2></ref>


{{reflist}}
== Discussion of ] ==


I would like to present the issues here in the context of ], and please, let's keep the discussion cool and concise. ] 20:57, 6 February 2008 (UTC) The only references were to the story itself and to two Google searches. ] (]) 03:09, 18 April 2008 (UTC)


== "Islamic school" is not an attack in itself. ==
:That's a bit too concise! What issues are you presenting?


The problem with removing all reference to "madrassa" in the perjorative "extremist" sense is that merely saying Obama went to an "Islamic school" can hardly be described as "another attack" by Clinton! I've put in the first line of the article in italics (you can't beat a quote):
:The article itself can't possibly be a coatrack - it's clearly about Insight!


On January 17, 2007, ''Insight'' published a story that claimed the campaign staff of presidential candidate Senator ] had leaked a report to ''Insight'' falsely claiming that Senator ] had attended a solely-Islamic school during his childhood in ]. <ref> ''Insight'' January 11, 2007.</ref> The article began, "''Are the American people ready for an elected president who was educated in a madrassa as a young boy and has not been forthcoming about his Muslim heritage?''" In the American political climate of the time, the word "]" (which means only 'school') was often used in a pejoritive sense that suggested Islamic extremism. Soon after ''Insight's'' story, ] reporter ] visited ], which Obama had attended for one year after attending a ] school for three, and found that each student received two hours of religious instruction per week in his or her own faith.<ref>{{
:I assume you just mean the Clinton story section on its own. But what is it is a 'cover' for? Surely it's a valid section! And what do you think are the coats in it? --] (]) 21:50, 6 February 2008 (UTC)
cite news
| url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/chi-070325obama-islam-story,0,7180545.story
| title=www.chicagotribune.com}}</ref>
He was told, "This is a public school. We don't focus on religion."<ref>{{
cite news
| url=http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/01/22/obama.madrassa/index.html
| title=CNN debunks false report about Obama
| publisher=]
| date=January 22, 2007
| first=
| last=
| accessdate = 2007-01-26}}</ref> Interviews by ] of the ] found that students of all faiths have been welcome there since before Obama's attendance.<ref>{{cite news |title=Obama challenges allegation about Islamic school |first=Nedra |last=Pickler |url=http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/politics/20070124-1317-obama-2008.html |work=San Diego Union-Tribune |date=2007-01-24 |accessdate=2008-02-10}}</ref> In July 2007, ''Insight'' published a column which repeated the allegations and predicted more alleged Clinton attacks on Obama.<ref> ''Insight'' July 2, 2007 "As Insight has reported, Hillary established a team of investigators whose goal was to attempt to discredit Obama by investigating his Muslim background. In the backlash that resulted from our expose, she has learned to be more circumspect in the use of nasty little tricks. But, if we know Hillary–and we do–she will descend into the gutter once again. Obama will have to be on guard and must find creative ways to outpace her on the campaign trail as he has on the money trail."</ref>


::I think that presenting it in terms of Insight's speculation about Clinton's thinking is a coattracking of Kuhner's speculation. ] (]) 23:15, 6 February 2008 (UTC) As publications such as the NYT since apologised over their negative use of "madrassa" I assume it's fair to place it in the climate at the time. --] (]) 00:21, 26 September 2008 (UTC)


:::That's stretching coatrack way too far! As I've said before, your argument is ]. You may well be right - but it is clearly pushing your ]. We must present the straight details - you are trying to rearrange them to bring out some kind of 'hidden truth'. We are not reporters you know! We probably agree on things, but I insist on doing it the WP way. --] (]) 00:33, 7 February 2008 (UTC) :The words "solely-Islamic school" was recently changed to just "madrassa". I've changed this to "so-called ], or Muslim ] (Insight's words)", which is another direct quote. Insight didn't falsely claim he went to merely a 'madrassa' - as in literal terms it just means 'school', he actually did! Insight claimed he went to a Muslim seminary. The direct quote here should clear it up. --] (]) 15:13, 26 September 2008 (UTC)


{{reflist-talk}}
Let me try a different tact. Let's take an imaginary person, call him "John Doe". Now lets create an entry on Misplaced Pages "Allegations that John Doe was planning to attack Barak Obama". Even though you have described the charge as an "allegation", it perpetrates the "idea" of John Doe as an attacker. Here is an example of the psychological basis on why we should not ] Insight's story lines in the headings. . Does this clarify my objections to using the heading to reinforce the allegations?


==Controversy section==
:*'''''"When University of Michigan social psychologist Norbert Schwarz had volunteers read the CDC flier, however, he found that within 30 minutes, older people misremembered 28 percent of the false statements as true. Three days later, they remembered 40 percent of the myths as factual."''''' ] (]) 23:28, 6 February 2008 (UTC)
According to policy it's better if an artice does not have a controversy section. I will go ahead and merge the items there into the body of the article and see how people like that. ] (]) 15:58, 24 July 2010 (UTC)


== External links modified ==
::::Only in the USA' as they say. But we can take stuff like that way too far. If we get over-moralistic we are in real danger, and can land on dodgy grounds - throwing 'babies out with the bathwater' and creating teenage rebels through our desire to hide evils and not corrupt! Keep to policy is best! Lets not risk being censorious.--] (]) 00:45, 7 February 2008 (UTC)


Hello fellow Wikipedians,
:::::Matt, "Only in the USA" hits the nail on the (read first hit). When I was in Ireland in 2004 during the '''''Kerry v. Mayo''''' football championship (which just happened to take place in late September frenzy of our '''''Kerry v. Bush''''' election, I got my eyes opened to how others see what goes on here, "Only in the USA". For a more international viewpoint, see also ]. ] (]) 16:04, 7 February 2008 (UTC)


I have just modified 2 external links on ]. Please take a moment to review . If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit ] for additional information. I made the following changes:
:I just don't agree with your arguments. I recently spent a lot of my time helping to get a 'fork' article on this story deleted (you might like to read ) - ironically I used the same arguments (coatrack and perpetuating mud). I would never dream of applying either to a heading in here though - especially not if it just simply mentions the names!
*Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20101116024343/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/04/09/politics/washingtonpost/main6379181.shtml to http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/04/09/politics/washingtonpost/main6379181.shtml
*Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20080517100058/http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/politics/20070124-1317-obama-2008.html to http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/politics/20070124-1317-obama-2008.html


When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.
::Matt, what has been most frustrating (honestly, hurtful) about previous comments is that I think you and I agree strongly in many areas...and yes, I did see your work in the previous area, and I applaud it. I am here to do what I can to see the entire area in which Insight's brand of journalism operates represented as the world of reliable sources reflects it back to us, and if the opinions of and reflect an unflattering view, so be it. To mitigate in any way the harshness of these views would fail ] badly. ] (]) 16:03, 7 February 2008 (UTC)


{{sourcecheck|checked=false|needhelp=}}
:Headings must mean something to interested, or potentially interested parties. To risk rendering them ambiguous on 'myth propogating' grounds is all wrong! The 'converse logic' is that people who don't know of it mustn't be told of it. This is only the Insight article, not the local church hall! The heading is looking better now though - we may have found a compromise, if it sticks. --] (]) 00:33, 7 February 2008 (UTC)


Cheers.—] <span style="color:green;font-family:Rockwell">(])</span> 22:36, 24 May 2017 (UTC)
::I think we are on a good track, but there's more to go. Let's build on this. ] (]) 15:27, 7 February 2008 (UTC)


== External links modified ==
Thanks everyone. The article is much better now. The ironic thing is that Insight might have ended up helping Obama. For one thing he was forced to put out the word on his Christianity and that could have only helped him in the black community. ] (]) 03:02, 7 February 2008 (UTC)


Hello fellow Wikipedians,
:::I think Tobogganoggin's recent go at the first half is an improvement too (). As long as the first half and the title are decent and representative, I'm personally happy. Lets hope we've got there! Not sure it's completely perfect on my main bugbear ('madrassa') but this edit is certainly good enough for me.--] (]) 18:58, 7 February 2008 (UTC)


I have just modified one external link on ]. Please take a moment to review ]. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit ] for additional information. I made the following changes:
::::(breaking in) Matt, it seems (against all odds) that you and I are in agreement. The misrepresentation by Insight of a simple arabic word for "public school" as a means of smearing Barak Obama is despicable, and one of my earlier section headings "anonymous smears in 2008 election campaign" seems to be where you and I both wind up happy. ;-) ] (]) 00:07, 8 February 2008 (UTC)
*Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20080704190311/http://www.thomasaquinas.edu/news/pressroom/college_guides/insight.htm to http://www.thomasaquinas.edu/news/pressroom/college_guides/insight.htm


When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.
:Redddogg, the article is improving, but still coatracks the second half of the "double splatter smear". I am doing some work per ] to illustrate my point more fully.


{{sourcecheck|checked=false|needhelp=}}
:*The technique I am using is a comparison of general www hits (using that result as an '''''"all sources"''''' control population, which includes ''unreliable'' and ''reliable sources'') and then performing a lightweight statistical analysis comparing:
:::(a) the "all sources" control population to '''''both''''' of
:::(b) a '''''Google News Archive''''' search of generally reliable news sources and
:::(c) a '''''Google Scholar Archive''''' search of generally reliable academic sources


Cheers.—] <span style="color:green;font-family:Rockwell">(])</span> 06:31, 14 November 2017 (UTC)
:For right now, anyone who wants to join can begin with these sample search query examples for , , and , modify them as you see fit, post the search querys you wish to draw inference from, and we can discuss. ] (]) 15:28, 7 February 2008 (UTC)

== Story ''still'' being used to harm Obama...this time by neoconservative "human events" ==

The idea that neoconservative www.humanevents.com published a scandalous new report attacking Sen. Obama, a report that is ''still'' parroting the Insight innuendo is not . What I thought was cute is that "Human Events" have a '''''paid advertisement''''' for their latest Obama hit job posted on...you guessed it...the archived copy of the "Insight madrassa smear" report by Kirkpatrick. The ad was found this morning at the bottom of "Feeding Frenzy for a Big Story, Even if It's false" as I was reviewing our presentation of that reference. Here's the little paid ad that popped up (note I've obscured the url, intentionally).
:"Barack Obama Exposed"
:A Free special report on the real Barack Obama - get your copy today!
:www.H***nE***ts.com

Sadly, the ] just to .

== NO ORIGINAL RESEARCH! ==

A fundamental '''official policy'''.

I can't work with somebody who repeatedly demonstrates he has no regard for '''the basic rules,''' works for only himself, and ignores all discussion, so like someone else unfortunately said a couple of days ago - this is now going 'off my watchlist'. (Sanity and my time are no.1!). If the Insight/Clinton/Obama section fundamentally changes regarding the word "Madrassa" being fairly represented, maybe someone could let me know - I'll help put it right.

All I can say now is: ''']'''!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! --] (]) 16:41, 8 February 2008 (UTC)

== Portrayal of Kuhner (discussion moved from BLP discussion about ] ==

===(Slightly O.T. from ], but relevant side discussion===
Responding to WNDL42, Andyvphil said:
::OK, "Misplaced Pages should not ''editorialize'' or speculate that Kuhner 'lied',..." If you meant it, it would be progress.
::But, "if the weight of the facts presented by, and opinions given among reliable sources is so overwhelming as to result in an article that reflects a common view that the entire smear was a fabrication...". Please supply ''one'' RS "fact" that gives "weight" to the "view" that Kuhner "fabricated" (i.e., lied). Be succinct. ] (]) 14:58, 8 February 2008 (UTC)

:I have provided the WP:SET analyses, comparing a "control" population of hits to both Google Scholar and Google News populations several times, these analyses indicate that the "ugly" characterizations of ] are in fact strong majority views. But this in not my point. I will re-present the data ''again'' here in as succinct a manner as possible, re-state the meaning of the results, and let's keep the argument to the evidence, elsewise I don't know what we're discussing.

'''''Google Scholar'''''

::*Control population =

::*Add the word "lying" and it's variants to the control query =

With this lightweight analysis we are already at 63% positive in support of the expert opinions like CJR that have already been analyzed. If we were to invest the additional work to remove spurious hits from the control population, the "postive" support would increase. Therefore, ''"the weight of the facts presented by, and opinions given among reliable sources"'' is demonstrated, and presented for critique.
] (]) 21:15, 8 February 2008 (UTC)

(further comments were maybe relevant - adding them) ] (]) 21:19, 8 February 2008 (UTC)

In any case, '''no one has suggested language''' to the effect that "Kuhner lied", '''we're not going to say''' "Kuhner is a journalistic hack and a political stooge of Rev. Sun Myung Moon", we're '''not going to use the article''' to post the Bush family photo album from December of 2007 with Rev. Moon, and '''we're not going to feature''' the article titles of academic works like "Lying in Politics: The Case of George W. Bush and Iraq" and "Bushspeak and the Politics of Lying", even if those reliable sources explicitly connect to Rev Moon and Insight, OK? But the language of the critics themselves, specifically and explicitly in the context of THIS topic, properly attributed and weighted according to the quality of the source, is appropriate. I think the existing ] quote, and the quotes that we've already introduced are about right, indeed they are "gentle".

Now, back to '''the issue here''' of ]. Kuhner stated publically that he reports directly to the BOD of ] and to NO ONE ELSE. Every board member is not only a ] member but is a proxy for Rev. Moon himself (he is, after all, the "messiah"), so the association is clear and undeniable. Now, that fact (a), combined with (b) the statistical analyses per WP:SET, plus (c) the unanimous opinions of the many non-partisan sources (], non-partisan Mediaweek, Salon.com, etc. etc. etc.) already analyzed, plus (d) the historical and ongoing interference in the article by Kuhner himself and Wikipedians from the Unification Church, plus (e) Kuhner's failure to ] either here or in the media, and (f) the all provide an overwhelming weight of evidence that '''''Wikpedia should not provide a ]'''''. ] (]) 21:19, 8 February 2008 (UTC)

==Madrasah?==
The word "madrasah" (or "maddrasa") is now found three times in the Obama/Clinton controversy section. Is there any source that says Insight's use of this word was an important issue? ] (]) 04:56, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

Dunno what you want, here. Lead sentence from the CNN report that had its own header in the article very recently: "Allegations that Sen. Barack Obama was educated in a radical Muslim school known as a 'madrassa' are not accurate, according to CNN reporting." It goes on to say "Insight Magazine... reported... that associates of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton... had unearthed information the... likely presidential candidate attended a Muslim religious school known for teaching the most fundamentalist form of Islam." So, ''Insight'' 's use of the term gets lead-sentence treatment, and ''Insight'' 's misunderstanding that the term is a synonym for "seminary" is compounded by CNN's misreporting of what ''Insight'' meant by the term. (In fact ''Insight'' had ''explicitly denied'' that the "madrassa" was "known for teaching the most fundamentalist form of Islam.") I don't agree with ML about much, but he's absolutely right that the misuse of the word by everyone connected with this story is central. ] (]) 06:43, 9 February 2008 (UTC)
::Here's another couple examples of the "madrassa" in ''Insight'' 's report being misrepresented: ''New York Times'' first. "...Insight, a magazine owned by The Washington Times, said that as a child in Indonesia, Mr. Obama had attended a madrassa, a school that teaches a radical version of the Muslim faith." There's a "correction" at the bottom of the page, " article... referred imprecisely to madrassas. While some teach a radical version of Islam, most historically have not." No admission that ''Insight'' had written "the background check has not confirmed that the specific Madrassa Mr. Obama attended was espousing Wahhabism" , however. And CBS: "Insight printed a story claiming that Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama was enrolled for 'at least four years' in an Indonesian "madrassa," a school that promotes radical Islam..."<ref>http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2007/01/25/couricandco/entry2399831.shtml</ref> Yes, ''Insight'', a shoestring operation struggling for attention ran with a half-baked rumor about a subject it previously knew very little about. Bad journalism to be sure. But what then is one to call the performance of full fledged news operations that can't properly describe the facts of a story that's been running for weeks, that they've sent reporters to Indonesia to report on, and the bulk of which is staring at them from their computer screens? Well, "reliable" isn't the right description. ] (]) 06:22, 10 February 2008 (UTC)

:Thanks. I stand corrected. I guess I didn't get how important that issue really was. ] (]) 15:53, 9 February 2008 (UTC)


::More info on ''"Is there any source that says Insight's use of this word was an important issue?"'' Insight's whole construction of the "double splatter smear" rests on people's emotional reaction to the misapplication and deceptive use of the word - see ''especially'' the Yale University analysis. This "sliming" via "madrassa" was part of the Bush Administration's communications strategy for building support for the war in Iraq.

:::The ] examined bias in United States newspaper coverage of Pakistan since the ], and found the term has come to contain a loaded political meaning:

:::
:::<blockquote>"When articles mentioned 'madrassas,' '''''readers were led to infer that all schools so-named are anti-American, anti-Western, pro-terrorist centers''''' having less to do with teaching basic literacy and more to do with political indoctrination."</blockquote>

::The sliming started right after 9/11 when the Bush Administration picked up the tactic, and even two years later, knowing it was a "slime attack" on muslims, ] (for one example) countinued it ] (]) 17:08, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

:::So if Insight hadn't used the word there would be no controversy? BTW back in the 1960s I think most Muslims were allied with the US against the USSR. ] (]) 02:51, 10 February 2008 (UTC)

"Madrassa" is an Arabic word that ''translates'' generically as "school", but as an ''American English loanword'', it takes on a much more specific, pejorative meaning, associating all so-called institutions with the few that encourage violent radicalism. This hyperspecific meaning is "incorrect" as far as it misinterprets the Arabic, but it has become the ''de facto'' ''American English'' definition ever since the attacks of 9/11. Indonesians tend to speak, well, ''Indonesian'', not Arabic, so by printing the word ''madrassa'' in its own voice multiple times, ''Insight'', who prints ''in American English'', obviously meant to invoke this alternate, frightful meaning. Certainly the author(s) intended their hedge about Wahabbism to mitigate criticism, but it's not really fair to criticize as incorrect or unreliable those news outlets that picked up on this not-so-subtle attack. If the public's understanding of the word is confused, that's because it has been confused for them circa 2002 by various news media and the likes of Donald Rumsfeld, Colin Powell, Newt Gingrich, and Thomas Friedman, whose usage has since gained wide acceptance. Years later in 2007, it's safe to say that ''Insight'', CNN, ''NYT'', and CBS all understood perfectly well what the word means to ''Americans''. - ] <sup>]</sup> 10:16, 10 February 2008 (UTC)
:Nonsense. It's quite clear that Kuhner thought the word was a synonym for ''seminary'' ("Mr. Obama, 45, spent at least four years in a so-called Madrassa, or Muslim seminary, in Indonesia.") that didn't necessarily teach a radical form of Islam ("The sources said... the young Obama was enrolled in a Madrassa and was raised and educated as a Muslim... today most of these schools are financed by the Saudi Arabian government and they teach a Wahhabi doctrine... the background check has '''not''' confirmed that the specific Madrassa Mr. Obama attended was espousing Wahhabism.") It is ''absolutely'' fair to criticize as "incorrect or unreliable" those news outlets that say he said Obama attended "a school that teaches a radical version of the Muslim faith." For crying out loud, ''he said exactly the opposite!'' "Picking up on overtones" doesn't excuse getting wrong what's right in front of you in black and white. In their eagerness to be on the right side of history our ordinarily "reliable sources" got remarkably unreliable when they reported this story. ] (]) 14:29, 10 February 2008 (UTC)

::You say tobogganoggin's argument is nonsense? Clearly not. Rather, your assertion ''"It's quite clear that Kuhner thought the word was a synonym for seminary"'' is a totally unsupported ] interpretation. And I suppose now that ] smear-campaign was not (a) intentional and (b) identical to the way Kuhner used "madrassa" -- in terms of emotional impact on readers as "part one" of the "double splatter" smear? C'mon...get real. ] (]) 15:55, 10 February 2008 (UTC)

:::I'm considering adding Insight's disclaimer about not knowing what kind of school it was for the sake of fairness. ] (]) 16:10, 10 February 2008 (UTC)

::::Please, now you are suggesting Misplaced Pages is going to hang Kuhner's self-serving "explanation" on a ] here? After the flap, '''''not one''''' reliable source took Kuhner's dissembling seriously -- not a single one (unless you count David Limbaugh, who also writes for Rev. Moon at Insight and the Washington Times). Kuhner's utterly ridiculous "explanation"... ''"Of course ''WE are not sure'' that Obama's school was a training ground for islamofacist youth, but that appears to be the story that is going to be used by the opposition, according to our sources."'' is so transparently silly as to defy any rational view that it was true...indeed that is the knock on Obama here...his campaign has a "vested interest", in a ''sadly ironic'' way, of joining in the game of "keep alive" with respect to the second half of this "double splatter" smear. That is why Columbia Journalism Review's post-mortem on the story concluded with ''"after all this, why should we take seriously anything that this online rag has to say? Every news organization gets things wrong, but Insight seems to have developed a business model out of concocting fables."'' If you want this article to "take seriously" (provide a coat rack for) the second half of the smear, you need to present a reliable source that is more credible than the ''overwhelming'' weight of the reliable sources that speak in contradiction. I don't care who wants to keep this nonsense alive or for what reason, this is not a place for echo chambering Kuhner's views. ] (]) 19:11, 10 February 2008 (UTC)

::Here's a passage from the ''Insight'' article:

:::"''Although Indonesia is regarded as a moderate Muslim state, the U.S. intelligence community<sup>1</sup> has determined that today most<sup>2</sup> of these schools are financed by the Saudi Arabian government and they teach a Wahhabi doctrine that denies the rights of non-Muslims."''

:::...

:::"''Although the background check has not confirmed that the specific Madrassa Mr. Obama attended was espousing Wahhabism,<sup>3</sup> the sources said his Democratic opponents believe this to be the case—and are seeking to prove it.''"

::#Actually the editorial staff of ''Insight''.
::#Actually only ''some'', but close enough.
::#But the Saudi financing thing is totally true?

::''Insight''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s source doesn't provide any reason at all why "Democratic opponents" believe this school is an intolerant arm of the Saudi government, so the ''Insight'' writer fills in the blanks by suggesting that it's a statistical slam dunk, fabricating the results of U.S. intelligence findings to do so. If readers of the article make it this far, at this point it's entirely unreasonable to assume good faith on ''Insight''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s part. - ] <sup>]</sup> 21:06, 10 February 2008 (UTC)

:::Agreed, strongly. ] (]) 21:21, 10 February 2008 (UTC)

::::Let's see. My suggestion that Kuhner meant what he said is "totally unsupported ] interpretation", but T's "totally unsupported" fantasy that ''Insight'' "fabricat the results of U.S. intelligence findings" is "Agreed, strongly". Ripe for insertion into maintext, apparently. Red, I hope you are by now thoroughly embarassed by the quarters from which the support came for stripping the article of Kuhner's rebuttals, or even a link to the offending article. You ought to be. ] (]) 01:34, 11 February 2008 (UTC)

:::::It does not matter if Kuhner "meant what he said". As (a) Kuhner is the ] for Insight's unsupported allegations, and (b) those allegations are ], and (c) there are '''''no''''' reliable secondary sources that support either Insight's story or Kuhner's "explanation", then; any representation of the Kuhner POV (except to the bare minimum extent necessary to establish context) is inappropriate here. Any presentation here that serves to add or reinforce Insight's ] is generally inconsistent with the "five pillars" and specifically inappropriate in the ] context. ] (]) 12:15, 11 February 2008 (UTC)

::::::~"It doesn't matter what Kuhner meant."~ Indeed. Sheesh. And, what bizarre blue links. WP:OR is a Misplaced Pages content policy. Kuhner doesn't write for Misplaced Pages and his writings for ''Insight'' '''can't''' be WP:OR, you ninny. Kuhner '''didn't''' say Obama went to a radical madrassa, and that's not POV. In the real world, it's ''fact''. Saying otherwise is ''libel''. And if you repeat that libel in disregard of the fact that you should know it's not true (and now that I've pointed out to you how and why it's not true you are entering the area of "] for the truth" even if you are unable to grasp the obvious) you are exposing Misplaced Pages to legal liability for damages. And preventing ''that'' is the ''core'' of what BLP is really about. ] (]) 12:41, 11 February 2008 (UTC)
:::::::I agree with you Andyvphil. We have to be careful that WP itself does not say the Kuhner is a liar. ] (]) 16:05, 11 February 2008 (UTC)

::::::::Then we are all in agreement, but the entire "discussion" about some ficticious editors wishing to use the article to "say Kuhner is a liar" is hogwash...merely a ] that is now being used as a ]. We are here to, in an accurate and encyclopedic way, characterize the event '''''as the world of reliable sources sees the event''''', and to do so from the POV of the categories to which this article belonge, namely '''''Journalism and Media''''', not politics. The issue is how to characterize the media event. "Kuhner is a liar" is not suggested...and is very different from the consensus viewpoints of reliable sources that say "the Insight story was a fabrication" and "Kuhner's defence of the story was not given creedence by journalists or media experts". Please, further ] mischaracterizations of the opinions of editors in this discussion are not helpful. ] (]) 17:20, 11 February 2008 (UTC)

:::::::The distinction between ~"Kuhner lied about having sources in the Clinton campaign and he lied again when he said that Obama attended a radical Islamist madrassa, everyone says so"~ and "Kuhner lied" is lost on me, and would be lost on the judge in a libel suit should it get that far. Especially since you've deleted Kuhner's rebuttals, wilfully deleted mention of the fact that the latter is untrue (the former is indeterminable) and removed the link to the article whose perusal would show that the libel is untrue. But, just go ahead being obtuse. The ''must'' be some level at which your violation of NPOV will spark attention from someone other than I, and I think your latest deposit of POV on the page may be it. ] (]) 23:25, 11 February 2008 (UTC)
FYI and please be advised...arguments have now '''''repeatedly''''' been made against my comments here and at the BLP noticeboard that are based on intentionally snipped and edited versions of my comments, presented deceptively as if they were my words. This is harmful to me and if there is any more of this I will consider such distortions to be personal attacks. '''''For the record, I am (saying again) that no part of this article should characterize Kuhner as a liar.''''' Nor have I heard any other editor say any similar thing. ] (]) 17:20, 11 February 2008 (UTC)

:I haven't snipped anything out of your comments without indicating I've done so with square brackets and ellipses. Mostly (always?) on the same page where the original appears in all its soggy and incoherent glory. And tildas are well understood to mean approximation, and on the one previous occasion I used it I was clearly characterizing the first sentence of the paragraph immediately above. So any assertion that I have violated NPA is bogus. But I encourage you to file such a complaint. I welcome as much attention as possible to what you are doing to the article. ] (]) 23:08, 11 February 2008 (UTC)

::Well, I made a point above not to mention names...but since you decide to speak up (and further distort the events), I would say that your snipping the very important word '''''"if"''''' from the front end of a statement that is in the form of an '''''if-then''''', and then using your (even further snipped) quote to mis-characterize my editorial intent is pretty blatant, and no, you did mot make ''any indication whatsoever'' that you dropped the '''''"if"''''', so please...don't dissemble. The edit is clearly on the record and you chopped my words exactly as I indicated. If your memory needs refreshing, I'm happy to post the diffs. ] (]) 23:25, 11 February 2008 (UTC)

:::Please do. And Please, ''please'' file a complaint. ] (]) 23:35, 11 February 2008 (UTC)
:::You hadn't previously complained about a missing "if", so I looked. Your complaint is as bogus as your arguments. When you wrote "...if the weight of the facts presented by, and opinions given among reliable sources is so overwhelming as to result in an article that reflects a common view that the entire smear was a fabrication, our job is not to 'mitigate' what reliable sources say" no reasonable person would think you were offering a hypothesis about the common view of this article. Your "editorial intent" was clearly to make an assertion about that, and I accurately quoted you that way: "You made the argument that 'the weight of the facts presented by, and opinions given among reliable sources is so overwhelming reflect common view that the entire smear was a fabrication". Do you even know when you're lying? ] (]) 23:59, 11 February 2008 (UTC)

:Re: "...no reasonable person would think...", well...here's my including the context so deftly removed, even (and again) as above. I 100% stand by 100% of what I said, and will repeat it here because it's still 100% relevant. ] (]) 00:32, 12 February 2008 (UTC)

:::"Andy, I'm not sure there is any argument here anymore. You are 100% correct in that Misplaced Pages should not ''editorialize'' or speculate that Kuhner "lied", and I am not advocating that we do. However, '''''if the weight of the facts presented by, and opinions given among reliable sources''''' is so overwhelming as to result in an article that reflects a common view that the entire smear was a fabrication, our job is not to "mitigate" what reliable sources say. If it's true that Kuhner's behavior has landed him in the "hot seat", then that is a ''fact of life'' for Kuhner and Insight and we "do no harm" to anyone. Misplaced Pages represents the 'facts of life', in terms of what reliable sources say, and our job is to let the facts speak in a clear, encyclopedic and ''unmitigated'' tone, and let the reader decide. Anyway, at this moment it looks like all the conflicts are now "up front and on the table", so thanks to redddogg for having the presence of mind to put the issue here where it belongs, and to everyone who has spoken up. 01:12, 8 February 2008 (UTC)

::Now, can someone explain how this translates into a BLP violation against Kuhner, or supports the continuing assertion that any editor here wants to synthesize a statement that says "Kuhner lied"? ] (]) 00:39, 12 February 2008 (UTC)

::Diff of response to my BLP noticeboard post above is , fyi. ] (]) 00:49, 12 February 2008 (UTC)

I withdraw my question. If you can actually reprint the demonstration that my "You made the argument that 'the weight of the facts presented by, and opinions given among reliable sources is so overwhelming reflect common view that the entire smear was a fabrication" was an accurate representation of your argument, and not realize you've done so... ''Actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea.'' Or, it's not lying if you can't ''tell'' truth from falsehood.

FYI, BLP, reads in part, "The views of critics should be represented if they are relevant to the subject's notability and can be sourced to reliable secondary sources, and so long as the material is written in a manner that does not overwhelm the article or '''appear to side with the critics,...'''" The article you've produced violates this '''policy'''. It gives no visibility to Kuhner's claims that he or his source was actually told by someone close to the Clinton camp that they knew Obama had attended a madrassa for at least four years, that Obama had misrepresented that fact, and that the Clinton campaign intended to use that against Obama. There are RS contradicting the truth of what Kuhner says he was told about Obama but, as I've pointed out, there are '''no facts''' and therefor no RS contradicting his assertion that he was told those things. The article as currently written is a BLP violation. ] (]) 14:39, 12 February 2008 (UTC)

:Andy, no one editor "produced" this "article". I have (a) undone and repaired long standing and Unification Church "efforts" to "water down" Rev. Moon's involvement with his media holdings, and (b) extensively advocated for and been a major contributor to a re-write of the "madrassa" smear '''''section''''' from the ] version we had before. The reason Insight's allegations against the "camp" of smear victim #2 are not given more weight than what is there (and it ''is'' there) is because ''we don't represent ] viewpoints'' when they are (a) ] and (b) unsupported by secondary sources, and (c) potentially harmful to ''anyone'', and (d) are meant to use the article as a coatrack. '''''The reason this page is up on the BLP noticeboard is because another editor here saw that the article was being used as a coatrack for echoing Insight's smears!'''''. There does not appear to be any BLP administrator concern about "damage" to Kuhner at the BLP noticeboard, so I'm not sure you're getting traction by mere repitition of that claim. If you think that the article is now violating BLP with respect to Kuhner, allow me to point out that ''Kuhner is mentioned in only one of the seven paragraphs''. The article's presentation of Kuhner is extraordinarily fair and neutral and 100% accurate and in no way pejorative. So, with so little on Kuhner and no "harm" done, what (specifically) do you think needs to be added about Kuhner? Remember that it needs to come from a '''''secondary source''''' other Insight and other than ], due to Limbaugh's ] as a writer for at least two ] publications, including Insight.

:Finally, (repeating for the umpteenth time) you need to present a '''''reliable secondary source''''' to validate Kuhner's ] claim that the "camp" was "planning to attack" in January of 2007, and it's been long established by reliable sources that there ''simply are none''. Remember, the threshold for inclusion on[REDACTED] is ''verifiability'', not "truth". ] (]) 15:27, 12 February 2008 (UTC)

There is no meaningful distinction between "''Insight'' lied" and "Kuhner lied". I've already pointed out the idiocy of referring to Kuhner's writing for ''Insight'' as ]. ''Insight'' 's writings and Kuhner's statements are widely reported in reliable and secondary sources, and ''Insight'' 's website is indeed reliable for its actual content.

BLP is quite clear: "The views of critics should be represented if they are relevant to the subject's notability and can be sourced to reliable secondary sources, and so long as the material is written in a manner that does not overwhelm the article or '''appear to side with the critics,...'''" There is no exemption for if the "consensus viewpoints of reliable sources"(sic - I've already pointed out repeatedly that the truch of viewpoints cannot be "reliably sourced"; only the attribution of viewpoints can be reliably sourced) "that say 'the Insight story was a fabrication'".

The section, as I've let you write it without interference precisely because I was confident you would go far over the line begins: "On January 17, 2007, Insight published what would quickly come to be known among journalists and media experts as 'the first anonymous smear' of the 2008 U.S. presidential election campaign, and as a 'double smear' on two of its candidates." The attribution of belief in the Clinton response ("double smear") to a consensus (the implication is clear) of "journalists and media experts" is a violation of ], which reads, in relevant part: "Claims of consensus must be sourced. The claim that all or most scientists, scholars, or ministers hold a certain view requires a reliable source. Without it, '''opinions should be identified as those of particular, named sources.'''"

Yopu then proceed to make a false statement, which also fails ]. "The first sentence of the report asked the ] of whether the 'American people were ready" for a candidate who was "educated in a Madrassa...'" It is first of all not a "loaded question". "Have you stopped beating your wife?" is itself not a ] if proceeded by the statement: "I have come into possession of video of you beating your wife." In the latter case it is just a question. Never mind. You've convinced me that such distinctions are lost on you. The important point is that you have no RS asserting that it was a loaded question, and it would fail ] even if true. You go on for several paragraphs like this, and I don't have time or inclination to demonstrate the obvious: the section as written is a brief for the critics. Which is a BLP violation. ] (]) 00:19, 13 February 2008 (UTC)

:You've made these cases endlessly here and on the BLP notice board, where there is (as yet) no support. If you feel strongly on the BLP issue, take it back there. I am not sure, but as BLP is stated to be one of Misplaced Pages's most critical policies, I suspect that the noticeboard is reviewed by the ] daily. As for here, ] and ] aren't working, and are becoming increasingly ]. Please discuss further BLP issues on the already established, still open case at the BLP noticeboard.

:Now, as for your repeated ] that I "make a false statement", please review. The whole incident began when Insight's '''''first sentence''''' was:

::''"Are the American people ready for an elected president who was educated in a Madrassa as a young boy and has not been forthcoming about his Muslim heritage?"''

:There you have it. The twenty-eight words of sentence one formed a ], that single FIRST SENTENCE (which was also presented as the ''first paragraph'', for ''emphasis'') was loaded with (1) ] (negative connotations), (2) "not forthcoming" (O is dishonest) and (3) "Muslim heritage" (deceptive - O is/was a ''Christian''). A ''triple loaded'' question.

:Now for sentence two (also ''paragraph two'', again for ''emphasis'');

::''"This is the question Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s camp is asking about Sen. Barack Obama."''

:Sentence/paragraph two is unsourced and anonymous ] that ''cannot be sourced to anyone but Insight'', as about a ''dozen reliable sources point out''. Also, please get the point that Kuhner is a highly biased ] with a ] and can only (in the context of BLP) be included here if a reliable '''''second source''''', free of conflict-of-interest, can be found to support (agree with) his ''further accusatory statements''.

:Any more ]

The section now represents the incident as it is seen by ], non-partisan journalistic and media sources, as far as I can tell. ] (]) 15:11, 13 February 2008 (UTC)

:Your insistance that Kuhner's question is a ] is not quite as idiotic as you continued insistance that Kuhner is engaged in WP:OR ''when he's writing for'' '''Insight''', ''not Misplaced Pages''... but it's close. The error in your argument is similar to the error in your assertion that I had misquoted you because I had left out the "if" -- you are conflating form with reality. Your "if" was not a real "if", but a rhetorical device, a feeble attempt at archness, which could be replaced by "since" with no change in your actual meaning. Similarly, the first sentence in the ''Insight'' article cannot be a "loaded question" because it is a framing device, not a real query -- no one is actually being asked for a reply.

:As I've already said, '''"Never mind. You've convinced me that such distinctions are lost on you. The important point is that you have no RS asserting that it was a loaded question, and it would fail ] even if true."''' Which it is not. ] (]) 14:36, 14 February 2008 (UTC)

::Yawn. Two ''extra''-fallacious ], even when propped up with ] do not constitute an excuse to avoid discussion via ]. ] (]) 19:22, 14 February 2008 (UTC)

Ok, back to the real discussions.

(1) Apparently my use of the shortcut ] '''''in the context of''''' a primary source bias issue was not clear enough. I use it in the journalistic and historian's context. Sorry, I thought the connection was clear. ''"...There can be ] and simplification of events."; "Original research may be ... prejudiced, or at least not exactly what it claims to be."'' and .

(2) Kuhner's question is a ] by definition, and I added an academic cite to the article to boot, for proof.

(3) There is a clear difference between a "rhetorical device" and an ] set up for comparison to the ]. The two hypotheses are used to set up and be tested by experiment, such experiment designed to cause one or the other hypotheses to fail. An alternative hypothesis can only be ''turned into a "rhetorical device"'' (the classic dissembler's ] attack) if the hypothesis is stripped of the leading '''''IF''''', and the intent to perform an experiment is removed from the context. So when I said "However, '''''if''''' the weight of evidence...", my statement was an alternative hypothesis, not "rhetorical device". Of course the alternative hypothesis, if shown to be true, may be uncomfortable from the POV of someone pushing for (or arguing for) the null hypothesis. Oh well, that's life. ] (]) 20:48, 14 February 2008 (UTC)

=="in its present state"==
I removed this expression from the sentence about Obama's school. As far as I know no one is asserting that the school was different in the past. ] (]) 16:53, 10 February 2008 (UTC)
:In fact multiple interviewees say things aren't much different. ] (]) 01:04, 11 February 2008 (UTC)

:And this quote is relevant, as well as bearing on the question of whether "madrassa" is a word used in Indonesia, as well as how it's understood there:<blockquote>Bandung said he had heard the rumor that Obama went to a radical Islamic school. He showed a picture of Obama with the Scout group.</br>"The girls wore miniskirts. There's no way miniskirts would be allowed at a madrassa," he said. Another photo of teachers at the school shows both males and females wearing Western-style clothing. The women are also wearing miniskirts.</br>Bandung said there was nothing to worry about in any case as Indonesian madrassa had been noted for teaching a moderate form of Islam.</blockquote>] (]) 23:32, 11 February 2008 (UTC)

More info:
<blockquote>Submitted by Gandydancer (United States), Feb 7, 2008 at 19:28<br/>
...a question: Is the word "madrassa"/"madrasah"/etc. used in the Indonesian language(s)? My understanding is that it just means "school" in Arabic, but Insight magazine seemed to think it was equivalent to "seminary" and the article with the longer ABC news video( http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/story?id=2823943) actually wrote "Madrassas are conservative Islamic schools, many of which teach a virulent hatred of America." So, as an Indonesian, do you use the word, and what would it mean for you? ... </blockquote>
<blockquote>...Submitted by Muhammad (Indonesia), Feb 11, 2008 at 21:04<br/>...The word Madrasah is commonly used here in Indonesia to describe a conventional (not modernized) Schools (elementary, middle to high, mostly located at sub-urban areas) whose curriculum weighs more in Islamic teachings. Later, they are more modernized and secularized. I believe all of these schools are private and ussualy associate themself with the Nadhatul Ulama organization (formed by former President Abdulrahman Wahid's father). On the other hand, at rural areas they are usualy called Pesantren. Their tuitions are low so mostly affordable by low income families. I rerely use these words. ...</blockquote> ] (]) 23:44, 12 February 2008 (UTC)

Andyv, too bad '''''neither''''' ], nor the '''''anonymous''''' users ''"Gandydancer"'' or ''"Muhammad (Indonesia)"'', who post reader comments to his discredited stories, are reliable sources. Man, life must suck if one needs to scrape the barrel this far down to support the Insight take on "Madrassa". What a hoot! I'm ROTFLOL at the the way our "Gandydancer" (above) intentiononally and deceptively context-snipped ''"...actually wrote "Madrassas are conservative..."'', and then sourced his hack-job to a jan 25 2007 ABC piece!!! Gandydancer pulls an amateur Kuhner!!! Even funnier, check out the that our funnytroll "Gandydancer" was commenting on.

Good job A, I needed a couple of laughs, and I really do have to thank you for feeding me the material I need for expanding the "echo chamber" and "loaded question" aspects of this article. Pipes' 12/2007 "feeder story" headline is a grade school attempt at asking a ] , which brings to mind a classic ] phrase ''"What a maroon"'' that fits Pipes perfectly here!. Better yet, (I'm 'bout busting a gut here), Pipes the maroon '''''anwers his own question''''' in his very next headline . Thanks again A, and keep it coming, your stuff is ''classic''! ] (]) 19:07, 14 February 2008 (UTC)

== Journalistic POV overview removed...please discuss here ==

The following overview was removed, I think it's essential for journalistic context:

"Journalistic analysis of the Insight story began by examining the first sentence of the report, which asked the loaded question of whether the "American people were ready" for a candidate who was "educated in a Madrassa as a young boy and has not been forthcoming about his Muslim heritage?" The second sentence alleged "This is the question Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s camp is asking about Sen. Barack Obama." No basis was found for Insight's question and allegation, and throughout the ensuing controversy Insight steadfastly refused to present evidence or qualify it's sources."

This is an absolutely 100% spot on overview of the "essence" of every journalistic critique. I can see no good reason for taking it out. let's discuss any issues with the presentation here. ] (]) 20:36, 11 February 2008 (UTC)

:I didn't remove it, since I'm giving you your head to write in as "loaded" a fashion as you desire. Which is what you've done. ] (]) 22:47, 11 February 2008 (UTC)

Next topic, why was the extremely notable reference to Fox V.P. John Moody removed? First time in history (afaik) that Fox has apologized for picking up garbage and reporting it, so why is his name and title out? ] (]) 20:52, 11 February 2008 (UTC)

:I removed the paragraph. For one thing it was uncited. For another it was basically repeating what the paragraph before it just said. The article on Obama's campaign and the one on him himself give the basic information on his school days in Indonesia. That is where people who want to find out about him will go. This article should be about Insight. Just the basic facts about the story given one time should be enough, and then of course the opinions of RS's about it. I also put back the link to Insight's story itself. I think that if we don't do that people would feel it is unfair. ] (]) 04:23, 12 February 2008 (UTC)

::Redddogg, I did a copyedit instead of a revert. I think I addressed your above concerns...how does it look to you now? ] (]) 04:34, 12 February 2008 (UTC)
:::It is much better now. ] (]) 04:50, 12 February 2008 (UTC)

:::Whew...thanks. ] (]) 15:28, 12 February 2008 (UTC)

== Third opinion ==

Hey. I saw that there was a pending request for a third opinion on this page. 3O is meant for articles that only have two active editors, and since there are more than five users active on here, I've removed the request. If you guys need further help, I'd recommend opening an ]. If there's anything else I can do to help, please message me. Thanks. &mdash; ] <sup>]</sup> 19:56, 12 February 2008 (UTC)

=="picked up" vs. "mentioned"==
I see that this was just changed and then changed back. Did Fox really "pick up" the story, that is repeat it as if it were true? Or did they just "mention" it? I'm not sure myself. ] (]) 03:33, 14 February 2008 (UTC)
:I was the one who changed it to "mentioned." The NYT said that Fox and the others "devoted extensive discussion" to Insight's story, not that they repeated it as if it was true. ] (]) 13:45, 14 February 2008 (UTC)
::I will try some new wording and see how people like it. ] (]) 16:23, 14 February 2008 (UTC)


=== Echo chamber aspect ===

:::Redddogg, like your recent edits! To answer this question, click and click and check it out, especially :


::::"In today’s New York Times, FOX News senior vice president John Moody criticized FOX & Friends hosts for reporting on the now-discredited Obama/madrassah story. “The hosts violated one of our general rules, which is know what you are talking about,” Mr. Moody said. “They reported information from a publication whose accuracy we didn’t know.” '''''Evidently, Sean Hannity didn’t get that message or else he chose to ignore it on his personal website. Hannity.com continues to showcase this false report as truth.''''' While Hannity’s site is not officially connected to FOX News (as far as I can tell), '''''FOXNews.com does promote it with a link and a suggestion that readers visit the page."'''''

:::Recently I found a report that Fox commentators last week have revived the Obama-madrassah stink-bomb. Seems now that Insight's "double splatter" achieved it's primary goal feeding the wing-nut media with malarky for harming Sen. Clinton, the shit-bomb has backfired by creating record turnout among the opposition and propelling Obama. '''''' Now the "madrassah" smear is being revived to re-smear the (now dangerous) Sen. Obama.

:::Classic Sun Myung Moon black propaganda. Use the "echo chamber".

:::See "The American Right achieved its political dominance in Washington over the past quarter century with the help of more than $3 billion spent by Korean cult leader Sun Myung Moon...according to a 21-year veteran...George Archibald, who describes himself "as the first reporter hired at the Washington Times outside the founding group"...has now joined a long line of disillusioned conservative writers who departed and warned the public..." ] (]) 18:03, 14 February 2008 (UTC)

::::Here's the diff and the link to the recent revival ] (]) 18:05, 14 February 2008 (UTC)

Ok...as it seems clear that it's still ''unclear'' (even among us ''editors'') that the "echo chamber" effect was in play big time, I'm putting back a portion of the MediaWeek criticism that was earlier stripped -- specifically the "amplified by Fox, etc..." Hope we can agree now why it was necessary in the first place. I still see no reason to censor Grossberger's use of the word "lies" to characterize the report, but I'm hoping to avoid an overly contentious edit for now. ] (]) 18:28, 14 February 2008 (UTC)

:Just added this to flesh out the "Echo chamber" aaspect.

::Ten days after the Insight story broke, ABC News quoted ] of the conservative ] ] saying "There's now almost a predictable process here. People have learned how to get things covered, even when they shouldn't be covered...You either start with a revelation in the ] or Insight magazine, then that gets picked up by the New York Post or The Wall Street Journal and Fox News and by the blogs, and before long there's enough noise out there and enough buzz that comes from it that everybody from The New York Times to The Washington Post to the network news broadcasts decide they have to cover it. And it doesn't matter if it's true or not."

:I like it because it adds a conservative voice to the topic. I'm glad I took a few minutes to read the Daniel Pipes nonsense...gave me a reason to check the context of the stuff that was quote farmed from ABC... ] (]) 20:00, 14 February 2008 (UTC)

Latest revision as of 18:02, 9 July 2024

This is the talk page for discussing improvements to the Insight on the News article.
This is not a forum for general discussion of the article's subject.
Article policies
Find sources: Google (books · news · scholar · free images · WP refs· FENS · JSTOR · TWL
Archives: 1, 2
This article is rated Start-class on Misplaced Pages's content assessment scale.
It is of interest to the following WikiProjects:
WikiProject iconMagazines Low‑importance
WikiProject iconThis article is within the scope of WikiProject Magazines, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of magazines on Misplaced Pages. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.MagazinesWikipedia:WikiProject MagazinesTemplate:WikiProject Magazinesmagazine
LowThis article has been rated as Low-importance on the project's importance scale.
See WikiProject Magazines' writing guide for tips on how to improve this article.
WikiProject iconConservatism Low‑importance
WikiProject iconThis article is within the scope of WikiProject Conservatism, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of conservatism on Misplaced Pages. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.ConservatismWikipedia:WikiProject ConservatismTemplate:WikiProject ConservatismConservatism
LowThis article has been rated as Low-importance on the project's importance scale.
Archiving icon
Archives

Archive 1 Feb 2007 - Jan 2008
Archive 2 Feb 2008


"in its present state"

I removed this expression from the sentence about Obama's school. As far as I know no one is asserting that the school was different in the past. Redddogg (talk) 16:53, 10 February 2008 (UTC)

In fact multiple interviewees say things aren't much different. Andyvphil (talk) 01:04, 11 February 2008 (UTC)
And this quote is relevant, as well as bearing on the question of whether "madrassa" is a word used in Indonesia, as well as how it's understood there:

Bandung said he had heard the rumor that Obama went to a radical Islamic school. He showed a picture of Obama with the Scout group.
"The girls wore miniskirts. There's no way miniskirts would be allowed at a madrassa," he said. Another photo of teachers at the school shows both males and females wearing Western-style clothing. The women are also wearing miniskirts.
Bandung said there was nothing to worry about in any case as Indonesian madrassa had been noted for teaching a moderate form of Islam.

Andyvphil (talk) 23:32, 11 February 2008 (UTC)

More info:

Submitted by Gandydancer (United States), Feb 7, 2008 at 19:28
...a question: Is the word "madrassa"/"madrasah"/etc. used in the Indonesian language(s)? My understanding is that it just means "school" in Arabic, but Insight magazine seemed to think it was equivalent to "seminary" and the article with the longer ABC news video( http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/story?id=2823943) actually wrote "Madrassas are conservative Islamic schools, many of which teach a virulent hatred of America." So, as an Indonesian, do you use the word, and what would it mean for you? ...

...Submitted by Muhammad (Indonesia), Feb 11, 2008 at 21:04
...The word Madrasah is commonly used here in Indonesia to describe a conventional (not modernized) Schools (elementary, middle to high, mostly located at sub-urban areas) whose curriculum weighs more in Islamic teachings. Later, they are more modernized and secularized. I believe all of these schools are private and ussualy associate themself with the Nadhatul Ulama organization (formed by former President Abdulrahman Wahid's father). On the other hand, at rural areas they are usualy called Pesantren. Their tuitions are low so mostly affordable by low income families. I rerely use these words. ...

Andyvphil (talk) 23:44, 12 February 2008 (UTC)

Andyv, too bad neither Daniel Pipes, nor the anonymous users "Gandydancer" or "Muhammad (Indonesia)", who post reader comments to his discredited stories, are reliable sources. Man, life must suck if one needs to scrape the barrel this far down to support the Insight take on "Madrassa". What a hoot! I'm ROTFLOL at the the way our "Gandydancer" (above) intentiononally and deceptively context-snipped "...actually wrote "Madrassas are conservative...", and then sourced his hack-job to a jan 25 2007 ABC piece!!! Gandydancer pulls an amateur Kuhner!!! Even funnier, check out the story that our funnytroll "Gandydancer" was commenting on.

Good job A, I needed a couple of laughs, and I really do have to thank you for feeding me the material I need for expanding the "echo chamber" and "loaded question" aspects of this article. Pipes' 12/2007 "feeder story" headline is a grade school attempt at asking a loaded question Was Barak Obama a Muslim?, which brings to mind a classic Bugs Bunny phrase "What a maroon" that fits Pipes perfectly here!. Better yet, (I'm 'bout busting a gut here), Pipes the maroon anwers his own question in his very next headline "Confirmed: Barack Obama Practiced Islam". Thanks again A, and keep it coming, your stuff is classic! WNDL42 (talk) 19:07, 14 February 2008 (UTC)

Gandydancer is me, of course. And the identification of Muhammed as Indonesian is by the site, perhaps from the ip address as I am identified as from the "United States" despite not having supplied that information when I posted my question.
Your comments are incoherent and gratuitously insulting. I asked a straightforward question and was given a straightforward and informative answer by someone who appears to be a real Indonesian, which answer I supplied here to be helpful to Redddog and such other editors as might actually be interested in the question of what "madrassa" means to an Indonesian. The idea that I violated WP:RS is this talk page post is fully as idiotic as the idea that Kuhner could violate WP:OR when writing in Insight.
In the future I will, however, be able to refer to you as "the troll", immediately identifying the quality and tenor of the editor I am dealing with. That should prove useful. Andyvphil (talk) 22:54, 14 February 2008 (UTC)
Holy shit A, ...YOU are gandydancer? I had no idea...sorry, I was poking fun at gandydancer with no idea it was you. Had you made that clear when you posted the exchange you initiated, then I certainly would not have ridiculed gandydancer in quite the same way as I did. Suggest next time you start out with "Using the name gandydancer, I posted the following question and I got this answer from a user in Indonesia". Now that I know you and gandydancer are the same, please accept my apologies. Still, it was funny... WNDL42 (talk) 00:31, 16 February 2008 (UTC)

WP:AGF:"This guideline does not require that editors continue to assume good faith in the presence of evidence to the contrary. ... Assuming good faith also does not mean that no action by editors should be criticized, but instead that criticism should not be attributed to malice unless there is specific evidence of malice." The question posed to "Muhammad" by "Gandydancer" is perfectly staightforward and exhibits no particular POV that I can detect. Nor does "Muhammad"'s very informative answer. Your cackling derision was so wildly off the mark and inappropriate to itc cause as to indicate an hysterical state of combativeness. And malice. Rather pathetic malice, when expressed so childishly, but useful when so obvious. Andyvphil (talk) 01:53, 18 February 2008 (UTC)

AVP, if you will merely read again what you yourself posted here (pseudonymously as "gandydancer") above...
  • Submitted by Gandydancer (United States, aka andyvphil)"...a question: Is the word "madrassa"/"madrasah"/etc. used in the Indonesian language(s)? My understanding is that it just means "school" in Arabic, but Insight magazine seemed to think it was equivalent to "seminary" and the article with the longer ABC news video actually wrote 'Madrassas are conservative Islamic schools, many of which teach a virulent hatred of America.' So, as an Indonesian, do you use the word, and what would it mean for you?"
...and now review Leading question, you'll see that "gandydancer"'s leading question was designed specifically for the answer that he (you) wanted. The fact that gandydancer snipped the ABC text out of context, and then snipped "Muhammad"'s answer in a similarly deceptive way, well...that is the crux of my criticism of your entirely misleading presentation here. That and the fact that all of this is useless here on Misplaced Pages per WP:RS. WNDL42 (talk) 01:35, 19 February 2008 (UTC)
Your "criticism" doesn't have a detectable "crux". "So, as an Indonesian, do you use the word, and what would it mean for you?" is in no way a leading question. The assertion that it is is idiotic. I explained why I was asking the question, but didn't suggest the answer, and indeed Muhammad's answer is in no way something that I suggested to him. And while its content cannot be inserted directly in a Misplaced Pages article it is rich in specifics which can be further researched and then cited to the RS found. And what is the information from ABC or Muhammed that I have supposedly concealed by artful "snipping"? Go ahead. You don't have an answer -- change the subject again. Veer off into another silly assertion. You have such a threadbare bag of tricks. It's pathetic. Andyvphil (talk) 14:33, 22 February 2008 (UTC)
Here is the stuff you snipped from the post from Muhammad. Whether it was concealed by "artful", snipping as you assert, is a matter for others to debate, but you certainly did snip the post. I'll >>illustrate<< the most important snips >>like this<<. WNDL42 (talk) 21:57, 3 March 2008 (UTC)

Submitted by Muhammad (Indonesia), Feb 11, 2008 at 21:04 --

First, I should thank you for straightening up that my intention is only to submit info about situation in Indonesia. And also for the splendid link. Nice work. --

I think the clip we refer to >>was not from middle eastern 'seminary'<< but >>from the sub continent areas (maybe Kurdistan, Afghanistan or Pakistan)<<. Anyways, as shown from your link, in his book Mr. Obama was saying "In the Muslim school, the teacher wrote to tell my mother that I made faces during Koranic studies" so clearly he was admitting openly that he did learn (practised if you will) Islam in some point of his life. So even Mr Obama was confusing his public school as a Muslim school. Mustn't have been the highlights of his life. --

>>In my opinion, it is evident that what mr Obama said was that he was never a Muslim in heart and to me, that means that he never was a believer. And it is his right to do so.<< --

Like many people, I was curious to know whether Sen Obama was ever a Muslim or not. That curiosity brought me to Mr. Pipes's articles and I think I've got me the answer. --

>>The reporters and analists must have their own agendas.<< We haven't seen the last of the crossfire specially when the campaign will come to the next level. --

Btw, i think the core of terrorism is 'hatred' and that can only be defeated by 'love'. But that's another issue.


So...the comments of the user look very different from what you posted, no? Now, since none of this can be used as a reliable source for a Misplaced Pages article, nothing posted in this thread is useful here anyway. Please give it a rest. WNDL42 (talk) 21:57, 3 March 2008 (UTC)

Journalistic POV overview removed...please discuss here

The following overview was removed, I think it's essential for journalistic context:

"Journalistic analysis of the Insight story began by examining the first sentence of the report, which asked the loaded question of whether the "American people were ready" for a candidate who was "educated in a Madrassa as a young boy and has not been forthcoming about his Muslim heritage?" The second sentence alleged "This is the question Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s camp is asking about Sen. Barack Obama." No basis was found for Insight's question and allegation, and throughout the ensuing controversy Insight steadfastly refused to present evidence or qualify it's sources."

This is an absolutely 100% spot on overview of the "essence" of every journalistic critique. I can see no good reason for taking it out. let's discuss any issues with the presentation here. WNDL42 (talk) 20:36, 11 February 2008 (UTC)

I didn't remove it, since I'm giving you your head to write in as "loaded" a fashion as you desire. Which is what you've done. Andyvphil (talk) 22:47, 11 February 2008 (UTC)

Next topic, why was the extremely notable reference to Fox V.P. John Moody removed? First time in history (afaik) that Fox has apologized for picking up garbage and reporting it, so why is his name and title out? WNDL42 (talk) 20:52, 11 February 2008 (UTC)

I removed the paragraph. For one thing it was uncited. For another it was basically repeating what the paragraph before it just said. The article on Obama's campaign and the one on him himself give the basic information on his school days in Indonesia. That is where people who want to find out about him will go. This article should be about Insight. Just the basic facts about the story given one time should be enough, and then of course the opinions of RS's about it. I also put back the link to Insight's story itself. I think that if we don't do that people would feel it is unfair. Redddogg (talk) 04:23, 12 February 2008 (UTC)
Redddogg, I did a copyedit instead of a revert. I think I addressed your above concerns...how does it look to you now? WNDL42 (talk) 04:34, 12 February 2008 (UTC)
It is much better now. Redddogg (talk) 04:50, 12 February 2008 (UTC)
Whew...thanks. WNDL42 (talk) 15:28, 12 February 2008 (UTC)

Third opinion

Hey. I saw that there was a pending request for a third opinion on this page. 3O is meant for articles that only have two active editors, and since there are more than five users active on here, I've removed the request. If you guys need further help, I'd recommend opening an WP:RFC. If there's anything else I can do to help, please message me. Thanks. — HelloAnnyong 19:56, 12 February 2008 (UTC)

"picked up" vs. "mentioned"

I see that this was just changed and then changed back. Did Fox really "pick up" the story, that is repeat it as if it were true? Or did they just "mention" it? I'm not sure myself. Redddogg (talk) 03:33, 14 February 2008 (UTC)

I was the one who changed it to "mentioned." The NYT said that Fox and the others "devoted extensive discussion" to Insight's story, not that they repeated it as if it was true. Borock (talk) 13:45, 14 February 2008 (UTC)
I will try some new wording and see how people like it. Redddogg (talk) 16:23, 14 February 2008 (UTC)


Echo chamber aspect

Redddogg, like your recent edits! To answer this question, click here and click here and check it out, especially here:


"In today’s New York Times, FOX News senior vice president John Moody criticized FOX & Friends hosts for reporting on the now-discredited Obama/madrassah story. “The hosts violated one of our general rules, which is know what you are talking about,” Mr. Moody said. “They reported information from a publication whose accuracy we didn’t know.” Evidently, Sean Hannity didn’t get that message or else he chose to ignore it on his personal website. Hannity.com continues to showcase this false report as truth. While Hannity’s site is not officially connected to FOX News (as far as I can tell), FOXNews.com does promote it with a link and a suggestion that readers visit the page."
Recently I found a report that Fox commentators last week have revived the Obama-madrassah stink-bomb. Seems now that Insight's "double splatter" achieved it's primary goal feeding the wing-nut media with malarky for harming Sen. Clinton, the shit-bomb has backfired by creating record turnout among the opposition and propelling Obama. Now the "madrassah" smear is being revived to re-smear the (now dangerous) Sen. Obama.
Classic Sun Myung Moon black propaganda. Use the "echo chamber".
See here especially "The American Right achieved its political dominance in Washington over the past quarter century with the help of more than $3 billion spent by Korean cult leader Sun Myung Moon...according to a 21-year veteran...George Archibald, who describes himself "as the first reporter hired at the Washington Times outside the founding group"...has now joined a long line of disillusioned conservative writers who departed and warned the public..." WNDL42 (talk) 18:03, 14 February 2008 (UTC)
Here's the diff and the link to the recent revival here WNDL42 (talk) 18:05, 14 February 2008 (UTC)

Ok...as it seems clear that it's still unclear (even among us editors) that the "echo chamber" effect was in play big time, I'm putting back a portion of the MediaWeek criticism that was earlier stripped -- specifically the "amplified by Fox, etc..." Hope we can agree now why it was necessary in the first place. I still see no reason to censor Grossberger's use of the word "lies" to characterize the report, but I'm hoping to avoid an overly contentious edit for now. WNDL42 (talk) 18:28, 14 February 2008 (UTC)

Just added this to flesh out the "Echo chamber" aaspect.
Ten days after the Insight story broke, ABC News quoted Norman Ornstein of the conservative think tank American Enterprise Institute saying "There's now almost a predictable process here. People have learned how to get things covered, even when they shouldn't be covered...You either start with a revelation in the Drudge Report or Insight magazine, then that gets picked up by the New York Post or The Wall Street Journal and Fox News and by the blogs, and before long there's enough noise out there and enough buzz that comes from it that everybody from The New York Times to The Washington Post to the network news broadcasts decide they have to cover it. And it doesn't matter if it's true or not."
I like it because it adds a conservative voice to the topic. I'm glad I took a few minutes to read the Daniel Pipes nonsense...gave me a reason to check the context of the stuff that was quote farmed from ABC... WNDL42 (talk) 20:00, 14 February 2008 (UTC)

Kuhner in first sentence

I don't think it's really a problem but it does seem a little odd that Kuhner's name is just about the first thing stated in the article. I don't think that articles about other publications, or even websites, would have the name of the editor in the first sentence. He is mentioned 4 or 5 times later on in the article, so there is not much chance that the reader would miss his name. Redddogg (talk) 03:14, 22 February 2008 (UTC)

From what we know, Kuhner is not only the managing editor (reporting directly to Rev. Moon's BOD at Insight), but is the only known source for the anonymous reports "Insight" publishes. It's an arrangement that is unique (as is widely reported) among outfits like Insight. That's why it's notable, IMO

Stating ownership in the lead

In the specific case of Insight, and in the context of Insight's history, describing the ownership chain is essential from a journalism standpoint. Unification Church ownership is (as demonstrated elsewhere) indeed the single MOST notable thing about Insight. WNDL42 (talk) 15:40, 23 February 2008 (UTC)

Insight's influence

Checking out this article again I was amazed to read that Insight's stories about President Clinton had lead directly to his impeachment. When the New York Times tried to do the same thing to Senator McCain they were laughed out of the room. :-) Steve Dufour (talk) 18:18, 3 March 2008 (UTC)

Steve, the article actually says that the Insight stories "...became enmeshed with the Independent Counsel's investigation of Whitewater scandal and eventually led to the impeachment of the president.", so you are reading the article incorrectly.
Now, the comments in the article are (a) sourced to an ex-employee of Insight and (b) supported by dozens of other sources (how many do you think are necessary) and (c) worded properly in accordance with reliable sources. Steve you have been reminded by very many users and admins here that your membership in the Unification Church, combined with the long-established WP:Single purpose account nature of your edits means that you have a WP:COI issue. Your COI has been a topic of discussion on Misplaced Pages for a very long time.
Please don't continue attempting to mitigate the facts or de-controversialize the media properties of the Unification Church of Rev. Sun Myung Moon, ok? WNDL42 (talk) 21:30, 3 March 2008 (UTC)
I stand corrected. They indirectly led to Clinton's impeachment, according to the article that is. Steve Dufour (talk) 21:49, 3 March 2008 (UTC)
Hi again Steve, nice hearing from you again! Do you think it needs better sources that what's there? Now...fair notice...when I spend more time on sources, I generally find "better" ways to word things.. Cheers! WNDL42 (talk) 22:04, 3 March 2008 (UTC)

Madrassa again

RE parag: "Insight's report falsely characterized State Elementary School Menteng 01, an Indonesian public school which Obama attended as a child, as an Islamic "madrassa". Although the Arabic word "madrassa" literally means any kind of school, in post 9/11 United States political contexts it has often been used to refer singularly to Islamic madrassas - especially in the context of anti-Americanism and radical extremism. In the wake of the Insight story, the New York Times has publically apologised for misusing the word "madrassa" in this way."

I am explaining my changes in the above paragraph. Anti-Americanism and radical extremism are different things, so have used both. The subtle way "madrassa" has been used makes it wrong to simplify the line on it. We must avoid making it look like it is acceptable and in current use! I've included the NYT apology, which was actually in the wake of the story.

Regarding the negative use of madrassa being "primarily" used - the Yale article is not enough to back that word up (it strongly refers to the Obama story and offers too little proof). I've said it "literally means" school, as "refers too" is too weak alongside the other 'meanings' of the word. --Matt Lewis (talk) 23:24, 3 March 2008 (UTC)

Matt, I'm not arguing what you say is true or not true, but the criteria for inclusion on Misplaced Pages is verifyability, not truth, so it does not matter what you or I think. Now, I spent a lot of time finding, reading and citing that source. I cannot find any support whatsoever in the document for either "singularly" or...oops, looks like you just revised it again...looks good to me...debate over...thanks for bringing it to talk. WNDL42 (talk) 00:34, 4 March 2008 (UTC)
"Singularly" was just meant to highlight the word "Islamic" - it doesn't need it though, and it wasn't the best word. Current version is this:
"Insight's report falsely characterized State Elementary School Menteng 01, an Indonesian public school which Obama attended as a child, as an Islamic "madrassa". Although the Arabic word "madrassa" literally means any kind of school, in post 9/11 United States political contexts it has often been used to define Islamic madrassas - especially in the negative context of anti-Americanism and radical extremism. In the wake of the Insight story, the New York Times has publically apologised for misusing the word "madrassa" in this way."--Matt Lewis (talk) 00:54, 4 March 2008 (UTC)

Linking to a locked page

Bad form in my opinion. Can you explain why the link to a "scandals list" is needed? Why put it in place of the Obama 2008 link? I don't understand.

In my opinion the "US journalism scandals" page should have been deleted in the AfD (and surely would have been deleted if anyone knew about it). There is no place for these hotbeds of POV junk on Misplaced Pages.--Matt Lewis (talk) 03:22, 6 March 2008 (UTC)

Appreciate your opinions. That the page is locked has nothing to do with anything.
As for your question, here's why. As Insight started this "journalism scandal", and the "scandal" is covered from the journalistic angle at United States journalism scandals, that's why it's linked. The "Obama 2008 election" link is about Obama, not Insight, right? The logic seems clear to me.
Now, if you insist on also linking to Obama, I don't really care, but I still don't for the life of me understand your issue. WNDL42 (talk) 01:04, 7 March 2008 (UTC)
I personally think the United States journalism scandals should be deleted: 'list articles' like that end up as hotbeds for POV pushers who have often failed to make headway in the main articles, imo. I don't insist on linking to the Obama 2008 article at all - it just seems clearly the better link to me.
As for the page being locked baving "nothing to do with anything" - hmmm! If it was locked in a state that you didn't support would you still be so keen to link to it? --Matt Lewis (talk) 12:07, 7 March 2008 (UTC)
Can you answer this before you put the link in again WNDL? And as for your other new "further reading" link - "Black Propaganda" - I'm more than tired of you playing Misplaced Pages entirely by your own rules. If every article linked in your manner Misplaced Pages would collapse under the weight of millions of those kind of "related" links! Why won't you listen? --Matt Lewis (talk) 18:49, 10 March 2008 (UTC)

My recent change to Obama section

I just changed the opening of the Obama/Clinton section. I thought it was better to just say what it was about in the opening sentence rather than repeat what Insight said. Sorry that I pushed save before finishing my edit summary comment. Redddogg (talk) 16:23, 10 March 2008 (UTC)

David Brock

The source given for the information about Brock does not mention Insight at all. The article about Hill was published in the American Spectator. Why should he have a section in this article? Redddogg (talk) 21:11, 14 March 2008 (UTC)

I will try taking the section out and see what happens. It seems a bit coat-racky to me since Brock's notable stories were not published in Insight. Redddogg (talk) 06:21, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

Section removed

I took out:

CIA leak scandal

On February 5, 2004, Insight teamed up with News World's sister company United Press International to publish the first anonymously sourced reports from "Federal Law Enforcement officials" of "hard evidence" against Vice President Dick Cheney's staffers John Hannah and Lewis "Scooter" Libby as the guilty parties in "Plamegate". Hannah subsequently testified, and Libby was convicted. Questions about who the "Federal Law Enforcement officials" were, and what "hard evidence" might have existed at the time of the scoop have fueled wide speculation that Libby was chosen as a "fall guy" to take the rap for higher-ups in the Bush Administration, with speculation focused primarily on Cheney. Some journalists and bloggers commented that if a media outlet were needed to set up Libby for the fall, Insight would have been a logical first choice.

  1. Google News Search - Libby "Fall Guy"
  2. Sale, Richard (2004-02-05). "Cheney's Staff Focus of Probe". Insight Magazine and United Press International (in Straussian). News World Communications. Retrieved 2008-02-04. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  3. Google News Search - Libby Hannah Plame Leak

The only references were to the story itself and to two Google searches. Borock (talk) 03:09, 18 April 2008 (UTC)

"Islamic school" is not an attack in itself.

The problem with removing all reference to "madrassa" in the perjorative "extremist" sense is that merely saying Obama went to an "Islamic school" can hardly be described as "another attack" by Clinton! I've put in the first line of the article in italics (you can't beat a quote):

On January 17, 2007, Insight published a story that claimed the campaign staff of presidential candidate Senator Hillary Clinton had leaked a report to Insight falsely claiming that Senator Barack Obama had attended a solely-Islamic school during his childhood in Indonesia. The article began, "Are the American people ready for an elected president who was educated in a madrassa as a young boy and has not been forthcoming about his Muslim heritage?" In the American political climate of the time, the word "madrassa" (which means only 'school') was often used in a pejoritive sense that suggested Islamic extremism. Soon after Insight's story, CNN reporter John Vause visited State Elementary School Menteng 01, which Obama had attended for one year after attending a Roman Catholic school for three, and found that each student received two hours of religious instruction per week in his or her own faith. He was told, "This is a public school. We don't focus on religion." Interviews by Nedra Pickler of the Associated Press found that students of all faiths have been welcome there since before Obama's attendance. In July 2007, Insight published a column which repeated the allegations and predicted more alleged Clinton attacks on Obama.

As publications such as the NYT since apologised over their negative use of "madrassa" I assume it's fair to place it in the climate at the time. --Matt Lewis (talk) 00:21, 26 September 2008 (UTC)

The words "solely-Islamic school" was recently changed to just "madrassa". I've changed this to "so-called Madrassa, or Muslim seminary (Insight's words)", which is another direct quote. Insight didn't falsely claim he went to merely a 'madrassa' - as in literal terms it just means 'school', he actually did! Insight claimed he went to a Muslim seminary. The direct quote here should clear it up. --Matt Lewis (talk) 15:13, 26 September 2008 (UTC)

References

  1. Hillary's team has questions about Obama's Muslim background Insight January 11, 2007.
  2. "www.chicagotribune.com".
  3. "CNN debunks false report about Obama". CNN. January 22, 2007. Retrieved 2007-01-26.
  4. Pickler, Nedra (2007-01-24). "Obama challenges allegation about Islamic school". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 2008-02-10.
  5. Washington Watch: Obama's fund-raising record reveals weakness of Hillary's campaign Insight July 2, 2007 "As Insight has reported, Hillary established a team of investigators whose goal was to attempt to discredit Obama by investigating his Muslim background. In the backlash that resulted from our expose, she has learned to be more circumspect in the use of nasty little tricks. But, if we know Hillary–and we do–she will descend into the gutter once again. Obama will have to be on guard and must find creative ways to outpace her on the campaign trail as he has on the money trail."

Controversy section

According to policy it's better if an artice does not have a controversy section. I will go ahead and merge the items there into the body of the article and see how people like that. Steve Dufour (talk) 15:58, 24 July 2010 (UTC)

External links modified

Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified 2 external links on Insight on the News. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:

When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.

This message was posted before February 2018. After February 2018, "External links modified" talk page sections are no longer generated or monitored by InternetArchiveBot. No special action is required regarding these talk page notices, other than regular verification using the archive tool instructions below. Editors have permission to delete these "External links modified" talk page sections if they want to de-clutter talk pages, but see the RfC before doing mass systematic removals. This message is updated dynamically through the template {{source check}} (last update: 5 June 2024).

  • If you have discovered URLs which were erroneously considered dead by the bot, you can report them with this tool.
  • If you found an error with any archives or the URLs themselves, you can fix them with this tool.

Cheers.—InternetArchiveBot (Report bug) 22:36, 24 May 2017 (UTC)

External links modified

Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified one external link on Insight on the News. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:

When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.

This message was posted before February 2018. After February 2018, "External links modified" talk page sections are no longer generated or monitored by InternetArchiveBot. No special action is required regarding these talk page notices, other than regular verification using the archive tool instructions below. Editors have permission to delete these "External links modified" talk page sections if they want to de-clutter talk pages, but see the RfC before doing mass systematic removals. This message is updated dynamically through the template {{source check}} (last update: 5 June 2024).

  • If you have discovered URLs which were erroneously considered dead by the bot, you can report them with this tool.
  • If you found an error with any archives or the URLs themselves, you can fix them with this tool.

Cheers.—InternetArchiveBot (Report bug) 06:31, 14 November 2017 (UTC)

Categories:
Talk:Insight on the News: Difference between revisions Add topic