LA Times Hit Piece

[Nash]

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-ronmike25jul25,1,3042581.story?page=1&track=crosspromo&coll=la-headlines-nation

With such notable quotes from the writer:


"Paul is the last of four Republican candidates to speak in front of the conventioneers on a hot Thursday afternoon. Afterward, half the room applauds, and the other half looks him over, seemingly unmoved."


"The revolution has a ways to go."



"Mike Gravel and Ron Paul. Mike and Ron. Their names, sharing space at the bottom of the polls, seem increasingly linked."


"So who are these guys? Can two old men in rubber shoes win their parties' nomination to be leader of the free world?"

Feel free to send the writer your thoughts.

tomas.alex.tizon@latimes.com

[DeadheadForPaul]

Wow that really pisses me off

[Kuldebar]

A lot of jibes and belittlement in that piece.

I have a nearly over whelming urge to slap the writer, is that a bad thing?

I am sure the writer is trying to compensate for a small penis or something.

[LibertyEagle]

There are some good parts to the article, but to me it appears the goal was to make him sound like some kind of antiquated old man with just a handful of supporters.

[FreedomLover]

It wasn't really as bad as you make it out to be. It definetly aint a pro-ron paul piece, it was mostly neutral.

It was basically trying to make ron out to be an old quixote kind of candidate like gravel (very unorginal anyway). On the whole it was demeaning, but no one should be that offended. More of these articles are coming, good and bad, we need to learn to spend the time and emotional energy on the ones that really deserve it.

[Kuldebar]

There are some good parts to the article, but to me it appears the goal was to make him sound like some kind of antiquated old man with just a handful of supporters.

For sure, but I think this article beats the NYT Mag piece for negativity and slights.

At nearly every turn the writer uses descriptive terms that serve to paint Paul as weak or bewildered. It's called slant, which is a close relative to spin.




In the lobby of the Hyatt Regency in downtown Kansas City, Mo., the sea of people does not part for Paul...


He shoves a hand in his suit pocket. He thanks the crowd and says how great it is to be in Kansas, which raises eyebrows because he is in Missouri.


Paul descends the escalator like he moves across the country: unrecognized except by a passionately loyal few.


His demeanor could be described as the opposite of commanding


...looking slight on the grand stage, takes the podium.


Paul's charisma seems to be that he has none.

[BLS]

All publicity is GOOD publicity. Lighten up.
















(I'll hold him if you guys wanna work his bitch ass over a couple times)

[michaelwise]

It wasn't really as bad as you make it out to be. It definetly aint a pro-ron paul piece, it was mostly neutral.

It was basically trying to make ron out to be an old quixote kind of candidate like gravel (very unorginal anyway). On the whole it was demeaning, but no one should be that offended. More of these articles are coming, good and bad, we need to learn to spend the time and emotional energy on the ones that really deserve it.

This is why we need to have all guns ablazing.

[Nash]

This is from the Times Blog where they promote their stories:


"A pair of nobodies running for president

Just a quick note: You will not want to miss Tomas Alex Tizon's profile of Ron Paul and Mike Gravel, the two presidential candidates--one a Republican, the other a Democrat--lodged at the bottom of the political polls and still making trouble for all the other mainstream candidates seeking to win the White House.

The Column One story will appear late tonight on this website and on Page One of Wednesday's print editions.

Two old men in rubber shoes waging a political war to lead the free world with little money and just a band of fanatical fans. One has chronic back pain, the other a bad knee. Cantankerous. Ignored. And nothing so far has stopped either from their lonely, little-noticed journeys back and forth across the country.

--Andrew Malcolm

[Kuldebar]

This is from the Times Blog where they promote their stories:

I hope that special place in hell is being kept very warm for the jerks that write that shit.

The NYT Mag article was glowingly worshipful compared to this...

[brumans]

This is from the Times Blog where they promote their stories:


"A pair of nobodies running for president

Just a quick note: You will not want to miss Tomas Alex Tizon's profile of Ron Paul and Mike Gravel, the two presidential candidates--one a Republican, the other a Democrat--lodged at the bottom of the political polls and still making trouble for all the other mainstream candidates seeking to win the White House.

The Column One story will appear late tonight on this website and on Page One of Wednesday's print editions.

Two old men in rubber shoes waging a political war to lead the free world with little money and just a band of fanatical fans. One has chronic back pain, the other a bad knee. Cantankerous. Ignored. And nothing so far has stopped either from their lonely, little-noticed journeys back and forth across the country.

--Andrew Malcolm

That's kind of offensive right there.

[james1906]

i think the writer is comparing paul and gravel to the 8-track and the record player. they served their purpose at one time, but they've grown tired and cumbersome.

i, for one, find paul and gravel retro-chic. they're overdue to come back in style.

[Cindy]

Ron Paul is a Classic , something that NEVER goes out of style.

Wish we could get Coke Classic to use him in an ad.


That dinosaur type of smear goes with the smearing of the Consitution being an old model.

I really like what Ron Paul said at the Spartenburg Speach on that.

He said something to the effect of ,

Freedom is not an old concept in the History of humankind. Throughout the ages, nations and peoples have been opressed and repressed by tyranical dictators and leaders, and many still are in this day and age. The concept of a nation obtaining and maintaing its freedom is still a new one in the history of humankind.

I liked that addition to his speach!!!!!

[tati4freedom]

This was my email to Senior Tomas:

Senior Tizon,

The concept of writing a piece labeled "news" is to provide readers with an objective portrayal of an event, conversation or situation and let the reader draw the conclusions. If your idea of presenting an intelligent observation is to comment on someone's shoes or deride them because of his or her age, or any other demographic, then you need to write an Op-Ed piece or go to E! Entertainment and try to hawk your vitriol there, but leave news to the journalists. The piece you wrote on Ron Paul and Mike Gravel is a glaring example of your lack of insight, capability, reason and talent.

[rodent]

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-ronmike25jul25,1,3042581.story?page=1&track=crosspromo&coll=la-headlines-nation

With such notable quotes from the writer:









Feel free to send the writer your thoughts.

tomas.alex.tizon@latimes.com


They're just looking to nail him because he's got a real movement and a stance on immigration policy that they don't like.

[Cindy]

I have to admit, the "rubber shoes" comment made me burst out laughing when I read it.

As if they were trying to get away with implying they are orthopedic. Ron Paul wears atheletic sneakers people. He is an avid walker for his health and is a fitness adict, walks several miles a day if he has the time, takes the stairs instead of elevators and use to run track in HS.

I wonder if we can get NIKE to Sponcer him? :cool: Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Maybe we should sig the granny warriors on this reporter. :D

[militant]

i fail to see the problem. it's all accurate. we have a ways to go. he does wear goofy shoes, and we like it. he and gravel are the outsiders, they are going to be linked together permanently, unless RP breaks free by winning the nomination or some other such success. overall i found it a sympathetic and evenly written piece, no 'he wont win' or 'crazy internet spammers' garbage. i wrote a friend this morning to cheer them up by telling them about the article in question. then again, it is 5:15am and i'm not entirely of sound mind, so i might have missed some undertones or skipped a paragraph somewhere.

come on guys, even if it is a bit negative, it's lighter than a lot of the other stuff. how about we be polite and encouraging to media outlets that give us a hearing and a voice, even if they aren't perfect. write thank you letters, asking to know more about paul and gravel, but paul especially because you heard he was picking up steam. be constructive. thick-skinned. we have a complex, i think... 'then they fight us' ... sure, but not all are out to get us. stephanopoulous is a dork, chris matthews is insulting, but some others are just now starting to catch on, and with the right viewer responses, we might get them to climb on board.

[Kuldebar]

Yea, Militant read it again, lol, or read the highlights provided in this thread.

[Kuldebar]

and bumpity for the morning crowd

[Nefertiti]

I thought the one that came out looking really bad and kooky was Gravel. He's run himself into debt campaigning and has been bankrupt two times-is this the kind of person who can save our economy? It made Dr. Paul look good actually in comparison. And to hear he wears sneakers rather than hearing about a 400 dollar haircut is a good thing. And for those asking about his height-it mentioned he is 6 feet, hunched, so I don't know if that makes him an inch or two taller but he could be.

[kylejack]

Maybe some day you guys will understand the importance of name recognition and recognize a neutral article for what it is rather than whining that its a hit piece if it says anything negative about Ron Paul. Maybe, but I doubt it. I sent the author my thanks. Hopefully he'll see it amidst the hate mail.

[Bradley in DC]

Guys, not every article that isn't a rave is a hit piece. Come on, this pretty much explains who Dr. Paul is and his philosophy and that he has passionate supporters but that most people don't (yet) know who he is. That seems a fair summary to me. Not only that--it gets the word out which is EXACTLY what we need. Who knows how many people are learning of Dr. Paul for the first time because of this article and are now part of the rEVOLution!

[specsaregood]

More and more young people have been/are being raised by grandparents. Maybe that will affect the young generations attitude and cause a natural "looking up to" a grandparent rather than a parent. Just a thought...

[JPFromTally]

This should give you some insight into Malcolm. Who said that crap:


http://www.dailyhowler.com/dh081902.shtml

[JPFromTally]

Also, make sure to e-mail the article's writer:

tomas.alex.tizon@latimes.com

[Bossobass]

What I got from reading that article:

Ron Paul is not an important enough candidate to warrant his own article, so he should be part of a dual article with Gravel.

He calls himself the champion of the Constitution and mentions it often, though the only referenced example is that 'government should stay out of our lives'.

He has raised a total of 3 million dollars, but the requirement is 'tens of millions'.

He's popular on the internet, but is 'lodged at the bottom of the polls'.

He offered 'almost scholarly advice' on foreign policy in the second debate, which apparently consisted of mentioning that we've been bombing Iraq for 10 years.

His wife checks on him 3 times a day becuse she worries for him because he gets tired.

He wears rubber shoes and he's old.

His clothes don't fit.

He has no charisma, and he thinks he should take charisma classes.

He has a loyal following, but it's small.

They call his campaign the Revolution, but the revolution has a ways to go because a passing driver thought his first name is John (even though the supporters waved Ron Paul signs in his face).

This article basically says that Ron Paul is Mike Gravel, and neither of them is worth looking at as a viable choice for nomination.

It would be akin to doing an article on Hillary and mentioning that she gets extra pissy when she's having hot flashes.

I hate the article and think it would be better if the LATimes left the RP campaign out of their once-great-but-now-bought-up-and-worthless newspaper altogether.

Bosso

[Lesgov]

Amazing how we all differ, I thought it was a great article about Ron.

[JPFromTally]

This was NOT a positive article. Tizon used all of the lessons taught in his writing classes in college to paint a certain picture. Let me give you an example.

For example, let me write an article about Grace, a woman who is trying to clean up her neighborhood because of the infestation of a drug dealers and criminals. She is working with the local cops to set up a crime watch and she has helped catch a few criminals.


Grace L and Mary H - Big Hill To Climb To Clean Up Neighborhood
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When asked about Mary H most of her neighbors roll their eyes. The long time Meadows Heights resident has often called the police on neighborhood kids who she belives give her "dirty looks." While Mary has been in an out of psychiatric facilities for years, she believes that young people walking on her yard is a slippery slope for more criminal activity.

Her neighbor, Grace H, agrees with her as she stops in for a visit and to deliver Mary's lunch.

"We've seen an increase in crime in this neighborhood for the last 5 years," says Grace, a slightly crouched and graying woman in her 70's.

Grace H is also well known to the local police. The police department has had issues with the solitary cat lady as she has tried to mount a one person neighborhood crime watch campaign. She relates the mission to a battle campaign and has even dubbed her cat Paco as one of her spies.

"Paco always lets me know if someone is lurking outside by the way he paws at me," Grace says.

Though a couple of calls by Grace to the local has resulted in drug arrests, sometimes the calls can be overwhelming to the police. On one night, Grace called the police a total of 5 times in one night because of a domestic disturbance.

-----------------------------

See how easy that was. I can take a courageous lady wanting to reduce crime and associate her with a crazy person. Them I make slight comments about her appearance and the fact that she likes cats and - whammo - she's a crazy cat lady who has nothing better to do than call the cops.

[jblosser]

Maybe some day you guys will understand the importance of name recognition and recognize a neutral article for what it is rather than whining that its a hit piece if it says anything negative about Ron Paul. Maybe, but I doubt it. I sent the author my thanks. Hopefully he'll see it amidst the hate mail.

Yeah... it appears some people would rather people remain unaware of his name entirely than risk a non-fawning article. :(

[kylejack]

Bosso, somewhere in LA, someone read about Ron Paul for the first time and got really interested. Right now that person is watching Youtube videos and getting excited. Soon that person will be a passionate supporter and work to spread the word in California. You would prefer that the person had not heard of Ron Paul.

[Bossobass]

Bosso, somewhere in LA, someone read about Ron Paul for the first time and got really interested. Right now that person is watching Youtube videos and getting excited. Soon that person will be a passionate supporter and work to spread the word in California. You would prefer that the person had not heard of Ron Paul.

When you are able to point that person out to me, LMK. In the meanwhile, you might want to estimate how many people who read that article decided to ignore RP altogether, who otherwise may have been receptive.

This isn't show business, where the old adage is 'It doesn't matter what they say about you, as long as they spell your name right.'

Bosso

[jj111]

A lot of these reporters don't know any better. Kill them with kindness. Sugar catches more flies than vinegar. Tell him how much you liked seeing Ron Paul covered, and want to see more coverage of Ron Paul as his campaign has been picking up a lot of steam....

[jblosser]

This isn't show business, where the old adage is 'It doesn't matter what they say about you, as long as they spell your name right.'

Bosso

Of course this is show business. The media won't let it be anything but.

[kylejack]

Viability and likability are not Ron Paul's biggest challenges right now. Name recognition is the greatest barrier Ron Paul currently faces. Furthermore, this article implied a lot of good things as well. For example: Ron Paul sticks to his principles, Ron Paul doesn't compromise his message for his audience, Ron Paul's wife is a nice lady who worries about him, Ron Paul's supporters are really passionate, Ron Paul favors small government, Ron Paul's description of our failed foreign policy was almost scholarly. You can't fault the author for the mere fact that he personally doesn't care for Ron Paul. My personal opinion is that we should only be angry about articles that lie about Ron Paul or dramatically distort his positions, and this is not that, not by a long shot.

[bygone]

You know, I find this article disgusting not because of the picture that it paints of Gravel and Paul, but because it outright belittles a contribution of $10 to a candidate.

Who the hell does this guy think he is to say that small individual contributions to a campaign are meaningless or futile? Completely and utterly unamerican to suggest that. I bet he wouldn't have made that implication on a major candidates campaign contributions.

If one million people donate $10, its pretty obvious what effect it would have.

I think the days of most people accepting one source of information are over. Whenever I find out about something I tend to look for more information from other places. If thats the net effect of the article, that's good and you should hope for more of them.

[Kuldebar]

Guys, not every article that isn't a rave is a hit piece. Come on, this pretty much explains who Dr. Paul is and his philosophy and that he has passionate supporters but that most people don't (yet) know who he is. That seems a fair summary to me. Not only that--it gets the word out which is EXACTLY what we need. Who knows how many people are learning of Dr. Paul for the first time because of this article and are now part of the rEVOLution!


I considered the NYT Mag article a good coverage while many decried it as a hit piece, but this LA Times article fits the bill as a negatively slanted attack.

Almost every method but outright lies were used to belittle, marginalize, ridicule, disrespect and maltreat Dr. Paul (and the other guy) in this story.

Come on, don't act like we have to accept this kind of treatment for our guy, he is getting coverage and this style of "professional" journalism is unacceptable and should be denounced.

Only take the old adage of all publicity is good publicity so far, folks. I am sure Michael Jackson would agree.

[Elwar]

You know it's liberal writing when they spend more time setting the mood with things like...he smiles candidly hunched over slightly letting his suit drape over his staunch body like a waterfall seeping into a tree-lined pasture of unkempt bovines.

If an article starts out like that you can pretty much write it off as someone trying to impress their writing friends hoping for some sort of newspaper writer's award rather than trying to inform their readers.

[Syren123]

LOL! Typical. The LA Times still thinks it's relevant. Nobody reads it anyway except for fun things like the Calendar and the style magazine.

[BLS]

Contact Jeff Yager (Iowa Ron Paul MeetUp) ASAP:
http://ronpaul.meetup.com/115/

Contact Valek from the Kansas City Area MeetUp ASAP:
http://ronpaul.meetup.com/43/?gj=sj5

He is taking 40-50 people to Iowa. You could easily give those guys 1,000 DVDs.

Also contact Jeremie Bellenir:
http://ronpaul.meetup.com/347/?gj=sj5

He can get those DVDs to people in Iowa and beyond.

Forward this email to your friend ASAP.

Corey


This was sent to me by our local meetup organizer. Contact these folks ASAP!

[Kuldebar]

LOL! Typical. The LA Times still thinks it's relevant. Nobody reads it anyway except for fun things like the Calendar and the style magazine.


Maybe that explains the writing. The writer was doing a fashion expose' on the 2 candidate.

Very amazing how many people will avoid actual discussion of ideas and substance and simply go for imagery as a means to paint something good or bad.

Maybe it's effective, I am sure it is, but so is scaring primitive humans by flicking a cigarette lighter; it doesn't really make you god, or right.

[Paulitician]

I hate the writing style so much, mainly because it's used more to slight Ron Paul as much as possible then it is to explain anything about his ideas. Any publicity is good publicity, I suppose you could say, but when the large crowd that only traditional media can reach hears nothing inspiring about Ron Paul, what makes you think they'd be inspired to actually look up the doctor instead of passing him off as nobody, no matter how much more clout he ends of getting in time? The article doesn't stray from the objective but that doesn't make neutral and it doesn't help Ron Paul's campaign in any way either. But hopefully I'm wrong in that aspect...

[Jive Dadson]

Maybe some day you guys will understand the importance of name recognition and recognize a neutral article for what it is rather than whining that its a hit piece if it says anything negative about Ron Paul. Maybe, but I doubt it. I sent the author my thanks. Hopefully he'll see it amidst the hate mail.


Good for you! I am going to do the same.

[cjhowe]

This was NOT a positive article. Tizon used all of the lessons taught in his writing classes in college to paint a certain picture. Let me give you an example.

For example, let me write an article about Grace, a woman who is trying to clean up her neighborhood because of the infestation of a drug dealers and criminals. She is working with the local cops to set up a crime watch and she has helped catch a few criminals.


Grace L and Mary H - Big Hill To Climb To Clean Up Neighborhood
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When asked about Mary H most of her neighbors roll their eyes. The long time Meadows Heights resident has often called the police on neighborhood kids who she belives give her "dirty looks." While Mary has been in an out of psychiatric facilities for years, she believes that young people walking on her yard is a slippery slope for more criminal activity.

Her neighbor, Grace H, agrees with her as she stops in for a visit and to deliver Mary's lunch.

"We've seen an increase in crime in this neighborhood for the last 5 years," says Grace, a slightly crouched and graying woman in her 70's.

Grace H is also well known to the local police. The police department has had issues with the solitary cat lady as she has tried to mount a one person neighborhood crime watch campaign. She relates the mission to a battle campaign and has even dubbed her cat Paco as one of her spies.

"Paco always lets me know if someone is lurking outside by the way he paws at me," Grace says.

Though a couple of calls by Grace to the local has resulted in drug arrests, sometimes the calls can be overwhelming to the police. On one night, Grace called the police a total of 5 times in one night because of a domestic disturbance.

-----------------------------

See how easy that was. I can take a courageous lady wanting to reduce crime and associate her with a crazy person. Them I make slight comments about her appearance and the fact that she likes cats and - whammo - she's a crazy cat lady who has nothing better to do than call the cops.

Your story is a pretty good summation of this thread. Lots of good intentioned people thinking stepping on their lawn is a slippery slope to discrediting Ron Paul.

[DeadheadForPaul]

I wrote a letter to the editor and the writer to express my objection to Mr. Tizon trivializing both Dr. Paul and Mr. Gravel