politics

The MSM Even Hates British Troops!

Bloggers say lots of stupid things -- particularly when it comes to criticizing the hated "MSM."
March 29, 2007

Bloggers say lots of stupid things — particularly when it comes to criticizing the hated “MSM.” But last night on the National Review‘s Media Blog, Greg Pollowitz wrote one of the more unintentionally funny things we’ve seen in a while.

Talking about the published images of the fifteen captured British sailors and Marines being held by the Iranian government, Pollowitz said he was reminded of the USS Pueblo incident in 1968, when the North Korean government kidnapped the crew of a U.S. Navy ship patrolling in international waters off of the North Korean coast.

In a series of pictures of the kidnapped sailors, they’re showed slyly flipping the middle finger toward the camera — a gesture they told their confused captors was a “Hawaiian good luck charm.”

But of course, the dreaded “MSM” ruined everything. Time magazine wrote about the curious act of quiet defiance, and “unfortunately for the sailors,” Pollowitz writes, because the magazine “spilled the beans…the sailors endured a week of intense beatings.”

What the sailors endured was horrible. And Time did, in fact, spill the beans about what the gesture meant. But like any true media hater, Pollowitz draws the lesson out a little further than it should go: “For the 15 British marines in Iranian captivity, we know you want to wish the Iranians the best of luck, so, stay safe… the MSM can’t be trusted with any inside signs that show your true feelings.”

Here’s hoping the Brits don’t try and give a Bronx cheer to their captors, lest the traitorous, untrustworthy MSM see an image of it and ruin everything! Really, is there anything we can’t pin on the media?

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Paul McLeary is a former CJR staff writer. Since 2008, he has covered the Pentagon for Foreign Policy, Defense News, Breaking Defense, and other outlets. He is currently a defense reporter for Politico.