More evidence that nudging the mainstream media works. After two successive weeks of emailing This Week, Meet the Press, Face the Nation and others asking them to use the money quote from the Downing Street minutes, This Week finally decided to go with it on 5/15.
This Week's George Stephanopoulos (stay-on-top-o'-this) put the Downing Street minutes money quote up on the screen
"Military action was now seen as inevitable. Bush wanted to remove Saddam, through military action, justified by the conjunction of terrorism and WMD. But the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy."
and asked Senator John McCain (R - AZ) for his response. There's more...
Despite McCain's republican:noise:machine
response, now CNN has again picked up this
story and is highlighting the Downing Street minutes.
All my repeated emails to TW, MTP, FTN were polite and respectful, but tried hard to persuade them that this was an explosive story getting meager coverage in the U.S. All the emails provided links to respected news services and newspapers; however, I also mentioned that citizens are organizing around this issue and linked downingstreetmemo.com.
After "stay-on-top-o'-this" used the quote I got a note from one of the senior producers from ABC News. I sent him a short and respectful thank you and urged them to keep following-up to seek answers on Rep. Conyers' May 6 letter to President GW Bush.
I am sure I am only one of loads of people who have been emailing the Sundays asking them to use the money quote, I'm just happy one of them finally used it.
I am totally on board with working the local media angle and think that's brilliant. I wholeheartedly agree that stories with local/national angles can "filter-up". But I also want to urge people to keep working the national electronic and print media as well. Be polite, be respectful and most of all - be persuasive. When they cover something you have asked them to cover, send a short thank you note. It doesn't cost anything to be polite.
I urge everyone to keep at the reporters and news producers to keep asking about the President's lack of response to Rep. Conyers' May 6 letter (co-signed by 88 members of Congress). Keep the flame on high.
When reporters or news producers try to tell you that the Downing Street documents are a stale story, remind them that when a President lies about the roots of a war and 7 to 20 U.S. service men and women are dying EVERY WEEK in that war - HOW CAN THIS BE A STALE STORY?
"War may sometimes be a necessary evil. But no matter how necessary, it is always an evil, never a good. We will not learn how to live together in peace by killing each other's children."
- James Earl (Jimmy) Carter, Jr. 39th President of the United States, 2002 recipent of the Nobel Peace Prize and former Lieutenant, United States Navy