November 04, 2004

NO BIAS HERE

Check the file name of the Bush image at this CNN page.

UPDATE. The file name has been changed, but Rob Corr has a screenshot.

Posted by Tim Blair at November 4, 2004 04:35 PM
Comments

Personally, winners can laugh ... losers are losers.

Posted by: Tony.T at November 4, 2004 at 04:44 PM

They can barely restrain themselves. Their master, Freud, would disapprove.

Come on, CNN staff, let out your feelings, you'll feel better, and everyone will see how sincere you are!

Posted by: Bruce at November 4, 2004 at 04:49 PM

How on earth did you manage to come accross this?

Posted by: Tim A at November 4, 2004 at 04:50 PM

it says -how bush won the election

so what?

Posted by: stonefish at November 4, 2004 at 04:54 PM

Sorry, I'm with Stonefish, whats the deal?

Posted by: Todd at November 4, 2004 at 04:59 PM

umm... the file name of the picture is "asshole.jpg" Check the properties..

Posted by: Al Robinson at November 4, 2004 at 05:00 PM

scratching my head here -does the file say vert.bush? Or wha...?

nah still don't get it

Posted by: stonefish at November 4, 2004 at 05:00 PM

Stonefish...

Using your right mouse button, click the picture and select "Save Picture As".

Posted by: Justin at November 4, 2004 at 05:01 PM

stonefish, right click the picture, and select "save as". Then look at the file name that pops into the dialog box.

No bias, eh? What a collection of assclowns.

Posted by: The Real JeffS at November 4, 2004 at 05:01 PM

right click on the picture and select Save Picture As... to see it

Posted by: robw25 at November 4, 2004 at 05:02 PM

wtf ? how the hell did they get away with that ?

Posted by: FusterCluck at November 4, 2004 at 05:02 PM

ah i see -very cheeky

but with so many assholes in the news it must make things very confusing for the wit(les)s at cnn

Posted by: stonefish at November 4, 2004 at 05:03 PM

DennisLeary.jpg

Posted by: Dylan at November 4, 2004 at 05:03 PM

Amusing, if highly immature.

The left seem to have a major problem in being childish... sigh...

Posted by: Ziff at November 4, 2004 at 05:03 PM

So CNN thinks Bush is an asshole. After this display of hate, how long until CNN will start hammering Bush about being tolerant, healing the wounds, reaching out, embracing diversity of opinion, being the president of the 47% that did not vote for him, etc. etc.

Posted by: perfectsense at November 4, 2004 at 05:10 PM

I can't believe it! They're not even trying anymore.

It's gonna be a long 4 years.

Posted by: Mumblix Grumph at November 4, 2004 at 05:11 PM

There's a "feedback site" there, at http://help.netscape.com/feedback.html.

Can't hurt to drop a line.

Posted by: The Real JeffS at November 4, 2004 at 05:17 PM

Kee-rist almighty...great find, Tim! Brilliant.

Posted by: mjtruth2001 at November 4, 2004 at 05:18 PM

Dont think that the lefties are beat; once they get over their rejection they will be very very angry and we are in for a psycho war that will make Iraq a desirable destination.

Its going to be wall to wall celebs directed by Moore script by Pilger casting by Arundhati Roy stunts by Saddam FX by Bin Laden subtitles by Chirac finance by Arafat

Posted by: rog at November 4, 2004 at 05:26 PM

Wow, twenty-somethings can be so clever!

BTW, from that 'article.'

Bush convincingly won the popular vote thanks to strong backing from his party's conservative base.

As opposed to his flaming liberal base.

Posted by: Thomas at November 4, 2004 at 05:30 PM

The best thing to come out of this victory is the final nail in the coffin of Michael Moore's credibility. Hopefully we will never see him at a Democratic Party convention again.

The party, and the country will be the better for it.

Here's looking to 2008, when both parties will hopefully be serious.

Posted by: Quentin George at November 4, 2004 at 05:37 PM

Credit is due to an anonymous reader who forwarded the page. Thanks, anonymous!

Posted by: tim at November 4, 2004 at 05:41 PM

this is a very interesting site Tim and I know this isn't the right place for this( my wives are coming so I have to be quick) but the pollhost kerry quiz thing in your blogads section is ...well...crap! Very junior and pathetic.Taking the piss out of kerry is fine but it fails totally as humour because...its not funny.
And it exudes a very unpleasant sexual and social smell that says more about its creator than any of us really want to know. Negress? Who the fuck uses words like that anymore. Gay-looking? What does that mean? Weird. Per-verse!
It reminds me of some pushy loco kid playing with his dick in front of you,laughing mirthlessly and hoping like crazy that you'll join in. Playing with his dick that is. Or maybe he's playing with his own shit and giggling hopef...ah you get my drift

whoops here come the girls

Posted by: stonefish at November 4, 2004 at 05:45 PM

stonefish

it exudes a very unpleasant sexual and social smell that says more about its creator than any of us really want to know. Negress? Who the fuck uses words like that anymore. Gay-looking? What does that mean?

Tis but satire.

Posted by: Thomas at November 4, 2004 at 06:09 PM

JeffS, here's part of what I wrote on the Netscape Feedback page. (Thanks for the link.)

"I suppose the people who did this are so conceited as to think that no one would notice, but notice has indeed been taken in the Blogosphere. And CNN wonders why they continue to lose audience share to Fox News, et al?"

Eyewateringly unpleasant!

Posted by: Butch at November 4, 2004 at 06:11 PM

Of course CNN are biased.

But this is clearly the result of a lone prankster with write access to the file name. Hardly damning evidence of systemic bias...

Posted by: Yerbert at November 4, 2004 at 06:16 PM

Good thing stonefish missed the "Who is the new, anonymous leader of Hamas" poll a few months back...

Posted by: PW at November 4, 2004 at 06:17 PM

To remedy this problem, what would be real sweet is if CNN outsourced this photo editing position to India.

Posted by: perfectsense at November 4, 2004 at 06:21 PM

Here's a screenshot for posterity.

Posted by: Robert at November 4, 2004 at 06:39 PM

Great to see that people notice these things. I suspect the person boasted to someone s/he thought was like-minded who was not. Shades of the (non-powerful, non-elites) folks that just get the jobs done in today's MSM. Someday they will be in charge, and they will remember the shallowness (and lack of common decency) they saw in these folks, and how it hurt their business.

Posted by: Ari Tai at November 4, 2004 at 06:53 PM

On a related note: saw an SBS story tonight which featured an interview with 'Speechwriter for George Bush, David Frump'.

Unless I'm very much mistaken, that should be David Frum...

Posted by: TimT at November 4, 2004 at 06:55 PM

Hey, Clarke, that's a real nice picture of you. Who's the old guy you're attached to?

Andrea, Clarke posted a goatse. Please delete it.

Posted by: Dave S. at November 4, 2004 at 06:58 PM

Well, Bush did call one of the NYTimes writers that, back in 2000, so they can say he started it.

But then truth is a defense.

Posted by: AST at November 4, 2004 at 07:04 PM

The location of the original picture was redirected to what you see now, the "red eye".
Look at the url.

It was not my doing.
but pretty amusing isnt it.

Posted by: Clarke at November 4, 2004 at 07:05 PM

"Wives", hey Stonefish?!

Who gives a stuff what CNN think. We've known for donkeys years that they as biased as hell. Crikey they were owned by Ted Turner and Jane Fonda.

W won for all the reasons the media just doesn't understand. It's pretty much the reason Howard won. It's called STRONG LEADERSHIP, an enterprise culture and some morals.

Blair will win but for different reasons. In Britain the Conservative Party are acting like a bunch of Frenchies.

On more imp issues, Aust is 4/118 against India. Clarke just hit a sensational six. They were all out for 104. Looking good. VVS can't make runs at all.

Posted by: TN at November 4, 2004 at 07:23 PM

Cheers Tim and thanks for the support. It's refreshing to hear voices from overseas that aren't lambasting Americans as "ignorant" or "stupid" :)

I am going to be doing a posting of some of the more inane comments I have been reading from such exemplars nonpareil (uh oh, a Yank used big fancy words!) of European / global elitism from such sources as the BBC's "Have your say" and news.com.au's "Your Say" sections. It's disheartening (to say the least) to see so many people who are absolutely certain that we Americans have somehow geared the world toward total destruction. It's even more distressing to see so many Americans apologizing to these elitists for our "terrible mistake". At least there are some people out there, like yourself, who at least are willing to cut us some slack :)

As for CNN most Americans (ok, most who aren't raging liberals) have noticed CNN's bias for quite a while. Personally I took them off the "relevent, believable news source" list on April 9th 2003 when they admitted to selling favorable coverage for Saddam Hussein in exchange for continuing access in Iraq. I can't believe they are even still on the air.

Posted by: Secret Agent X9 at November 4, 2004 at 07:31 PM

I just sent the link to friend in DC who can perhaps ensure this gets the proper attention it so richly deserves.

Posted by: Bob I at November 4, 2004 at 07:33 PM

whoopsie doodle. My blog is located at http://occupied-territory.blogspot.com not the goof I typed in earlier which takes you to some sort of regligious "mega-site".

Sorry about that

Posted by: Secret Agent X9 at November 4, 2004 at 07:35 PM

Apologies, a bit OT:

In the "Why the longface" thread earlier:

Posted by: Asapi at November 4, 2004 at 12:40 PM
"Arafat is in a critical condition and reliable sources maintain that he has full blown aids."

Some wag at the SMH had the headline up minutes ago saying:

Arafat 'in coma, critical condition'; aides

When i went back to to copy it they had taken the "aides" bit down.

Posted by: max power at November 4, 2004 at 08:50 PM

Apologies, a bit OT:

In the "Why the longface" thread earlier:

Posted by: Asapi at November 4, 2004 at 12:40 PM
"Arafat is in a critical condition and reliable sources maintain that he has full blown aids."

Some wag at the SMH online had the headline up minutes ago saying:

Arafat 'in coma, critical condition'; aides

When i went back to to copy it they were no longer attributing the statement to his "aides" and had taken the "aides" bit down.

Posted by: max power at November 4, 2004 at 08:52 PM

The filename has been changed. It's now "georgelaura135.jpg"

I worked on the public website of a Fortune100 company, and if CNN is anything like we were, there is a built-in "audit trail" for every single action taken on every single file published to the website.

Someone really really needs to get fired for misconduct.

Posted by: Russ at November 4, 2004 at 09:02 PM

CNN's Netscape feedback is dead.
I suppose y'all broke it.

(Always wanted to use "y'all" in a comment!)

Posted by: Pedro the Ignorant at November 4, 2004 at 09:18 PM

Fuck, you people are humourless dweebs.

No-one other than a tech-savvy person would see this, unless intentionally directed there by one of you lot.

To complain about it is the equivalent of peeping in your neighbour's window and then whinging to the police that they walk around naked.

And now you want to ruin a person's life by having them dismissed?

Ch-rist almight. It's no wonder I don't want to live in the fuck-you-every-man-for-himself world that you lot pine for.

Get a grip. Seriously.

Posted by: Steve at November 4, 2004 at 09:34 PM

Erm, to be fair, isn't this Netscape's news site, which only uses CNN as its news feed?

Posted by: Al Bundy at November 4, 2004 at 09:37 PM

Steve, this wasn't posted on someone's private website. This was posted on a public news media's website. Everything on a public site is privy to scrutiny. Your analogy is out of place in this instance. A better analogy would liken this incident to a social-worker wearing a "I Love Wife-Beaters!!" tee-shirt.

Posted by: Bob I at November 4, 2004 at 09:58 PM

I archived the CNN/Netscape (who the hell reads Netscape's feeds) page's html and all the images and associated files (with filenames, of course) since I knew it would slip down the memory hole pretty quickly. If you need it, Tim, let me know.

Posted by: goldsmith at November 4, 2004 at 10:07 PM

Yes RUss you are right, as you said:


"The filename has been changed. It's now "georgelaura135.jpg"

You'd think they would have at least called it "georgelaurawithkissesandhugswebegyourforgivenessforbeingweasles.jpg"

Posted by: dawn at November 4, 2004 at 10:12 PM

Hi Tim, I heard that you were speaking at the Straight out of Brisbane festival this year is that true?! Looking forward to it!
Alice White

Posted by: alice white at November 4, 2004 at 10:19 PM

Gosh, Steve, you seem a little tense. You wouldn't happen to work for CNN, would you?

Posted by: Andrea Harris at November 4, 2004 at 10:30 PM

This reminds me of the graphic that New Zealand's TV3 ran in June, 2003 that said "George W. Bush Professional Fascist." Very immature, so much like a 13 year old. Note to media: grow up, please.

Posted by: Mikey at November 4, 2004 at 10:52 PM

Rank this one with Amazon's staff playing games with the information for "Unfit for Command". Amazon didn't do anything about that, and I doubt anything will happen about this.

Posted by: Robert Crawford at November 4, 2004 at 10:57 PM

Bush wins, and now Yasser Arafat is in a coma!

Can this week get any better?!

Posted by: Richard at November 4, 2004 at 11:22 PM

Yes. Osama could convert to Christianity, Kim could choke on a sea-weed bicuit, and France could collectively grow testicles. Aside from that, this week is tops!

{Bush wins, and now Yasser Arafat is in a coma!
Can this week get any better?!
Posted by: Richard at November 4, 2004 at 11:22 PM}

Posted by: Bob I at November 4, 2004 at 11:27 PM

Did anyone see the poll they had on the same page?

"Will Bush be able to bring together a divided nation? "
1) Yes, Bush will heal this nation.
2) No, he's the one who divided us in the first place.
3) Don't know.

Nope- no bias at CNN. Strictly objective... jeez.

Posted by: Sabrina at November 5, 2004 at 12:16 AM

I swear, you'd think that people in Big Media have never turned on a computer. What will it take for them to realize they can't get away with that stuff anymore without being called out for it? It reminds me of Ed Bradley's "tune in to the internet" comment. (it's here if you haven't seen it)

http://www.dailyrecycler.com/blog/

Cluelessness.

Posted by: lexine at November 5, 2004 at 12:37 AM

Yes, Mr. Lambert. The President called an asshole reporter an asshole. The difference is the President doesn't have, as part of his job description, a supposed dedication to impartiality and even-handedness. The asshole he was describing, and the asshole who chose to name that picture, do.

If you still can't tell the difference between someone expressing an opinion and a supposed impartial reporter of the facts, well you're an...

Posted by: Robert Crawford at November 5, 2004 at 01:52 AM

Where's my $50? Hand it over, Lambert!

Posted by: tim at November 5, 2004 at 01:56 AM

Hey Tim Lambert

How bad does it suck to be a Liberal today?

Posted by: swassociates at November 5, 2004 at 02:24 AM

Did you notice the election pole on the same page? Where do I get to vote "No, some Kerry supporters are arrogant assholes intent on being angry"?

Posted by: David at November 5, 2004 at 02:33 AM

Who named the jpg, CNN or Netscape? I know they both roll up to Time Warner, but it might not have been the CNN division that did that.

Posted by: Sam at November 5, 2004 at 02:44 AM

It's no wonder I don't want to live in the fuck-you-every-man-for-himself world that you lot pine for.

Steve, North Korea is but one flight away. Go ahead, emigrate, we'll all be better off if your attitude is any indication.

If I had a dollar for every lefty who complains about the "every man for himself" attitude of Bush supporters, while he himself is clearly unable to accept any sort of compromise, my riches would rival George Soros'.

Posted by: PW at November 5, 2004 at 02:54 AM

Yeah, PW, ain't that the truth!

More to the point, 58 million people who think and live the deplorable "every man for himself" teamed up to compile 279 (286 if Iowa comes through) electoral votes for President Bush.

Wow, we just can't cooperate!

Posted by: The Real JeffS at November 5, 2004 at 03:31 AM

For some time, the picture was replaced by another one of Bush, named moron.jpg

Posted by: Jan Haugland at November 5, 2004 at 03:32 AM

"It was not my doing."

Liar.

"but pretty amusing isnt it."

No, it wasn't.

PS - thank you for deleting that, Andrea.

Posted by: Dave S. at November 5, 2004 at 04:50 AM

Thanks for the screen shot! lol CNN doesn't surprise me one bit. :)

Posted by: Angela at November 5, 2004 at 04:54 AM

Hey, look at this. According to the story, someone at Netscape did get fired for this.

Posted by: Quadraginta at November 5, 2004 at 08:39 AM

"The difference is the President doesn't have, as part of his job description, a supposed dedication to impartiality and even-handedness."

That's not quite it. It's not that the webber had to be impartial, per se, it's that he's doing work for a client (CNN) and chose to abuse their patronage by inserting political messages into the site content.

I'm in the same line of work and I can tell you that clients get spooked VERY easily and expect an extremely high level of professionalism or they bolt. And they should -- I don't know what Netscape charges, but we bill $150 an hour and if someone was being cute at that rate I'd be in their offices the very next morning demanding compensation.

Posted by: Mr J at November 5, 2004 at 09:42 AM

Actually, I didn't delete anything -- Tim must have done it. Thank Tim!

Posted by: Andrea Harris at November 5, 2004 at 09:50 AM

Dear tim, I can pay in person if you come to Darp's Grogblogging thing. If you're not going or want the money sooner, let me know.

Posted by: Tim Lambert at November 5, 2004 at 12:33 PM

relax. everyone here is so quick to accuse cnn.com of all this. i knew from the moment i saw this (and had a chuckle) that it was a mistake by someone who was not part of cnn and someone who was just uploading the pics to the page. obviously that person had a problem with bush and decided to call him an asshole in the file name of the picture. does that mean cnn.com is at large? not at all. just means someone went rogue on them. it happens. just remember almost half this country doesnt like bush. so put down your sticks. stop acting so fanatical. and stop the mob mentality of the "left" the "liberals" or whatever words you use to describe those people. everyones got an opinion. this guy i guess decided to abuse it.

Posted by: ike at November 5, 2004 at 04:24 PM