Halperin Memo (aka ABC rallies around Truth )

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In summary: Kerry a free pass." However, the memo is more general and leaves it up to the individual reporter to decide what is newsworthy. In summary, Halperin's memo provides insight into how he perceives the Kerry-Bush race. He feels burdened by the greater abilities he has and takes on a much greater responsibility to help voters evaluate what the candidates are saying. He believes that Kerry's distortions, out of context statements, and mistakes are not central to his efforts, but are the mistakes of the common man. He urges reporters to hold both sides accountable, but not artificially hold them equally accountable.
  • #1
Tigers2B1
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Halperin Memo (aka ABC rallies around "Truth")

Here's the memo from ABC NEWS Political Director, Mark Halperin, as captured by the Drudge Report. ABC, for some reason has, as they indicate, "redesigned" their site, and the Halperin memo, which was apparently there yesterday, has disappeared. Halperin's memo shows this guy to be mighty blessed. Mighty blessed! Much more blessed than the "common man" and as such, Halperin apparently feels a great burden and a great corresponding duty. In fact, his insights are such that it appears he comes very close to reading the minds of Kerry and Bush, as well as those in the Kerry and Bush camps, and discerning their deepest motivations. In Halperin's words, Kerry’s "distortions," "out of context" statements, and "mistakes," which Halperin indicates Kerry makes "all the time," seem innocent enough to Halperin, at least they're not intended as "central to his efforts." Any similarities between Kerry and Bush when discussing "distortions," "out of context" statements, and "mistakes" are actually the mistakes of the common man – 'the people' Halperin, with his much greater abilities, in a much wiser skin, has been burdened with. Hence, Halperin concludes while "It's up to Kerry to defend himself, of course. But as one of the few news organizations with the skill and strength to help voters evaluate what the candidates are saying to serve the public interest. Now is the time for all of us to step up and do that right." That "right" being, in Halperin's burdened mind - that doesn't mean we reflexively and artificially hold both sides "equally" accountable...

Thank you Mr. Halperin for not holding the sides "equally accountable," and thank you for keeping your politics out of your reporting. God bless you Mr. Halperin -

Here's the Halperin Memo mentioned, provided at Drudge

Halperin Memo Dated Friday October 8, 2004

It goes without saying that the stakes are getting very high for the country and the campaigns - and our responsibilities become quite grave

I do not want to set off (sp?) and endless colloquy that none of us have time for today - nor do I want to stifle one. Please respond if you feel you can advance the discussion.

The New York Times (Nagourney/Stevenson) and Howard Fineman on the web both make the same point today: the current Bush attacks on Kerry involve distortions and taking things out of context in a way that goes beyond what Kerry has done.

Kerry distorts, takes out of context, and mistakes all the time, but these are not central to his efforts to win.

We have a responsibility to hold both sides accountable to the public interest, but that doesn't mean we reflexively and artificially hold both sides "equally" accountable when the facts don't warrant that.

I'm sure many of you have this week felt the stepped up Bush efforts to complain about our coverage. This is all part of their efforts to get away with as much as possible with the stepped up, renewed efforts to win the election by destroying Senator Kerry at least partly through distortions.

It's up to Kerry to defend himself, of course. But as one of the few news organizations with the skill and strength to help voters evaluate what the candidates are saying to serve the public interest. Now is the time for all of us to step up and do that right.

http://www.drudgereport.com/mh.htm [Broken]
 
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  • #2
If in his view the Bush distortions are worse than the Kerry distortions, accuracy in reporting would require him to say so. You are always at the mercy of the reprter's and editor's judgments.
 
  • #3
selfAdjoint said:
If in his view the Bush distortions are worse than the Kerry distortions, accuracy in reporting would require him to say so. You are always at the mercy of the reprter's and editor's judgments.

I agree there's no such thing as bias-free news. There can't be. As people, we're all biased, and it's not computer programs running these organizations - it's "people." In news reports, bias shows in the selection of adjectives, whose prospective is focused on, and what gets left out. The best one can do, I suspect, is to get his or her news from multiple sources and distill that. I really feel that the TV news networks don't seem to care very much about maintaining a separation between straight news reporting and Op-Ed. Yet, in Halperin's open-ended memo instruction, there's potential abuse that goes beyond the obvious bias to which, at least I've grown accustomed.

I would have no problem with Mr. Halperin's internal memo if, for example, he had provided specific instruction like "…the Bush camp is lining up behind the Swift Boat Vets, Kerry isn't lining up behind the Moveon.org group, we should cover that and the specific issues included. We have a duty. Let's find what’s there, if anything" The instruction Halperin gave to his underlings wasn't of that kind. The issue I have with the Halperin Memo is that he makes a general statement, not a specific one. A general statement that the two candidates should NOT be held equally accountable. Nothing more and nothing less. A general statement with a general instruction. Look, I expect specific types of bias coming from certain "reporters" when issuing reports related to specific stories. I suppose it's this encompassing blanket Halperin has thrown over this entire political campaign that is troubling.
 
  • #4
That "right" being, in Halperin's burdened mind - that doesn't mean we reflexively and artificially hold both sides "equally" accountable...
If you think he's got his facts wrong that's fine, but by objecting to the statement:
"We have a responsibility to hold both sides accountable to the public interest, but that doesn't mean we reflexively and artificially hold both sides "equally" accountable when the facts don't warrant that." [emphasis added]
you are effectively saying that the facts ought to be distorted if they only support one side. As it seems unlikely that that is what you intended, why leave off the final phrase of that sentence in your quote?
 
  • #5
selfAdjoint said:
If in his view the Bush distortions are worse than the Kerry distortions, accuracy in reporting would require him to say so. You are always at the mercy of the reprter's and editor's judgments.

No, giving opinion is not "accuracy in reporting". Opinion is only apropriate for Op-Ed pieces and Editorials. Giving opinion in reporting is what we very accurately call Biased reporting.
 
  • #6
plover said:
If you think he's got his facts wrong that's fine ...

What facts? What facts are in Halperin's memo? That's the entire point and the opening for abuse created by the Halperin memo, Halperin provides no facts. This is an instruction / reminder to Haperin's subordinates. The major issue with Halperin’s general, non-specific instructions - rests with your answers to these questions --- Is the general tone of the memo is one that is telling ABC reporters to focus on Bush’s pending misdeeds? ------- Or is it one that tells them to focus of Kerry’s pending misdeeds? OR --- as you seem to suggest, one that is neutral in tone? Go back and read the memo. Hint: It sure as hell ain't #2. True, your perceptions and personal bias color your feelings and probably your responses - but I suspect honest answers will be that this memo is encouragement, and encouragement from very high places in ABC, to pay additional attention to the Bush negatives. BUT what those negatives are - just aren't in the memo. These negatives may yet to even exist. They may exist in a reporters mind only – or worse, in his/her desire only. Halperin has created an open-ended invitation. As mention in my post above, Halperin could have provided specific instruction regarding the Bush campaign. He chose not to. This specific instruction would have followed that prudent course. Yet, instead, Halperin issued general, non-specific, and unclear instruction regarding the ABC’s reporter’s "responsibilities" regarding Bush and his election efforts. Nothing specific – just a general reminder of expectations. A blanket statement in regards to Bush --- an instruction necessitated by the desire to generally 'make it fair for Kerry.' Christ folks, what would this board be doing if FOX NEWS issued such a report. I remind you that 50% of the population doesn't favor the candidate you favor – whoever that is -- so go ahead, replace the words "Kerry" wherever you read "Bush" in Halperin’s very general instruction and come back and tell me your responses would be the same. The "same" not for you with your pre-conceived notions, but 'fair' to the electorate.

So again, here's my concern --- it’s the fact that specific instances, i.e. FACTS, are missing from Halperin's general instruction to his subordinates that gives me the shivers.

And a side issue --- if Halperin's memo is a simple innocuous reminder that ABC’s professional reporters shouldn't abide by the implied 'quota system' when reporting stories ---- well this makes me wonder about the professionalism and intelligence of ABC reporters prior to this memo. Was there a prior memo instructing ABC reporters to 'even out' the reporting? Were these reporters on a self-inflicted quota to the extent that Halperin felt the need to issue such a memo? If so, why not say that? So, if no prior memo or instruction otherwise, the ABC reporters thought, prior to the Halperin memo, that they HAD to have an even number of positive and negative stories for each candidate? Hence – Halperin’s general, and gentle reminder to the contrary?

Why did Halperin issue this memo?
 
  • #7
Tigers2B1 said:
What facts? What facts are in Halperin's memo?
It's a short memo, not a treatise. He gives citations to the New York Times and Howard Fineman. He probably also presumes some set of facts is known to the reporters. It's not the sort of document that strikes me as easily assessed on this point without a good deal of context.

However, nothing in your response really addresses what I said. Indeed, the quality of his facts don't really matter to what I said. (Anyone who interprets the previous sentence as saying "facts don't matter" gets a Knee-Jerk of the Month award.) What I said was that given Halperin's statement that:
"We have a responsibility to hold both sides accountable to the public interest, but that doesn't mean we reflexively and artificially hold both sides 'equally' accountable when the facts don't warrant that."
and that your use of the statement leaves off the final phrase, i.e. "when the facts don't warrant that", that you have produced the implication that the facts should be distorted if they only support one side.

How? Well, Halperin's original statement is essentially a conditional:
If the facts only support one side, then treating both sides "equally" does not serve the public interest.
The truth of this conditional is independent of any given set of facts it might be applied to. Personally, I think it sounds reasonable.

By leaving off the final phrase of the sentence, you turn Halperin's statement into a declaration:
Treating both sides "equally" does not serve the public interest.
However, given that the final phrase was part of Halperin's statement, and you chose to ignore it, the implication of your statement becomes:
Treating both sides "equally" serves the public interest, even when the facts do not support it.
Is this really what you wanted to say?
The major issue with Halperin’s general, non-specific instructions - rests with your answers to these questions --- Is the general tone of the memo is one that is telling ABC reporters to focus on Bush’s pending misdeeds? ------- Or is it one that tells them to focus of Kerry’s pending misdeeds? OR --- as you seem to suggest, one that is neutral in tone?
I suggested that one particular sentence, which I do think is neutral in tone, was misused in your argument. Overall? I think the memo is stating that Halperin thinks that a focus on Bush's use of distortion is currently warranted. The question is why? It's pretty clear that he thinks the facts support this, and also thinks his citations reflect those facts. This is an internal memo, not an article intended for publication. It was written within the entire context of prior communications between Halperin and his staff. Just because you (or I) don't know why he thinks the facts support this position doesn't mean his staff doesn't.
These negatives may yet to even exist. They may exist in a reporters mind only – or worse, in his/her desire only.
This is not justified by the text. The obvious interpretation is that these negatives comprise events referred to by the NYT or Fineman.
As mention in my post above, Halperin could have provided specific instruction regarding the Bush campaign. He chose not to.
Yes, but why? Was it a conspiracy? Was he just being sloppy? Were the facts he referred to obvious to the memo's intended audience? It's all speculation.

Note that I have not followed this story. I know nothing about Halperin. Everything I've said is based on the text you gave for the memo and your comments. If there are details that raise what you're saying beyond speculation, you haven't given them.
Christ folks, what would this board be doing if FOX NEWS issued such a report.
Fox's John Moody puts things like the following in his memos:
"Into Fallujah: It's called Operation Vigilant Resolve and it began Monday morning (NY time) with the US and Iraqi military surrounding Fallujah. We will cover this hour by hour today, explaining repeatedly why it is happening. It won't be long before some people start to decry the use of 'excessive force.' We won't be among that group."
It's good he knows how to characterize the operation before it has even been completed...

Here's another one from Moody. Is this an unbiased directive?
Kerry's speech on the economy at Georgetown is likely to move onto the topic of Iraq. We should take the beginning of KErry's speech, see if it contains new information (aside from a promise to create 10 million jobs) and see if other news at the time is more compelling. It is not required to take it start to finish.
replace the words "Kerry" wherever you read "Bush" ... and come back and tell me your responses would be the same.
The words "Kerry" and "Bush" don't appear in the sentence I was talking about, so to that part, yeah, my response would be the same. Obviously, it makes a difference to the entire document.
So again, here's my concern --- it’s the fact that specific instances, i.e. FACTS, are missing from Halperin's general instruction to his subordinates that gives me the shivers.
Worse shivers than Moody giving obviously slanted instructions?
Why did Halperin issue this memo?
Well, that is the question, isn't it? What pattern was he trying to correct? And if the pattern is to avoid confronting the administration with facts out of fear of retaliation, then what would that mean? I'm not saying there's any evidence of said pattern—to interpret the memo that way would be speculation. Or, in other words, it has just as much support as the interpretation you offer.
 
  • #8
ABC really needs to be careful. They've stepped over the line and they are in real danger of criminal election tampering.
 
  • #9
plover said:
It's a short memo, not a treatise.

Treatise or memo, how does that prevent one from providing specifics? A specific line here or a line or two there could have worked wonders. Instead, Halperin filled his memo with general instruction. Halperin wasn't prevented from citing specifics, again, he decided not to, for whatever reasons.

…He gives citations to the New York Times and Howard Fineman.

Well he mentions their names and then gives us what they've said in his words – And what he claims they say makes them just as guilty as Halperin. Here's what Halperin claims --

The New York Times (Nagourney/Stevenson) and Howard Fineman on the web both make the same point today: the current Bush attacks on Kerry involve distortions and taking things out of context in a way that goes beyond what Kerry has done.

Kerry distorts, takes out of context, and mistakes all the time, but these are not central to his efforts to win.

What I said was that given Halperin's statement that:
"We have a responsibility to hold both sides accountable to the public interest, but that doesn't mean we reflexively and artificially hold both sides 'equally' accountable when the facts don't warrant that."
and that your use of the statement leaves off the final phrase, i.e. "when the facts don't warrant that", that you have produced the implication that the facts should be distorted if they only support one side.

How? Well, Halperin's original statement is essentially a conditional:
If the facts only support one side, then treating both sides "equally" does not serve the public interest.

The truth of this conditional is independent of any given set of facts it might be applied to. Personally, I think it sounds reasonable.

By leaving off the final phrase of the sentence, you turn Halperin's statement into a declaration:

Treating both sides "equally" does not serve the public interest.
However, given that the final phrase was part of Halperin's statement, and you chose to ignore it, the implication of your statement becomes:
Treating both sides "equally" serves the public interest, even when the facts do not support it.
Is this really what you wanted to say?

First, you stated that you know only what I provided here in regards to the Halperin memo. As you state here --
…I know nothing about Halperin. Everything I've said is based on the text you gave for the memo and your comments…
And as you see, I provided the ENTIRE MEMO in the initial post, and it was from that post, I assume, you got the entire quote you mention. In addition, there was an ellipsis at the end of the quote telling you it went on. Both the entire quote was provided, and when used later in that SAME post, an ellipsis telling you, if you desire to look at the entire quote – since the one provided wasn’t whole. So --you could simply look in that same post from the entire quote, which you apparently did. Second, Halperin’s instruction makes it clear that this memo was about Bush and focusing on the Bush negatives. That much has already been described by Halperin BEFORE the quote. Third, I suspect you’re attempting to divert attention from the issue by engaging in a discussion about a quote, verse partial quote.

Anyway, Halperin issues a general, unsupported instruction against Bush - and issues that instruction to his subordinate reporters at ABC, and that sits well on the stomach for some here. And least there is confusion, this general, non-specific instruction is one intended to focus ABC’s reporters on Bush negatives and away from Kerry negatives. This is seen from the instruction itself – "…Bush attacks on Kerry involve distortions and taking things out of context in a way that goes beyond what Kerry has done.

Kerry distorts, takes out of context, and mistakes all the time, but these are not central to his efforts to win."


These are Halperin's unsupported generalized claims and worse, are Halperin's instruction to his subordinates TELLING them the way the world IS. An instruction questionable enough in it's own right, considering the profession and the subject mater, but then Halperin takes this even further. After he tells his reporters what the generalized situation IS, he goes on to use that unsupported given about the political world as support for his next instruction ---

We have a responsibility to hold both sides accountable to the public interest, but that doesn't mean we reflexively and artificially hold both sides "equally" accountable when the facts don't warrant that.

Considering Halperin's prior instruction on HOW his subordinates SHOULD VIEW each candidate, that is, focus and target Bush ---- Halperin's next statement regarding about not holding each candidate "equally" accountable when the facts don't warrant that speaks for itself. And it's not one of "neutrality" as some attempt to frame this.

Bottom line, ABC has shown themselves to be little better than CBS this political election –

He probably also presumes some set of facts is known to the reporters.

He "probably" presumes --- where did you get that from? It's not anywhere in the Halperin instruction, in fact, Halperin tells his subordinate WHAT the generalized "facts" are, as shown in the memo and quote above. He doesn't seem to presume anything.

It's not the sort of document that strikes me as easily assessed on this point without a good deal of context.

Possible. And if true here than it's true everywhere, with any internal correspondence – no matter how damning. You're forever barred from discussing memos such as this one if the burden falls on the reader to fill in the blanks left by the creator. Halperin failed to put that specific factual context in his memo, which doesn’t take a treatise to do, but a line or two or a specific cite to specific information. Halperin fails to do this and, to my knowledge, has yet to remedy this omission - if a remedy exists.

However, nothing in your response really addresses what I said. Indeed, the quality of his facts don't really matter to what I said.

So? Why do you pretend that Halperin gave us anything – quality or quantity?

…It's pretty clear that he thinks the facts support this, and also thinks his citations reflect those facts. This is an internal memo, not an article intended for publication. It was written within the entire context of prior communications between Halperin and his staff. Just because you (or I) don't know why he thinks the facts support this position doesn't mean his staff doesn't.

True. But that doesn’t mean that the questions disappear an that the memo shouldn't be given it's clear meaning until those unrevealed facts are provided by way of explanation. Attempting to draw attention from the clear words on the memo by suggesting that clarifying information lies elsewhere - is so far, unsupported.

This is not justified by the text. The obvious interpretation is that these negatives comprise events referred to by the NYT or Fineman.

Read the memo again. Halperin mentions these two, and then mentions their positions. Those positions advocate a bias in favor of Kerry and against Bush. No specifics, no support. So, if there really is more out there waiting for discovery that will explain this all – than that should be provided. If there is nothing to explain this memo beyond Halperin’s leaked words themselves, we’ll see nothing –or nothing credible. This memo is no secret now, and this memo now has widespread existence on the Internet. It would appear that if Halperin had anything to add by way of explanation, he would have produced that. To date and to my knowledge, there has been nothing provided by way of explanation from Halperin – or even ABC.
 
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  • #10
And one other important concern -- IF this isn't a politically motivated memo issued by ABC’s Political Director, why does he set the tone of the memo with the opening language – It goes without saying that the stakes are getting very high for the country and the campaigns - and our responsibilities become quite grave.

Why all this 'getting' and 'becoming' as mentioned in the opening memo lines, especially as the election draws near? Why are the "stakes" "getting very high for the country" when you're a neutral reporter. Either one candidate wins or the other wins. Facts remain facts. As a neutral reporter you have no "stake" in those outcomes or the existence of those facts - outside of reporting them. The facts are properly reported by the media and the consumer uses that properly provided information when deciding issues. Let the facts be facts and let them speak for themselves. This reporter responsibility is no more "grave" now than five months ago. It isn't "getting" anywhere if you're truly neutral. What's at "stake" or what is "becoming quite grave" to a reporter that is actually neutral, is the same, election after election. Reporting salient information as it becomes available. A reporter's "stake" in the outcome are not "very high" or unusually low. That is, unless you have something additional in mind. And here, that something addition is attempting to create a justification for slanting the coverage against Bush and in Kerry's favor.

The real point here is the content of the memo, and what it instructs ABC's reporters to do. As a fair reporter, you report specific facts. IF those specific facts lead a reasonable mind to those conclusions – than so be it. You, as a neutral reporter, do NOT submit your conclusions. And conclusions are what Halperin proves to his reporters in his memo.
 
  • #11
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What is the Halperin Memo?

The Halperin Memo, also known as "ABC rallies around Truth", is a controversial internal memo written by Mark Halperin, a political analyst for ABC News, in 2010. It outlined a strategy for the network's coverage of the midterm elections and received criticism for its perceived biased and partisan approach.

Who wrote the Halperin Memo?

The memo was written by Mark Halperin, a political analyst and journalist for ABC News. He was the senior political analyst for the network at the time and had previously worked for Time Magazine and MSNBC.

What was the purpose of the Halperin Memo?

The purpose of the memo was to provide a strategy for ABC News' coverage of the 2010 midterm elections. It outlined a plan to focus on key races and candidates, as well as to provide a more partisan viewpoint in order to attract viewers and improve ratings.

Why was the Halperin Memo controversial?

The Halperin Memo received criticism for its perceived biased and partisan approach to news coverage. Many felt that it compromised the integrity and objectivity of ABC News and undermined the network's credibility as a news source.

What was the aftermath of the Halperin Memo?

After the memo was leaked to the public, Mark Halperin apologized for its contents and ABC News released a statement denouncing the memo and its approach to news coverage. Halperin was suspended from his position at the network and eventually left ABC News in 2011.

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