Dave Duffy Blogging » Publishing BHM

The prejudice of the mainstream media

Dave Duffy — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 21:14:59 +0000

CNN today carried a story titled, Palin slams ’sexist’ Newsweek cover. The Newsweek cover shows how the mainstream media subtly distorts the debate about Sarah Palin by simply choosing a photo that emphasizes her sexy look. It’s a subtlety that Newsweek and CNN have mastered over the years. To distort truth or meaning, you don’t have to outright lie; you merely have to shift emphasis of a headline, a photo, or a few sentences.

Like Sarah Palin, I am not surprised. I’ve written about the prejudice of the mainstream media against conservatives and Libertarians for many years. This is just the latest example. Over the years CNN itself has been very prejudiced against conservatives and Libertarians, and very clever and subtle with how they display their prejudices.

But the world is catching on. There is a reason why news organizations are losing revenue, laying off their reporters at a record pace, and heading for the ash bin of history. Newsweek’s cover is part of that reason.

Silveira on deadline!

Dave Duffy — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 02:48:28 +0000

Why is John Silveira always the last one to get his column done?

Jackie Clay video

By the way, if you haven’t seen Jackie Clay’s latest blog video, you should. Extremely good. It’s the Oct. 27 entry.

Problems with website shopping cart

The shopping cart on the website broke yesterday afternoon, but we got it fixed tonight. So if you tried to order something at the website within the last day and a half but couldn’t, please try again.

Guess what we’re working on?

Dave Duffy — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 03:54:31 +0000

Ripon Printers congratulates us on our 20th

Dave Duffy — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 01:32:02 +0000

The employees of our longtime printer, Ripon Printers of Ripon, Wisconsin, sent us a signed megaposter the other day congratulating us on our 20th anniversary issue. Many of Ripon’s 300 plus employees signed it. In the center of the poster is a photo of the employees gathered outside their Wisconsin plant. They also sent us a framed copy of our 20th issue cover.

Super nice! That’s why I’ve done business with Ripon for more than a decade. Not only is Ripon and its employees very good at what they do, but it’s a family owned company in a small town and they’ve treated us over the years like we’re part of their family. My wife and I recognize quite a few of the names on the poster.

Just this past summer Annie and I visited the Ripon plant and got a tour from Tom Welk and Joe Putzer, two of our principal contacts there. Huge plant with state-of-the-art equipment. They are very conscious of quality control and have worked with us over the years saving a little money here, a little there without sacrificing the quality of the magazine. I’ve always felt like they are an extension of my own staff.

Thank you Ripon! You’ve made Backwoods Home Magazine look good for years, you’ve helped us control costs, and you’ve minimized all the printing, sorting, and mailing mistakes that inevitably creep into the magazine publication process. May we continue to prosper together.

A golfing visit from my big Brother Hugh, and weighing the options with H1N1 virus

Dave Duffy — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 06:45:24 +0000

My brother, Hugh, is visiting from Maryland. He’s on the right. That’s John Silveira on the left. Lenie and I are in the background. Hugh and I play golf every day when he visits. Since he’s as bad as I am, I at last have a chance to beat someone.

Been thinking a lot about the H1N1 virus lately, doing research on whether or not my kids should get the vaccine when it becomes available in two weeks. Annie just announced she’s pregnant, which puts her in the highest risk category for swine flu so I’m particularly interested in whether or not she should get it. The CDC says of the 700 pregnant women who have confirmed H1N1, 27 have died. That’s a very frightening statistic.

Coincidentally I’m rereading Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond. He says European diseases killed 95% of native peoples in the Americas within about a hundred years of Columbus’s arrival. The Indians had no resistance to Eurasian diseases like smallpox, flu, cholera, measles, and a host of others, so they died in droves. H1N1 is fairly mild now but it has the potential to mutate and become more deadly, and modern humans, just like the Indians back in 1492, have no defense.

I’ve asked Silveira to help me with the research. I’ll let you know what I decide.