Whoa – 93,000 extra votes?! Media asking for blogger help?!?
Keith Olbermann, of MSNBC, has posted a story (and had a broadcast, apparently) about the voting irregularities in Florida and Ohio.
The article is here:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6210240
The main focus is on Florida, but there’s this little gem, which I hadn’t heard before:
"Interestingly, none of the complaining emailers took issue with the remarkable results out of Cuyahoga County, Ohio. In 29 precincts there, the County’s website shows, we had the most unexpected results in years: more votes than voters.
I’ll repeat that: more votes than voters. 93,000 more votes than voters."
And he then goes on to explain why he thinks the media hasn’t been covering this story, and closes with this, which I think is extraordinary:
"There’s a third element to the reluctance to address all this, I think. It comes from the mainstream’s love-hate relationship with this very thing you’re reading now: The Blog. This medium is so new that print, radio, and television don’t know what to do with it, especially given that a system of internet checks and balances has yet to develop. A good reporter may encounter a tip, or two, or five, in a day’s time. He has to check them all out before publishing or reporting.
What happens when you get 1,000 tips, all at once?
I’m sounding like an apologist for the silence of television and I don’t mean to. Just remember that when radio news arose in the ’30s, the response of newspapers and the wire services was to boycott it, then try to limit it to specific hours. There’s a measure of competitiveness, a measure of confusion, and the undeniable fact that in searching for clear, non-partisan truth in this most partisan of times, the I’m-Surprised-This-Name-Never-Caught-On "Information Super Highway" becomes a road with direction signs listing 1,000 destinations each.
Having said all that – for crying out loud, all the data we used tonight on Countdown was on official government websites in Cleveland and Florida. We confirmed all of it – moved it right out of the Reynolds Wrap Hat zone – in about ten minutes.
Which offers one way bloggers can help guide the mainstream at times like this: source your stuff like crazy, and the stuffier the source the better.
Enough from the soapbox. We have heard the message on the Voting Angst and will continue to cover it with all prudent speed.
Thanks for your support.
Keep them coming … Email me at KOlbermann@msnbc.com"
