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Commentary Too - Apr 6, 2005 - Printable Version
- Time to Boycott GE, Dateline, and NBC?
by Mark Faulk
Think back with me for a second to the good old days, when news was news, and entertainment was relegated to....well....the entertainment programs. As the line between news and entertainment becomes increasingly blurry, and as news itself is influenced by politics and special interest groups, and as even the news agencies and networks are slowly but surely absorbed by Corporate America, it has become increasingly difficult to rely on the major networks to tell us the truth. Never has this been better illustrated than with the NBC Dateline Stockgate story. Heralded as a story that could "blow the roof off of the Stockgate scandal", The Faulking Truth first broke the story of Dateline's postponement of the segment in June of last year, after discovering that it had already been postponed from it's original date of January or February. Um, that's January or February of 2004, not 2005. At the time, we were assured by reliable sources that the show would air "sometime in August". We chastised Dateline for airing fluff piece after fluff piece, while sitting on the story that has been called "the biggest financial scandal in the history of the world, with incurred losses estimated by some experts at well over $1 trillion dollars". This is from that article, entitled "Is Dateline Losing Credibility Over StockGate Story Delays?" at http://www.faulkingtruth.com/Articles/Investing101/1005.html :
The time for full disclosure is now. Dateline NBC owes it to the American people to release what information they have immediately, and if necessary, air a followup segment as the story continues to develop. As the Associated Press and rival CBS show 60 Minutes recently pointed out, "In one month, NBC's signature newsmagazine devoted some five hours of programming to the season finale of 'The Apprentice' and the series finales of 'Friends' and 'Frasier.' " If The Donald, Ross, Rachel, and Fraiser rate five hours of coverage in one month on what is supposed to be a major news show "bringing viewers compelling investigative reports", then surely the "biggest financial scandal in the history of the world" is worth a segment or two.
So....how did Dateline respond? They postponed the Stockgate segment again and again, leaving investors feeling used and abused by those who could have championed their cause and taken their case to a nationwide audience. Here we are, well over a year after the first proposed air date, and finally, FINALLY, Dateline scheduled the by now mythical story for April 10....this Sunday. Hallelujah! Justice, though moving slower than Father Time himself, would finally prevail. (Read "FINALLY! Dateline to Air Stockgate Segment April 10th" at http://www.faulkingtruth.com/Articles/Investing101/1022.html )
Not so fast, America. Nine days after Dateline producer Sharon Hoffman confirmed the April 10 airdate, and only four days before millions of Americans would presumedly learn the true story of how millions of investors have been defrauded in a massive "stock counterfeiting" scheme right under the noses of the SEC and, according to many experts, aided and abetted by the SEC, NASD, and the DTCC, the story was postponed....yet again.
The official stance taken by Dateline, and repeated by Hoffman, the front office, and anyone else who got the memo, was that their entire schedule had been reshuffled due to "a very busy news cycle" that included the death of the Pope, Prince Ranier's death, and Prince Charles wedding. So which of those breaking news stories preempted the Stockgate segment this Sunday? None of them. Instead, viewers will get to see, according to the Dateline website, " 'American Idol' star Ruben Studdard discuss his latest gospel album and how his life has changed since beating Clay Aiken on the second season of 'American Idol".
So there you have it. Last year, the finales of Friends and Frazier took precedent over the concerns of American investors (and judging from recent events, the scheme has worked it's way back into Canada and Berlin again), and almost a year later, A pop singer from a reality TV show has been deemed more important than helping to expose what could very well be the worst scandal in the history of the stock market. Entertainment as news. Fluff over substance.
This is how Dave Patch described it just today in his online newsletter "Stockgate Today" ("Dateline Special on Naked Shorting Postponed" at http://www.investigatethesec.com/ ):
"Dateline, having locked out most of the media from access to the details of this issue with exclusive rights to the lawyers and consultants researching the evidence, forgot that exclusive rights carries the burden of ethical behavior especially with such a large class of victims. This wasn’t a 'when I get around to it' story although that has obviously been how they have treated it."
How much money has been lost because so-called "news agencies" like Dateline have sat on this story while the corruption continues unchecked? How many untold millions or hundreds of millions of dollars have been robbed from the small investor while those who could help sit on their collective corporate hands? Maybe in time, that question will finally be answered. Maybe in time, Dateline will have the nerve to live up to their reputation as the "one-hour newsmagazine that delivers in-depth coverage of news events and investigates subjects of all kinds", and re-discover the approach that has made the show "the most honored news program on television, with 28 Emmy Awards, 26 Edward R. Murrow Awards, two George Foster Peabody Awards, three Alfred I. Dupont Awards, 28 American Women in Radio and Television Gracie Awards, 37 National Headliner Awards, 24 Clarion Awards, five Sigma Delta Chi Awards, and five Overseas Press Club Awards."
When we first broke this story ALMOST A YEAR AGO, we questioned the integrity of Dateline and NBC. Now, eight moths later, that charge is worth repeating:
"The shelving of this important expose' by Dateline NBC raises some very important moral and ethical issues, in this writer's opinion. If in fact they have collected information that would help to put a stop to the massive criminal activity that is robbing American companies and their stockholders of literally hundreds of millions of dollars every day, aren't they at the very least morally obligated to release that information in a timely fashion? And since they have postponed the show for the last four months, shouldn't they release attorneys O'Quinn and Christian from their exclusivity contract, so that they can disseminate information that might be vital in helping the victimized companies, their shareholders, and the various governing bodies put to end this ongoing corruption? And if in fact the money being stolen from honest Americans is being used to fund terrorism and organized crime, then shouldn't Dateline immediately make public any information that could help put an end to those insidious activities?"
All I know is this: if Dateline doesn't reschedule the Stockgate story....and soon, and doesn't give it the attention it deserves, or if they cave in to alleged pressure from the DTCC and the SEC, then it's time for Americans to "vote with their pocketbooks", and boycott NBC AND their parent company General Electric. THAT'S a voice that even Dateline can't ignore, and that's the Faulking Truth.
(Editor's note, April 7, 2005: I just received an email from a very informed source, stating his opinion that Dateline producer Sharon Hoffman "was not involved in anything improper" pertaining to the Dateline Stockgate story. His reasoning, which I am in total agreement with, is that she would not "screw up anything she has such an enormous personal involvement/investment in". Also, her statement to Dave Patch that the "revised schedule is in the hands of her superiors", leads me to believe that she is just as frustrated as we are about the repeated delays. I for one am grateful for her efforts to put together a thorough, well-researched piece on naked short selling. Just my faulking opinion.)
To read the followup commenrtary to this article, entitled "Dateline, NBC, and GE: LET THE BOYCOTT BEGIN!", go to:
http://www.faulkingtruth.com/Articles/LettersToEditor/1011.html
To read "Dateline Stockgate Update: POSTPONED YET AGAIN!", go to:
http://www.faulkingtruth.com/Articles/Investing101/1023.html
Tell Dateline what you think about this issue:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3303518/
Call them at 212-664-4444
or email them at Dateline@NBC.com
To email Sharon Hoffman at NBC Dateline:
Sharon.Hoffman@nbcuni.com
To contact members of the US Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, go here and click on the members' names:
http://banking.senate.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=Information.Membership
To contact members of the Senate Finance Committee, go here and click on the members' names:
http://finance.senate.gov/sitepages/committee.htm
Sign the petition at www.investigatethesec.com
Add your name to our "Stockgate activist list" at info@faulkingtruth.com. We will email you only when we have new articles or information dealing with this issue. Please link the articles everywhere you can, post them on stock message boards, and send them to the appropriate public entities. To enact positive change requires positive action.
For related articles on this story, read:
"Is Dateline Losing Credibility Over StockGate Story Delays?"
www.faulkingtruth.com/Articles/Investing101/1005.html
"Is Time Running Short in Stockgate Scandal?"
www.faulkingtruth.com/Articles/Investing101/1011.html
"The Waiting is the Hardest Part"
www.faulkingtruth.com/Articles/Investing101/1012.html
"FINALLY! Dateline to Air Stockgate Segment April 10th"
http://www.faulkingtruth.com/Articles/Investing101/1022.html
"Stockgate Goes to Congress"
www.faulkingtruth.com/Articles/Investing101/1019.html
And for an overview into the stock market scandal, read:
"Financial Terrorism in America"
www.faulkingtruth.com/Articles/Investing101/1001.html
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