Friday, August 28, 2009

WISH-TV'S Jim Shella Does It Again

WISH-TV's Jim Shella wasted no time in getting on the air to trash citizen activist Gerry Mann for daring to challenge U.S. Rep. Andre Carson earlier this week during Carson's speech before Indianapolis' Downtown Rotary Club. Here's a little of what Shella had to say about Mann in this report:

When a health care opponent got in the face of Congressman André Carson (D) on Tuesday it looked like a spontaneous event. Now there is evidence that it was planned.

Gerry's View is a web site maintained by Gerry Mann, the Rotary Club member
who confronted Carson during and after a presentation to the club. On the site, Mann encourages others to let their voices be heard by contacting their congressmen.

Most of the commentary is directed at President Obama who, in Gerry's view, is a dictator responsible for tyranny, a Marxist, a crook and a racist who should be impeached. Congressman Carson said he was unaware of the writings when he was confronted Tuesday.

Curiously, none of Shella's reporting researched the misstatements Carson made about Obama's health care plan during his speech to the Rotary Club. Members in attendance complained that Carson read from a prepared text, which he seemed ill at ease reading. When attempting to answer questions, Carson was only able to articulate the talking points he had been briefed to parrot on demand. Many of the Rotary Club members left disappointed that Carson appeared to have such a weak grasp of the plan set out in a more than 1,000-page bill that most members of Congress and even President Obama have not bothered to read.

Shella has always been a mouthpiece for the Carson political machine. Shella deliberately covered up the fact that the late Rep. Julia Carson, Andre's grandmother, had cancer and was not expected to live much longer during the 2006 congressional election. Instead, Shella aided the Carson political machine in dragging up a decades' old police domestic report on her opponent, Eric Dickerson, that resulted in no criminal convictions against him.

Similarly, he played gotcha politics with Andre's special election opponent, Jon Elrod, by using video footage of Elrod signing campaign-related letters and stuffing them in envelopes paid for by his campaign on the House floor, something many lawmakers have done over the years and which does not violate any criminal laws.

Earlier this year, Shella ran a hit piece on a State House rally organized by citizen activists fed up with our government. Shella chose members of the audience rather than actual speakers at the event to caricature the citizens at the rally to his personal liking.

What Shella will never tell his listeners is that his public affairs show, "Indiana Week In Review", is sponsored by Ice Miller, whose public affairs group is co-chaired by Lacy Johnson, a political operative and lobbyist with close ties to the Carson political machine. In other words, Shella gets a pay check from Johnson's law firm. Shella is more interested in kissing up to the political insiders than providing informative political news coverage for WISH-TV's listeners.

5 comments:

Downtown Indy said...

When we see their reporters shove mic in somebody's face and start shouting questions, I quess we should decide first if 'it was all planned.' I bet it is, every single time. How is that OK for them and not for a non-reporter?

Since it's damn near unheard of to get a phone call or email response from Carson, I can't fault Mr Mann for collaring Carson in the Club.

indyernie said...

Shella and Carson are chumps. I don't think many place any creditably on either.

dcrutch said...

Out of a multitude of well-stated and representative sound bites at the Statehouse rally, Shella chose to do a hackjob. A mean-sprited one at that. Perhaps he can moderate a talk show, but when it comes to "journalism", he exemplifies tilt and blatant corruption. I'm ashamed to pay tax dollars that go to "public" broadcasting. At critical time in our nation's history, when we need sound reporting and investigative journalism, we have none.

Patriot Paul said...

He has constant repeat performances as predictable as his paycheck. He understated the Notre Dame anti-abortion protesters at 200, when others said 3,000. His quick attempt to catch a quicky story, demean citizens, and favor his access with pseudo-elites comes at the price of near paranoia at anything requiring more than a soundbite. He'd make a good union guy - punch a clock, put in your time, and punch out.

swan said...

A radio show has been announced as a Congressman Carson "town hall", on Obamacare, so that he can answer questions from the the 7th District only, which questions need to be submitted to Amos Brown before the show, I hear. It remains to be seen whether this effort will be worthwhile, or not.

I think that most of the Democrat voters in his district want Carson to vote for the Medicare for All-type bill, sponsored by Conyers and Kucinich in the House, and Sanders in the Senate, which is to be voted on, I read, in late September. We will then see which Democrats are on board, for which health care bill.