GordonUnleashed

Tactless Reporting

August 27th, 2007 by Steve

While I thanked most of the members of the media for acting in a respectful and responsible manner pertaining to the way they handled Aaron Russo’s death, there are two media outlets which didn’t do so well: The Las Vegas Review-Journal and the Vanguard News Network. One isn’t to surprised to see a title like “Movies: Jew Russo Dies” from a vile organization which uses the tagline of “No Jews. Just Right.”

What is a bit surprising is the lack of tact displayed by the LVRJ. For the main body of the text in the Russo obituary article, they used the standard AP wire piece. Then they tacked their two cents to the article. Some of this only appeared in the print version, but not the online version of the story. Had I not been flying out of Vegas this morning, I probably would have missed what they did.

For those not aware of the situation, Aaron Russo ran in the Nevada Republican primary for Governor in 1998 where he received 26 percent of the vote (out of four candidates). One of the things which stood out about that race was the fact that Russo drew crowds of people from across that state and as far away as Los Angeles. Many of them were fans of Mad As Hell; others welcomed the opportunity to disrupt the local GOP machine.

I wasn’t involved in that campaign, but remember researching it extensively in preparation for Russo’s later presidential bid. I always op research my potential clients before I decide if I will work for them. I remember seeing the first photograph, (which appears in the online version) several places. Some website had used that picture to refer to Russo as some sort of ogre, as I recall. I vaguely remember seeing the second picture; it was probably used reasonably in one LVRJ article.

To see for yourself, click to enlarge the newspaper clipping. If necessary, click again to further enlarge it.

I also remember seeing hundreds of other pictures from that campaign. Most were flattering, although another which wasn’t so positive stands out in my mind, too. There were a lot of positive photographs which could have been used. Instead, they chose one which had Russo sitting alone as election results were being counted, which is atypical of Russo.

I’ve attended my share of events with Russo. He did enjoy his private quiet moments, but these are at home or in a hotel room. When he was out in public, he liked to be in the mix of things. If not on stage, he would be shaking hands, talking with people and owning the room.

They could have easily depicted classic Russo speaking in front of a lot of enthusiastic people. They could have used a shot of him working the room. Instead, they they chose two less than flattering pictures.

The article is fine and has been covered by a host of media outlets in the last day or so. However, the captions added in the LVNJ piece reflect on two losses from a generally winning career.

Most anyone who has accomplished much in life has also suffered a few defeats. Why the Las Vegas Review-Journal chose to display the agony of defeat, as opposed to the thrill of victory, in an obituary article speaks to the character of the publication.

Posted in Articles, National Politics, Libertarian Party, Libertarian Movement, In the News

13 Responses to “Tactless Reporting”

Fred Smart wrote on 08/27/07 at 11:05 am :

Steve:

Thanks for paying tribute to Aaron!

I posted your comments at a blog we created for people from around the world to come together in saying “thank you Aaron”:

http://thankyouaaron.blogspot.com/2007/08/steve-gordons-update-on-aaron-august.html

http://thankyouaaron.blogspot.com/2007/08/steve-gordon-says-thank-you-aaron.html

I am a host of a show on the Republic Broadcasting Network - http://www.republicbroadcasting.org/ - with Ed and Elaine Brown from 2-3 pm Monday-Wednesday and Friday. Today we are going devote the entire show as a tribute to Aaron Russo and I wanted to know if you could come on - even for a 5-15 minutes - to talk about Aaron, hiw works and his legacy as perhaps one of the greatest catalysts for the cause of freedom and liberty in America.

I was the National Volunteer Coordinator for the America: Freedom To Fascism (AFTF) network from its inception in May 2006 through early March 2007. I am a State and Regional Coordinator for We The People Congress and I am now one of the hosts of a growing weekly National Ron Paul Meetup conference call every Thursday evening.

Some of the blogs that I edit and/or co-edit are:

http://www.thefreedomfellowship.blogspot.com
http://www.questforfairtrialinconcordnh.blogspot.com/
http://www.voteinsunshine.com
http://www.thankyouaaron.blogspot.com

You can call into our show today beginning at 2 pm eastern - 800-313-9443. I hope you can share some of your thoughts in tribute to Aaron.

Peace and God Bless,

Fred Smart
The Freedom Fellowship
312-602-2568 w
847-878-8090 c

PS. I believe you and I met in person somewhere - perhaps in reference to Gene Chapman who I supported for many years. I have been very active supporting We The People Congress, too. I know we spoke on the phone at least once or twice.
Anchorage Activist wrote on 08/28/07 at 5:31 pm :

Obviously Aaron Russo meant a lot to you, and as a result, you are quite emotionally attached. Understandable.

However, to characterize Vanguard News Network as “vile” is overkill. Their headline “Jew Russo dies” is accurate; Mr. Russo was Jewish, and he passed on. And the headline merely links back to your post on Mr. Russo; what’s so “vile” about that?

In regards to VNN’s slogan “No Jews, Just Right”, VNN editor Alex Linder, who once wrote for American Spectator magazine during the ’90s, has never advocated the extermination of Jews. I seriously doubt that Mr. Linder has a gas chamber set up in his backyard in Kirksville, MO.

Your criticism of the LVRJ seems hypersensitive. What’s so unflattering about the pictures? Mr. Russo actually strikes a contemplative pose in one of the pictures. Perhaps they wanted to show his contemplative side rather than his populist side.
Steve wrote on 08/28/07 at 5:55 pm :

Anchorage,

Your site is almost as vile as VNN’s.
ML wrote on 08/28/07 at 8:39 pm :

Steve,

You’re a vile little moralist of a man. How do you like dem apples?
Anchorage Activist wrote on 08/28/07 at 11:56 pm :

Dismissing the VNN constituency as “vile” is the easy way out.

It’s probably a bit harder to dismiss the 43% of Democrats in your state who supported Larry Darby for Attorney General in 2006 as “vile”. And on top of that, Mr. Darby was an ATHEIST in a fairly religious state. Care to explain that dichotomy?
Steve wrote on 08/29/07 at 12:20 am :

AA,

I was very vocally opposed to Larry Darby. Ask people in my state.
Anchorage Activist wrote on 08/29/07 at 1:27 am :

Fair enough, Steve, thanks for the response. Larry Darby used to post daily campaign updates on phxnews.com and all he ever mentioned was the SPLC (which was the one aspect of his campaign that attracted me, since I look upon the SPLC as judicial extortionists).
Revilo wrote on 08/29/07 at 4:40 am :

I won’t stand for Alex Linder being libeled in this way. He absolutely does favor the extermination of the jews!

“Like I say, jews should be physically exterminated. That is not an extremist position, that is a moderate position. The extremist position is that they ought to be shot with silver bullets and have stakes driven through their hearts.”-Alex Linder
unjew wrote on 08/29/07 at 10:13 am :

“Like I say, jews should be physically exterminated. That is not an extremist position, that is a moderate position. The extremist position is that they ought to be shot with silver bullets and have stakes driven through their hearts.”-Alex Linder

So, what’s not to like? For someone so much unleashed you are a but too whiny. Are you jewish, Steve?
wert wrote on 08/30/07 at 12:06 am :

to da foo bah reap a do.
Joe huffman wrote on 08/30/07 at 12:08 am :

Jews are responsible for most of the gun control legislation.
Gordon wrote on 10/21/07 at 6:27 am :

I heard that Gordon is a well-known homosexual zionist who hates Christians.
GordonUnleashed » Blog Archive » Ron Paul, Racists and the Rap Vote wrote on 10/21/07 at 2:03 pm :

[…] my love comment of the day: I heard that Gordon is a well-known homosexual zionist who hates […]

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Tactless Reporting

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