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April 18, 2006

Illegal-alien activists target Lou Dobbs

Worldnet daily, among others, is reporting that illegal-alien activist groups plan to target AOL (a subsidiary of the same company that owns CNN) in an effort to get Lou Dobbs fired from CNN. 'Ax-AOL', as it is being called, hopes to apply economic pressure on the parent company by boycotting AOL. Why AOL? Because Lou Dobbs is the largest money-maker for CNN, it is unlikely that CNN would elect to fire Dobbs; thus, top-down pressure from Time-Warner-AOL is being sought as a means to pressure CNN to let Dobbs go.

Lou Dobbs has been focused on the broken borders for years, well before the recent firestorm surrounding the issue. Over that period of time, he has championed the need for stricter enforcement of immigration policy, as well as heightened border protection. Thus, he has been a vocal proponent of HR 4437, the bill introduced by Rep. Sensenbrenner that would call for a border fence, as well as make illegal entry into the US a felony.

I, personally, am quite a fan of Lou Dobbs. I disagree with him on a variety of issues, but I recognize not only his talent as a newsman, but also his ability to approach the issues without bias, and without emotion. It is this sort of logical tact that has lead him to his stance on border security, and on that issue we coincide. However, I find it ironic that those who disagree with his logical assertions are forced to take such a back-door approach (though that is, obviously, something they are used to). As mentioned above, Dobbs is the largest money-maker for CNN. Thus, his message seems to have a large, and supportive audience. Pressuring CNN directly would yield no action, and thus, supporters must rely on alternative means.

I sincerely hope that CNN and their parent company do not bow to this pressure. He should be considered a valued assett, and firing him will be a severe restriction on their ability to legitimately present the news. Firing Dobbs would indicate that CNN lacks the ability to present one side of this particular argument. Thus, their reporting of the border situation would be severely biased towards favoring illegal aliens. This, I think, would set a dangerous precedent for the news channel.

'Ax-AOL' has also claimed that if Dobbs is fired, he will be unable to find employment anywhere, because 'Ax-AOL' will simply change their name (such as 'Ax-FOX'). More likely, his firing will only increase his value at other news-stations, particularly one without an "achilles heel" such as AOL. Being so popular would likely force various news companies to bid-up his value.

I plan to write CNN on behalf of Dobbs, and I suggest that any readers who are concerned about freedom of press and balance of news-reporting do the same.

Cross posted at 123beta, The Gentle Cricket and California Conservative

Posted by Butch at April 18, 2006 1:03 AM