View this email in your browser ABC’s Epstein Story Didn’t Kill Itself by Alan MacLeod New York (10/28/02) hyped Jeffrey Epstein as a "relentless brain" with a "keen eye for the ladies." Multimillionaire predator Jeffrey Epstein died in suspicious circumstances at a Manhattan correctional facility on August 10. The wealthy and powerful New York financier, a convicted sex offender, stands accused by dozens of women and girls of trafficking, rape and sexual abuse. He was an enormously influential and well-connected man who counted as friends billionaire business owners, Hollywood stars, British royals, and even top media figures like Katie Couric and Charlie Rose—with some of his associates falling under suspicion of condoning or even participating in a pedophile ring. “I’ve known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy,” said fellow tycoon Donald Trump (New York, 10/28/02), adding: “It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.” Former President Bill Clinton was also close with Epstein. Epstein’s crimes shocked the public, and his arrest, trial and mysterious death were major stories for much of 2019. But last month, leaked footage emerged showing that corporate media knew much about these crimes years previously. Discussing one of his accusers, ABC News anchor Amy Robach was caught on camera lambasting executives at her network for killing her investigations into the sex offender because of Epstein’s connections. The clip was originally leaked to infamous right-wing troll James O’Keefe, who has a long history of producing bogus stories (FAIR.org, 4/1/10, 3/14/11, 12/12/15, 10/21/16), but ABC employees, including Robach herself, have confirmed its authenticity. In the video, Robach complains: Amy Robach: "I've had the [Epstein] story for three years." I've had the story for three years. I've had this interview with [Epstein complainant] Virginia Roberts. We would not put it on the air. First of all I was told, “Who is Jeffrey Epstein? No one knows who that is. This is a stupid story.” Then the palace found out that we had her whole allegations about Prince Andrew, and threatened us in a million different ways. We were so afraid we wouldn’t be able to interview Kate and Will that it also quashed the story. And then Alan Dershowitz was also implicated in it because of the planes. “The planes” is a reference to the celebrity attorney’s frequent trips on Epstein’s infamous private jet, which he used for trafficking. A visibly exasperated Robach continued, revealing the level of detail of her investigation: She told me everything, she had pictures, everything. She was in hiding for 12 years. We convinced her to come out. We convinced her to talk to us. It was unbelievable what we had; Clinton, we had everything. I tried for three years to get it on to no avail, and now it’s all coming out and it’s like these new revelations, and I freaking had all of it!... What we had was unreal. Robach’s comments about being pressured into killing the story by powerful people ABC relied upon are a perfect example of the perils of access journalism. In their influential book Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media, Edward Herman and Noam Chomsky identified “sourcing” and “flak” as two of the five key filters that dictate what makes the news and what does not. By sourcing, Herman and Chomsky are referring to corporate media’s reliance on powerful official sources (like politicians, celebrities and corporations) to essentially subsidize them by providing them with free content, such as interviews, soundbites, statistics and pictures. Journalists are therefore caught up in a symbiotic relationship with the powerful, where elite sources grant “scoops” in exchange for preferential treatment. The royal family, Robach claims, successfully used the influence it had, quashing the story by threatening to cut off access. It is also particularly easy for the powerful to generate flak—negative responses to media content. Flak can take the form of boycotts, angry phone calls, lawsuits, smear campaigns and more. One particularly alarming form of "flak" was the 2018 US mail bombing attempt, where a Trump supporter sent a bomb to CNN headquarters in response to its negative coverage of the president. Robach brought up Dershowitz, a famously litigious lawyer, as a reason for her silencing. But ABC could reasonably expect great resistance from many of those connected to Epstein, one more example of how stories scrutinizing the powerful are discouraged in the modern media landscape. ABC News would later claim that they never nixed the story, stating that at the time of Robach’s comments, not all of our reporting met our standards to air, but we have never stopped investigating the story.  Ever since we’ve had a team on this investigation and substantial resources dedicated to it. That work has led to a two-hour documentary and six-part podcast that will air in the new year. Former producer Ashley Bianco (MK, 11/8/19), who denies sharing the Robach tape with anyone outside ABC News. After the video went viral, CBS News fired its producer Ashley Bianco after ABC contacted them, asserting (possibly incorrectly) that she had leaked the tape during her time working on Robach’s show. Top executives at ABC are reportedly “freaking out” over the anonymous employee’s identity, spending far more energy and resources trying to find the leaker than in investigating why it enabled a serial sexual predator to continue offending. Perhaps even more worryingly, corporate media rivals have largely not touched the story. Neither Robach’s revelation nor Bianco’s termination have been reported on by MSNBC, CNN, CBS or the New York Times, nearly a month after the video first leaked. Thus the story of a major media outlet covering up the crimes of a monster, with the only person to face any sanction being the alleged whistleblower,  whom two outlets combined to punish, appears not to qualify as a newsworthy event to much of the press. Indeed, Epstein’s team managed to convince many supposedly reputable outlets, including the Huffington Post (11/17/17), Forbes (10/2/13) and the National Review (7/10/13) to publish puff pieces about him (New York Times, 7/21/19). (Epstein pled guilty to charges connected to sexual abuse of minors in 2008.) Forbes  described him as “one of the largest backers of cutting-edge science around the world,” making no mention of his criminal past. The stated writer was paid $600 by a PR firm to attach his name to the pre-fab article and run it on the site, perhaps the most blatantly unethical sponsorship practice there could be. ABC’s decision to spike the Epstein exposé in order not to embarrass or implicate his powerful associates, thereby effectively enabling his crimes, is a perfect example of the danger of access journalism. Robach predicted, “There will come a day where we will realize Jeffrey Epstein was the most prolific pedophile this country has ever known.” Thanks to our corporate media system, that day was delayed by at least three years. You can send messages to ABC News here (or via Twitter: @ABC). Please remember that respectful communication is the most effective. Feel free to leave a copy of your message in the comments thread. © 2018 Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting. All rights reserved. Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting Our mailing address is: FAIRNESS & ACCURACY IN REPORTING 124 W. 30th Street, Suite 201 New York, NY 10001 FAIR's Website FAIR counts on your support to do this work — please donate today.

RSN: Marc Ash | Reload

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24 November 19 It's Live on the HomePage Now: Reader Supported News FOLKS YOU GOTTA HELP WITH THE FUNDRAISER - “Reader Supported News” does not, cannot exist without Reader Support. It becomes an oxymoron. Worse it becomes someone else’s pet. This thing you love, that you trust is something funded by you. That’s why it works for you day-in-and-day-out. Please chip in. / Marc Ash, Founder Reader Supported News Sure, I'll make a donation! RSN: Marc Ash | Reload Marc Ash, Reader Supported News Ash writes: "The battle to turn back Donald Trump's assault on the United States Constitution and the republic it empowers is a battle that must be fought and must be won. Now." The impeachment witness testimonies thus far have been historic and riveting. While not many Trump supporters are saying right now that they are abandoning him, they all say they are watching. It’s a small but crucial victory. Trump supporters, while not particularly well-educated typically, are undoubtedly of sufficient intelligence and social awareness to comprehend the enormity of what they watched the witnesses say, even if the won’t yet admit it. It was stark, unequivocal, and unanimous. Every witness said: Trump used his power as president to “pressure” Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky to announce an investigation into American presidential candidate Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden, and withheld vitally-needed military aid to do it. Every witness, Republican and Democrat alike, knew it and said it directly under oath, on national television. From that Trump’s base can run, but they cannot hide. Up until now, Trump’s supporters have chosen to stick with him because, although they are well aware of his lawlessness, it was more politically convenient to do so than to abandon him. But everything has its limitations. The Democrats must have sufficient confidence in themselves and in what they heard the witnesses say to press the case. This is a big moment. The dam of public support has not yet broken, but it can. It depends on the strength, the vision, and the determination the Democrats and independent-minded Americans who understand the gravity of the situation are able to muster at this moment in history. There are still big shoes that can and likely will drop. Rudy Giuliani is under close examination, and two of his Russian associates are already under indictment for campaign finance violations in connection with Trump and his never-ending reelection campaign. That situation could easily boil over. John Bolton is, for the moment, choosing not to speak for reasons best defined by him. But he too can change at a moment’s notice. There is no time for slipping into disappointment. The Democrats and their independent supporters need to get ready for the next rounds with urgency. Either you defeat Trump or he defeats you. It’s a zero-sum game. There is no middle ground. This time the war is over here. It must be fought and won now. Marc Ash is the founder and former Executive Director of Truthout, and is now founder and Editor of Reader Supported News. Reader Supported News is the Publication of Origin for this work. Permission to republish is freely granted with credit and a link back to Reader Supported News. READ MORE Rep. Devin Nunes speaks at the close of the impeachment inquiry of President Trump in Washington, DC on November 21, 2019. (photo: Bonnie Jo Mount/WP) Top House Democrat Says Ethics Probe of Nunes Is Likely Over Meeting With Ukrainian About Bidens Rosalind S. Helderman and Colby Itkowitz, The Washington Post Excerpt: "A high-ranking House Democrat said Saturday it's 'quite likely' Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) will face an ethics investigation over allegations that he met with an ex-Ukrainian official to obtain information about former vice president Joe Biden and his son." READ MORE Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies before the House Financial Services Committee on Oct. 23, 2019. (photo: Aurora Samperio) Facebook Built a Facial-Recognition App That Let Employees Identify People by Pointing a Phone at Them Rob Price, Business Insider Price writes: "Facebook once built an internal facial-recognition app that allowed employees to identify people by pointing their phone cameras at them." READ MORE Prince Andrew. (photo: Lillian Suwanrumpha) FBI Readies Plan to Interview Prince Andrew, as Unedited Version of That Photo Emerges Tom Sykes and Tim Teeman, The Daily Beast Excerpt: "Speculation that American law-enforcement operatives would come knocking at Andrew's door has been rife all week, but now The Sunday Times says U.S. detectives are 'examining ways to interview the prince in Britain through the U.S. justice department, which oversees the FBI.'" READ MORE A health care facility in Appalachia. (photo: Mason Adams/Getty Images) $44,000 for an Ambulance, Hour-Long Drives to an ER: The Impossible Cost of Healthcare in Appalachia Mason Adams, In These Times Adams writes: "For the residents of rural Appalachia, long drives for emergency care are often a matter of life and death." READ MORE Two former employees of Twitter are charged with spying for Saudi Arabia by accessing information in private accounts. (photo: Mike Blake/) Twitter's Saudi Spy Network Leaves Activists Living in Fear Dania Akkad, The Middle East Eye Akkad writes: "Saudi activists fear they are among thousands of Twitter users whose data is thought to have been obtained by the Saudi government via spies inside the social media giant." READ MORE Berta Cáceres, an environmental activist and indigenous leader, was murdered in 2016 after protesting dam development in Honduras. (photo: Eduardo Verdugo/AP) They've Managed the Forest Forever. It's Why They're Key to the Climate Change Fight Julia Rosen, The Lost Angeles Times Rosen writes: "The first time Mandy Gull visited Canada's Broadback Forest, she was struck by the displays of delicate lichen. By the dense, ancient trees. By the moss-covered floor, which rose and fell like a rumpled green blanket." READ MORE Contribute to RSN Update My Monthly Donation

FOCUS: Frank Rich | Republicans Are Excusing a Criminal Conspiracy

22 November 19 Can a Reader Supported News Agency Survive? The commercialists say no, it cannot happen, that's not the way our system works, nothing survives outside the corporate mainstream. What say you? Donating only takes a few clicks. Thanks to all in advance, Marc Ash Founder, Reader Supported News Sure, I'll make a donation! Update My Monthly Donation If you would prefer to send a check: Reader Supported News PO Box 2043 Citrus Hts, CA 95611

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FOCUS: Frank Rich | Republicans Are Excusing a Criminal Conspiracy

Frank Rich, New York Magazine
Rich writes: "How damaging is Sondland's testimony for the Republicans' defense of Trump? If the Republicans cared about the facts or the gravity of the crime being investigated, the answer would be apocalyptically damaging."

RE: JEFFREY EPSTEIN:
I’m much more interested in the repercussions for the various see-no-evil, hear-no-evil American Establishment figures who hung out with Epstein, in some cases took his money and favors or gave him money and favors, and are skating away (or trying to): Alan Dershowitz, Leslie Wexner, and Leon Black most of all in terms of documented interaction with Epstein, but also such hangers-on as Bill Clinton and Bill Gates, not to mention the Harvard retinue led by Larry Summers and Steven Pinker. Go to YouTube, watch the roughly 50-minute Prince Andrew interview in its entirety, and imagine all these American Establishment men being subjected to a similarly rigorous inquiry. It will chill the blood.

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