Moore, the “journalist”
St. Michael Moore got all upset with CNN for daring to question some of the numbers and omissions in SiCKO, his latest “documentary” (his word, not mine) on the US health care system. The film includes, for example, a wonder-filled PR job on the blessings of the Cuban socialised system. I’ve posted before on the inaccuracy of that particular bit of “journalism”. CNN apparently did the same, questioning for example why Moore cherry-picked statistics from different reports (rather than using comparable data) and how it came about that he’s inconsistent about certain data in his film and on his website.
Now Moore is huffy and full of bluster - a scary, Deaniac sight if ever there was one. It’s hilarious, I know, but he actually presumes to lecture CNN on what it means to be a “good journalist”. It appears journalists who just try to uncover and report the facts, are critical of propaganda, or tell both sides of the story just aren’t being “honest”. Not to mention that CNN has always been so nice to him, and now this! The megalomania of the man is staggering. Mind you, he does know how to tap anti-market, anti-war and other populist left-wing tropes in his films to make millions from his gullible audience. And as he blithely admits in his angry rant at CNN, if he stands to make lots of money from someone, he’s going to say what they like to hear. What a journalist!
A good (albeit rather badly written) overview of the substance of the fight can be found here and here. CNN reportedly issued a statement in response to Moore’s tirade, responding point by point. Also see Dr Gupta’s blog post.
