Channel 4's Raj Chohan gives himself a "Reality Check"

Raj Chohan standing in front of an image of... Raj Chohan. As noted in this September 26 More Messages blog, Channel 4 reporter Raj Chohan, whose "Reality Check" series calculates the truthiness in political ads, wound up being featured in the very sort of commercial he typically critiques -- a...

By Michael Roberts

September 30, 2008

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Raj Chohan standing in front of an image of... Raj Chohan.

As noted in this September 26 More Messages blog, Channel 4 reporter Raj Chohan, whose "Reality Check" series calculates the truthiness in political ads, wound up being featured in the very sort of commercial he typically critiques -- a spot in which Fourth District political hopeful Betsy Markey, a Democrat, went after her Republican opponent, Marilyn Musgrave, for a previous attack. Yet this oddity didn't prevent him from putting the Markey salvo under the figurative microscope. In both a new Reality Check TV package (in which he mentions his cameo appearance) and a print version published in the Rocky Mountain News, Chohan goes through the commercial line by line. Unsurprisingly, and amusingly, he gives his own previous judgment about Musgrave's ad a thumbs-up. But he believes that the rest of the claims occupy the murky territory between spin and outright falsehood. He concludes that "both candidates in this race are stretching the truth beyond recognition. This ad is no exception" -- even though he's in it.

Look below to see the Musgrave and Markey ads. -- Michael Roberts

The commercial "authorized" by Marilyn Musgrave:

Betsy Markey's answer:

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Michael Roberts began his career with Westword in 1990 as music editor. In 1999, he took on a new role, full-time media reporter, as author of a column called The Message. In 2008, he became the lead writer for Westword's news blog, The Latest Word, a position he held until January 2023. Michael continues to freelance for Westword, covering everything from business to sports and the media; he also contributes to Jazziz, a national music magazine. He holds a bachelor's degree from what is now Colorado Mesa University and master's degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles, and Northwestern University.

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