People are still talking and writing about the fucking slap (the fact that most of you know exactly what I’m referring to is part of the problem). As I mentioned yesterday, after three years Hunter Biden’s bloody laptop is still a front-page story (thanks, CNN and TheWashington Post). And remember the outrage when it was revealed that Hunter’s paintings—which were shown at the Bergès Gallery in SoHo last November—had some large price tags (as much as $100,000)? I don’t think commensurate attention was ever paid to the fact that Ivanka and Jared made in excess of $640 million in the mere four years during which they were supposed to be working full-time in her father’s administration.
Hunter Biden, Self-Portrait
Despite the false-equivalency nonsense, though, these stories are besides the point—at least in the context of what I’m getting at.
In yesterday’s post I also laid out a long but incomplete list of all of the very serious news that somehow keeps failing to gain traction. Most of the stories have to do with the criminal behavior of those at the highest levels of government surrounding January 6th. Some have to do with Donald’s other treasonous behaviors.
On the one hand, “It’s [ ] telling that the hand-delivered leaks [about Hunter Biden] arrived the same time we’re learning even more about the Trump White House’s criminality. Specifically, the administration’s clear lawbreaking surrounding the January 6th coup attempt,” writes Eric Boehlert.
And as Elie Mystal put it in The Nation, “Every day there’s a different insurrection-adjacent story, but the media never floods the zone with all of them and never stays on a single one long enough to get answers.”
This is exactly how Donald has always gotten away with everything. While he—and now Republicans— flood the zone with their lies and horrific policies, each of his transgressions is treated as if it exists in a vacuum. Instead of being cumulative—which would be the case for any other criminal—each new bad act replaces the one that came before so the earlier one gets buried and forgotten.
I’ve had people tell me that the reason the media focus on certain stories is because those stories get the most clicks, the most views, and therefore generate the most money—the devastating result of the 24-hour news cycle and the rise of corporate media. But there’s a problem with that explanation—do we really it’s the case that the news that Donald Trump stole or ate classified documents or that he planned, coordinated, and incited a coup against his own country wouldn’t get the sustained attention of a lot of people?
The question for tonight, then, is what do you think it’s going to take for the media to stop the both-sides insanity? Is there anything that will get the fourth estate to act like our democracy, fragile as it is, is worth saving?
Also, the MSM’s constant insistence that Dems will lose in the midterms is creating a bias and driving me nuts! Dems have done it before and can do it again. My position lately has been to ignore the media, register voters and get out the vote! We have a lot to clean up in Texas but we have some great Dem candidates who are worth the effort. Guess it’s my attempt to stay focused on the positive.
Drives me nuts too!! I yell at the TV (logically I know it’s a waste of my breath but makes me feel a tad bit better) than I change the channel or just shut off the TV.
Go Beto, he would be a cool refresh for Texas. I am not in Texas but sent him a donation anyway. And thinking about that, I think that is our only recourse is to support Dems all over the map.
I agree, this may be the most consequential midterm election in the last 100 years. The Republican party is no longer merely a party with differing policy positions, it is a party that is treasonous and fascistic.
I don't think anything will stop the medias' Both sides insanity...damn that's sad to write :(. Unless we collectively turned off all the news as a country and demanded the media to tell it as it is without trying to play both sides fairly when one side wants to destroy America. I just messaged CBS to fuck off with their hiring trump acolyte -Nick Mulvaney
There aren't always 2 sides to every story. That's not true. There is such a thing as objective reality. Two opposite views can't both be right. The idea that you have your truth and I have mine is complete bullshit. Truth matters.
You have such perspective and write with such clarity. I think as long as media groups are money-driven and thus follow the hype, they will never put priority on providing balanced reports or follow an issue and report the conclusion.
I agree part of it is money, but it’s also attention-span. Americans don’t bother to read or digest news. Instead, they cherry-pick news and read only headlines. The media spoon-feeds them what they think they can digest.
Attention span has nothing to do with what stories media choose to offer. If they were serious about maintaining the democracy that provides their free press the headlines would be consistently about real issues and malfeasance and not Hunter Biden's laptop or Mr. Smith slaps Mr. Rock. The problem lies with what choices the media make to deliver news, not the habits of people who consume news.
I don’t think it’s the only thing, but one aspect. Think about news articles you read and how headlines don’t match what’s in the article. I see it all the time. A sensational headline and then the truth in the article. Because many don’t bother to read the article, the headline is what gets passed on as the news. Classic click-bait and I worked at a media company and saw this first-hand.
Habits of people who consume news are how media companies get people to click on their articles.
I believe that theory was started some years ago by Trump himself. He always brags about how his ratings are "through the roof" on whatever show he's on.
I’d like to slap Ginni Thomas and her husband and I am as non violent as they come. My God Donald is being allowed to literally get away with murder on 1/6 and it will never come to light what JarVanka made in their time in office. So sick of all of it. More importantly no matter what we need to keep the house and senate
Headlines are NOT meant do be DIGESTED … like an Anorexic their contents are with us for a very short time. It’s more like Wash, Rinse and REPEAT. Only no one ever mentions, that Ivanka was granted over 25+ patents while “visiting” CHINA while her dad was “negotiating” with CHINA. After the 2016 election the patents, the next day, the patents were officially approved. Wash:Dirty Deals. Rinse: Hide Details.
It’s crazy! I would gladly take the bat. The nerve of her. I understand we are all allowed our thoughts and beliefs, but a Supreme Court Justice’s wife should stay out of politics. He in my opinion should have never been seated and should now resign. He won’t
For most of us, everything we know about local, national, and international events is decided for us. We witness little firsthand. Our knowledge and perceptions are the results of media presentations. We in turn feed the cycle by what interests us, individually and on a mass readership/viewership level.
When Donald Trump was elected, he came into power (I use that word, rather than office), with a fully disclosed history of abhorrent business practices, numerous incidents of personal misconduct, and a complete volume of DSM unsound personality traits. As a skilled con man, he was able to unearth the sewer rats of society. The shadow dwellers found their leader. The former whispers of their vile hate were "normalized". Their voices were given a blaring megaphone. Their distorted religious hypocrisies found skewed biblical justification.
For all of these reasons, the societal norms so many of us believe in, seem to be an impossibility to resurrect. Over and over again I have wondered how this subspecies of a human being can blatantly get away with all that he has done? How are there elected QAnon followers occupying seats in our branches of government? How can we witness the tainting of the SCOTUS, and allow this biased judge to remain on the bench?
I have no answers, as I'm sure many of you don't. I can only hope ... in the immortal words of Anne Frank; “Where there's hope, there's life. It fills us with fresh courage and makes us strong again. In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart.” ... then again, we all know how that story ended.
The best letter on Trump and the sources of news etc that I have read for a long time. It's clarity, perception and grasp of the subject in a nutshell.
I would like to see a prime-time honest conversation in which media has to explain their reasons for taking the approach they do, e.g, both sides-ism, being hard on President Biden while giving the former guy a pass. Moderator/s need to be firm and might include Dan Rather, Jay Rosen, Sarah Kendzior. Others?
The House passage of $35 a month cap on insulin and the lack of coverage is a prime example of what you are talking about. This is a huge deal for millions of Americans. Barely a peep from MSM.
I was thinking this very same thing today. I think that collectively we need to write letters, comment on social media, call the press all day / every day. Call their sponsors. Call the congresspeople who usually speak out about the insurrection and ask them to make press statements. The war in Ukraine is horrible but it takes up 95% of the coverage on CNN / MSNBC and other legitimate news outlets since its inception. I'm worried about all of this other huge information is being watered down and not reaching the public. I worry no one's gonna air the hearings properly because of the war and the media's myopic fascination with it. I think the change comes from us. We need to demand it.
Mary, I totally agree with you! The slap heard around the world has run its course☹️ The only news I can stand to listen to is on PBS. The other networks have got to get a grip and stop giving these people a platform. It’s disgusting!
So true! As I was flipping channels trying to get away from the slap I couldn’t help wondering how many important events that affect us regular folks were being shelved for that BS!
The only way to stop this is to go back to the days when the news divisions of network TV and also CNN and MSNBC weren't expected to turn a profit. That's when everything went downhill. Also, the lack of experienced journalists who were trained for the job in college is a problem. Too many current on-air talent and print writers don't feel the need to keep these very important stories you posted about yesterday in the news. They live privileged lives and don't give a fuck IMO.
I also think they have a bias against Dems. I was listening to Dean Obeidallah's show earlier this evening and he was saying that because Dems want to tax corporations and the traitorous GOP doesn't that's why they want the Dems to lose at least one chamber of Congress in November, hence the horribly skewed coverage.
I'm at my wits end with this crap. This is what's demoralizing me more than anything else. The failure of the media to want to safeguard our democracy in the name of making and hoarding more money.
P.S. Axios, Politico, The Hill and Punchbowl News can go fuck themselves. They are worse than Hollywood tabloids.
What the media has not done is to collect all the stories and put them together. This quote from Judge Walker on the Florida voting case eloquently makes this point.
“Think of it like viewing a pointillist painting, such as Georges Seurat’s A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte,” Walker wrote. “One dot of paint on the canvas is meaningless, but when thousands of dots are viewed together, they create something recognizable. So too here, one piece of evidence says little, but when all of the evidence is viewed together, a coherent picture emerges.”
Hunter’s laptop is a complete story unto itself. The multiple stories that come from flooding the zone are more difficult to pull together in 3-4 sound bytes.
The hippocratic oath to physicians states: Do no harm. Kurt Vonnegut suggested that this oath be taken by engineers of weapons. I would like to see a similar oath applied to those in major media companies.
As someone who is not a fan of "popular culture", I find any/all these noisy memes such a turn-off, in addition to the distraction from what should matter. "If it bleeds, it leads" has turned into a 24/7 barrage of shit most people don't care about. They're tone-deaf x 1,000,000,000.
I do not know what it will take. It is so infuriating to see all the accusations and the supposed facts to prove many of them and yet, no one gets held accountable.
I can count on one hand journalists I trust and follow, and I constantly encourage family and friends to think outside the box and investigate on their own when they're absorbing news content. And I also remind them to always watch for the "Look! Squirrel" moments. It takes extra time of course, but it's well worth the effort and allows for thoughtful and sometimes lively debate...or you could just watch CBS with their new hire, Mick Mulvaney...tsk, tsk, tsk.
I am so sick of the media ( right and left leaning) saying that the GOP will take the House and Senate in the midterms. Nothing is an absolute and none of them are seers. We just need to get Democrats aware of how important their votes are. Rally the blue vote!
Whenever there is an altercation like this both parties must take responsibility for their parts in it. Rock was cruel and facile and has no idea of the meaning of sensitivity. Will Smith was wrong to slap him. I wish he had grabbed the microphone and growled at him, "You don't deserve to pour my wife a drink, much less to say her name!" and then gone back to his seat. There is no excuse for Rock's cruelty under the guise of "comedy." Think about the hideous ways djt ridicules people who have physical or other medical disabilities. Rock lives in that world. All of the other commentators need to stop talking about it as if it were news. Their 15 minutes is up. Slava Ukraini!
You are exactly right and I have yet to see or hear Rock acknowledge that his joke was in such poor taste and, frankly, constitutes an abuse of someone with a disability. Will was wrong, but maybe sometimes that’s what it takes.
Evidence? Proof? Stop repeating proactive propagandist war crimes against our government constitution for democracy and 46TH PRESIDENT administration NATIONALISTS GROUPS OF ANTI-DEMOCRATIC UNAMERICA DOMESTIC TERRORIST ATTACKER'S PROPAGANDA FOR PUTIN IN UKRAINE 🇺🇦 🙄 SUPREMISIST CUSTER BOMBS ON MATERNITY WARDS IS A WAR CRIME REPUBLICANS RUSSIANS DUPLICITOUS POSITIONS IN LEADERSHIP MUST BE 👏 🤣 FOR YOU.
150 years ago when I was in high school (feels like that long ago), I took a journalism class. It was impressed on us that we were to report any news story without personal slant. That can be hard to do. It is natural for us to want to put our own spin on things. But good journalism required it. I remember watching Cronkites nightly report; he did it to perfection. Unless and until we return to that kind of reporting, chaos will continue to reign. Is it any wonder then that there are so many brainless soulless people cumbering the earth when this crap is repeated hour after hour, every day? No need to do their own thinking or research, its all done for them. Just keep listening, soon you'll be the most informed idiot around.
I agree with you 100%. Excellent comment! It is unfortunate, but I don't think that we'll ever see good journalism on the right. Especially from Fox. They discovered the secret to pulling-in and keeping viewers. It has nothing to do with good journalism. That is why Chris Wallace left.
At times it seems to difficult to carry on with so much to fight against. The GOP and it's pack with insurrection, and voter suppression, the media can't get out of the way of its greedy self, the judiciary all stacked against us to stop the collapse of democracy and succumb to the slavery of the elite (as in Russia and future China). However we will victor in the end just as Ukraine will despite the odds. Remember Churchills quote America always does the right thing in the end after trying everything else first. Let's not forget both the American revolution and civil war was to fight for truth over establishment interest.
This white privileged woman seeks the acceptance of our constitutionally of our American government institutions FOLLOWING THE RULES OF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND ACCOUNTABILITY FOR THE UNPRECEDENTED TERRORIZED AMERICAN CITIZENS RIGHTS IN FEAR MONGERING 😱 WHITEWASHING HISTORY AND PROPAGANDA WELCOMED BY APATHY IN OUR CHRISTIAN CONSERVATIVES TO HELP DESTROY UKRAINE 🇺🇦 JUSTICE IN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC TRADITIONS TOO.
I have no answer except bring back independent journalism and stop subsidizing corporate media. But do you notice that every once in awhile, someone in the media will actually admit that they're at fault for the shitty reporting they do, and then follow up with a segment doing more shitty reporting on the issue du jour?
Americans, media included, are consistently in reactive mode. Pandemics are ignored until hundreds of thousands die, democracy is ignored until it's all but lost, global warming is ignored until enough people are displaced, Russia is ignored until a war breaks out in Europe. The media will jump to court Republicans and ignore the erosion of democracy until SCOTUS represses press freedoms. Whether it's greed, apathy, cynicism, or fatalism, the media doesn't care about American democracy or justice. It's position is certainly aided by the feebleness of Democratic leadership response and the ongoing comatose state of AG Garland, but in the end, they're going to have to lose it all for the media to give a damn.
In order to consider the common good as a priority you have to place something beyond your own self. Placing something or someone else ahead of your own self-interest means doing the right thing for the right reasons. $$$ is always about self-interest. There is moral worth in looking toward the common good. There is no moral worth to acting out of self interest.
We really are all in this together and everything is connected. An injury to one truly is an injury to all. We are headed to a disastrous outcome - we cannot change others only ourselves - can't do that without visiting the past time to take a look at it all - nothing is what it seems. FOLLOW THE MONEY
I was greatly disappointed when PBS Newshour devoted a whole segment to “the slap”.
What a waste of valuable air time, that could have been devoted to informing their viewers of relevant news. If I wanted celebrity news I would’ve tuned into ET. Performative Public Pandering???
"The question for tonight, then, is what do you think it’s going to take for the media to stop the both-sides insanity? Is there anything that will get the fourth estate to act like our democracy, fragile as it is, is worth saving?"
INDEED! My cats are tired of my silent head explosions and eyerolling. And I am beyond appalled and weary at it all. But it helps to read it in your words, Mary.
When people write " return to normal' this can't be allowed to be what it means, surely!
I think someone needs to make a major motion picture that tells the story of the Trump family. Then people can see all the transgressions at once. (Well maybe not ALL of them as the movie would be too long.)
You need to stop watching/reading news outlets that do this. When they lose large number of viewers, they may have a look to see why and do what’s needed to get us back.
No! I prepare a question for my device before I pick it up. I returned to the beginning.
When darkness was all that existed.
Our creator is in me. I am so panicked by the "UNPRECEDENTED ASSAULT ON OUR NATION'S DEMOCRACY BY OUR GOVERNMENT CONSTITUTION FOR ALL BRANCHES OF EQUAL BUT SEPARATE POWERS, OPENLY, BLANTINLY IN OUR FACES."
Our brains 🧠 survival power is more powerful 💪 🙌 than anything else in our life because we all came from 1 design. We are all connected to each other by the cells of our blood and bone BREATHING FREELY because of our BRAINS 🧠 SURVIVALMODETO INTERPRETIVE POINTS WHICH OUR BRAINS control.
I couldn't read well until the escalator in June 2015.
I dreamed of being able to articulate the word's with the ability to breathe and think autonomously with senses of my creators design. HATEFUL WORDS GET MY BACK. LOVE GETS ME.
TRIAGE OF OUR PTSD IS IMPERATIVE.
I LOVE YOU ALL SO VERY DEEPLY FOR YOUR SERVICE AND SACRIFICE TO SPEAK JUSTLY IN THIS WORLD 🌎 WIDE WEB.
Mary, Elie's "Parallel Media" To Interrupt Jan 6th Bytes is Right On, I have noticed this cause and effect too for awhile! A Judge Threw Out DeSantis Law That limited voting rights in FLA, do you realize FLA hasn't been able to Set Up New Districts for same discriminatory reasons, A Judge In FLA ruled DeSantis Voting Law Unconstitutional, Lets hope enough honest and sane judges on bench to withstand the coming election. People Forget FOX News and its similar channels are outnumbered by fair and mixed media news 3 maybe 4 to 1, Lets Have Faith And Read More Than The Cover Of The Book, Love Peace Respect
Part of the problem is that news shows are about ratings. If they feel compelled to cover a story that is not really important but will get attention, they will cover it. That draws attention away from the really important stuff. We need to cut through the BS and concentrate on what’s going on. Distractions like the latest idiocy from Madison Cawthorn should be relegated to tabloids. The focus should be how to win the midterms, who are we backing and getting organized.
The only thing that will get the media’s attention is an out and out attack on the media itself by Republicans. Once that happens it’ll be too late though. It’s the old “first they came for” situation.
Republicans Russians in destruction of our rights and rules of law enforcement regulations and procedures for all citizens safety is OUT IN PUBLIC NOW. THEY right law's to get parents attention by hating the people who have ALWAYS BEEN open and honest about the HISTORICALLY ACCURATE and honest opinions about this American government constitution representatives failures to speak truth is a destruction in our democracy. We 🇺🇸 must keep speaking 🔊 truth.
I think that it's going to take all of us who think and care and are really concerned about the state of our democracy to speak up. Loudly and repeatedly, in an organized way. I think that citizens need to put pressure on the corporations that buy ads on the mainstream networks. There are so many things to speak up about, but the media not really paying any attention to the most serious stories is frightening.
I love you all very deeply for your sacrifice and service to INFORM US 🇺🇸. This is a wide-ranging gift that is fortifying me.
I am a privileged white woman who adores OUR 46TH PRESIDENT as a human being.
I loved having a mask supporting BIDEN/ HARRIS campaign.
My husband, WHITE MAN, pleaded with me not to wear the mask, because I could "BE TARGETED BY MY FELLOW AMERICA'S WHO SUPPORT A CULT OF PERSONALITY IN OUR GOVERNMENT CONSTITUTION TO AUTHORITARIANISM DICTATORSHIP. " MAY HURT ME????
NOT IN MY AMERICA WILL I BE AFRAID. NO WAY. I HAVE A 60 YEAR EXPERIENCE IN BREATHING FOR MY BRAIN POWER TO LINGUISTICALLY KNOW HOW 🤔 WRONG THIS COULD BE. VOLTAIRE: IF YOU CAN BE MADE TO BELIEVE IN ABSURDITIES THAN THEY CAN MAKE YOU COMMIT ATROCITIES.
There won’t BE a fourth estate if media doesn’t stop pretending that there are two sides to democracy. Republicans are fascists and will eliminate free press and free speech just like their pal Putin has done in Russia. Donald continues to work for Putin.
Do you remember how the media treated Donald's candidacy as a joke? Remember how so many thought it was too ridiculous to be considered? Remember how we thought Hillary had it in the bag? Remember all those polls that didn't show how angry Republicans were, and how they didn't show what "MAGA people" were thinking and voting? What makes you think they are reliable now? I think the media (and Corporate America) will be very surprised at how angry Democrats and Progressives are and how we will not let this country become an autocracy or oligarchy!
We need to go back to the time when News wasn’t supposed to be profitable. That is when we heard we news from the likes of Walter Cronkite. Real news no people, not entertainers.
All kidding aside, all journalists need to be tested using AP Style, and if they qualify, they get to use a designation, like APQ after their byline. The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) could administer the tests for a reasonable fee. Media outlets could also insist working journalists join the SPJ, because they are fierce watchdogs. The byline designation could be SPJ-APQ. Lies, exaggerations and plagiarism could be reported to the SPJ for adjudication.
As a dormant journalist, I curse blogs. Anyone who uses blogs as a source should have their computers confiscated. I get my news from NBC and MSNBC. They have their flaws, but CNN has too many banners and chyrons and other crap cluttering the screen. ABC's anchor looks like a wax dummy, CBS nope. And Fox "News? Where did they find that many obnoxious assholes?
There is and has always been a standard with our MSM that it must achieve and maintain a fair and balanced approach to the news. Obviously, that approach does not allow for the ability to "flood the zone" with the daily transgressions we see on the right. However, I do not think that is the reason we see real serious news failing to gain traction. I think that the MSM has always maintained that approach. I believe that serious news fails to gain traction, because of the viewership for political stories that is concentrated on the right with Fox News. Most Republicans get all of their news from Fox News. The opinion shows on Fox are disguised as news and they will not allow transgressions from the left to die. On the contrary! Fox News opinion shows add their own element (lies) to keep the stories alive and burn them in the memories of their viewers. Although political network shows on the left editorialize and report the ugly truth on the right, there is so much new on a daily basis, that they often move-on quickly to the next one. However, what makes the biggest difference is this, the political news coming from the left, although it may be slanted, it is the truth. There are strict standards that are adhered to. The media on the left advises the viewer when they have not verified a story. When they have not verified the "truth". On the right: lies, lies, exaggerations, and more lies on all the opinion shows. They embed the minds of their viewers with exaggerated lies and they have no regard for the "truth". Doing so, provides them the ability to engender the hate and distaste for their enemy (liberals). The kind of hate that is not forgotten. That is how and why we lose those people and they have activated voters into the future. The bottom line is simple, and it is this: The opinion shows on the right are viewed as news, yet they do not operate with any ethical standards. So they have the ability to develop hate through the fear that they embed in the minds of their viewers. The result may begin with fear, but quickly turns to hate and anger! A perfect example of this is Hillary Clinton. The networks on the left have taught their viewers to fear and hate Hillary. If you ask why they hate her so much, some may rattle-off some lies they heard on Fox, but many cannot even tell you why. They just hate her!
Well one very very good news item is that Saki is heading to MSNBC. We will not be getting a regurgitation of news from other outlets. Whatever she will be doing there, we have come to know and trust her, and I am assuming it will be blistering whatever framework her show takes.
It is hard to know what to do, we can write to the stations when they report incorrect news, but Fox News is shameless and they'll never admit or correct themselves, unless it benefits them or some crummy politician they support. The best we can do is stay engaged, register and encourage young people we know and others to vote. We can donate to politicians that are worthy, and try to oust the despicable ones, starting in my state of California with Kevin McCarthy. BTW, a teacher by the name of Marisa Wood is running against McCarthy, she needs donations.
MSM needs to declare what side are they on - truth, science, democracy, climate crisis OR lies, science denial, autocracy, and let's let the earth burn up. We the public, the voters, the truth seekers need to tell our MSM that they have to choose. They can no longer sit on the fence as they will be the ones blamed with the Republi-cons take over the House in 2022. Biden will then be impeached in Jan 2023. It makes me sick.
I'm afraid, Mary, that the short answer to your question, "Is there anything that will get the fourth estate to act like our democracy, fragile as it is, is worth saving?" is NO. There can only be one way to solve the former guy problem, and thereby set our Democracy back on track: this family, including adult children need to be dealt with in a way that many people find repulsive. I, personally would find my solution to be very liberating for the entire Nation, because, most assuredly, our AG Garland is weak & refuses to prosecute the worst criminal in American History for fear of retribution!
The media took a wrong turn, years ago, with the creation of "gossip" tabloids, and as a result REAL news has been pushed aside for corporate greed. Now, it has spiraled out of control to the point that the truth will never see the light of day! In the words of the "former tweeter," SAD!
Also, the MSM’s constant insistence that Dems will lose in the midterms is creating a bias and driving me nuts! Dems have done it before and can do it again. My position lately has been to ignore the media, register voters and get out the vote! We have a lot to clean up in Texas but we have some great Dem candidates who are worth the effort. Guess it’s my attempt to stay focused on the positive.
Drives me nuts too!! I yell at the TV (logically I know it’s a waste of my breath but makes me feel a tad bit better) than I change the channel or just shut off the TV.
Go Beto, he would be a cool refresh for Texas. I am not in Texas but sent him a donation anyway. And thinking about that, I think that is our only recourse is to support Dems all over the map.
Thank you for your donation. It is so appreciated!
I agree, this may be the most consequential midterm election in the last 100 years. The Republican party is no longer merely a party with differing policy positions, it is a party that is treasonous and fascistic.
Go League of Women Voters and Blue Horizon Texas!
https://www.lwv.org/
https://www.bluehorizontexas.org/about-us
I don't think anything will stop the medias' Both sides insanity...damn that's sad to write :(. Unless we collectively turned off all the news as a country and demanded the media to tell it as it is without trying to play both sides fairly when one side wants to destroy America. I just messaged CBS to fuck off with their hiring trump acolyte -Nick Mulvaney
There aren't always 2 sides to every story. That's not true. There is such a thing as objective reality. Two opposite views can't both be right. The idea that you have your truth and I have mine is complete bullshit. Truth matters.
Yes, your words are correct and is what I meant to express always two sides but they are not both right and equal. TY
I like how you spelled Mick's name wrong. Perfect shade.
You have such perspective and write with such clarity. I think as long as media groups are money-driven and thus follow the hype, they will never put priority on providing balanced reports or follow an issue and report the conclusion.
I agree part of it is money, but it’s also attention-span. Americans don’t bother to read or digest news. Instead, they cherry-pick news and read only headlines. The media spoon-feeds them what they think they can digest.
Attention span has nothing to do with what stories media choose to offer. If they were serious about maintaining the democracy that provides their free press the headlines would be consistently about real issues and malfeasance and not Hunter Biden's laptop or Mr. Smith slaps Mr. Rock. The problem lies with what choices the media make to deliver news, not the habits of people who consume news.
I don’t think it’s the only thing, but one aspect. Think about news articles you read and how headlines don’t match what’s in the article. I see it all the time. A sensational headline and then the truth in the article. Because many don’t bother to read the article, the headline is what gets passed on as the news. Classic click-bait and I worked at a media company and saw this first-hand.
Habits of people who consume news are how media companies get people to click on their articles.
I agree with you, Tekla.
I saw a theory which I’m starting buy, which is that the so-called MSM WANTS Trump back in the White House because he’s good for ratings.
I think the MSM likes chaos. It’s good for business.
They think Biden, Harris and Congressional Dems are boring. It's infuriating.
They are boring compared to show off trump and his minions but they are telling the truth.. trump doesn’t know what truth is!
You’re in the cult
I believe that theory was started some years ago by Trump himself. He always brags about how his ratings are "through the roof" on whatever show he's on.
Well, that's terrifying.
I’d like to slap Ginni Thomas and her husband and I am as non violent as they come. My God Donald is being allowed to literally get away with murder on 1/6 and it will never come to light what JarVanka made in their time in office. So sick of all of it. More importantly no matter what we need to keep the house and senate
Headlines are NOT meant do be DIGESTED … like an Anorexic their contents are with us for a very short time. It’s more like Wash, Rinse and REPEAT. Only no one ever mentions, that Ivanka was granted over 25+ patents while “visiting” CHINA while her dad was “negotiating” with CHINA. After the 2016 election the patents, the next day, the patents were officially approved. Wash:Dirty Deals. Rinse: Hide Details.
Repeat: Deny, Distract…..Repeat
I'll hand you the baseball bat and watch the slap with pleasure.
It’s crazy! I would gladly take the bat. The nerve of her. I understand we are all allowed our thoughts and beliefs, but a Supreme Court Justice’s wife should stay out of politics. He in my opinion should have never been seated and should now resign. He won’t
For most of us, everything we know about local, national, and international events is decided for us. We witness little firsthand. Our knowledge and perceptions are the results of media presentations. We in turn feed the cycle by what interests us, individually and on a mass readership/viewership level.
When Donald Trump was elected, he came into power (I use that word, rather than office), with a fully disclosed history of abhorrent business practices, numerous incidents of personal misconduct, and a complete volume of DSM unsound personality traits. As a skilled con man, he was able to unearth the sewer rats of society. The shadow dwellers found their leader. The former whispers of their vile hate were "normalized". Their voices were given a blaring megaphone. Their distorted religious hypocrisies found skewed biblical justification.
For all of these reasons, the societal norms so many of us believe in, seem to be an impossibility to resurrect. Over and over again I have wondered how this subspecies of a human being can blatantly get away with all that he has done? How are there elected QAnon followers occupying seats in our branches of government? How can we witness the tainting of the SCOTUS, and allow this biased judge to remain on the bench?
I have no answers, as I'm sure many of you don't. I can only hope ... in the immortal words of Anne Frank; “Where there's hope, there's life. It fills us with fresh courage and makes us strong again. In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart.” ... then again, we all know how that story ended.
The best letter on Trump and the sources of news etc that I have read for a long time. It's clarity, perception and grasp of the subject in a nutshell.
Thank you, Lynne ... your comment is much appreciated.
I would like to see a prime-time honest conversation in which media has to explain their reasons for taking the approach they do, e.g, both sides-ism, being hard on President Biden while giving the former guy a pass. Moderator/s need to be firm and might include Dan Rather, Jay Rosen, Sarah Kendzior. Others?
This would be so wonderful!
The House passage of $35 a month cap on insulin and the lack of coverage is a prime example of what you are talking about. This is a huge deal for millions of Americans. Barely a peep from MSM.
I was thinking this very same thing today. I think that collectively we need to write letters, comment on social media, call the press all day / every day. Call their sponsors. Call the congresspeople who usually speak out about the insurrection and ask them to make press statements. The war in Ukraine is horrible but it takes up 95% of the coverage on CNN / MSNBC and other legitimate news outlets since its inception. I'm worried about all of this other huge information is being watered down and not reaching the public. I worry no one's gonna air the hearings properly because of the war and the media's myopic fascination with it. I think the change comes from us. We need to demand it.
Mary, I totally agree with you! The slap heard around the world has run its course☹️ The only news I can stand to listen to is on PBS. The other networks have got to get a grip and stop giving these people a platform. It’s disgusting!
So true! As I was flipping channels trying to get away from the slap I couldn’t help wondering how many important events that affect us regular folks were being shelved for that BS!
The only way to stop this is to go back to the days when the news divisions of network TV and also CNN and MSNBC weren't expected to turn a profit. That's when everything went downhill. Also, the lack of experienced journalists who were trained for the job in college is a problem. Too many current on-air talent and print writers don't feel the need to keep these very important stories you posted about yesterday in the news. They live privileged lives and don't give a fuck IMO.
I also think they have a bias against Dems. I was listening to Dean Obeidallah's show earlier this evening and he was saying that because Dems want to tax corporations and the traitorous GOP doesn't that's why they want the Dems to lose at least one chamber of Congress in November, hence the horribly skewed coverage.
I'm at my wits end with this crap. This is what's demoralizing me more than anything else. The failure of the media to want to safeguard our democracy in the name of making and hoarding more money.
P.S. Axios, Politico, The Hill and Punchbowl News can go fuck themselves. They are worse than Hollywood tabloids.
Kudos on your P.S.!!!
What the media has not done is to collect all the stories and put them together. This quote from Judge Walker on the Florida voting case eloquently makes this point.
“Think of it like viewing a pointillist painting, such as Georges Seurat’s A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte,” Walker wrote. “One dot of paint on the canvas is meaningless, but when thousands of dots are viewed together, they create something recognizable. So too here, one piece of evidence says little, but when all of the evidence is viewed together, a coherent picture emerges.”
Hunter’s laptop is a complete story unto itself. The multiple stories that come from flooding the zone are more difficult to pull together in 3-4 sound bytes.
But this is what the media must do.
The hippocratic oath to physicians states: Do no harm. Kurt Vonnegut suggested that this oath be taken by engineers of weapons. I would like to see a similar oath applied to those in major media companies.
As someone who is not a fan of "popular culture", I find any/all these noisy memes such a turn-off, in addition to the distraction from what should matter. "If it bleeds, it leads" has turned into a 24/7 barrage of shit most people don't care about. They're tone-deaf x 1,000,000,000.
I do not know what it will take. It is so infuriating to see all the accusations and the supposed facts to prove many of them and yet, no one gets held accountable.
I can count on one hand journalists I trust and follow, and I constantly encourage family and friends to think outside the box and investigate on their own when they're absorbing news content. And I also remind them to always watch for the "Look! Squirrel" moments. It takes extra time of course, but it's well worth the effort and allows for thoughtful and sometimes lively debate...or you could just watch CBS with their new hire, Mick Mulvaney...tsk, tsk, tsk.
Mulvaney… huge mistake!
I only watch the news on PBS as it is unbiased strait on news.
I AM THROUGHLY VOMITING 🤢. SCREW CBS.
I am so sick of the media ( right and left leaning) saying that the GOP will take the House and Senate in the midterms. Nothing is an absolute and none of them are seers. We just need to get Democrats aware of how important their votes are. Rally the blue vote!
My mom is from an island in another country. She always used to say, "you'll know them by which side their bread is buttered on." You were right mom!
Media matters. Look to Independent media and expect a lot.
Substack is place where good journalists are finding a home, Democracy Now, Tom Hartmann, etc.
As Mary identifies in her post; Creating Chaos is a strategy. Choose to not enable it.
People treat the internet like a library. Anyone or anything (computer bots) can post there.
Go to the library, dig deep. You deserve it! We need your thoughtful understandings.
Whenever there is an altercation like this both parties must take responsibility for their parts in it. Rock was cruel and facile and has no idea of the meaning of sensitivity. Will Smith was wrong to slap him. I wish he had grabbed the microphone and growled at him, "You don't deserve to pour my wife a drink, much less to say her name!" and then gone back to his seat. There is no excuse for Rock's cruelty under the guise of "comedy." Think about the hideous ways djt ridicules people who have physical or other medical disabilities. Rock lives in that world. All of the other commentators need to stop talking about it as if it were news. Their 15 minutes is up. Slava Ukraini!
You are exactly right and I have yet to see or hear Rock acknowledge that his joke was in such poor taste and, frankly, constitutes an abuse of someone with a disability. Will was wrong, but maybe sometimes that’s what it takes.
This is how I felt about the moment. Thank you.
I wonder if Madison's orgies story is to distract other news channels (MSNBC) that will not fall for Hunter Biden's distractions.
Evidence? Proof? Stop repeating proactive propagandist war crimes against our government constitution for democracy and 46TH PRESIDENT administration NATIONALISTS GROUPS OF ANTI-DEMOCRATIC UNAMERICA DOMESTIC TERRORIST ATTACKER'S PROPAGANDA FOR PUTIN IN UKRAINE 🇺🇦 🙄 SUPREMISIST CUSTER BOMBS ON MATERNITY WARDS IS A WAR CRIME REPUBLICANS RUSSIANS DUPLICITOUS POSITIONS IN LEADERSHIP MUST BE 👏 🤣 FOR YOU.
Am I high or didn’t we have a truth rule at one time?
150 years ago when I was in high school (feels like that long ago), I took a journalism class. It was impressed on us that we were to report any news story without personal slant. That can be hard to do. It is natural for us to want to put our own spin on things. But good journalism required it. I remember watching Cronkites nightly report; he did it to perfection. Unless and until we return to that kind of reporting, chaos will continue to reign. Is it any wonder then that there are so many brainless soulless people cumbering the earth when this crap is repeated hour after hour, every day? No need to do their own thinking or research, its all done for them. Just keep listening, soon you'll be the most informed idiot around.
I agree with you 100%. Excellent comment! It is unfortunate, but I don't think that we'll ever see good journalism on the right. Especially from Fox. They discovered the secret to pulling-in and keeping viewers. It has nothing to do with good journalism. That is why Chris Wallace left.
At times it seems to difficult to carry on with so much to fight against. The GOP and it's pack with insurrection, and voter suppression, the media can't get out of the way of its greedy self, the judiciary all stacked against us to stop the collapse of democracy and succumb to the slavery of the elite (as in Russia and future China). However we will victor in the end just as Ukraine will despite the odds. Remember Churchills quote America always does the right thing in the end after trying everything else first. Let's not forget both the American revolution and civil war was to fight for truth over establishment interest.
This white privileged woman seeks the acceptance of our constitutionally of our American government institutions FOLLOWING THE RULES OF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND ACCOUNTABILITY FOR THE UNPRECEDENTED TERRORIZED AMERICAN CITIZENS RIGHTS IN FEAR MONGERING 😱 WHITEWASHING HISTORY AND PROPAGANDA WELCOMED BY APATHY IN OUR CHRISTIAN CONSERVATIVES TO HELP DESTROY UKRAINE 🇺🇦 JUSTICE IN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC TRADITIONS TOO.
I have no answer except bring back independent journalism and stop subsidizing corporate media. But do you notice that every once in awhile, someone in the media will actually admit that they're at fault for the shitty reporting they do, and then follow up with a segment doing more shitty reporting on the issue du jour?
Americans, media included, are consistently in reactive mode. Pandemics are ignored until hundreds of thousands die, democracy is ignored until it's all but lost, global warming is ignored until enough people are displaced, Russia is ignored until a war breaks out in Europe. The media will jump to court Republicans and ignore the erosion of democracy until SCOTUS represses press freedoms. Whether it's greed, apathy, cynicism, or fatalism, the media doesn't care about American democracy or justice. It's position is certainly aided by the feebleness of Democratic leadership response and the ongoing comatose state of AG Garland, but in the end, they're going to have to lose it all for the media to give a damn.
Unless & until the common good becomes a priority over $$$ and power, nothing will change.
And tragically I don't ever see that happening.
In order to consider the common good as a priority you have to place something beyond your own self. Placing something or someone else ahead of your own self-interest means doing the right thing for the right reasons. $$$ is always about self-interest. There is moral worth in looking toward the common good. There is no moral worth to acting out of self interest.
We really are all in this together and everything is connected. An injury to one truly is an injury to all. We are headed to a disastrous outcome - we cannot change others only ourselves - can't do that without visiting the past time to take a look at it all - nothing is what it seems. FOLLOW THE MONEY
I was greatly disappointed when PBS Newshour devoted a whole segment to “the slap”.
What a waste of valuable air time, that could have been devoted to informing their viewers of relevant news. If I wanted celebrity news I would’ve tuned into ET. Performative Public Pandering???
"The question for tonight, then, is what do you think it’s going to take for the media to stop the both-sides insanity? Is there anything that will get the fourth estate to act like our democracy, fragile as it is, is worth saving?"
INDEED! My cats are tired of my silent head explosions and eyerolling. And I am beyond appalled and weary at it all. But it helps to read it in your words, Mary.
When people write " return to normal' this can't be allowed to be what it means, surely!
When "the slap" and "Hunters laptop" are the headlines when there is so much real news out there, it feels as though the world has gone mad.
I think someone needs to make a major motion picture that tells the story of the Trump family. Then people can see all the transgressions at once. (Well maybe not ALL of them as the movie would be too long.)
You need to stop watching/reading news outlets that do this. When they lose large number of viewers, they may have a look to see why and do what’s needed to get us back.
No! I prepare a question for my device before I pick it up. I returned to the beginning.
When darkness was all that existed.
Our creator is in me. I am so panicked by the "UNPRECEDENTED ASSAULT ON OUR NATION'S DEMOCRACY BY OUR GOVERNMENT CONSTITUTION FOR ALL BRANCHES OF EQUAL BUT SEPARATE POWERS, OPENLY, BLANTINLY IN OUR FACES."
Our brains 🧠 survival power is more powerful 💪 🙌 than anything else in our life because we all came from 1 design. We are all connected to each other by the cells of our blood and bone BREATHING FREELY because of our BRAINS 🧠 SURVIVALMODETO INTERPRETIVE POINTS WHICH OUR BRAINS control.
I couldn't read well until the escalator in June 2015.
I dreamed of being able to articulate the word's with the ability to breathe and think autonomously with senses of my creators design. HATEFUL WORDS GET MY BACK. LOVE GETS ME.
TRIAGE OF OUR PTSD IS IMPERATIVE.
I LOVE YOU ALL SO VERY DEEPLY FOR YOUR SERVICE AND SACRIFICE TO SPEAK JUSTLY IN THIS WORLD 🌎 WIDE WEB.
Mary, Elie's "Parallel Media" To Interrupt Jan 6th Bytes is Right On, I have noticed this cause and effect too for awhile! A Judge Threw Out DeSantis Law That limited voting rights in FLA, do you realize FLA hasn't been able to Set Up New Districts for same discriminatory reasons, A Judge In FLA ruled DeSantis Voting Law Unconstitutional, Lets hope enough honest and sane judges on bench to withstand the coming election. People Forget FOX News and its similar channels are outnumbered by fair and mixed media news 3 maybe 4 to 1, Lets Have Faith And Read More Than The Cover Of The Book, Love Peace Respect
Yes. Thank God for your sacrifice and service to INFORM US 🇺🇸 🙏. Your thoughts are in-line to my brain 🧠 power.
Part of the problem is that news shows are about ratings. If they feel compelled to cover a story that is not really important but will get attention, they will cover it. That draws attention away from the really important stuff. We need to cut through the BS and concentrate on what’s going on. Distractions like the latest idiocy from Madison Cawthorn should be relegated to tabloids. The focus should be how to win the midterms, who are we backing and getting organized.
Exactly. Thank God for your help with informing us.
The only thing that will get the media’s attention is an out and out attack on the media itself by Republicans. Once that happens it’ll be too late though. It’s the old “first they came for” situation.
Republicans Russians in destruction of our rights and rules of law enforcement regulations and procedures for all citizens safety is OUT IN PUBLIC NOW. THEY right law's to get parents attention by hating the people who have ALWAYS BEEN open and honest about the HISTORICALLY ACCURATE and honest opinions about this American government constitution representatives failures to speak truth is a destruction in our democracy. We 🇺🇸 must keep speaking 🔊 truth.
I think that it's going to take all of us who think and care and are really concerned about the state of our democracy to speak up. Loudly and repeatedly, in an organized way. I think that citizens need to put pressure on the corporations that buy ads on the mainstream networks. There are so many things to speak up about, but the media not really paying any attention to the most serious stories is frightening.
I love you all very deeply for your sacrifice and service to INFORM US 🇺🇸. This is a wide-ranging gift that is fortifying me.
I am a privileged white woman who adores OUR 46TH PRESIDENT as a human being.
I loved having a mask supporting BIDEN/ HARRIS campaign.
My husband, WHITE MAN, pleaded with me not to wear the mask, because I could "BE TARGETED BY MY FELLOW AMERICA'S WHO SUPPORT A CULT OF PERSONALITY IN OUR GOVERNMENT CONSTITUTION TO AUTHORITARIANISM DICTATORSHIP. " MAY HURT ME????
NOT IN MY AMERICA WILL I BE AFRAID. NO WAY. I HAVE A 60 YEAR EXPERIENCE IN BREATHING FOR MY BRAIN POWER TO LINGUISTICALLY KNOW HOW 🤔 WRONG THIS COULD BE. VOLTAIRE: IF YOU CAN BE MADE TO BELIEVE IN ABSURDITIES THAN THEY CAN MAKE YOU COMMIT ATROCITIES.
For a still relevant view, see the Neil Postman book Amusing Ourselves To Death: Public Discourse in the age of Show Business
There won’t BE a fourth estate if media doesn’t stop pretending that there are two sides to democracy. Republicans are fascists and will eliminate free press and free speech just like their pal Putin has done in Russia. Donald continues to work for Putin.
Do you remember how the media treated Donald's candidacy as a joke? Remember how so many thought it was too ridiculous to be considered? Remember how we thought Hillary had it in the bag? Remember all those polls that didn't show how angry Republicans were, and how they didn't show what "MAGA people" were thinking and voting? What makes you think they are reliable now? I think the media (and Corporate America) will be very surprised at how angry Democrats and Progressives are and how we will not let this country become an autocracy or oligarchy!
We need to go back to the time when News wasn’t supposed to be profitable. That is when we heard we news from the likes of Walter Cronkite. Real news no people, not entertainers.
All kidding aside, all journalists need to be tested using AP Style, and if they qualify, they get to use a designation, like APQ after their byline. The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) could administer the tests for a reasonable fee. Media outlets could also insist working journalists join the SPJ, because they are fierce watchdogs. The byline designation could be SPJ-APQ. Lies, exaggerations and plagiarism could be reported to the SPJ for adjudication.
As a dormant journalist, I curse blogs. Anyone who uses blogs as a source should have their computers confiscated. I get my news from NBC and MSNBC. They have their flaws, but CNN has too many banners and chyrons and other crap cluttering the screen. ABC's anchor looks like a wax dummy, CBS nope. And Fox "News? Where did they find that many obnoxious assholes?
There is and has always been a standard with our MSM that it must achieve and maintain a fair and balanced approach to the news. Obviously, that approach does not allow for the ability to "flood the zone" with the daily transgressions we see on the right. However, I do not think that is the reason we see real serious news failing to gain traction. I think that the MSM has always maintained that approach. I believe that serious news fails to gain traction, because of the viewership for political stories that is concentrated on the right with Fox News. Most Republicans get all of their news from Fox News. The opinion shows on Fox are disguised as news and they will not allow transgressions from the left to die. On the contrary! Fox News opinion shows add their own element (lies) to keep the stories alive and burn them in the memories of their viewers. Although political network shows on the left editorialize and report the ugly truth on the right, there is so much new on a daily basis, that they often move-on quickly to the next one. However, what makes the biggest difference is this, the political news coming from the left, although it may be slanted, it is the truth. There are strict standards that are adhered to. The media on the left advises the viewer when they have not verified a story. When they have not verified the "truth". On the right: lies, lies, exaggerations, and more lies on all the opinion shows. They embed the minds of their viewers with exaggerated lies and they have no regard for the "truth". Doing so, provides them the ability to engender the hate and distaste for their enemy (liberals). The kind of hate that is not forgotten. That is how and why we lose those people and they have activated voters into the future. The bottom line is simple, and it is this: The opinion shows on the right are viewed as news, yet they do not operate with any ethical standards. So they have the ability to develop hate through the fear that they embed in the minds of their viewers. The result may begin with fear, but quickly turns to hate and anger! A perfect example of this is Hillary Clinton. The networks on the left have taught their viewers to fear and hate Hillary. If you ask why they hate her so much, some may rattle-off some lies they heard on Fox, but many cannot even tell you why. They just hate her!
Oh and I find Hunter's self portrait pretty interesting and see some talent in there. I imagine it is pretty self reflecting. Just my view.
Well one very very good news item is that Saki is heading to MSNBC. We will not be getting a regurgitation of news from other outlets. Whatever she will be doing there, we have come to know and trust her, and I am assuming it will be blistering whatever framework her show takes.
Our "False Flag" media:
It wasn't a "Slap". Chris Rock was punched in the face. It's not just a "Big Lie". It's an Insurrection and Treason..
It is hard to know what to do, we can write to the stations when they report incorrect news, but Fox News is shameless and they'll never admit or correct themselves, unless it benefits them or some crummy politician they support. The best we can do is stay engaged, register and encourage young people we know and others to vote. We can donate to politicians that are worthy, and try to oust the despicable ones, starting in my state of California with Kevin McCarthy. BTW, a teacher by the name of Marisa Wood is running against McCarthy, she needs donations.
MSM needs to declare what side are they on - truth, science, democracy, climate crisis OR lies, science denial, autocracy, and let's let the earth burn up. We the public, the voters, the truth seekers need to tell our MSM that they have to choose. They can no longer sit on the fence as they will be the ones blamed with the Republi-cons take over the House in 2022. Biden will then be impeached in Jan 2023. It makes me sick.
I think Hunter Biden's self portrait is very interesting.
I'm afraid, Mary, that the short answer to your question, "Is there anything that will get the fourth estate to act like our democracy, fragile as it is, is worth saving?" is NO. There can only be one way to solve the former guy problem, and thereby set our Democracy back on track: this family, including adult children need to be dealt with in a way that many people find repulsive. I, personally would find my solution to be very liberating for the entire Nation, because, most assuredly, our AG Garland is weak & refuses to prosecute the worst criminal in American History for fear of retribution!
The media took a wrong turn, years ago, with the creation of "gossip" tabloids, and as a result REAL news has been pushed aside for corporate greed. Now, it has spiraled out of control to the point that the truth will never see the light of day! In the words of the "former tweeter," SAD!
Thank you so much for helping my brain 🧠 power to survive 💪 🙌 with communicating external pother calming to the creator purposes I can understand.