1) There's the "working the refs" theory. The press goes after Democrats because for decades now the right wing has been shoving the charge of "liberal bias' down their throats, to the point where they reflexively avoid anything framing any story about Democrats in too positive a fashion. (Fox News, Talk Radio, Social Media, "Fake News" - it's all part of the right wing strategy to discredit the press and intimidate it into irrelevance.)
2) "Fair and balanced", "Both Sides" reporting. The press tries to avoid controversy (see point 1) by trying to report in ways that cancel out good/bad news for both sides. Every argument or fact that supports one side must be countered by something from the other side - whether or not it is actually equivalent - that negates it. And (point 1 again), the net result usually ends up favoring the right wing, because it downplays good news for Democrats and obscures bad news for Republicans. The classic critique of this kind of reporting is "It's not the job of the press to just report one side says its raining and the other side says it's not - the job of the press should be to look out the window and report what the weather is actually doing."
3) There seems to be a conviction among reporters that straight reporting does not allow for value judgements. Report the 'facts' and let viewers decide. The problem with that is that deciding what is and what is not a fact involves making a judgement. The rise of alternative 'facts' makes judgement-free reporting an exercise in disinformation - no one can tell what to believe when all 'facts' cancel each other out.
4) Follow the money. Consolidation in newsrooms, mergers and buy-outs - traditional journalism is under more and more pressure to do one thing: make money for the owners of media outlets. News becomes infotainment. Headlines are written to be click bait. The worth of a story is how many ads can be shoved into it before readers/viewers turn away. And god help the reporter who sets off an outrage spasm on the right.
5) There's also the "News" problem. As Terry Pratchett observed through Lord Vetinari in "The Truth", people don't want 'News', they want 'Olds'. They want to hear things that prove they 'know' what is going on. They want to hear things that tell them world will be the same tomorrow as it is today. They want to hear things that reinforce their beliefs, not challenge them.
6) Let's not forget one other thing. America is currently afflicted with an authoritarian cult in the place of what used to be a not entirely insane Republican Party. This is one of those inconvenient truths the press would rather not report. (See points 2 and 3 above.) They insist on treating liars and sociopaths as reasonable people. They look the other way out of willful blindness and because their paychecks depend on it. And then they're shocked on January 6 when they find their lives are in danger from these 'real Americans' whose views they have been so solicitous of?
7) Short attention span reporting - there is no past, no context - only what happened a minute ago. The actions of Donald Trump as President make a lot more sense when viewed through the historic GOP record. Has everyone forgotten Nixon sabotaged the Paris Peace Talks? His secret bombing? All the other things? How about Reagan and the Arms for Hostages deal with Iran? The misadventures in Central America? The suspicions about his mental fitness? The execrable Bush 1 and 2 regimes? You can't understand the present if you ignore the past - but the press does it all the time.
This is a long comment, but I hope I've covered most of what's driving the way the press works. That's my take; YMMV.
CV-19 continues to rage because of people who won't get vaccinated and won't wear masks. The Biden administration has made vaccinations abundantly available and urged indoor mask wearing. Adding that particular 1+1, the media gets 3, and blames Biden. That's what happens when wanna be novelists get hired as reporters.
Why does Chris Cillizza still have a job? In reporting about a CBO report that gave the impression the ACA would cost 2 million jobs when what it was likely to do was enable people who were holding on to jobs just for the insurance to quit, Cillizza, rather than trying to help readers understand the report, wrote about how it was such bad news for Democrats. His excuse was:
“My job is to assess not the rightness of each argument but to deal in the real world of campaign politics in which perception often (if not always) trumps reality. I deal in the world as voters believe it is, not as I (or anyone else) thinks it should be.”
Shorter version — “My job isn’t to inform the public, just to report on perceptions/“optics”. Who cares that our democracy depends on people being accurately informed about issues, amirite?”
Wow. Way to out yourself as you really are Cilizza. Best self own I’ve read in a while. Why didn’t he just say “I’m here for the clicks not the truth.” What a bum.
Holy cow. Are Cillizza et al working to tank the Biden administration because he’s too boring? He doesn’t send chills up their legs vis a vis Chris Matthew’s ridiculed quote? Same ole same ole as Sky person states; I think I’m in the Eric tactic camp, ie bombard them w/criticism and put a spotlight on the lousy and hollow reporting they are engaging in and keep doing it. Meanwhile I’m w/Theodora, finding other HONEST, ACCURATE news sources to take the place of msm ‘no news here, just distortion, exaggeration, misreporting. Shame on the whole lot of them.
they def miss Trump and especially during the Afghanistan coverage i detected a personal dislike for Biden, specifically as you mention bc he's too boring. i.e. the Afghan story offered a bit of payback
OMG. They’re not in junior high anymore!!! Personal animus should have no place in reporting. When it does, the msm becomes a purveyor of its own version of propaganda. Self reflection is missing from this whole equation. Covert herd mentality.
IDK. I detect a rising level of real stupidity and incompetence the more cable news (seems?) to grow in outlets. The more reporters "out there," the the lower the "lowest common denominator" of opinions and distortion becomes. Long ago, I had a notion that Journalism should be an accredited profession, like medical personnel and other professions. The media can do as much harm, to much more people, than even the worst licensed physician/nurse/etc. I think accreditation, from an independent source -- Step 1, do NOT hire anyone who gets a "talking head" or "guest columnist" gig on cable or in print. It'll NEVER happen though.
Well stated Eric! The Liberally Biased Mainstream Media™ might be a bigger threat to American democracy going forward than the Republican Party, because they can mold and influence people to their views. Chris Cillizza and Chuck Todd are among the worst bullshit artists out there!
A small quibble Mr. Boehlert. After his first week in office; Trumps' approval ratings dropped to 40% and stayed there. Anchored in cement. Seriously, and leaving out Rasmussen, for the almost four years of his Presidency, Trump's didn't swing more that 2% up or down. They just sat there. I argued that Trump's approval literally never changed and the variations were poling noise.
I do recall any number of stories on Trump's approval polling; no stories of the plummet in Trump approval since it never happened.
Yes. We can support, in every possible way, the journals and writers who will call out the wingnuts and hold their feet in the fire with irrefutable truth. Like say, Heather Cox Richardson, Eric, the editors of journals to which you subscribe...to do or say nothing is not the solution. Keep in mind, the radical maga right is something like thirty percent of the voting population. They'll never be convinced. But media functions for profit. We all hold the purse strings.
Eric, would you be willing to post some point-by-point links for subscribers with an email blast so that when a mainstream media journalist who is truth-telling, making valid points, could be re-posted, tweeted to help boost those ratings within their kingdom.... the kind of notice that could encourage more of it? I'm not naive in what I'm asking, just action-oriented. Our defense is not losing hope, along with truth-telling, and our numbers. I've been spending time with some staunch Democrats and it's extremely worrisome that they can be so swayed by their daily read of the Washington Post and views of PBS nightly news that they see as especially objective. I don't generally watch TV so have been ridiculously gut-punched by what I hear from some of those reporters that's posing as news. Thank you.
Ds forget about the power we hold at our peril. The Dem’s successes are unrecognizable given the wall to wall msm coverage based on the false premise of Dems always in disarray. Tell that to Speaker Pelosi who NEVER is in disarray.
Never watched CNN, but msnbc has lost me as one of their loyal fans/viewers. Morning Joe and Nicolle Wallace are the last msnbc shows on my dance card. Emailed msnbc to tell them why and feel as tho I’ve regained some control over this seemingly uncontrollable media mess.
As I keep saying one thing that isn’t hard to do is make sure you read journalists who aren’t playing these dangerous games with facts, especially those at major media outlets. You can them on Twitter, too. The top bosses notice who brings in the traffic to their sites.
I’m convinced many in the msm have no historical knowledge nor credible perspective nor interest in the long view of present day decisions. Shallow reporting based on ‘optics’ and self righteous self delusion.
“Biden’s summertime slide has been fueled by *mainstream misreporting on* Afghanistan and Covid, two unique and pressing challenges.”
FIFY.
Not to defend the mainstream press but it may well be possible that Trump’s consistently low approval #s — I recall it breaking 50% just once, probably a Ramussen (so.) poll — caused them to forget that a POTUS’ numbers normally fluctuate a lot. I mean, any cohort that puts Kasie Hunt in charge of setting up a streaming service, well, you know, such people are surely limited.
I never realized how bad she is! I didn't watch her show on MSNBC so I don't know if she's always been this bad. Post Gavin Newsom's win to remain in office (another example of "Dems in Distress") Kasie Hunt tweeted this: https://twitter.com/kasie/status/1437976644615090177?s=19
Hunt’s tweet was ultra-orthodox Beltway bullshit. So much ambition for personal success, so little to do honest reporting. Bigger takeaway from Newsom’s victory maybe that Party of Trump and its (media-supported) death worship isn’t exactly an electoral winner. Killing as policy is something pretty clear to voters maybe if not to Hunt and her colleagues.
I think there are several things at work here.
1) There's the "working the refs" theory. The press goes after Democrats because for decades now the right wing has been shoving the charge of "liberal bias' down their throats, to the point where they reflexively avoid anything framing any story about Democrats in too positive a fashion. (Fox News, Talk Radio, Social Media, "Fake News" - it's all part of the right wing strategy to discredit the press and intimidate it into irrelevance.)
2) "Fair and balanced", "Both Sides" reporting. The press tries to avoid controversy (see point 1) by trying to report in ways that cancel out good/bad news for both sides. Every argument or fact that supports one side must be countered by something from the other side - whether or not it is actually equivalent - that negates it. And (point 1 again), the net result usually ends up favoring the right wing, because it downplays good news for Democrats and obscures bad news for Republicans. The classic critique of this kind of reporting is "It's not the job of the press to just report one side says its raining and the other side says it's not - the job of the press should be to look out the window and report what the weather is actually doing."
3) There seems to be a conviction among reporters that straight reporting does not allow for value judgements. Report the 'facts' and let viewers decide. The problem with that is that deciding what is and what is not a fact involves making a judgement. The rise of alternative 'facts' makes judgement-free reporting an exercise in disinformation - no one can tell what to believe when all 'facts' cancel each other out.
4) Follow the money. Consolidation in newsrooms, mergers and buy-outs - traditional journalism is under more and more pressure to do one thing: make money for the owners of media outlets. News becomes infotainment. Headlines are written to be click bait. The worth of a story is how many ads can be shoved into it before readers/viewers turn away. And god help the reporter who sets off an outrage spasm on the right.
5) There's also the "News" problem. As Terry Pratchett observed through Lord Vetinari in "The Truth", people don't want 'News', they want 'Olds'. They want to hear things that prove they 'know' what is going on. They want to hear things that tell them world will be the same tomorrow as it is today. They want to hear things that reinforce their beliefs, not challenge them.
6) Let's not forget one other thing. America is currently afflicted with an authoritarian cult in the place of what used to be a not entirely insane Republican Party. This is one of those inconvenient truths the press would rather not report. (See points 2 and 3 above.) They insist on treating liars and sociopaths as reasonable people. They look the other way out of willful blindness and because their paychecks depend on it. And then they're shocked on January 6 when they find their lives are in danger from these 'real Americans' whose views they have been so solicitous of?
7) Short attention span reporting - there is no past, no context - only what happened a minute ago. The actions of Donald Trump as President make a lot more sense when viewed through the historic GOP record. Has everyone forgotten Nixon sabotaged the Paris Peace Talks? His secret bombing? All the other things? How about Reagan and the Arms for Hostages deal with Iran? The misadventures in Central America? The suspicions about his mental fitness? The execrable Bush 1 and 2 regimes? You can't understand the present if you ignore the past - but the press does it all the time.
This is a long comment, but I hope I've covered most of what's driving the way the press works. That's my take; YMMV.
well said!
CV-19 continues to rage because of people who won't get vaccinated and won't wear masks. The Biden administration has made vaccinations abundantly available and urged indoor mask wearing. Adding that particular 1+1, the media gets 3, and blames Biden. That's what happens when wanna be novelists get hired as reporters.
oh the novelist part is a good pt….always pushing a narrative
Why does Chris Cillizza still have a job? In reporting about a CBO report that gave the impression the ACA would cost 2 million jobs when what it was likely to do was enable people who were holding on to jobs just for the insurance to quit, Cillizza, rather than trying to help readers understand the report, wrote about how it was such bad news for Democrats. His excuse was:
“My job is to assess not the rightness of each argument but to deal in the real world of campaign politics in which perception often (if not always) trumps reality. I deal in the world as voters believe it is, not as I (or anyone else) thinks it should be.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2014/02/05/why-the-cbo-report-is-still-terrible-news-for-democrats/
Shorter version — “My job isn’t to inform the public, just to report on perceptions/“optics”. Who cares that our democracy depends on people being accurately informed about issues, amirite?”
Amen re: Cilizza. WaPo must be glad he jumped to CNN
He, like Chuck Todd, is an immediate channel change
No one is as bad as Chuck Todd.
It's the Chuck Todd defense, explaining his delusions of competence.
Wow. Way to out yourself as you really are Cilizza. Best self own I’ve read in a while. Why didn’t he just say “I’m here for the clicks not the truth.” What a bum.
Chris Cillizza deserves to be on the receiving end of a vicious trash can beatdown that would please Sonny Corleone!
That I’ll watch
Chris Cillizza is the Chuck Todd of Kasie Hunts.
Sadly, that joke format is way too easy to do with our pundits. And seriously, these people are not journalists, they are pundits.
Holy cow. Are Cillizza et al working to tank the Biden administration because he’s too boring? He doesn’t send chills up their legs vis a vis Chris Matthew’s ridiculed quote? Same ole same ole as Sky person states; I think I’m in the Eric tactic camp, ie bombard them w/criticism and put a spotlight on the lousy and hollow reporting they are engaging in and keep doing it. Meanwhile I’m w/Theodora, finding other HONEST, ACCURATE news sources to take the place of msm ‘no news here, just distortion, exaggeration, misreporting. Shame on the whole lot of them.
they def miss Trump and especially during the Afghanistan coverage i detected a personal dislike for Biden, specifically as you mention bc he's too boring. i.e. the Afghan story offered a bit of payback
OMG. They’re not in junior high anymore!!! Personal animus should have no place in reporting. When it does, the msm becomes a purveyor of its own version of propaganda. Self reflection is missing from this whole equation. Covert herd mentality.
IDK. I detect a rising level of real stupidity and incompetence the more cable news (seems?) to grow in outlets. The more reporters "out there," the the lower the "lowest common denominator" of opinions and distortion becomes. Long ago, I had a notion that Journalism should be an accredited profession, like medical personnel and other professions. The media can do as much harm, to much more people, than even the worst licensed physician/nurse/etc. I think accreditation, from an independent source -- Step 1, do NOT hire anyone who gets a "talking head" or "guest columnist" gig on cable or in print. It'll NEVER happen though.
Mr. Boehlert,
Hopelessly off topic I know; but have you looked at CNN’s coverage of the debt ceiling? “Both-sides-ism” at its very worst.
Republicans unilaterally passed the Trump tax cuts; reducing income.
Democrats unilaterally passed spending programs.
Republicans divided on raising the debt ceiling two years ago, in the Trump Administration.
Republicans unanimously oppose raising the debt ceiling in the Biden Administration. Or for that matter the Obama Administration.
Democrats favored increases all three times.
Yet.
There is plenty of hypocrisy on both sides!?
Lame.
Sorry for the intrusion on your time.
The Politico crap trending on Twitter this morning is pathetic...and your response to it is very good Eric.
Well stated Eric! The Liberally Biased Mainstream Media™ might be a bigger threat to American democracy going forward than the Republican Party, because they can mold and influence people to their views. Chris Cillizza and Chuck Todd are among the worst bullshit artists out there!
the scary part is when MSM join forced with GOP
I agree with you. I believe it definitely is a greater threat.
Amen
A small quibble Mr. Boehlert. After his first week in office; Trumps' approval ratings dropped to 40% and stayed there. Anchored in cement. Seriously, and leaving out Rasmussen, for the almost four years of his Presidency, Trump's didn't swing more that 2% up or down. They just sat there. I argued that Trump's approval literally never changed and the variations were poling noise.
I do recall any number of stories on Trump's approval polling; no stories of the plummet in Trump approval since it never happened.
This just shows how successfully the leftist media propaganda undermines the clueless American public. How sad for this country.
Have you lost touch with reality? Good god no wonder we’re in the state we’re in.
It’s the same story every week. American media sucks, it’s full of right-wing bias everywhere thanks to the corporations that own it. Understood.
So what’s going to fix this? Can we do anything besides being depressed at how much American journalism doesn’t work anymore?
Yes. We can support, in every possible way, the journals and writers who will call out the wingnuts and hold their feet in the fire with irrefutable truth. Like say, Heather Cox Richardson, Eric, the editors of journals to which you subscribe...to do or say nothing is not the solution. Keep in mind, the radical maga right is something like thirty percent of the voting population. They'll never be convinced. But media functions for profit. We all hold the purse strings.
Well said. I know the question of how to fix can be a frustrating one. but these are key points
Eric, would you be willing to post some point-by-point links for subscribers with an email blast so that when a mainstream media journalist who is truth-telling, making valid points, could be re-posted, tweeted to help boost those ratings within their kingdom.... the kind of notice that could encourage more of it? I'm not naive in what I'm asking, just action-oriented. Our defense is not losing hope, along with truth-telling, and our numbers. I've been spending time with some staunch Democrats and it's extremely worrisome that they can be so swayed by their daily read of the Washington Post and views of PBS nightly news that they see as especially objective. I don't generally watch TV so have been ridiculously gut-punched by what I hear from some of those reporters that's posing as news. Thank you.
Holding media to a certain level of honesty and insisting they limit the propaganda would be a novel approach.
Ds forget about the power we hold at our peril. The Dem’s successes are unrecognizable given the wall to wall msm coverage based on the false premise of Dems always in disarray. Tell that to Speaker Pelosi who NEVER is in disarray.
That woman is a force of nature.
She's a savior.
Their ratings have to be suffering. I haven’t watched CNN or MSNBC is weeks and I’m sure I’m not alone.
Never watched CNN, but msnbc has lost me as one of their loyal fans/viewers. Morning Joe and Nicolle Wallace are the last msnbc shows on my dance card. Emailed msnbc to tell them why and feel as tho I’ve regained some control over this seemingly uncontrollable media mess.
I only watch Rachel at 4 am, and that’s usually a repeat of the previous evening
And she’s on her way to ‘no Rachel’ at 9 or any other time. Would love to know the real skinny about this change.
She isn't going anywhere. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/rachel-maddow-new-contract-msnbc-1235001319/amp/&ved=2ahUKEwj18rSspYbzAhUeJzQIHRYkB68QtwJ6BAgcEAE&usg=AOvVaw1oUnC7AcUH3MK4yOCGVM9d&cf=1
As I keep saying one thing that isn’t hard to do is make sure you read journalists who aren’t playing these dangerous games with facts, especially those at major media outlets. You can them on Twitter, too. The top bosses notice who brings in the traffic to their sites.
Media must be honest to "work" as you put it. American media have amnesia. Just report and let the public decide is an alien concept.
I’m convinced many in the msm have no historical knowledge nor credible perspective nor interest in the long view of present day decisions. Shallow reporting based on ‘optics’ and self righteous self delusion.
“Biden’s summertime slide has been fueled by *mainstream misreporting on* Afghanistan and Covid, two unique and pressing challenges.”
FIFY.
Not to defend the mainstream press but it may well be possible that Trump’s consistently low approval #s — I recall it breaking 50% just once, probably a Ramussen (so.) poll — caused them to forget that a POTUS’ numbers normally fluctuate a lot. I mean, any cohort that puts Kasie Hunt in charge of setting up a streaming service, well, you know, such people are surely limited.
I never realized how bad she is! I didn't watch her show on MSNBC so I don't know if she's always been this bad. Post Gavin Newsom's win to remain in office (another example of "Dems in Distress") Kasie Hunt tweeted this: https://twitter.com/kasie/status/1437976644615090177?s=19
Hunt’s tweet was ultra-orthodox Beltway bullshit. So much ambition for personal success, so little to do honest reporting. Bigger takeaway from Newsom’s victory maybe that Party of Trump and its (media-supported) death worship isn’t exactly an electoral winner. Killing as policy is something pretty clear to voters maybe if not to Hunt and her colleagues.
At least the overwhelming number of replies to Hunt's comments were about how awful Hunt's comments were.