When I was living in San Jose, CA, The Associated Press CEO/President Dean Singleton bought the multiple Pulitzer Prize-winning San Jose Mercury News from McClatchy (in the strange leveraged buy-out of Knight-Ridder).The Merc took a hard-right nose-dive, former award-winning journalists fled and/or were purged. The paper today is a faint echo of its prior self, stripped of assets and no longer housed in San Jose or even Santa Clara County; they even stripped the “San Jose” out of the title.
What I’m getting at is that the AP has all the same systemic problems as the rest of the media: it is as aligned with conservative politics as it’s CEO is. As one friend who used to work at the Merc told me, “the fish rots from the head."
Apparently, it's not enough to be Jewish, you also have to kiss Netanyahu's ass or be accused of being anti-Israel. Having pro-Palestinian views doesn't automatically mean you're anti-Israel, though you would never get that impression listening to anyone in this country, in seems. Having criticisms for Netanyahu's government doesn't automatically make you anti-Semitic, either.
I’ve been gratified that some pro Israeli Dems are criticizing Netanyahu for his cruel policies and the cravenness of his over sized ego, at the same time supporting the equity and quality of life issues of the Palestinians. This is a shift from the hard right sensibilities of AIPAC to J Street, imo. It’s also great to have a Palestinian in the Congress! Finally, a living, breathing representative from the other side, Rashida Tlaib. Ironic to me that each cause is a mirror image of the other.
Totally off topic but need to get it off my chest. MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell, who I generally respect, made this former guy - like comment on the air last week, “they’re saying Biden was caught ‘flat footed’” when Israel and Hamas were bombing one another. No he wasn’t. If the reporter doesn’t know for sure, keep your mouth shut. Quiet diplomacy behind the scenes worked. Andrea didn’t have the scoop right, and hasn’t yet taken responsibility for being wrong.
Great point, but is that a result of needing to put out "news content" 24/7? They're putting out information prior to the story actually developing to it's full conclusion. Since Biden's administration seems to be operating at a high level, that means they are going to take their time to go through the proper channels.
You would think Trump was in office for longer than 4 years with the way the media now thinks the President needs to act. As if the President tweeting random thoughts and nonsense for 4 years, often times contradicting the departments in charge of the information, was the standard way a functioning government should act.
Nothing will change while news outlets like the AP, WPO and NYT are more interested in profit than the truth. It is a sad commentary on our democracy that is dying right before our eyes. It's a given that Buzbee will continue the Dems in disarray narrative while whitewashing the chasm of the Republican Party. It was the people that got rid of Trump, gained the House and the Senate. It will be the people who decide if news is to continue in this manner. Cancel your subscriptions folks. Money is the only thing that this corptoratocracy that we live in understands.
Why does the media always seem woefully unprepared and blindsided by the Right's anti-free speech/anti-press attacks? They happen all the time. No amount of placating the mob will convince them to stop. Ever. Going along to get along is complicity, pure and simple. Grow a damn spine.
Shades of Alexi McCammond at Teen Vogue. As Lou notes, it’s all about the $$$$; no integrity, no courage. I was optimistic when Buzbee was hired not knowing much about her but figured she’d bring a woman’s sensibilities to the position. Very disappointed to learn about Wilder’s firing, particularly because of the content of her online post. Is no one allowed a position on controversial topics particularly when one is young? Gads.
my hope is that the Wilder episode was one that became so intense bc dealing w/ foreign go'vt etc that it doesn't truly reflect her leadership. but we'll see at the Post
Unfortunately, Buzzbee sounds like a perfect fit for the beltway media environment, where it's always good news for Republicans. Can't wait to hear what childish insults Trump will come up with over her name.
I think longtime readers of WaPo are concerned about the paper and it's coverage of the Biden Administration. Maybe the retirement of Marty Baron? Not sure why it's happening--but it IS happening.
Apparently the current favorable framing is that the paper rejected two white male deputies in favor of this pick. My problem there is the suggestion that the only suitable candidate worked for an arguably conservative organization, now embroiled in cancel controversy.
i'm def concerned about Post's coverage of Biden. during Trump yrs i thought it was the NYT that regularly failed. but the roles now seem to have switched
Do you know any examples of countries that have managed to defeat this kind of propaganda onslaught? I know that Finland has a decades long successful effort to teach its citizens to think critically about the information they hear, something we desperately need but that is a strategy to avoid getting to the dangerous point where we now find our country.
Critical thinking IS taught in schools, at least in the northeast. I taught kindergarten kids how to think critically 40 years ago and as a Principal in MA it was an essential and universal piece in all the K - 12 curricula and part of the evaluation process for teachers. So I’m guessing you get what you pay for locally when the resources/mindset required are not seen as important and thus, critical skills are not taught. Hate to say it but not all educators think critically so how can they teach this life long skill? Civics is another story.
Of course it's not all school systems. I live in the northeast too and we have some excellent school systems with outstanding curriculums however civics has not been a part of it. But if you look nationwide, we have some dreadful school systems, especially in the south where Republican legislatures don't want to pay for education. This is why a large portion of retirees from the north move to the south because they don't want to pay for school systems since their kids are all grown up and no longer attend school. These folks don't get how good school systems, yes, that cost them more in taxes, ultimately make their home value so much higher.
My point exactly, tho I once was one of those retirees/snowbirds spending half my time in FL. Lots want their grandkids well educated. Tried to keep my liberal mouth shut when w/all those conservatives, not always successful.
It wasn't taught in the schools I attended. All the teachers cared about was having a winning football and basketball teams. They didn't care about anything else.
George Carlin, in one of his final pieces, humorously talked about how a critically thinking electorate is not in the best interest of Republicans. He may not have called out the party by name but you knew who he was talking about. It's true that there is a fine line between humor and tragedy. George was so ahead of the curve. I've always said at the root of our problem is the lack of critical thinking taught in our schools. A democracy is dependent on highly educated people. Dumbing down our curriculums, no longer teaching civics, has been a strategy of the Republicans for decades. Divide and conquer while keeping the people stupid.
Plus the Christian Right's insistence on pushing conservative "Christian values" at the expense of everything (and everyone) else, including the long term existence of our country.
Hear, hear! You are spot on! Oh how I miss Carlin’s intellect, wit, and insight. “Think of how stupid the average person is, then realize that half of them are stupider than that.” - George Carlin
Why would anyone take their cues from Tom Cotton?
When I was living in San Jose, CA, The Associated Press CEO/President Dean Singleton bought the multiple Pulitzer Prize-winning San Jose Mercury News from McClatchy (in the strange leveraged buy-out of Knight-Ridder).The Merc took a hard-right nose-dive, former award-winning journalists fled and/or were purged. The paper today is a faint echo of its prior self, stripped of assets and no longer housed in San Jose or even Santa Clara County; they even stripped the “San Jose” out of the title.
What I’m getting at is that the AP has all the same systemic problems as the rest of the media: it is as aligned with conservative politics as it’s CEO is. As one friend who used to work at the Merc told me, “the fish rots from the head."
Apparently, it's not enough to be Jewish, you also have to kiss Netanyahu's ass or be accused of being anti-Israel. Having pro-Palestinian views doesn't automatically mean you're anti-Israel, though you would never get that impression listening to anyone in this country, in seems. Having criticisms for Netanyahu's government doesn't automatically make you anti-Semitic, either.
I’ve been gratified that some pro Israeli Dems are criticizing Netanyahu for his cruel policies and the cravenness of his over sized ego, at the same time supporting the equity and quality of life issues of the Palestinians. This is a shift from the hard right sensibilities of AIPAC to J Street, imo. It’s also great to have a Palestinian in the Congress! Finally, a living, breathing representative from the other side, Rashida Tlaib. Ironic to me that each cause is a mirror image of the other.
Totally off topic but need to get it off my chest. MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell, who I generally respect, made this former guy - like comment on the air last week, “they’re saying Biden was caught ‘flat footed’” when Israel and Hamas were bombing one another. No he wasn’t. If the reporter doesn’t know for sure, keep your mouth shut. Quiet diplomacy behind the scenes worked. Andrea didn’t have the scoop right, and hasn’t yet taken responsibility for being wrong.
oh agreed. reporters really have little idea what goes on behind scenes when it comes to diplomacy,
Great point, but is that a result of needing to put out "news content" 24/7? They're putting out information prior to the story actually developing to it's full conclusion. Since Biden's administration seems to be operating at a high level, that means they are going to take their time to go through the proper channels.
You would think Trump was in office for longer than 4 years with the way the media now thinks the President needs to act. As if the President tweeting random thoughts and nonsense for 4 years, often times contradicting the departments in charge of the information, was the standard way a functioning government should act.
Nothing will change while news outlets like the AP, WPO and NYT are more interested in profit than the truth. It is a sad commentary on our democracy that is dying right before our eyes. It's a given that Buzbee will continue the Dems in disarray narrative while whitewashing the chasm of the Republican Party. It was the people that got rid of Trump, gained the House and the Senate. It will be the people who decide if news is to continue in this manner. Cancel your subscriptions folks. Money is the only thing that this corptoratocracy that we live in understands.
I have been wondering about this pick. I have read previous complaints about AP reporting — like this one:
https://www.mediamatters.org/associated-press/associated-press-misses-boat-bidens-airplane-travel
oh that dreadful Biden Travel piece. ugh, so bad
sorry about the double post
I have been wondering about this pick. I have read previous complaints about AP reporting — like this one
https://www.mediamatters.org/associated-press/associated-press-misses-boat-bidens-airplane-travel
Why does the media always seem woefully unprepared and blindsided by the Right's anti-free speech/anti-press attacks? They happen all the time. No amount of placating the mob will convince them to stop. Ever. Going along to get along is complicity, pure and simple. Grow a damn spine.
sadly, bc media live in fear of GOP and "bias" attacks. they have real career implications....as Wilder can not attest
Shades of Alexi McCammond at Teen Vogue. As Lou notes, it’s all about the $$$$; no integrity, no courage. I was optimistic when Buzbee was hired not knowing much about her but figured she’d bring a woman’s sensibilities to the position. Very disappointed to learn about Wilder’s firing, particularly because of the content of her online post. Is no one allowed a position on controversial topics particularly when one is young? Gads.
my hope is that the Wilder episode was one that became so intense bc dealing w/ foreign go'vt etc that it doesn't truly reflect her leadership. but we'll see at the Post
Unfortunately, Buzzbee sounds like a perfect fit for the beltway media environment, where it's always good news for Republicans. Can't wait to hear what childish insults Trump will come up with over her name.
I think longtime readers of WaPo are concerned about the paper and it's coverage of the Biden Administration. Maybe the retirement of Marty Baron? Not sure why it's happening--but it IS happening.
Apparently the current favorable framing is that the paper rejected two white male deputies in favor of this pick. My problem there is the suggestion that the only suitable candidate worked for an arguably conservative organization, now embroiled in cancel controversy.
i'm def concerned about Post's coverage of Biden. during Trump yrs i thought it was the NYT that regularly failed. but the roles now seem to have switched
This is nothing new for the AP. Media Matters documents their Republican bias.
folks remember Ron Fournier? you're right the problem goes back a long way
Sure do remember that stenographer!
'Control of the press' Another step from Hitler's playbook. What step are we at now?
Do you know any examples of countries that have managed to defeat this kind of propaganda onslaught? I know that Finland has a decades long successful effort to teach its citizens to think critically about the information they hear, something we desperately need but that is a strategy to avoid getting to the dangerous point where we now find our country.
https://edition.cnn.com/interactive/2019/05/europe/finland-fake-news-intl/
Critical thinking IS taught in schools, at least in the northeast. I taught kindergarten kids how to think critically 40 years ago and as a Principal in MA it was an essential and universal piece in all the K - 12 curricula and part of the evaluation process for teachers. So I’m guessing you get what you pay for locally when the resources/mindset required are not seen as important and thus, critical skills are not taught. Hate to say it but not all educators think critically so how can they teach this life long skill? Civics is another story.
Of course it's not all school systems. I live in the northeast too and we have some excellent school systems with outstanding curriculums however civics has not been a part of it. But if you look nationwide, we have some dreadful school systems, especially in the south where Republican legislatures don't want to pay for education. This is why a large portion of retirees from the north move to the south because they don't want to pay for school systems since their kids are all grown up and no longer attend school. These folks don't get how good school systems, yes, that cost them more in taxes, ultimately make their home value so much higher.
My point exactly, tho I once was one of those retirees/snowbirds spending half my time in FL. Lots want their grandkids well educated. Tried to keep my liberal mouth shut when w/all those conservatives, not always successful.
It wasn't taught in the schools I attended. All the teachers cared about was having a winning football and basketball teams. They didn't care about anything else.
A problem for sure. Too many schools like yours. No argument there.
George Carlin, in one of his final pieces, humorously talked about how a critically thinking electorate is not in the best interest of Republicans. He may not have called out the party by name but you knew who he was talking about. It's true that there is a fine line between humor and tragedy. George was so ahead of the curve. I've always said at the root of our problem is the lack of critical thinking taught in our schools. A democracy is dependent on highly educated people. Dumbing down our curriculums, no longer teaching civics, has been a strategy of the Republicans for decades. Divide and conquer while keeping the people stupid.
Plus the Christian Right's insistence on pushing conservative "Christian values" at the expense of everything (and everyone) else, including the long term existence of our country.
Hear, hear! You are spot on! Oh how I miss Carlin’s intellect, wit, and insight. “Think of how stupid the average person is, then realize that half of them are stupider than that.” - George Carlin
Read This: "White Ignorance Is Bliss—and Power" in today’s Daily Beast, willful ignorance vis a vis critical thinking discussion.
Re the Alan Jackson: Also a fan and former performer of the country music, I can see 1,000 two-steppers get up for this one.
Re WaPo: If Buzzbee is involved, those in the know must come forward. It would be like dying in darkness.