It really is unbelievable. How the media, in this case Politico, clings to the idea that both parties do it, both parties have their pros and cons, is mind boggling. It would be like giving a legitimate platform to tout the good that Al Capone was doing in 1930. When are media outlets going to wake up and realize the Republican Party is nothing more than a criminal operation. What is their platform on healthcare? Die quickly. Immigration? Build a wall. Infrastructure? Too expensive. The wealthy? Lower their taxes. The only difference between now and in the past is that Republicans, at least some, now embrace domestic terrorists. It's their last trump card (pardon the unintended pun) to hold on to power because they have no idea and are unwilling to govern for the good of the people. And I believe we shortly are going to learn that House members were in on the planning of the insurrection at the Capitol. That will rock this nation even further if that's possible.
Eric is right to fear that the political press will return to its “both sides” approach. I would bet that Liz Cheney will be treated as a hero and her extremist views whitewashed by the media.
Dean Baquet recently said he was looking forward to being able to aggressively cover the Biden administration so we know the Times will be nitpicking and bothsidering, demanding immediate solutions to the problems Trump created, etc. setting up Democrats for a loss in the midterms.
Just think, only two weeks ago I was complimenting Politico for rising above their rightwing bias and treating Trump and the election nonsense with the derision it deserved. I even likened it to a character arc, thinking they had really turned a corner. I will not be making that mistake again. This editor, my God. How can he defend blatant lies and conspiracy theories when called out on it? He owes everyone an apology, because he just destroyed Politico’s credibility.
And this isn’t even a both sides problem. An opinion based on lies is a lie. Politico is just spreading lies and trying to rationalize it. And, you know, click bait.
The statement “you are entitled to your own opinions but not your own facts” is more than just a trite cliche. It should be the rule at news organizations.
Thanks Eric. My son, in high school at the time, brought Shapiro to my attention with a series of YouTube clips exposing Shapiro's lies. A proud moment for me.
As the investigation continues into who did what when leading to January 6th, and investigators reveal evidence of accomplices, or uncover more heart-wrenching videos, let's use a simple filter. First, if you can't say trump lied, and his fellow supporters lied, then no platform. Let Fox and The Daily Wire have these folks and their disinformation for the time being.
Yesterday my local NPR station aired three guests, including one who argued that focusing on the growing wealth disparity in our country would hinder economic growth, and that taxing wealthy Americans wouldn't work because "accountants and lawyers." The other two guests peacefully disagreed, in true public radio fashion, ("John makes an interesting point, but...").
Whether smart people arguing both sides of economic policy is an evil we must endure is one thing we might address in better times. At the moment armed nut jobs are planning to execute people. No truth, no platform.
The Bush Administration RUINED NPR. And this proves the point as Trump just gutted VOICE OF AMERICA - with right wing fascists. If we don't start to address NPR, VOA and other institutions that were known for being pretty honest in their reporting there really is no hope for America.
I don't think the republicans take in account that our young people are watching and listening to them. They understand when someone is lying and they should be afraid these young people are smart and going to stand up for what is right for everyone. They stand for gun control, BLM, the climate and so many other things. The repugs better watch out.
Because of crap like Ben Shapiro's article, I quit reading Politico long ago. The editors were trying to give a 'balanced view' they are making sure that their own racist, homophobic, xenophobic, etc., views get highlighted. Being provocative isn't being good. Politico is just a digital tabloid, and not a good one at that!
I'm reminded of Chris Cuomo's tortured reasoning in giving Kellyanne Conway a platform in 2017. He acknowledged Conway's rampant dishonesty, but said because she spoke for the Trump administration she should be heard. And THAT is how disinformation campaigns succeed. Step one is finding someone gullible enough to give you a platform. Chris Cuomo thus joined Judy Miller and Tim Russert in the chump hall of fame, and now Poitico's Matt Kaminski is knocking on the door.
I wouldn’t have objected to having Kellyanne on if they had been prepared to call her out for her lies and give their viewers the facts but that rarely happened. Anyone who has paid attention or has argued with these kinds of people can predict the kinds of evasions, rationalizations and outright lies they are likely to spew. It isn’t hard to prepare yourself to counter the lies.
I assume it was the mention of Tim Russert and his love of the Bills that made you think of football. I remember sitting in that freezing cold stadium in 1990 watching the Browns get slammed yet again. Despite that the fans never wavered in their support which was impressive. Go Browns!
Shapiro is so vile and disgusting, it almost seems with leadership in some of the larger media outlets that common sense and good judgement just don't exist. The Daily Beast yesterday had an article about his role in a film about school shootings that is freakish and deplorable. Not to mention that story of the company that is managing the film and it's equally vile and disgusting team. I've been following your articles and interviews as well as Soledad O'Brien and you both critique the 'laziness' of sourcing, the both sides BS and overall 'soul selling' in a competitive market that is changing the paradigm of good and solid journalism and journalists to 'jaundiced' journalism that some consume without the skill of critical thinking. It's not always easy to tell. I listened to an interview with Ms. O'Brien yesterday where she described sourcing in a way that I was unaware of- for example that Ivanka and Jared are well known and frequent sources to articles without being named but with the guarantee that a comment is made to shine a 'holy' light on them. Steve Schmidt just said on MSNBC, "we are well past the hour where it is tolerable to be naive" in describing the intentions of the leaders and voices of the insurrection and anti-Democratic vallues like Ben Shapiro, the both sides guests and articles they speak to or write, and the inclusion of extremists with teaching gigs at Universities and writing gigs for media that has a large following. I'm really worried, but thank you for helping inform. I now have conversations with friends/colleagues and reference you and Ms. O'Brien to help others to more critically consider what they see on tv, in print and on social media. As Steve Schmidt said this morning, weeding these people out is going to take decades.
I love how you call out the media - but do you think you are having any effect whatsoever or are you screaming into the void? I am screaming into the void out of fear - do you think you are making any dents?
I worry about the same thing. I want to know what else can be done — what else can WE do? I can’t even find how to contact most of these people or these news organizations. the Washington Post and Times used to have ombudsmen/public editors who would take complaints and would often write about them but not anymore.
The Post’s Margaret Sullivan, who was the Times’s public editor, now writes about the media for the Post. The Post does post email addresses for their writers so you can contact them. Or just click on their name on an article or google their name + Washington Post to get their page.
However, I would like to know the best way to contact people at the NY Times, NBC/MSNBC, CNN, etc. They clearly don’t want to hear from us but they need to.
I’m not going to repeat my regular rant that the establishment politicaL press has been all in for the GOP since the late 1970s; GOP always good — recent tell is that said media still can’t call Trump a killer in his response to the pandemic — and the Dems can’t do anything right — Axios ran a hit piece on Biden’s Thursday proposal.
But I really want to point out is that Dean Baquet, whose CV as an editor shows huge success at career advancement as opposed to any sort of journalistic excellence, famously remarked that his readers don’t need things spelled out — that is, honestly reported — because they can “suss” it out. Clearly, that’s Politico’s position in running Shapiro’s piece.
It really is unbelievable. How the media, in this case Politico, clings to the idea that both parties do it, both parties have their pros and cons, is mind boggling. It would be like giving a legitimate platform to tout the good that Al Capone was doing in 1930. When are media outlets going to wake up and realize the Republican Party is nothing more than a criminal operation. What is their platform on healthcare? Die quickly. Immigration? Build a wall. Infrastructure? Too expensive. The wealthy? Lower their taxes. The only difference between now and in the past is that Republicans, at least some, now embrace domestic terrorists. It's their last trump card (pardon the unintended pun) to hold on to power because they have no idea and are unwilling to govern for the good of the people. And I believe we shortly are going to learn that House members were in on the planning of the insurrection at the Capitol. That will rock this nation even further if that's possible.
mind boggling since it all happened in wake of bloody insurrection
Eric is right to fear that the political press will return to its “both sides” approach. I would bet that Liz Cheney will be treated as a hero and her extremist views whitewashed by the media.
Dean Baquet recently said he was looking forward to being able to aggressively cover the Biden administration so we know the Times will be nitpicking and bothsidering, demanding immediate solutions to the problems Trump created, etc. setting up Democrats for a loss in the midterms.
Yes! Look for the return of the Optics Police
Just think, only two weeks ago I was complimenting Politico for rising above their rightwing bias and treating Trump and the election nonsense with the derision it deserved. I even likened it to a character arc, thinking they had really turned a corner. I will not be making that mistake again. This editor, my God. How can he defend blatant lies and conspiracy theories when called out on it? He owes everyone an apology, because he just destroyed Politico’s credibility.
And this isn’t even a both sides problem. An opinion based on lies is a lie. Politico is just spreading lies and trying to rationalize it. And, you know, click bait.
The statement “you are entitled to your own opinions but not your own facts” is more than just a trite cliche. It should be the rule at news organizations.
Thanks Eric. My son, in high school at the time, brought Shapiro to my attention with a series of YouTube clips exposing Shapiro's lies. A proud moment for me.
As the investigation continues into who did what when leading to January 6th, and investigators reveal evidence of accomplices, or uncover more heart-wrenching videos, let's use a simple filter. First, if you can't say trump lied, and his fellow supporters lied, then no platform. Let Fox and The Daily Wire have these folks and their disinformation for the time being.
Yesterday my local NPR station aired three guests, including one who argued that focusing on the growing wealth disparity in our country would hinder economic growth, and that taxing wealthy Americans wouldn't work because "accountants and lawyers." The other two guests peacefully disagreed, in true public radio fashion, ("John makes an interesting point, but...").
Whether smart people arguing both sides of economic policy is an evil we must endure is one thing we might address in better times. At the moment armed nut jobs are planning to execute people. No truth, no platform.
The Bush Administration RUINED NPR. And this proves the point as Trump just gutted VOICE OF AMERICA - with right wing fascists. If we don't start to address NPR, VOA and other institutions that were known for being pretty honest in their reporting there really is no hope for America.
This. All of this.☝️
I don't think the republicans take in account that our young people are watching and listening to them. They understand when someone is lying and they should be afraid these young people are smart and going to stand up for what is right for everyone. They stand for gun control, BLM, the climate and so many other things. The repugs better watch out.
Agreed, and that is my experience with my 4 kids.
Because of crap like Ben Shapiro's article, I quit reading Politico long ago. The editors were trying to give a 'balanced view' they are making sure that their own racist, homophobic, xenophobic, etc., views get highlighted. Being provocative isn't being good. Politico is just a digital tabloid, and not a good one at that!
I'm reminded of Chris Cuomo's tortured reasoning in giving Kellyanne Conway a platform in 2017. He acknowledged Conway's rampant dishonesty, but said because she spoke for the Trump administration she should be heard. And THAT is how disinformation campaigns succeed. Step one is finding someone gullible enough to give you a platform. Chris Cuomo thus joined Judy Miller and Tim Russert in the chump hall of fame, and now Poitico's Matt Kaminski is knocking on the door.
I wouldn’t have objected to having Kellyanne on if they had been prepared to call her out for her lies and give their viewers the facts but that rarely happened. Anyone who has paid attention or has argued with these kinds of people can predict the kinds of evasions, rationalizations and outright lies they are likely to spew. It isn’t hard to prepare yourself to counter the lies.
Go Browns. Sorry. Had to.
I assume it was the mention of Tim Russert and his love of the Bills that made you think of football. I remember sitting in that freezing cold stadium in 1990 watching the Browns get slammed yet again. Despite that the fans never wavered in their support which was impressive. Go Browns!
There is a reason that one of my other favorite bloggers, Charlie Pierce, refers to Politico as "Tiger Beat on the Potomac."
Shapiro is so vile and disgusting, it almost seems with leadership in some of the larger media outlets that common sense and good judgement just don't exist. The Daily Beast yesterday had an article about his role in a film about school shootings that is freakish and deplorable. Not to mention that story of the company that is managing the film and it's equally vile and disgusting team. I've been following your articles and interviews as well as Soledad O'Brien and you both critique the 'laziness' of sourcing, the both sides BS and overall 'soul selling' in a competitive market that is changing the paradigm of good and solid journalism and journalists to 'jaundiced' journalism that some consume without the skill of critical thinking. It's not always easy to tell. I listened to an interview with Ms. O'Brien yesterday where she described sourcing in a way that I was unaware of- for example that Ivanka and Jared are well known and frequent sources to articles without being named but with the guarantee that a comment is made to shine a 'holy' light on them. Steve Schmidt just said on MSNBC, "we are well past the hour where it is tolerable to be naive" in describing the intentions of the leaders and voices of the insurrection and anti-Democratic vallues like Ben Shapiro, the both sides guests and articles they speak to or write, and the inclusion of extremists with teaching gigs at Universities and writing gigs for media that has a large following. I'm really worried, but thank you for helping inform. I now have conversations with friends/colleagues and reference you and Ms. O'Brien to help others to more critically consider what they see on tv, in print and on social media. As Steve Schmidt said this morning, weeding these people out is going to take decades.
I love how you call out the media - but do you think you are having any effect whatsoever or are you screaming into the void? I am screaming into the void out of fear - do you think you are making any dents?
I worry about the same thing. I want to know what else can be done — what else can WE do? I can’t even find how to contact most of these people or these news organizations. the Washington Post and Times used to have ombudsmen/public editors who would take complaints and would often write about them but not anymore.
The Post’s Margaret Sullivan, who was the Times’s public editor, now writes about the media for the Post. The Post does post email addresses for their writers so you can contact them. Or just click on their name on an article or google their name + Washington Post to get their page.
However, I would like to know the best way to contact people at the NY Times, NBC/MSNBC, CNN, etc. They clearly don’t want to hear from us but they need to.
Yes
Yes.
Yes.
I’m not going to repeat my regular rant that the establishment politicaL press has been all in for the GOP since the late 1970s; GOP always good — recent tell is that said media still can’t call Trump a killer in his response to the pandemic — and the Dems can’t do anything right — Axios ran a hit piece on Biden’s Thursday proposal.
But I really want to point out is that Dean Baquet, whose CV as an editor shows huge success at career advancement as opposed to any sort of journalistic excellence, famously remarked that his readers don’t need things spelled out — that is, honestly reported — because they can “suss” it out. Clearly, that’s Politico’s position in running Shapiro’s piece.
So when is Mark Levin going to post his poison in Tiger Beat On The Potomac?
Margaret Sullivan has a good one in today's Post:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/media/media-fight-trump-big-lie/2021/01/15/d3cafa3c-5745-11eb-a08b-f1381ef3d207_story.html