Great analysis Eric! I did a piece about how the majority of the people can respond to the problem of the focus on the small reopen protests. First at Hullabaloo and then at Crooks and Liars.
One idea comes from how the health care professionals pulled focus when they did counter protests at the anti-lock down protests.
.
Another is to show that the anti-lock down protesters are superspreaders. (Which data from Michigan April 15th protest shows)
A third way is to gave a voice/visual to the majority of the people at home.
The media needs to show what the reopening will mean personally in loss of life.
Photos of the dead. Video of the family of the dead. Interviews with the doctors.
Then public health care professionals attacking the reOpen people as killers.
As you know, the "both sides" of the story are given equal coverage when it's really more like 100,000 to one.
I believe the one way to address that is to prepare for the message of the other side -- discredit it scientifically and minimize it's size. Then to note that the people who are behind this 'reopen' have outsize power with the media-- because of they work the refs.
(But you know all this stuff, I'm just talking to the activists who need to develop strategies to cope with the way the press works today.)
Washington Post had a picture today (since taken down) of a head shot of a woman, sick, sweaty in an ICU with oxygen mask. She is a COVID patient. If there were more pictures of that reality (and I understand why that is not possible) there would be far fewer pictures of anti-lockdown protestors.
It makes me so angry to see these obnoxious, ignorant and uneducated fools waving flags and
Screaming for their “ freedoms.” They are mostly bought and paid for.
It makes me angrier to see the press leading with this story. They are not newsworthy enough to merit the airtime provided. In a worldwide crisis with so much at stake why wouldn’t news organizations use some sense in covering this? I’m not suggesting not giving it some mention but it doesn’t have to be the lead story. The media sadly helped 45 get elected, now they continue to make decisions that are at odds with our health and security. Thanks for your take on all this. Sometimes it feels hopeless.
I recall attending the anti-war protest in San Francisco in 2002. I was there applying for grad schools with a couple of friends from our university in Utah, and they were blown away by the number of people in the streets (over 100,000) protesting the pending invasion of Iraq. They'd been a steady diet of pro-administration talking points from MSM and cheer leading from Fox News, so after we went to lunch and I calmly explained to them that, yes, there were US citizens opposed to intervention in Iraq, and their concerns were legitimate.
Thank you for linking to Eric Alterman. He has been documenting media perfidy since the 90's.
Here in Ohio, Real Heartland Americans (Trademark), some of whom are armed (natch) are eloquently articulating their concerns (I crack myself up) in front of Dr. Amy Acton's home in a Columbus suburb. Dr. Acton is Director of Health for the Ohio Department of Health, and she has demonstrated unfailing brilliance, fortitude, empathy, compassion and professionalism in the face of this crisis. But Republicans are unhappy, and nothing tugs media's heartstrings like aggrieved (never mad or violent) white people. (Side note - a Republican state senator compared her statements to Hitler and Nazi Germany. Dr. Acton is Jewish). Here's the kicker. City officials in Bexley (a wealthy suburb) are reluctant to ban the armed protesters because they're afraid "they will become violent". Now that's a story I'd love the media to cover in more depth. I did read an article here in Cincinnati but saw nothing on broadcast news.
Great analysis Eric! I did a piece about how the majority of the people can respond to the problem of the focus on the small reopen protests. First at Hullabaloo and then at Crooks and Liars.
One idea comes from how the health care professionals pulled focus when they did counter protests at the anti-lock down protests.
.
Another is to show that the anti-lock down protesters are superspreaders. (Which data from Michigan April 15th protest shows)
A third way is to gave a voice/visual to the majority of the people at home.
The media needs to show what the reopening will mean personally in loss of life.
Photos of the dead. Video of the family of the dead. Interviews with the doctors.
Then public health care professionals attacking the reOpen people as killers.
As you know, the "both sides" of the story are given equal coverage when it's really more like 100,000 to one.
I believe the one way to address that is to prepare for the message of the other side -- discredit it scientifically and minimize it's size. Then to note that the people who are behind this 'reopen' have outsize power with the media-- because of they work the refs.
(But you know all this stuff, I'm just talking to the activists who need to develop strategies to cope with the way the press works today.)
LLAP
Spocko
Washington Post had a picture today (since taken down) of a head shot of a woman, sick, sweaty in an ICU with oxygen mask. She is a COVID patient. If there were more pictures of that reality (and I understand why that is not possible) there would be far fewer pictures of anti-lockdown protestors.
It makes me so angry to see these obnoxious, ignorant and uneducated fools waving flags and
Screaming for their “ freedoms.” They are mostly bought and paid for.
It makes me angrier to see the press leading with this story. They are not newsworthy enough to merit the airtime provided. In a worldwide crisis with so much at stake why wouldn’t news organizations use some sense in covering this? I’m not suggesting not giving it some mention but it doesn’t have to be the lead story. The media sadly helped 45 get elected, now they continue to make decisions that are at odds with our health and security. Thanks for your take on all this. Sometimes it feels hopeless.
I recall attending the anti-war protest in San Francisco in 2002. I was there applying for grad schools with a couple of friends from our university in Utah, and they were blown away by the number of people in the streets (over 100,000) protesting the pending invasion of Iraq. They'd been a steady diet of pro-administration talking points from MSM and cheer leading from Fox News, so after we went to lunch and I calmly explained to them that, yes, there were US citizens opposed to intervention in Iraq, and their concerns were legitimate.
Thank you for linking to Eric Alterman. He has been documenting media perfidy since the 90's.
Here in Ohio, Real Heartland Americans (Trademark), some of whom are armed (natch) are eloquently articulating their concerns (I crack myself up) in front of Dr. Amy Acton's home in a Columbus suburb. Dr. Acton is Director of Health for the Ohio Department of Health, and she has demonstrated unfailing brilliance, fortitude, empathy, compassion and professionalism in the face of this crisis. But Republicans are unhappy, and nothing tugs media's heartstrings like aggrieved (never mad or violent) white people. (Side note - a Republican state senator compared her statements to Hitler and Nazi Germany. Dr. Acton is Jewish). Here's the kicker. City officials in Bexley (a wealthy suburb) are reluctant to ban the armed protesters because they're afraid "they will become violent". Now that's a story I'd love the media to cover in more depth. I did read an article here in Cincinnati but saw nothing on broadcast news.
I suggest the answer lies in the firepower. I saw one picture of a group (invading) a diner and one “protester” had a .50 cal. machine gun!
The story is how quickly such “liberate” protests can turn extremely bloody.
Under reported is what a clear and present danger these armed mobs are to us all.
Completely off topic Mr. Boehlert, but your books are extremely expensive on Amazon. Much as I’d like to read it $500 is too much for me to afford.