We do not often get to see the truth spoken about the media embrace of Trump because of his entertainment value in a competitive news environment, but it does happen from time to time. Remember Les Moonves: “(Trump) may not be good for America, but (he's) damn good for CBS” (February 2016). Of course, we never needed the direct evidence to know profit is a corporate news fundamental, but the occasional confession from the press is nice. As if that were not bad enough, we also have to deal with the reality that some people who write and speak the news would prefer writing and speaking about entertaining things just because they are more entertaining to write and speak about. But some others have actual journalistic values. Thanks again, Eric.
The AP recently ran a piece in the NYT that explored the meaning of Biden’s way of whispering in his speeches. AHHHH! Really? That’s supposed to be news? It’s the msm that has become boring in its search for gotchas at the expense of substance and/or any sense of political history. I read in another Politico piece that Biden was ‘naive’ to have put a July 4 deadline on his goal to achieve 70 million shots in arms. The writer is a personable, earnest YOUNG reporter with seemingly no idea that the senior Biden might know a bit more about that than he does. IMO it’s the msm that has become boring. It’s an unbelievable time in our history and all that many in the media spew is ignorant pablum with no news value. Were none of them reporting pre FG; he’s the anomaly, not Biden nor any of his other predecessors.
Months ago, I said that our Failed Political Press ™ loved TFG because he made them part of the story by screaming “FAKE NEWS” and “ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE” at them. Acosta figured it out early and his WHCA beat turned into a major storyline that he was shut out, and night after night reported on, well, himself.
Suddenly the press felt relevant. They reported on being attacked at rallies, shunned at briefings, disregarded as the 4th Branch of the Government. Their headlines screamed that journalism itself was under attack!
It was easy/lazy reporting. TFG called them himself, to give them scoops, as did everyone else in the White House.
Our Failed Political Press ™ was having a playdate with another narcissistic 2-year old. Our Failed Political Press ™ wants to have the notoriety back.
What these journalists are actually saying is that they miss Trump because he made their jobs incredibly easy. Big stories just dropped in their laps day after day after day. No digging or enterprise required. Tedious, protracted development of inside sources? No bother. The Trump people sang like canaries.
The GOP is all about “sound and fury, signifying nothing.” They are almost purely performative - they work at providing a spectacle for the press. The press has become addicted to it.
The other side of coin is the open contempt they have for the press, their attacks on it. The press responds with “Please sir, may I have another.” Afraid of being cut off from their pushers, they put up with it to get their next fix.
Trump could openly attack a reporter and the rest would just sit, instead of walking out en masse.
I would call this Stockholm Syndrome except it’s worse.
Hi Eric....this....from the NYT pathetic show of 'journalism'..."an admission that highlights a tendency toward delivering minutiae-filled discourse over scaling oratorical heights.” Um, 'over' is the operative word...as in ... did TFG actually scale those heights? No, I don't think so. These journalists seriously have their heads up their arses and every sane person knows it...and most love PBS documentaries, btw. Yes, loving Julia Ioffe's newsletter, Tomorrow Will Be Worse, as well. Have a good day and thank you for what you are doing.
This piece alone is worth my monthly subscription.
My comment here is related to the subject of Biden and the media, though here I refer to the dishonesty and disinformation about Biden on some political sites.
PolitiFact rates politicians’ statements from True to Pants on Fire. I only had to read one of their facts checked to know that PolitiFact can't be trusted.
Specifically, this statement by Biden which PolitiFact rates half true: “We have now created over 3 million jobs since I took office, more jobs than have ever been created in the first five months of any presidency in modern history.”
When read carefully, one sees that not one "fact" that PolitiFact uses to prove why it rates that statement “half true” contradicts Biden's statement. All their proofs that Biden is not being honest are non-sequiturs.
For example, PolitiFact writes:
"Biden glosses over the reality that the U.S. economy remains almost 6.8 million jobs under its pre-pandemic peak."
That statement is not related to Biden's statement. It does not disprove Biden’s statement. It is an entirely new subject.
The "fact" check on Biden’s statement is full of non-sequiturs like that one, which profess to prove that Biden is playing fast and loose with the truth.
Which is it: that PolitiFact deliberately misleads, or that the writer lacks critical logic skills?
What I do know is that it’s not worth my time to read PolitiFact.
“ Carl Perkins Cadillac “ knocked some of the edge off my anger with the so called MSM pundits/ journalists. No matter whether you are left or right, these people don’t have a F ing clue as to what we are thinking about, and don’t give two shits if the USA is on the brink of losing democracy. I can’t stand them.
Stories, like this one, are why I despise the Liberally Biased Mainstream Media™ with all my being. They're not watchdogs for the public. They're lapdogs for Republicans who want to inject as much cruelty and misery as inhumanly possible while being praised as real leaders.
Democracy will die in the dark because of this collection of Chuck Todd wannabe hacks!
If I were in charge of any news operation, I would demand to know who said these things, and see to it that they were fired. On the spot.
I almost called them reporters. That is an insult to people who actually practice journalism.
I'm also reminded of Allen Drury, who devolved into a right-wing mouthpiece but, after working at The Times and writing Advise and Consent, talked about how important it was to "stand tall in Georgetown." That's what mattered. Not actually being good. Now, to be fair, those were in the days when he had been part of the brilliant Washington bureau of The Times that James Reston built, and they were too often too cozy, but they also could actually report. Unlike today's denizens of the DC political media brothel.
There is still so much stupidity around for the press to glom onto. Why aren't they doing it? Look at Texas this very day. The senile governor is trying to out-Trump Trump! He's going to arrest the Democrats for trying to stop voter suppression laws from being passed in Texas. Where is the outrage? What about deSantis trying to prevent people from being vaccinated by his inane political moves! Every red state in this country is trying to or has enacted voter suppression laws. Has every member of the press lost their sense of morality and ethics along with the Republicans? What is going on in this country is so disheartening and frightening.
Sadly there is no journalism as far as the mainstream goes. As your article points out, it's all about theatre. Today's mainstream media reporting is the equivalent of Nero fiddling while Rome burned. It would almost be funny if it was not for the fact that the Republicans' continue to assault our democracy in the form of the Big Lie. The Rs are preparing for the next election, sewing doubt of its results when it doesn't go their way. Meanwhile the Democrats are showing how bad they are at combating the Republicans. We keep waiting day after day for Garland's DOJ to do something and it never comes. Let's face it, America is broken and it likely will become a fascist state before it ever gets fixed. Yep, I know I'm a downer but the fourth estate, the mainstream media, that was designed to keep our democracy free, has clearly teamed up with the bad guys. I find it very difficult to feel optimistic. How sad that is considering the Democrats won the presidency and both houses.
Great piece, Eric. And lots of pushback on Twitter for Mr. Shear! My favorite:
"Clearly the people who are struggling to adjust to the post trump era are the national press corps.
I know it's not easy to transition from writing about gossip & palace intrigue to policy.
Perhaps someone should come up with a #BuildBackBetter strategy for the media."
We do not often get to see the truth spoken about the media embrace of Trump because of his entertainment value in a competitive news environment, but it does happen from time to time. Remember Les Moonves: “(Trump) may not be good for America, but (he's) damn good for CBS” (February 2016). Of course, we never needed the direct evidence to know profit is a corporate news fundamental, but the occasional confession from the press is nice. As if that were not bad enough, we also have to deal with the reality that some people who write and speak the news would prefer writing and speaking about entertaining things just because they are more entertaining to write and speak about. But some others have actual journalistic values. Thanks again, Eric.
The AP recently ran a piece in the NYT that explored the meaning of Biden’s way of whispering in his speeches. AHHHH! Really? That’s supposed to be news? It’s the msm that has become boring in its search for gotchas at the expense of substance and/or any sense of political history. I read in another Politico piece that Biden was ‘naive’ to have put a July 4 deadline on his goal to achieve 70 million shots in arms. The writer is a personable, earnest YOUNG reporter with seemingly no idea that the senior Biden might know a bit more about that than he does. IMO it’s the msm that has become boring. It’s an unbelievable time in our history and all that many in the media spew is ignorant pablum with no news value. Were none of them reporting pre FG; he’s the anomaly, not Biden nor any of his other predecessors.
Months ago, I said that our Failed Political Press ™ loved TFG because he made them part of the story by screaming “FAKE NEWS” and “ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE” at them. Acosta figured it out early and his WHCA beat turned into a major storyline that he was shut out, and night after night reported on, well, himself.
Suddenly the press felt relevant. They reported on being attacked at rallies, shunned at briefings, disregarded as the 4th Branch of the Government. Their headlines screamed that journalism itself was under attack!
It was easy/lazy reporting. TFG called them himself, to give them scoops, as did everyone else in the White House.
Our Failed Political Press ™ was having a playdate with another narcissistic 2-year old. Our Failed Political Press ™ wants to have the notoriety back.
Eric, just one more thing — in case you missed this terrific new tweet from the great Marc Elias:
Marc E. Elias @marceelias
Much of the national media's reporting on voting rights is terrible. It's lib. arts grads with a subscript. to SSRN doing "both sides."
@POTUS:"We're are facing the most significant test of our democracy since the Civil War."
Reporter: I took poli sci in college & don't agree.
What these journalists are actually saying is that they miss Trump because he made their jobs incredibly easy. Big stories just dropped in their laps day after day after day. No digging or enterprise required. Tedious, protracted development of inside sources? No bother. The Trump people sang like canaries.
Shades of Network.
The GOP is all about “sound and fury, signifying nothing.” They are almost purely performative - they work at providing a spectacle for the press. The press has become addicted to it.
The other side of coin is the open contempt they have for the press, their attacks on it. The press responds with “Please sir, may I have another.” Afraid of being cut off from their pushers, they put up with it to get their next fix.
Trump could openly attack a reporter and the rest would just sit, instead of walking out en masse.
I would call this Stockholm Syndrome except it’s worse.
Hi Eric....this....from the NYT pathetic show of 'journalism'..."an admission that highlights a tendency toward delivering minutiae-filled discourse over scaling oratorical heights.” Um, 'over' is the operative word...as in ... did TFG actually scale those heights? No, I don't think so. These journalists seriously have their heads up their arses and every sane person knows it...and most love PBS documentaries, btw. Yes, loving Julia Ioffe's newsletter, Tomorrow Will Be Worse, as well. Have a good day and thank you for what you are doing.
This piece alone is worth my monthly subscription.
My comment here is related to the subject of Biden and the media, though here I refer to the dishonesty and disinformation about Biden on some political sites.
PolitiFact rates politicians’ statements from True to Pants on Fire. I only had to read one of their facts checked to know that PolitiFact can't be trusted.
Specifically, this statement by Biden which PolitiFact rates half true: “We have now created over 3 million jobs since I took office, more jobs than have ever been created in the first five months of any presidency in modern history.”
When read carefully, one sees that not one "fact" that PolitiFact uses to prove why it rates that statement “half true” contradicts Biden's statement. All their proofs that Biden is not being honest are non-sequiturs.
For example, PolitiFact writes:
"Biden glosses over the reality that the U.S. economy remains almost 6.8 million jobs under its pre-pandemic peak."
That statement is not related to Biden's statement. It does not disprove Biden’s statement. It is an entirely new subject.
The "fact" check on Biden’s statement is full of non-sequiturs like that one, which profess to prove that Biden is playing fast and loose with the truth.
Which is it: that PolitiFact deliberately misleads, or that the writer lacks critical logic skills?
What I do know is that it’s not worth my time to read PolitiFact.
https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2021/jul/09/joe-biden/joe-biden-target-early-job-gains-figure-leaves-out/
Love to hear your thoughts , Eric. Always look forward to seeing you on Stephanie Miller's show.
Thanks for your adept commentary on what poses as journalism these days...
“ Carl Perkins Cadillac “ knocked some of the edge off my anger with the so called MSM pundits/ journalists. No matter whether you are left or right, these people don’t have a F ing clue as to what we are thinking about, and don’t give two shits if the USA is on the brink of losing democracy. I can’t stand them.
Stories, like this one, are why I despise the Liberally Biased Mainstream Media™ with all my being. They're not watchdogs for the public. They're lapdogs for Republicans who want to inject as much cruelty and misery as inhumanly possible while being praised as real leaders.
Democracy will die in the dark because of this collection of Chuck Todd wannabe hacks!
If I were in charge of any news operation, I would demand to know who said these things, and see to it that they were fired. On the spot.
I almost called them reporters. That is an insult to people who actually practice journalism.
I'm also reminded of Allen Drury, who devolved into a right-wing mouthpiece but, after working at The Times and writing Advise and Consent, talked about how important it was to "stand tall in Georgetown." That's what mattered. Not actually being good. Now, to be fair, those were in the days when he had been part of the brilliant Washington bureau of The Times that James Reston built, and they were too often too cozy, but they also could actually report. Unlike today's denizens of the DC political media brothel.
There is still so much stupidity around for the press to glom onto. Why aren't they doing it? Look at Texas this very day. The senile governor is trying to out-Trump Trump! He's going to arrest the Democrats for trying to stop voter suppression laws from being passed in Texas. Where is the outrage? What about deSantis trying to prevent people from being vaccinated by his inane political moves! Every red state in this country is trying to or has enacted voter suppression laws. Has every member of the press lost their sense of morality and ethics along with the Republicans? What is going on in this country is so disheartening and frightening.
Sadly there is no journalism as far as the mainstream goes. As your article points out, it's all about theatre. Today's mainstream media reporting is the equivalent of Nero fiddling while Rome burned. It would almost be funny if it was not for the fact that the Republicans' continue to assault our democracy in the form of the Big Lie. The Rs are preparing for the next election, sewing doubt of its results when it doesn't go their way. Meanwhile the Democrats are showing how bad they are at combating the Republicans. We keep waiting day after day for Garland's DOJ to do something and it never comes. Let's face it, America is broken and it likely will become a fascist state before it ever gets fixed. Yep, I know I'm a downer but the fourth estate, the mainstream media, that was designed to keep our democracy free, has clearly teamed up with the bad guys. I find it very difficult to feel optimistic. How sad that is considering the Democrats won the presidency and both houses.