What a great piece! I remember most of the events, but I wasn’t able to follow the various threads of this story in real time… How can the press justify themselves? Not only is Biden following a completely abnormal administration - he is 100% portrayed as senile on 🦊. First Obama was hamstrung (race)- now this :/ So TFG would throw them a half-baked narrative (with plenty of drama tho) and they could help fill in the script… Helluva drug(!)
I remember officials granting tRump the rights to that DC hotel building because they knew he would ‘make a fuss!’ Wow. That bullying technique gets internalized in people and the next thing you know - they go from appeasing to actively ‘helping the guy out’ with his stupid made up BS, to avoid a hissy fit! TFG was taught these techniques by lawyer Roy Cohn way back - he was schooled (see the ‘Where’s My Roy Cohn’ documentary - explains a lot). Tired of this crappy uneven playing field and the American people for accepting it!
Yes. The perfect example is the Covid Task Force presser where Trump opined that doctors should try injecting people with disinfectants. Literally no one uttered a word to challenge this horrific moment. Not the press and not the doctors sitting there next to him, who all looked like they'd just bitten into a shit sandwich.
You make a good point and it's one that Mary Trump hammered away on in her book about Uncle Donald. "He's NEVER been held truly accountable for any of his long history of terrible behavior." My biggest concern about the press, the Biden administration and the DOJ is they will make that same mistake again.
In that book Mary Trump explicitly criticized the New York area media for refusing to cover her uncle’s corruption and criminality, preferring to have fun covering him as a colorful, brash rich celebrity. Those journalists ignored the in-depth reporting of Trump’s egregious behavior by the Village Voices Wayne Barrett and the Philadelphia Inquirer’s David Cay Johnston, who both spent years doing serious investigative reporting about Trump.
Sometimes I think it is because land development and real estate industry in the New York area is all corrupt and criminal so Drump would only stand out for his brash behavior and biases.
I grew up in NJ, I’m 74, where the mob was prevalent in all walks of life, even in my small hometown of 16000, and in real estate development in particular and believe me, the orange one was in a class by himself. See Atlantic City tradesmen who never got paid eg. He was a well known lout then as he is now. Some things never change, but this megalomaniac fooled uninformed folks by winning the presidency.
And London is even worse. One Russian oligarch, Evgeny Lebedev who is now a UK as well as a Russian citizen owns the London Evening Standard, the Independent and a TV station. He was made a baron by Boris Johnson so he now has a lifetime seat in the House of Lords. He also owns the Italian villa where wealthy Brits and politicians — including Boris Johnson — party with Russian oligarchs. Lebedev’s money came from his oligarch father who was a KGB officer. Lebedev is finally speaking out against Russia.
The Tories get a ton of money from the oligarchs. They are now pledging to crack down but many say its too late.
For years Russian oligarchs have been parking their dirty money in London real estate. London is considered by many to be the money laundering capital of the world. That claim was backed by the revelations in the Pandora Papers.
I think it's the built-in celebrity worship of rich, somewhat attractive boorish jerks who live in gilt palaces and whose stupid public statements are never, ever challenged. Trump was also the owner of a beauty pageant and was a heavy investor in pro wrestling and a football conference that crumbled in record time.
Thank you. Same way their time off is covered/not covered… the taxpayer bills for the weekend golf course excursions were downplayed (he works so hard?!) - and they try to call out Biden for weekends in…Delaware w/his grandkids???
Just a reminder that when Joe goes home he does not play at the Biden Golf Course, force the Secret Service to stay at the Biden Arms Hotel or grab any taxpayer cash for Biden Enterprises.
But that doesn't matter to the GOP stenographers that lie in the Corporate Controlled Conservative Press!
Four years of that idiot with his thumb on the nuclear button stole years off of my life I'm sure. Thankful that this time there is reason for hope. The press needs to step up, and this community (Thank you Eric) is helping, mebbe more than we know. Let's keep our feet on the gas.
Not only did the press practically accuse the Biden Admin of lying, journalists challenged it with Zelensky's denials, taking the Ukrainian president's position over the administration's. They also questioned if the admin was wagging the dog, banging the war drums to draw attention away from Biden's "sagging poll numbers" and "stalled domestic agenda."
What's striking to me is how the media has lionized Zelensky. There is absolutely no doubt he has admirably risen to the occasion, demonstrating remarkable courage and leadership literally under fire. He deserves accolades and has carved his place in history. But he also made mistakes. He didn't prepare his people for the possibility of Russian aggression, which journalists have chosen to overlook. It's understandable that he did not want to panic his people, but it's difficult not to compare that lack of criticism to the "chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal."
It is striking that few in the media will give the administration credit for their masterful handling of the crisis. The press again attributes it to Zelensky, claiming that his courage is what has spurred the Europeans to act so boldly, and that we are lagging behind when it comes to sanctions, etc. Instead, the questions in the first few days of the invasion were, "What mistakes did the admin make and what should they have done to prevent this?" (Nor does the press mention that we have sent troops to Poland etc specifically to coordinate humanitarian aid and help the massive number of refugees seeking shelter in addition to bolstering our forces in Europe—the same forces that Trump wanted to remove.)
Should the Biden admin vocally claim more credit? By not being Trumpy, they have brilliantly made this conflict Russia vs the world, rather than Russia v the US. I don't know how this crisis will all play out, but am sadly confident that no matter what, Biden will be blamed for anything that goes wrong and ignored for things that go right.
It really has. And the seeming incredulity of the press when they mention the good economy then say, but (for some reason) people are only concerned with inflation—when that's all the press talks about, even now when they are talking about the invasion. "He better prepare people for what's to come," was one of the remarks I heard yesterday on either MSNBC or (the home of "liberal opining") CNN.
It's clear that the MSM is doing everything it can to make Biden appear weak. The DC press has gone over to the dark side a long time ago. But as Malcom Nance pointed out on The Stephanie Miller show this morning, 20 percent of Democrats are adding to Biden's low poll numbers, mostly from the progressive wing. When are Democrats going to realize that they are not going to get everything they want but are getting the most they have wanted in decades. 70 percent of the American people want what Biden stands for. We need to vote in concert to keep Congress blue and to increase our majority. How sad it will be if Democrats, by not voting, is the reason we lose Congress. It's up to us! We will get no help from Republicans, the MSM, or Joe Manchin and Krysten Sinema. Short of this, in January of 2025 we will be sending arms to Russia.
AS we have discussed many times, the elite stenographers of the Beltway Press Corps is conditioned to assume that Democrats need to be pressed on everything while pressing Republicans is pointless. Why? Perhaps they know that Democrats can handle it and will respond with more facts whereas Republicans, having knowingly lied, will just amplify that lie, perhaps to the point that the Beltway stenographers can no longer paper it over. As for Biden's intelligence on Russia and Ukraine, after the fiasco in Afghanistan (blamed on Biden in spite of the fact that it was all Trump's work) it was good to push back, if for no other reason than to allow Biden to show that the Trump regime of incompetence is over.
Funny how that is the ONLY thing that people can complain about with Biden. I've not read or heard of anything else he has bongled. Very unlike the Drump administration that had one mistake or corruption after another for 4 years.
thanks to Trump and his agreement with the Taliban, Biden did what he had to do. The time had run out and to avoid all-out war with them again, he continued to exit. It saved lives.
I wonder if many members of the press are embarrassed about how they let Trump and his cabal of criminal cohorts bully and intimidate them for years, so now they're taking it out on normal, nice-guy Biden and his administration to prove to themselves and the world that they're not really a bunch of starry-eyed celebrity worshipers and/or sniveling cowards.
Malignant Narcissist Trump did the same thing to the Press that he did to so many Republican politicians - alternately bullied, threatened and love-bombed them into becoming his Flying Monkeys.
They are too busy blaming Biden for our supposedly terrible economy, then blaming the Democrats for not being able to cut through their misleading reporting.
A recent poll showed that Americans are badly misinformed about the strong economic numbers.
When people were then given the actual growth and jobs numbers the results were reversed, with more respondents saying they trust Democrats more than Republicans on the economy. Too bad the media hasn’t bothered to make sure the public knows those fact, not just the inflation rate.
The article ignores the elephant in the room — whenever polls show the majority of the American public is badly misinformed it is the mainstream media’s fault far more more than anyone else’s. It is their job to ensure that we have a well-informed public. That is the reason our Founding Fathers gave them special constitutional protection. Had the mainstream media chosen to give the public all the facts about our strong economic growth rather than just do the Republicans’ bidding by putting the spotlight on inflation that results of that poll would have been very different.
This article was written by Greg Sargent who has not been afraid to criticize his peers in the media.
That poll is not a fluke. Another poll by USA Today/Suffolk University shows that 51% of Americans actually think our economy is in a recession!
I already loved Eric Boehlert, but Old Crow Medicine Show sends it over the top.
I emailed Dean Baquet with a question about word choice. The Times's banner today said Biden "seeks" unity against Putin. I said he already appeared to have it, except for some republicans. Was that what The Times meant?
The Today show brought in for an interview a Ukrainian parliament member to tell us Biden's address was a "total disappointment." Because of the lack of the no-fly-zone. Not about the job Biden is doing to help, no, they needed to make sure to have a voice criticizing the job Biden is doing.
Seriously, why? Clearly Today knew exactly what this person would say, and wanted to interview this person to get that response. That the US would entertain the idea of entering into a shooting war with Russia. Of course no real pushback to that idea. Hey, you know, maybe a shooting war between US and Russia is not a good idea and could even be worse for Ukraine.
Just another example of how the press will praise the 5 things Republicans do and ignore the 100 bad things. But criticize Democrats for the 5 things they didn't do (or could not do) and ignore the 100 good things.
I saw the interview too. I understand her urgency and sense of desperation completely, but I was completely unsurprised by Savannah's lack of pushback. And had the parliament member said that the speech was right on target and Biden has done all he can do, I have no doubt Guthrie would have said "Well, don't you think he could do more...?" I wonder whether any of the warhawks have researched the immediate and residual, decades-long effects of a full-on nuclear war as I have. For a much more realistic perspective beyond the superficial, SFX-laden "The Day After," I would suggest the British film "Threads" for a far more realistic snippet. The unthinkable is now thinkable, and I don't believe that average Americans have any sense at all what it would mean. None. At. All. If Article 5 is breached, we will all learn soon enough.
And sadly, that's correct, that Guthrie would have just pushed the same narrative. It was just for clicks, nothing new we didn't already know. Get us all worked up, each side using it as an example (I'm sure it's now on FB and being used to attack Biden). And reading up on that member of parliament, she's part of a very small minority party.
Biden: Let's be unified, and work together.
National Media: Nah, less than 24 hours, we're going to keep up with the clickbait. Here's our interview with someone that is the same as when we interview a local at a diner in Iowa.
Eric, I won't engage this particular example of press malfeasance. Just another depressing anecdote in an ongoing campaign. My question is this. Do any of these people exhibit any degree of self-awareness and self-questioning of their obvious bias, if only in private? Are they so arrogantly taken with their own self-justifications that they do not see their complicity in undermining the party and president that are our only lines of defense against the chaos agents, authoritarians and Christo-fascist barbarians on the other side? Biden's low approval ratings are a direct result of the slanted journalism they deliver on a daily basis. "Liberal media" my ass!
I would like to add to your comment. Where the hell are the Democratic Senators and House members. They should be out pounding the pavement, sending emails whatever to get the point across about what all GOOD, has been done since Biden got into office. Those who are up for reelection this year could use that to bolster themselves making that same move. They were part of making things happen. Why aren't they out there shouting from the mountaintops? Are they that lazy or uninformed of all that has gone on in DC??
Eric, I bet you saw this, but I want to post it here because maybe not all your readers are on Twitter. Tfg asked for an Army study to see if there really was Russian interference in the 2016 election, and guess what?
When Trump was facing impeachment, he killed Soleimani. It’s what he wanted to do to Pelosi. But it showed him as a murderer. Word was that GOP senators were told before the impeachment vote that if they didn’t vote to acquit Trump he’d put their head on a pile. After the Soleimani hit and all Trump had done to belittle and destroy GOP opponents, the GOP senate backed Trump. Then after the impeachment he took revenge on America and the Blue States in particular by downplaying Covid, basically sponsoring its spread in the US and denying ventilators and PPE to Blue States. He is a lying murderer. Like Putin. And that is who the media backs. So yes. Why.
I think you hit on an important point - Trump got the backing of the GOP, and it naturally followed that he got the backing of the press. On the other hand, Biden is always getting his ass in a sling with the press because the GOP supports absolutely nothing he does.
"Last month when the U.S said intelligence suggested Russia was planning a “false flag operation” with propaganda videos to justify an invasion, indignant reporters in gotcha mode demanded to know where the administration got that idea, even though Putin has a long history of doing exactly that."
Oh, come on. We were all skeptical. Making claims without proof is pure George W. Bush. And the US government has a bad habit of lying in these circumstances.
Comparing to Trump is fair, though - 30,000 lies and he was given the benefit of the doubt.
I guess the photos of the Russian troops amassing at the Ukraine border weren't enough, as well as Putin's own words about the breakup of the Soviet Union and his vision for restoring Russian greatness and the Russian empire. It's a pattern with the press that isn't a result of the Iraq invasion. Even then there were stories refuting the Bush admin's claims by reporters covering other agencies, including the energy Dept. Instead, the Times and Wapo chose to bury those pieces deep in the back pages of the A section while putting crap reports on page one.
If they'd learned their lesson, they would have been critical of the Trump admin's claims. Yet they weren't. They only demonstrate skepticism when it's a Dem president. That's the pattern.
How often have there been wars involving Democratic presidents? I'm not enough of a news hound to remember where stories were "buried" 20 years ago. Instead of making it a partisan thing, it's safer to say that I. F. Stone was right to say that all governments lie and that the press has not been doing enough to get past those lies to report the truth.
Grenada? Desert Storm? The Iraq War? All were in the past 40 years and under R presidents, yet where was the same skepticism that they showed to Clinton when he warned about Bin Laden—the original wag the dog charge after the Sudan missile strike—and this? It's the press' job to question, but their incredulity that the Biden admin could be telling the truth was a bit much, especially when that skepticism was MIA from 2015 to 2021.
Compare the press' coverage of the failed rescue mission to free the hostages under Carter, Mogadishu (Black Hawk Down) under Clinton, Benghazi under Obama, and the Afghanistan suicide bombing under Biden with the Beirut barracks bombing and the deaths of the four soldiers in Niger under Reagan and Trump respectively. Press was significantly harder on the Dems when in charge than the GOP.
I revere IF Stone, but don't believe the government lies about everything—though of course it does depend on the admin, whose staffing it, and who is running it. I think such a blanket charge is an easy out for cynical people who believe in conspiracy theories, claim there is no difference between the parties, and that voting is a sham.
So now you're going back even further? Those journalists are now either dead or retired.
I'm very, very tired of people who rant for the sake of ranting. Kindly do me a favor and refrain from ranting at me. Carter? I was a teenager then. I'm not a news hound. I merely want to see fair and truthful reporting. I do not sit here all day arguing about what went down 40 years ago. It's probably better if you just don't respond to my posts. I hate the feeling that someone is shouting in my face.
OK, but you seem to think "getting out more" involves reading old news from 40 years ago. My concern is with the present, not with what happened when I graduated from high school. You ripped into me a couple of weeks ago by citing some love affair between a couple of news broadcasters in the 1970's, which was WEIRD. I don't appreciate being treated rudely. Please do ignore me, and I will do likewise.
What a great piece! I remember most of the events, but I wasn’t able to follow the various threads of this story in real time… How can the press justify themselves? Not only is Biden following a completely abnormal administration - he is 100% portrayed as senile on 🦊. First Obama was hamstrung (race)- now this :/ So TFG would throw them a half-baked narrative (with plenty of drama tho) and they could help fill in the script… Helluva drug(!)
I remember officials granting tRump the rights to that DC hotel building because they knew he would ‘make a fuss!’ Wow. That bullying technique gets internalized in people and the next thing you know - they go from appeasing to actively ‘helping the guy out’ with his stupid made up BS, to avoid a hissy fit! TFG was taught these techniques by lawyer Roy Cohn way back - he was schooled (see the ‘Where’s My Roy Cohn’ documentary - explains a lot). Tired of this crappy uneven playing field and the American people for accepting it!
thanks, the comparison in press behavior is pretty damming
So it's not "damming" unless it's Trump they're covering up for? There's a long history of the press covering for presidents.
The difference with 2020 is the blatant/broad daylight aspect, I think!
Yes. The perfect example is the Covid Task Force presser where Trump opined that doctors should try injecting people with disinfectants. Literally no one uttered a word to challenge this horrific moment. Not the press and not the doctors sitting there next to him, who all looked like they'd just bitten into a shit sandwich.
You make a good point and it's one that Mary Trump hammered away on in her book about Uncle Donald. "He's NEVER been held truly accountable for any of his long history of terrible behavior." My biggest concern about the press, the Biden administration and the DOJ is they will make that same mistake again.
In that book Mary Trump explicitly criticized the New York area media for refusing to cover her uncle’s corruption and criminality, preferring to have fun covering him as a colorful, brash rich celebrity. Those journalists ignored the in-depth reporting of Trump’s egregious behavior by the Village Voices Wayne Barrett and the Philadelphia Inquirer’s David Cay Johnston, who both spent years doing serious investigative reporting about Trump.
Sometimes I think it is because land development and real estate industry in the New York area is all corrupt and criminal so Drump would only stand out for his brash behavior and biases.
I grew up in NJ, I’m 74, where the mob was prevalent in all walks of life, even in my small hometown of 16000, and in real estate development in particular and believe me, the orange one was in a class by himself. See Atlantic City tradesmen who never got paid eg. He was a well known lout then as he is now. Some things never change, but this megalomaniac fooled uninformed folks by winning the presidency.
NJ export here as well✔️
No he won because he spoke their language HATE, he told them things they already believed in. Just never said it out loud to the people they HATE.
And London is even worse. One Russian oligarch, Evgeny Lebedev who is now a UK as well as a Russian citizen owns the London Evening Standard, the Independent and a TV station. He was made a baron by Boris Johnson so he now has a lifetime seat in the House of Lords. He also owns the Italian villa where wealthy Brits and politicians — including Boris Johnson — party with Russian oligarchs. Lebedev’s money came from his oligarch father who was a KGB officer. Lebedev is finally speaking out against Russia.
The Tories get a ton of money from the oligarchs. They are now pledging to crack down but many say its too late.
For years Russian oligarchs have been parking their dirty money in London real estate. London is considered by many to be the money laundering capital of the world. That claim was backed by the revelations in the Pandora Papers.
https://apnews.com/article/business-london-europe-media-f91432c785e4e06a8fb2c7370d4ca63d
I think it's the built-in celebrity worship of rich, somewhat attractive boorish jerks who live in gilt palaces and whose stupid public statements are never, ever challenged. Trump was also the owner of a beauty pageant and was a heavy investor in pro wrestling and a football conference that crumbled in record time.
Her podcast is worth a listen, btw.
"That cautious mindset would hang over Trump's deliberations throughout the day as he huddled several times with his national security team."
In other words, tRump blustered about bombing Iran to "show strength" and everyone had to talk him out of it.
that coverage (in 2020!) was just insane
Thank you. Same way their time off is covered/not covered… the taxpayer bills for the weekend golf course excursions were downplayed (he works so hard?!) - and they try to call out Biden for weekends in…Delaware w/his grandkids???
That get under my skin so bad.
Just a reminder that when Joe goes home he does not play at the Biden Golf Course, force the Secret Service to stay at the Biden Arms Hotel or grab any taxpayer cash for Biden Enterprises.
But that doesn't matter to the GOP stenographers that lie in the Corporate Controlled Conservative Press!
Plus he ran on ‘beating the system’, so he gets this bizarre respect…for cheating the taxpayers. Chaos + fog…
Damn Skippy!! 💯
See how bad it 'gets' with an S, under my skin, I couldn't even do simple grammar.
(If we’ve learned anything from the R playbook - perfection/precision is overrated!!!!?)
You nailed it!
Four years of that idiot with his thumb on the nuclear button stole years off of my life I'm sure. Thankful that this time there is reason for hope. The press needs to step up, and this community (Thank you Eric) is helping, mebbe more than we know. Let's keep our feet on the gas.
THIS👆
Not only did the press practically accuse the Biden Admin of lying, journalists challenged it with Zelensky's denials, taking the Ukrainian president's position over the administration's. They also questioned if the admin was wagging the dog, banging the war drums to draw attention away from Biden's "sagging poll numbers" and "stalled domestic agenda."
What's striking to me is how the media has lionized Zelensky. There is absolutely no doubt he has admirably risen to the occasion, demonstrating remarkable courage and leadership literally under fire. He deserves accolades and has carved his place in history. But he also made mistakes. He didn't prepare his people for the possibility of Russian aggression, which journalists have chosen to overlook. It's understandable that he did not want to panic his people, but it's difficult not to compare that lack of criticism to the "chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal."
It is striking that few in the media will give the administration credit for their masterful handling of the crisis. The press again attributes it to Zelensky, claiming that his courage is what has spurred the Europeans to act so boldly, and that we are lagging behind when it comes to sanctions, etc. Instead, the questions in the first few days of the invasion were, "What mistakes did the admin make and what should they have done to prevent this?" (Nor does the press mention that we have sent troops to Poland etc specifically to coordinate humanitarian aid and help the massive number of refugees seeking shelter in addition to bolstering our forces in Europe—the same forces that Trump wanted to remove.)
Should the Biden admin vocally claim more credit? By not being Trumpy, they have brilliantly made this conflict Russia vs the world, rather than Russia v the US. I don't know how this crisis will all play out, but am sadly confident that no matter what, Biden will be blamed for anything that goes wrong and ignored for things that go right.
So much subtle framing has been normalized…
It really has. And the seeming incredulity of the press when they mention the good economy then say, but (for some reason) people are only concerned with inflation—when that's all the press talks about, even now when they are talking about the invasion. "He better prepare people for what's to come," was one of the remarks I heard yesterday on either MSNBC or (the home of "liberal opining") CNN.
It's clear that the MSM is doing everything it can to make Biden appear weak. The DC press has gone over to the dark side a long time ago. But as Malcom Nance pointed out on The Stephanie Miller show this morning, 20 percent of Democrats are adding to Biden's low poll numbers, mostly from the progressive wing. When are Democrats going to realize that they are not going to get everything they want but are getting the most they have wanted in decades. 70 percent of the American people want what Biden stands for. We need to vote in concert to keep Congress blue and to increase our majority. How sad it will be if Democrats, by not voting, is the reason we lose Congress. It's up to us! We will get no help from Republicans, the MSM, or Joe Manchin and Krysten Sinema. Short of this, in January of 2025 we will be sending arms to Russia.
AS we have discussed many times, the elite stenographers of the Beltway Press Corps is conditioned to assume that Democrats need to be pressed on everything while pressing Republicans is pointless. Why? Perhaps they know that Democrats can handle it and will respond with more facts whereas Republicans, having knowingly lied, will just amplify that lie, perhaps to the point that the Beltway stenographers can no longer paper it over. As for Biden's intelligence on Russia and Ukraine, after the fiasco in Afghanistan (blamed on Biden in spite of the fact that it was all Trump's work) it was good to push back, if for no other reason than to allow Biden to show that the Trump regime of incompetence is over.
When R’s realized they could just double down on their lies and get away with it, we were in for trouble. Now they just triple down:/ Or quadruple.
Well, it is so much easier to repeat GOP talking points than actually do journalism...
And how much fun is it to make a beige suit a worse crisis than a controversial drone strike:/
That’s exactly it. Not enough push back, calling out lies. Tho there are so many to choose from and so many Rs mute to his outrages.
Waiting to hear their reactions to SOTU speech that he hit out of the park!
This is typical https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/01/fact-checking-president-bidens-2022-state-union-address/
Funny how that is the ONLY thing that people can complain about with Biden. I've not read or heard of anything else he has bongled. Very unlike the Drump administration that had one mistake or corruption after another for 4 years.
I still don’t think Afgh. was a bungle, but that’s just me…🙂
Me too.
thanks to Trump and his agreement with the Taliban, Biden did what he had to do. The time had run out and to avoid all-out war with them again, he continued to exit. It saved lives.
Be nice if they hammered on that …!
Oh, I don't think so either. Biden accomplished something seemingly impossible with what he had been given.
I wonder if many members of the press are embarrassed about how they let Trump and his cabal of criminal cohorts bully and intimidate them for years, so now they're taking it out on normal, nice-guy Biden and his administration to prove to themselves and the world that they're not really a bunch of starry-eyed celebrity worshipers and/or sniveling cowards.
The Press Corpse knows no shame.
Malignant Narcissist Trump did the same thing to the Press that he did to so many Republican politicians - alternately bullied, threatened and love-bombed them into becoming his Flying Monkeys.
And the NY media…
They are too busy blaming Biden for our supposedly terrible economy, then blaming the Democrats for not being able to cut through their misleading reporting.
A recent poll showed that Americans are badly misinformed about the strong economic numbers.
When people were then given the actual growth and jobs numbers the results were reversed, with more respondents saying they trust Democrats more than Republicans on the economy. Too bad the media hasn’t bothered to make sure the public knows those fact, not just the inflation rate.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/02/15/brutal-polling-biden-economy-covid/
The article ignores the elephant in the room — whenever polls show the majority of the American public is badly misinformed it is the mainstream media’s fault far more more than anyone else’s. It is their job to ensure that we have a well-informed public. That is the reason our Founding Fathers gave them special constitutional protection. Had the mainstream media chosen to give the public all the facts about our strong economic growth rather than just do the Republicans’ bidding by putting the spotlight on inflation that results of that poll would have been very different.
This article was written by Greg Sargent who has not been afraid to criticize his peers in the media.
That poll is not a fluke. Another poll by USA Today/Suffolk University shows that 51% of Americans actually think our economy is in a recession!
NO!
I already loved Eric Boehlert, but Old Crow Medicine Show sends it over the top.
I emailed Dean Baquet with a question about word choice. The Times's banner today said Biden "seeks" unity against Putin. I said he already appeared to have it, except for some republicans. Was that what The Times meant?
/s
The Today show brought in for an interview a Ukrainian parliament member to tell us Biden's address was a "total disappointment." Because of the lack of the no-fly-zone. Not about the job Biden is doing to help, no, they needed to make sure to have a voice criticizing the job Biden is doing.
Seriously, why? Clearly Today knew exactly what this person would say, and wanted to interview this person to get that response. That the US would entertain the idea of entering into a shooting war with Russia. Of course no real pushback to that idea. Hey, you know, maybe a shooting war between US and Russia is not a good idea and could even be worse for Ukraine.
Just another example of how the press will praise the 5 things Republicans do and ignore the 100 bad things. But criticize Democrats for the 5 things they didn't do (or could not do) and ignore the 100 good things.
I saw the interview too. I understand her urgency and sense of desperation completely, but I was completely unsurprised by Savannah's lack of pushback. And had the parliament member said that the speech was right on target and Biden has done all he can do, I have no doubt Guthrie would have said "Well, don't you think he could do more...?" I wonder whether any of the warhawks have researched the immediate and residual, decades-long effects of a full-on nuclear war as I have. For a much more realistic perspective beyond the superficial, SFX-laden "The Day After," I would suggest the British film "Threads" for a far more realistic snippet. The unthinkable is now thinkable, and I don't believe that average Americans have any sense at all what it would mean. None. At. All. If Article 5 is breached, we will all learn soon enough.
And sadly, that's correct, that Guthrie would have just pushed the same narrative. It was just for clicks, nothing new we didn't already know. Get us all worked up, each side using it as an example (I'm sure it's now on FB and being used to attack Biden). And reading up on that member of parliament, she's part of a very small minority party.
Biden: Let's be unified, and work together.
National Media: Nah, less than 24 hours, we're going to keep up with the clickbait. Here's our interview with someone that is the same as when we interview a local at a diner in Iowa.
I'm sure Savannah is resting nicely with her fat NBC paycheck since it provides well for her family.
Eric, I won't engage this particular example of press malfeasance. Just another depressing anecdote in an ongoing campaign. My question is this. Do any of these people exhibit any degree of self-awareness and self-questioning of their obvious bias, if only in private? Are they so arrogantly taken with their own self-justifications that they do not see their complicity in undermining the party and president that are our only lines of defense against the chaos agents, authoritarians and Christo-fascist barbarians on the other side? Biden's low approval ratings are a direct result of the slanted journalism they deliver on a daily basis. "Liberal media" my ass!
I would like to add to your comment. Where the hell are the Democratic Senators and House members. They should be out pounding the pavement, sending emails whatever to get the point across about what all GOOD, has been done since Biden got into office. Those who are up for reelection this year could use that to bolster themselves making that same move. They were part of making things happen. Why aren't they out there shouting from the mountaintops? Are they that lazy or uninformed of all that has gone on in DC??
Agreed...
For some individuals, they prefer the financial rewards of shoddy & dishonest journalism over the loss of integrity in their profession.
Somehow, they don't believe their work directly affects their family & friends.
Just write up a negatively-slanted article with a clickbait headline, get the paycheck, and enjoy downtime with my loved ones.
Screw everyone who'll be negatively affected by my crappy article as long as I'm well paid.
Eric, I bet you saw this, but I want to post it here because maybe not all your readers are on Twitter. Tfg asked for an Army study to see if there really was Russian interference in the 2016 election, and guess what?
https://bylinetimes.com/2022/03/02/trump-military-study-saw-brexit-as-first-step-in-russian-information-blitzkrieg-on-west/
The race for eyeballs and clicks is always downhill.
Our Failed Political Press would rather amplify a dramatic lie than a dramatic truth.
"Especially when the GOP lied about everything", and the Biden administration has proven to be correct.
When Trump was facing impeachment, he killed Soleimani. It’s what he wanted to do to Pelosi. But it showed him as a murderer. Word was that GOP senators were told before the impeachment vote that if they didn’t vote to acquit Trump he’d put their head on a pile. After the Soleimani hit and all Trump had done to belittle and destroy GOP opponents, the GOP senate backed Trump. Then after the impeachment he took revenge on America and the Blue States in particular by downplaying Covid, basically sponsoring its spread in the US and denying ventilators and PPE to Blue States. He is a lying murderer. Like Putin. And that is who the media backs. So yes. Why.
I think you hit on an important point - Trump got the backing of the GOP, and it naturally followed that he got the backing of the press. On the other hand, Biden is always getting his ass in a sling with the press because the GOP supports absolutely nothing he does.
"Last month when the U.S said intelligence suggested Russia was planning a “false flag operation” with propaganda videos to justify an invasion, indignant reporters in gotcha mode demanded to know where the administration got that idea, even though Putin has a long history of doing exactly that."
Oh, come on. We were all skeptical. Making claims without proof is pure George W. Bush. And the US government has a bad habit of lying in these circumstances.
Comparing to Trump is fair, though - 30,000 lies and he was given the benefit of the doubt.
I guess the photos of the Russian troops amassing at the Ukraine border weren't enough, as well as Putin's own words about the breakup of the Soviet Union and his vision for restoring Russian greatness and the Russian empire. It's a pattern with the press that isn't a result of the Iraq invasion. Even then there were stories refuting the Bush admin's claims by reporters covering other agencies, including the energy Dept. Instead, the Times and Wapo chose to bury those pieces deep in the back pages of the A section while putting crap reports on page one.
If they'd learned their lesson, they would have been critical of the Trump admin's claims. Yet they weren't. They only demonstrate skepticism when it's a Dem president. That's the pattern.
Maybe DEMs need to learn how to *shrug* now and then - !
How often have there been wars involving Democratic presidents? I'm not enough of a news hound to remember where stories were "buried" 20 years ago. Instead of making it a partisan thing, it's safer to say that I. F. Stone was right to say that all governments lie and that the press has not been doing enough to get past those lies to report the truth.
Grenada? Desert Storm? The Iraq War? All were in the past 40 years and under R presidents, yet where was the same skepticism that they showed to Clinton when he warned about Bin Laden—the original wag the dog charge after the Sudan missile strike—and this? It's the press' job to question, but their incredulity that the Biden admin could be telling the truth was a bit much, especially when that skepticism was MIA from 2015 to 2021.
Compare the press' coverage of the failed rescue mission to free the hostages under Carter, Mogadishu (Black Hawk Down) under Clinton, Benghazi under Obama, and the Afghanistan suicide bombing under Biden with the Beirut barracks bombing and the deaths of the four soldiers in Niger under Reagan and Trump respectively. Press was significantly harder on the Dems when in charge than the GOP.
I revere IF Stone, but don't believe the government lies about everything—though of course it does depend on the admin, whose staffing it, and who is running it. I think such a blanket charge is an easy out for cynical people who believe in conspiracy theories, claim there is no difference between the parties, and that voting is a sham.
Agree: “Those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it”… -Edmund Burke
So now you're going back even further? Those journalists are now either dead or retired.
I'm very, very tired of people who rant for the sake of ranting. Kindly do me a favor and refrain from ranting at me. Carter? I was a teenager then. I'm not a news hound. I merely want to see fair and truthful reporting. I do not sit here all day arguing about what went down 40 years ago. It's probably better if you just don't respond to my posts. I hate the feeling that someone is shouting in my face.
If you think this is a rant, you need to get out more. It's my pleasure to ignore you.
OK, but you seem to think "getting out more" involves reading old news from 40 years ago. My concern is with the present, not with what happened when I graduated from high school. You ripped into me a couple of weeks ago by citing some love affair between a couple of news broadcasters in the 1970's, which was WEIRD. I don't appreciate being treated rudely. Please do ignore me, and I will do likewise.