Thanks Eric. I can disagree with anything you wrote. Instead I will add Michelle Wolfe's 2018 remarks:
“I think what no one in this room wants to admit is that Trump has helped all of you,” she continued to scold. “He couldn’t sell steaks, or vodka, or water, or college, or ties, or Eric. But he has helped you sell your papers, and books, and TV. You helped create this monster and now you’re profiting off of him."
New administrations set the tone with their initial press briefings. In 2001, Ari Fleischer came out and fabricated a story about damage to the West Wing left behind by the Clinton administration, and in 2017 it was Sean Spicer's whopper about the size of the inaugural crowd. Both Fleischer and Spicer feigned outrage and dug in over these false and ridiculous stories, and let the media know there would be more chaff than wheat coming from the podium. Perhaps news directors would have followed a different coverage approach if the reporters had strongly reacted to being gaslighted on DAY ONE instead of sitting there like scolded school kids.
The "if it bleeds it leads" mentality isn't new. It's just a shame that we came to a point in America where the reporters are the story and politics is pure entertainment. Let's just put an end to the laugh that any of them are even credible journalists anymore. We're in a bad movie. The theme being ratings over the country and the MSM are rooting for the antagonist. Maybe James Earl Jones should be the only one covering it and reading the news to give it the movie voice it deserves. It's certainly not news.
i'm of the mindset that the 1% that owns 98-99% of amerikan media is on board with this horror...i'm sure you've seen Rep. Ted Lieu's commentary about how abc, cbs, and nbc continue to have rethug liars on camera to continue to spread the election results propaganda. this is not a coincidence.
I think this points to the fact that human beings would in general, rather engage in gossip and spectacle than anything rational or 'business-as-usual'. This notion is articulated quite well by Yuval Noah Harari in his book SAPIENS. He does so again, in a podcast called Your Undivided Attention and in a NY Times article about conspiracies. He is brilliant at cutting to the chase of who and how we are as Homo Sapiens, how we use language and who gets our attention. This is a perfect example of what he's talking about. We are fascinated by outrageous things, even if they make us cringe and reciprocate with rants of our own. I certainly find myself taking a break from the latest thing President Mayhem is saying or doing...knowing that there are adults driving the bus. I'm also holding myself accountable for my own morbid curiosity.
The messaging gap is back. Biden needs to go big if only to get the media to pay attention. The news media is for entertainment and ratings than actually informing people.
Here’s an instructive quote from a NYMag story early in the Trump years (I screen capped it so I don’t have a date but I think it was 2017 or 2018):
“As Zucker sees it, his pro-Trump panelists are not just spokespeople for a worldview; they ar “characters in a drama,” members of CNN’s extended ensemble cast. “Everybody says, 'Oh, I can’t believe you have Jeffery Lord or Kayleigh McEnany,' but you know what?” Zucker told me with some satisfaction. “They know who Jeffrey Lord and Kayleigh McEnany are.”
And that’s why CNN is out: it is not as entertaining.
A perfect example of how news must also be entertainment. Just important information on the goings on in government isn’t enough to warrant air time. Shame on CNN.
“Waiting on a War” by the Foo Fighters is fantastic. Great song choice.
The media treating the Trump administration and those press briefings like entertainment will never be forgiven. That they now ignore the Biden administration, when real news and information is being distributed is just further proof they don’t take their jobs of informing the public, when real policy is at stake, seriously.
CNN and the rest of the media jumped at every twitch from Donnie because he attracted an audience. Jen Psaki doesn't.
I was going to say the short term benefit audience-wise would do long term harm by reducing the establishment's credibility yet more. Then I realized that they're (probably already) past that point and been heading to being pretty worthless for quite awhile and have been headed that way since the fawning coverage of the Reagan administration (which started our current problems). Trump accelerated things.
It took nearly four years for the press to finally start backing away, just a little bit, from complete coverage of everything Trump. Before that we endured the wildly inappropriate sham press conferences until they were replaced by the driveway question shouts that Trump preferred (I think because the driveway format and camera placement featured the Star instead of the now invisible questioners and press secretaries). There is no doubt the airing of these reality-show episodes was not because they were news. Those newsless airings left a deep stain on journalism. Now, we have an administration determined to have a press that is as informed as possible. The press conferences now are frequent, and honest, and welcomed. They need to be covered and reported, but not necessarily aired. A sign of a healthy relationship between an administration and the press is that not all press conferences need full air time. All that is needed is a full and honest relationship with the press.
Thanks Eric. I can disagree with anything you wrote. Instead I will add Michelle Wolfe's 2018 remarks:
“I think what no one in this room wants to admit is that Trump has helped all of you,” she continued to scold. “He couldn’t sell steaks, or vodka, or water, or college, or ties, or Eric. But he has helped you sell your papers, and books, and TV. You helped create this monster and now you’re profiting off of him."
New administrations set the tone with their initial press briefings. In 2001, Ari Fleischer came out and fabricated a story about damage to the West Wing left behind by the Clinton administration, and in 2017 it was Sean Spicer's whopper about the size of the inaugural crowd. Both Fleischer and Spicer feigned outrage and dug in over these false and ridiculous stories, and let the media know there would be more chaff than wheat coming from the podium. Perhaps news directors would have followed a different coverage approach if the reporters had strongly reacted to being gaslighted on DAY ONE instead of sitting there like scolded school kids.
The "if it bleeds it leads" mentality isn't new. It's just a shame that we came to a point in America where the reporters are the story and politics is pure entertainment. Let's just put an end to the laugh that any of them are even credible journalists anymore. We're in a bad movie. The theme being ratings over the country and the MSM are rooting for the antagonist. Maybe James Earl Jones should be the only one covering it and reading the news to give it the movie voice it deserves. It's certainly not news.
i'm of the mindset that the 1% that owns 98-99% of amerikan media is on board with this horror...i'm sure you've seen Rep. Ted Lieu's commentary about how abc, cbs, and nbc continue to have rethug liars on camera to continue to spread the election results propaganda. this is not a coincidence.
I think this points to the fact that human beings would in general, rather engage in gossip and spectacle than anything rational or 'business-as-usual'. This notion is articulated quite well by Yuval Noah Harari in his book SAPIENS. He does so again, in a podcast called Your Undivided Attention and in a NY Times article about conspiracies. He is brilliant at cutting to the chase of who and how we are as Homo Sapiens, how we use language and who gets our attention. This is a perfect example of what he's talking about. We are fascinated by outrageous things, even if they make us cringe and reciprocate with rants of our own. I certainly find myself taking a break from the latest thing President Mayhem is saying or doing...knowing that there are adults driving the bus. I'm also holding myself accountable for my own morbid curiosity.
The messaging gap is back. Biden needs to go big if only to get the media to pay attention. The news media is for entertainment and ratings than actually informing people.
Here’s an instructive quote from a NYMag story early in the Trump years (I screen capped it so I don’t have a date but I think it was 2017 or 2018):
“As Zucker sees it, his pro-Trump panelists are not just spokespeople for a worldview; they ar “characters in a drama,” members of CNN’s extended ensemble cast. “Everybody says, 'Oh, I can’t believe you have Jeffery Lord or Kayleigh McEnany,' but you know what?” Zucker told me with some satisfaction. “They know who Jeffrey Lord and Kayleigh McEnany are.”
And that’s why CNN is out: it is not as entertaining.
A perfect example of how news must also be entertainment. Just important information on the goings on in government isn’t enough to warrant air time. Shame on CNN.
“Waiting on a War” by the Foo Fighters is fantastic. Great song choice.
The media treating the Trump administration and those press briefings like entertainment will never be forgiven. That they now ignore the Biden administration, when real news and information is being distributed is just further proof they don’t take their jobs of informing the public, when real policy is at stake, seriously.
CNN and the rest of the media jumped at every twitch from Donnie because he attracted an audience. Jen Psaki doesn't.
I was going to say the short term benefit audience-wise would do long term harm by reducing the establishment's credibility yet more. Then I realized that they're (probably already) past that point and been heading to being pretty worthless for quite awhile and have been headed that way since the fawning coverage of the Reagan administration (which started our current problems). Trump accelerated things.
You cut cords, not chords.
It took nearly four years for the press to finally start backing away, just a little bit, from complete coverage of everything Trump. Before that we endured the wildly inappropriate sham press conferences until they were replaced by the driveway question shouts that Trump preferred (I think because the driveway format and camera placement featured the Star instead of the now invisible questioners and press secretaries). There is no doubt the airing of these reality-show episodes was not because they were news. Those newsless airings left a deep stain on journalism. Now, we have an administration determined to have a press that is as informed as possible. The press conferences now are frequent, and honest, and welcomed. They need to be covered and reported, but not necessarily aired. A sign of a healthy relationship between an administration and the press is that not all press conferences need full air time. All that is needed is a full and honest relationship with the press.
I look forward to the implosion of cable news. Wait till they start eating their own - there's nothing like it.
CNN, the network of Jake Tapper, and Anderson Cooper, and Don Lemon, and (I suppose) Chris Cuomo ? - THAT CNN ?
Isn't it bruited abroad as the other leg, with MSNBC, of the bipedal Trustworthy News Giant ?
I must've got that wrong from down here, silly me.
Actions speak louder than words, CNN.
Eric.. you are an idiot... Try driving for Uber