Media Tracker (2 Viewers)

[SaintForLife]

I figured we needed a thread specifically about the media.

There was a very big correction recently by the Washington Post.


That story was supposedly "independently confirmed" by CNN, NBC News, USA Today, ABC News, & PBS News Hour. How could they all have gotten the quote wrong if they actually independently confirmed the story?






Why do all the errors always go in one political direction and not closer to 50/50?

 

[MT15]

 

[Optimus Prime]

Not sure if late night counts as the media but this was a good read
=============

Two weeks ago, the night after Donald Trump announced his 2024 presidential bid at Mar-a-Lago, Stephen Colbert recapped the occasion with clear reluctance.

Colbert, who for two years has refused to say the former president’s name on The Late Show, confessed to not watching Trump’s speech – “I pay some sucker to do that for me,” he quipped – but nevertheless devoted the bulk of his monologue to what he called “2016 all over again”.

“I get it, but you’re going to want to pace yourself,” he told his booing audience. “Those boos need to last for two years.”

It was a typically conflicted performance from a host who has often served as the mean for late-night comedians’ response to Donald Trump’s presence in American politics.

It was Colbert who, on election night 2016, openly mourned Trump’s victory on live television and prefaced the identity crisis to come for late-night talk shows: “I’m not sure it’s a comedy show any more.”

For four years, nightly comedy shows – Colbert’s Late Show, Late Night with Seth Meyers, The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, Jimmy Fallon’s Tonight Show and Jimmy Kimmel Live! – cycled through a deadening Trump feedback loop.

Trump says or does deranged or dangerous thing, hosts mock; Trump lashes out on Twitter or elsewhere, hosts lash back with righteousness; insert joke about his diet or covfefe or loveless marriage to Melania, repeat.

It was occasionally insightful – especially during the upheaval of 2020, comedians’ capacity to call bullshirt served a crucial processing function for a deluge of unbelievable, destabilizing headlines. But it scraped the bottom of the barrel of humor.

The conundrum of how to satirize parody-as-president, of how to mock an attention monster, neutralized the funny in late-night and, as some have argued, killed political comedy…..

How should late-night comedy handle a second Trump candidacy?

Two years after an escape hatch from the Trump attention loop, late-night shows are again confronted with the question of how to cover him

www.theguardian.com

 

[MT15]

Lol

 

[SaintForLife]

MUNK DEBATE ON MAINSTREAM MEDIA

On Wednesday, November 30, we will convene to debate the state of mainstream media and its impact on our democracy. The motion before the house is be it resolved, don't trust mainstream media.

Arguing for the resolution is the associate editor of The Spectator magazine, Fox News contributor, bestselling author of The Madness of Crowds, and prolific debater, Douglas Murray. He will be joined by Substack publishing sensation, former Rolling Stone contributing editor, and investigative journalist, Matt Taibbi.

Arguing against the motion is the internationally acclaimed author, podcaster and veteran New Yorker staff writer, Malcolm Gladwell. His debate partner is Michelle Goldberg, New York Times columnist, MSNBC contributor, former American Prospect senior correspondent and senior writer for The Nation.

 

[SaulGoodmanEsq]

What makes Twitter not mainstream media?

 

[Optimus Prime]

from Robert Reich
=============
Sometimes I feel like screaming at the mainstream media for failing to alert people to crucial (although complicated) issues affecting our democracy coming from different parts of government simultaneously.

Case in point: Moore v. Harper, argued Dec. 7 before the Supreme Court, and the Electoral Reform Act, which must be enacted before the end of this Congress because Republicans won’t touch it once they control the House.

The two are intimately connected but you wouldn’t know that from the mainstream media, which is treating them as two separate stories. Let me make the connection.

In Moore, North Carolina Republicans aim to restore a redistricting map drawn by the GOP-led legislature but rejected as violating the state constitution by North Carolina’s supreme court.

North Carolina bases its argument on the bonkers “independent state legislature” theory, which interprets Article I Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution (authorizing state legislatures to prescribe “the times, places and manner of holding elections") to give state legislatures sole authority over elections, without interference from state courts............

Robert B. Reich: How can we protect our democracy when the media doesn't let us know how it's being threatened?

 

[Optimus Prime]

More from Reich
=============
It’s not just media lies that are dividing Americans. It’s also the issues that the media are choosing to emphasize and the choices they are posing.

Not long ago, a producer at the Dr Phil show – the No 1-rated daytime talkshow in the US – emailed me, asking if I’d be an expert guest for an upcoming episode on whether “college admissions enroll minorities over prospective Caucasian students”.

The question gave away the hidden agenda. It would be a show about favoritism to Black people over white people.

I declined the invitation.

Sadly, the media are rife with hidden agendas.

When Elon Musk invites back on to Twitter Donald Trump, Milo Yiannopoulos and others whose hateful or violent screeds got them banned by Twitter’s former owners, he’s not honoring “free speech”, as he claims.

Musk is choosing to coarsen the nation’s conversation by actively courting the political right.

When Chris Licht, CNN’s new chairman and CEO, fired Brian Stelter and canceled Stelter’s Sunday CNN show, Reliable Sources – which had been a source of intelligent criticism of Fox News, rightwing media in general, Trumpism and the increasingly authoritarian lurch of the Republican party – Licht didn’t just move CNN to the “center”, as he has claimed.

There’s no “center” in American politics. The so-called “center” depends largely on what the media decide the public should know and how the media present and frame issues.

Licht has altered how the public views what’s at stake in our politics, presumably to please corporate advertisers or to appease the rightwing billionaire cable magnate John Malone, the leading shareholder in the new Warner Bros Discovery conglomerate.

(Licht also told staff they should stop referring to Trump’s “big lie” because the phrase sounds like a Democratic party talking point, and he wants more conservative guests.)

When the New York Times reports that inflation is being driven by wage gains but fails to report on record corporate profits, it’s not just leaving out a pertinent fact.

By emphasizing the views of those who believe “wage-price” inflation is threatening the economy, rather than “profit-price” inflation, the Times is actively shaping – and distorting – how the public understands one of the central economic problems of the day.

The problem with today’s media isn’t so much that they’re misinforming as that they’re misframing. Distortions come less in outright lying than in leaving out pertinent information. Less in deceiving the public than in presenting false choices.

In my experience, most editors, publishers and producers don’t seek to mislead the public. They’re just more attuned to what their corporate owners or political benefactors would like emphasized than to what the public should understand……..

The media are rife with hidden agendas. That’s why I choose the Guardian | Robert Reich

A great deal of the media are concentrated in the hands of too few people, who are often too attuned to what their corporate owners or political benefactors would like emphasized

www.theguardian.com

 

[SFIDC3]

More from Reich
=============
It’s not just media lies that are dividing Americans. It’s also the issues that the media are choosing to emphasize and the choices they are posing.

Not long ago, a producer at the Dr Phil show – the No 1-rated daytime talkshow in the US – emailed me, asking if I’d be an expert guest for an upcoming episode on whether “college admissions enroll minorities over prospective Caucasian students”.

The question gave away the hidden agenda. It would be a show about favoritism to Black people over white people.

I declined the invitation.

Sadly, the media are rife with hidden agendas.

When Elon Musk invites back on to Twitter Donald Trump, Milo Yiannopoulos and others whose hateful or violent screeds got them banned by Twitter’s former owners, he’s not honoring “free speech”, as he claims.

Musk is choosing to coarsen the nation’s conversation by actively courting the political right.

When Chris Licht, CNN’s new chairman and CEO, fired Brian Stelter and canceled Stelter’s Sunday CNN show, Reliable Sources – which had been a source of intelligent criticism of Fox News, rightwing media in general, Trumpism and the increasingly authoritarian lurch of the Republican party – Licht didn’t just move CNN to the “center”, as he has claimed.

There’s no “center” in American politics. The so-called “center” depends largely on what the media decide the public should know and how the media present and frame issues.

Licht has altered how the public views what’s at stake in our politics, presumably to please corporate advertisers or to appease the rightwing billionaire cable magnate John Malone, the leading shareholder in the new Warner Bros Discovery conglomerate.

(Licht also told staff they should stop referring to Trump’s “big lie” because the phrase sounds like a Democratic party talking point, and he wants more conservative guests.)

When the New York Times reports that inflation is being driven by wage gains but fails to report on record corporate profits, it’s not just leaving out a pertinent fact.

By emphasizing the views of those who believe “wage-price” inflation is threatening the economy, rather than “profit-price” inflation, the Times is actively shaping – and distorting – how the public understands one of the central economic problems of the day.

The problem with today’s media isn’t so much that they’re misinforming as that they’re misframing. Distortions come less in outright lying than in leaving out pertinent information. Less in deceiving the public than in presenting false choices.

In my experience, most editors, publishers and producers don’t seek to mislead the public. They’re just more attuned to what their corporate owners or political benefactors would like emphasized than to what the public should understand……..

The media are rife with hidden agendas. That’s why I choose the Guardian | Robert Reich

A great deal of the media are concentrated in the hands of too few people, who are often too attuned to what their corporate owners or political benefactors would like emphasized

www.theguardian.com

I started at DOL around the time Reich was on his way out. Most of the folks there felt he was one of the best, most intelligent leader DOL ever had. I agree with almost all of his articles/writings.....and he is spot on here....

 

[Optimus Prime]

I started at DOL around the time Reich was on his way out. Most of the folks there felt he was one of the best, most intelligent leader DOL ever had. I agree with almost all of his articles/writings.....and he is spot on here....

I enjoy his articles and videos too

 

[MT15]

How do folks actually take this guy seriously? He’s such a clown:

 

[MT15]

 

[Optimus Prime]

Philadelphia news anchor Jim Gardner reminded viewers that the press is “not the enemy of the people” in his farewell broadcast Wednesday after more than 46 years on the air. (Watch the video below.)

He humbly asked his 6ABC audience for a “final word” and launched an eloquent defense of his craft.

“The American free press has been under attack, not by forces from other countries, but from elements embedded in our own society, and even our own government. It worries me deeply,” Gardner said.

After an anecdote about Thomas Jefferson’s deep belief in freedom of the press, Gardner delivered his most important message about the fourth estate.

“We are not the enemy of the people,” he said.

“Serving the people, you the people of the tri-state area, with responsible and unbiased journalism. This is our mission now and in the future,” he continued. “And if we falter, you damn well better let us know, for your benefit and for ours.”............

Veteran News Anchor Jim Gardner Makes His Goodbye Count By Telling Truth About The Press

 

[Optimus Prime]

Eyebrow-raising coverage is nothing new from Fox News.

It’s the channel, after all, where viewers have seen a host tell the son of a 9/11 victim to “shut up”, witnessed comparisons between gay marriage and turtle marriage, and watched as Glenn Beck appeared to pour gasoline over an employee.

In 2022, amid a recurring cast of hysterical hosts and unhinged guests, there has been less petroleum, but one man still stands out. Tucker Carlson, as the most-watched host of the most-watched cable news network, holds rare influence over not just Republican supporters, but politicians, too.

This year Carlson has been unafraid to wield that power, across issues including war, subjugation of continents and testosterone.

Russia​

On 22 February, Vladimir Putin’s forces were massed on the Ukraine border. As people in the eastern European country braced themselves for war, and as the Russian leader was widely condemned by the international community, Carlson used his Fox News show to launch a spirited defense of the Russian president.

“It may be worth asking yourself, since it is getting pretty serious, what is this really about? Why do I hate Putin so much?” he said on his Wednesday night show.

“Has Putin ever called me a racist? Has he threatened to get me fired for disagreeing with him?” Carlson said. “These are fair questions, and the answer to all of them is: ‘No.’ Vladimir Putin didn’t do any of that.”…….

The British empire​

In September Carlson became very upset about some of the reaction to the death of Queen Elizabeth II – so much so that he launched a passionate defense of British colonialism.

The UK, Carlson said on his show, “somehow took over the world and ruled it with decency unmatched by any empire in human history” – an assessment that might come as a surprise to those who lived under British colonial rule.

Carlson’s five-minute-long praise of the British empire was prompted, he said, by a few people on Twitter who had not been sufficiently upset by the Queen’s death, and had used her demise to point to crimes committed in the monarchy’s name…….

From colonialism to Putin: what did Tucker Carlson defend in 2022?

The most-watched host of the most-watched cable news network has been unafraid to wield that power this year

www.theguardian.com

 

[SamAndreas]

Eyebrow-raising coverage is nothing new from Fox News.

It’s the channel, after all, where viewers have seen a host tell the son of a 9/11 victim to “shut up”, witnessed comparisons between gay marriage and turtle marriage, and watched as Glenn Beck appeared to pour gasoline over an employee.

In 2022, amid a recurring cast of hysterical hosts and unhinged guests, there has been less petroleum, but one man still stands out. Tucker Carlson, as the most-watched host of the most-watched cable news network, holds rare influence over not just Republican supporters, but politicians, too.

This year Carlson has been unafraid to wield that power, across issues including war, subjugation of continents and testosterone.

Russia​

On 22 February, Vladimir Putin’s forces were massed on the Ukraine border. As people in the eastern European country braced themselves for war, and as the Russian leader was widely condemned by the international community, Carlson used his Fox News show to launch a spirited defense of the Russian president.

“It may be worth asking yourself, since it is getting pretty serious, what is this really about? Why do I hate Putin so much?” he said on his Wednesday night show.

“Has Putin ever called me a racist? Has he threatened to get me fired for disagreeing with him?” Carlson said. “These are fair questions, and the answer to all of them is: ‘No.’ Vladimir Putin didn’t do any of that.”…….

The British empire​

In September Carlson became very upset about some of the reaction to the death of Queen Elizabeth II – so much so that he launched a passionate defense of British colonialism.

The UK, Carlson said on his show, “somehow took over the world and ruled it with decency unmatched by any empire in human history” – an assessment that might come as a surprise to those who lived under British colonial rule.

Carlson’s five-minute-long praise of the British empire was prompted, he said, by a few people on Twitter who had not been sufficiently upset by the Queen’s death, and had used her demise to point to crimes committed in the monarchy’s name…….

From colonialism to Putin: what did Tucker Carlson defend in 2022?

The most-watched host of the most-watched cable news network has been unafraid to wield that power this year

www.theguardian.com

There was a sentence in there just before it says "Russia"

That sentence begins with Carlson's name, but it ends with the word testosterone.

That doesn't make a lick of sense, Those two words don't belong together in the same county, much less found together in the same sentence.

 

[Optimus Prime]

From article
=========

Testosterone​

The issue of male virility fascinated Carlson through 2022, so much so that he devoted an entire documentary to it, called The End of Men.

“Testosterone levels are declining 10% per decade,” a jowled Carlson tells the camera, as a series of intensely homoerotic images flash across the screen. Topless, muscular men are seen flipping tires and swinging axes, lifting weights and firing guns, as Carlson laments that “no one in Washington seems interested at all”.

Then comes the clincher: another buff man, standing naked with his genitals in front of a red light.

“So, obviously, half the viewers right now are like, ‘What? Testicle tanning? That’s crazy!’” Carlson says. “But my view is, OK, testosterone levels have crashed and nobody says anything about it. That’s crazy. So why is it crazy to seek solutions?”…..,

Testosterone and manly men have remained on Carlson’s mind. In September he claimed the vaccine mandate was an attempt to rid companies and law enforcement of people “who have high testosterone levels”.

And in June he claimed the Food and Drug Administration is trying to wean people off smoking and vaping in an attempt – yet again – to wipe out big muscly men………

 

[cuddlemonkey]

From article
=========

Testosterone​

The issue of male virility fascinated Carlson through 2022, so much so that he devoted an entire documentary to it, called The End of Men.

“Testosterone levels are declining 10% per decade,” a jowled Carlson tells the camera, as a series of intensely homoerotic images flash across the screen. Topless, muscular men are seen flipping tires and swinging axes, lifting weights and firing guns, as Carlson laments that “no one in Washington seems interested at all”.

Then comes the clincher: another buff man, standing naked with his genitals in front of a red light.

“So, obviously, half the viewers right now are like, ‘What? Testicle tanning? That’s crazy!’” Carlson says. “But my view is, OK, testosterone levels have crashed and nobody says anything about it. That’s crazy. So why is it crazy to seek solutions?”…..,

Testosterone and manly men have remained on Carlson’s mind. In September he claimed the vaccine mandate was an attempt to rid companies and law enforcement of people “who have high testosterone levels”.

And in June he claimed the Food and Drug Administration is trying to wean people off smoking and vaping in an attempt – yet again – to wipe out big muscly men………

I would absolutely love to see Tucker's Google history.

 

[Optimus Prime]

Right-wing Newsmax anchor Grant Stinchfield posited over the weekend that the culprit behind the thousands of canceled flights by Southwest Airlines was a "cyber hack" enabled by the carrier's inclusionary employment policies..............

MSN

 

[MT15]

Right-wing Newsmax anchor Grant Stinchfield posited over the weekend that the culprit behind the thousands of canceled flights by Southwest Airlines was a "cyber hack" enabled by the carrier's inclusionary employment policies..............

MSN

They’re just completely unhinged. Yeah, it’s “wokeism”, not what all the industry experts and what former and current SW employees are saying it is - that they haven’t upgraded their crew assignment system for 20 years. Also, during the height of the pandemic I’m almost positive I saw that SW had the lowest crew vaccination rate of all the major airlines. But, yeah, they are so “woke”.