Double-standards in the alternative progressive press
Thinkprogress fired all of its union workers 6 months ago. Since it was the Center for American Progress doing it, it was possible to just dismiss the event.
CAP is the preeminent liberal think tank in Washington, D.C., a non-profit which brought in between $40 and $50 million annually between 2013 and 2016, but all of its liberal values didn’t seem to count for much when it came to the fate of its workers.On Friday, CAP laid off the remaining 12 staffers who worked at ThinkProgress, a little more than two months after CAP announced that the website was up for sale...
“CAP has repeatedly said that the decision to shut down ThinkProgress was a financial one made in light of larger industry struggles. But ThinkProgress was not founded to be profitable,” the union said in its statement. “We now know this was never about money. This was always about power and control.” The union also said it would explore its legal options against CAP.
That was then. Just last month this happened at Truthdig.
On Wednesday, letters of termination arrived in the inboxes of the site's small staff amid a work stoppage and global pandemic.
Salon has spoken to former staffers who are disturbed by how the left-wing publication, which reported on labor and social justice issues, spontaneously laid off staff amid a strike which staffers said they hoped would have been short-lived once their modest demands were met. Among the demands were annual performance reviews, scheduled pay increases, four month's paid parental leave, and compensation for the company's health insurance plan. The National Labor Relations Board protects the right of workers to strike; employers are prohibited from firing employees for exercising this right. The employees weren't offered severance packages...
"Truthdig's demise ultimately reflects a crisis of liberalism the website has been documenting for years—one in which social justice is only worth pursuing so long as it doesn't threaten the material interests of society's true power brokers," the statement asserted.
It's harder to dismiss the demise of Truthdig.
The question is, is this the start of a trend? If so, why now?
Comments
Now makes perfect sense.
Any deviation from the neo liberal line will not be tolerated or allowed to proliferate. The cracks right now are so huge it's got to be almost willful not to see them. People will start to question, and the fewer outlets available to be found, perhaps accidentally by people searching relentlessly for clarity who happen to hit on a site, the better. Why take chances some plebe surfing the net might get some ideas on how to make sense of it all since our media really has nothing but fear and confusion? That questioning of the narrative should never go viral and it just might. We're all supposed to get in line, believe everything a proven lying media has to say, and if we're going to argue at all it should be by picking a side of the same ugly old coin. Blame Trump. Blame China. Do not blame a US system that is crumbling in front of your very eyes. And one certainly is not supposed to blame the good old USA for those wars, the economic devastation, and yes, most likely the creation of this virus.
Only a fool lets someone else tell him who his enemy is. Assata Shakur
Yes it's the start of something alright
I don't have the details besides what I've seen on Twitter, but it said that 28,000 journalists have lost their jobs. Don't remember the time period either but it's kinda recent. And remember that Google changed its algorithms and alternative websites saw their traffic decreased by up to 90%. Chris Hedges talked about this at the start of the Jimmy video I posted this morning. Many people think that it was a side effect of Russia Gate. I believe it too because of who was behind Facebook changing how they covered the news.
But that anyone believes that CAP is a progressive think tank is unbelievable. How can anyone who believes in the DLC third way crap be progressive? Neera is a mini me of Hillary. lol...
One more thing. That people don't see through what the main stream media does is mind boggling. Having ex military members telling us how well the wars are going or the ex intelligence agencies goons telling us which country is being naughty is flat out in your face we're selling you propaganda. Again Hedges talked about this too. Maybe 5 minutes in.
Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.
Voting is like driving with a toy steering wheel.
Chris talks about truthdigs demise
Somewhere in this interview with jimmy (I think toward the end)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpa7GR-EyF0
He claims the billionaire owner didn't approve of Bob Sheer's Russiagate debunking.
Assange is being exhibited as the fate of a journalist reporting truth.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Fauxgressive money is drying up.
The Clintons just don't raise the big bucks like they used to, so the PR budget needed to be cut.
The current working assumption appears to be that our Shroedinger's Cat system is still alive. But what if we all suspect it's not, and the real problem is we just can't bring ourselves to open the box?
Little by little, one by one, websites on the PropOrNot hit list
promulgated by the Blob (Jeff Bezos / Amazon / the Washington Post / the Deep State) are being starved or hollowed out from within, and going dark.
Washington’s Blog — ThinkProgress — TruthDig …
Sites and site proprietors who play ball and promote the Russiagate (and — new! — Chinagate) line, on the other hand, seem flush with funds, even now.