Trump vs. the Media

Submitted by bondibox on Wed, 02/22/2017 - 9:16am

Fake news. Diligent reporting. What's the difference?

The other night I was watching NBC news. They had a segment about how Putin was assembling a dossier of President Trump's strengths and weaknesses, and his psychological makeup. They even interviewed a Russian speaking man who said exactly what they wanted him to say.

Was this fake news? Was it real news?

OF COURSE Putin has assembled a dossier on the new world leader, just as they have done for every other president, just as we have do for every world leader. This is not news. It is an obvious truth.

Did NBC run a similar story in 2008? Or in 2000? Or 1992? I doubt it. Which makes this less of a news story and more of a "changing popular opinion" story.

I made the mistake of bringing this up in conversation. I was told that since Mr. Trump has demonized the media and called them names, that it is now entirely appropriate for them to take up the mantle of opposition. Since he upped the ante with blatant known lies, they too should play the big chips.

What are Mr. Trump's grievances with the media? He claims they are an "activist" media, not simply reporting the news but promoting an editorial point of view. He claims their stories are "fake" and selected not for their newsworthiness but for the amount of damage they would do to his budding administration.

So which came first, the chicken or the egg? Did the President start this fight with unsubstantiated accusations of fabricated news? Or did the media start it when they got their feelings hurt and subsequently abandoned all journalistic integrity?

Tags:

Propaganda

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Comments

Submitted by dkmich on Wed, 02/22/2017 - 9:26am

Which came first?

Depends on the agenda. They take turns.

—

"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon

Submitted by Cant Stop the M... on Wed, 02/22/2017 - 10:57am

"Demonized the media?"

That would be hard.

—

"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

Submitted by Cant Stop the M... on Wed, 02/22/2017 - 10:57am

So now "the Left" is on the side, not only of the CIA,

but of the corporate media?

—

"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

Submitted by Cant Stop the M... on Wed, 02/22/2017 - 10:59am

The very idea that the corporate media chooses

what narratives to deploy based on one individual saying mean things about them is nonsense. It's not about being insulted; it's policy. They are, as always, being used by the oligarchs who control them to promote stories that will allow those oligarchs to get what they want. Apparently what they want is Pence. Because, as detroitmechworks suggests elsewhere, they want their war.

Crazy motherfuckers.

—

"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

Submitted by SnappleBC on Wed, 02/22/2017 - 11:35am

so to be clear

We have two sides of a "truthiness" debate. Neither side is actually interested in informing the populace. Both seek to influence.

Why on earth would I care who "started it". Both sides are my enemy?

NBC reported real events in a way which was designed to mislead.
Trump just lies outright.

I can't be bothered to care.

—

A lot of wanderers in the U.S. political desert recognize that all the duopoly has to offer is a choice of mirages. Come, let us trudge towards empty expanse of sand #1, littered with the bleached bones of Deaniacs and Hope and Changers.
-- lotlizard

Submitted by MrWebster on Wed, 02/22/2017 - 2:18pm

I am on Trump's side in terms of de-legitimizing corporate media

Thanks to the Evening Blues for introducing me to Caitlin Johnstone. This:

The media wars are escalating, and it is glorious. America’s liberals are all rushing to defend the same media establishment that spent the last election cycle deliberately undermining Bernie Sanders and attacking Jill Stein as though they’re sticking up for some poor, defenseless marginalized group and not some of the most powerful corporations on planet Earth. Trump’s use of the term “fake news” upon the establishment corporate media has everyone squealing about an imaginary attack on the First Amendment, even though (A) the freedom of the press is being violated in precisely zero ways, (B) the First Amendment protects Trump’s right to criticize media outlets, (C) these media outlets are the ones who invented and promulgated the term “fake news” in the first place as a way of sabotaging their competitors in alternative media, and (D) these people are voicing their criticisms using their First Amendment rights in a completely uninhibited way.

http://www.newslogue.com/debate/348/CaitlinJohnstone

I would add more. Fake news is being used a justification for private corporate censorship such as what Facebook did to Johnstone. Youtube has "de-monetized" Jimmy Dore rants on Syria. Google has been shown to alter search results.

Submitted by Ellen North on Fri, 02/24/2017 - 6:31pm

... So which came first, the

... So which came first, the chicken or the egg? Did the President start this fight with unsubstantiated accusations of fabricated news? Or did the media start it when they got their feelings hurt and subsequently abandoned all journalistic integrity?

How about, they were both already like that when they got together?

—

Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.

A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.