Trump and the Press

[Moiraine]

Which means potentially selling out the country.

[BigRedBuster]

Conservatives have been barking up this tree for a really long time. Not entirely unreasonably - our MSM does have a liberal bias with the way in which it approaches some stories, IMO. On the other hand, the Fairness Doctrine is gone, Fox News is far and away the most viewed cable news network and there is no liberal analogue to conservative radio. Unless perhaps if you consider political comedy shows?

 

In any case, they've been dancing around this issue and probing it forever. But they've never had a leader as wiling to speak out and attack it as directly as Trump is now. He's running at it head-on throwing bombs at what he perceives as a barrier to his success.

 

Unfortunately, far too many spineless cowards in the GOP are merrily tagging along for their own gain or just the sheer enjoyment of lashing out at the media. The respectable few who are willing to denounce him and support the free press seem like a minority to me. I've got to say, it's sickening and just plain pathetic to see so many sell out for the home team and defend him on this.

I am so frustrated with the backlash against the media right now. BUT, not because it's not warranted. My issue is that I have said for a very very long time that the media in this country (with their biases) are way more dangerous than any one person we can elect to go to Washington.

 

Well, the reason I'm upset about Trump and his crusade against the media is that he only goes against certain media and praises the one media that is the largest and most bias. It absolutely baffles my mind that conservatives rant on and on and on about how horrible CNN is and then they go home and soak up every minute of what is said on Fox. And....it's like CNN is the most liberal outlet...when clearly it isn't.

 

The logic behind what is happening is totally lost on me.

[Enhance]

So frustrating. All of the reporters should get medals for having to deal with this administration.

 

Spicer's reply, to summarize, is: "But Obama"

A common and disappointing political argument. Deflect away from the issue by then referencing something that may not even be directly related.

 

Trump has been a poster child for this type of behavior, particularly during the debates. How often did we hear "But, emails..." or something to that effect...

 

What's equally irritating about it is it allows someone like Spicer to put a journalist on the spot for a topic said journalist may not be readily able to answer, or even have expertise in.

[Enhance]

 

Conservatives have been barking up this tree for a really long time. Not entirely unreasonably - our MSM does have a liberal bias with the way in which it approaches some stories, IMO. On the other hand, the Fairness Doctrine is gone, Fox News is far and away the most viewed cable news network and there is no liberal analogue to conservative radio. Unless perhaps if you consider political comedy shows?

 

In any case, they've been dancing around this issue and probing it forever. But they've never had a leader as wiling to speak out and attack it as directly as Trump is now. He's running at it head-on throwing bombs at what he perceives as a barrier to his success.

 

Unfortunately, far too many spineless cowards in the GOP are merrily tagging along for their own gain or just the sheer enjoyment of lashing out at the media. The respectable few who are willing to denounce him and support the free press seem like a minority to me. I've got to say, it's sickening and just plain pathetic to see so many sell out for the home team and defend him on this.

I am so frustrated with the backlash against the media right now. BUT, not because it's not warranted. My issue is that I have said for a very very long time that the media in this country (with their biases) are way more dangerous than any one person we can elect to go to Washington.

 

Well, the reason I'm upset about Trump and his crusade against the media is that he only goes against certain media and praises the one media that is the largest and most bias. It absolutely baffles my mind that conservatives rant on and on and on about how horrible CNN is and then they go home and soak up every minute of what is said on Fox. And....it's like CNN is the most liberal outlet...when clearly it isn't.

 

The logic behind what is happening is totally lost on me.

What's equally frustrating is that much of the disdain towards "the media" is often in reference to networks, though certainly not exclusively. Trump has a particular dislike for the NY Times.

 

People need to spend more of their time reading local papers and reading content from newspapers in general. I've come to find that, as a whole, they're producing a much more respectable product.

[Moiraine]

Does this idiot think every government employee was personally hired by Obama?

 

Obama isn't behind any of it and he's not behind the rallies.

 

"No, I think that President Obama is behind it because his people are certainly behind it. And some of the leaks possibly come from that group, which are really serious because they are very bad in terms of national security. But I also understand that is politics. In terms of him being behind things, that's politics. And it will probably continue."

[BigRedBuster]

Does this idiot think every government employee was personally hired by Obama?

 

Obama isn't behind any of it and he's not behind the rallies.

 

"No, I think that President Obama is behind it because his people are certainly behind it. And some of the leaks possibly come from that group, which are really serious because they are very bad in terms of national security. But I also understand that is politics. In terms of him being behind things, that's politics. And it will probably continue."

 

He's an irresponsible jack ass.

[BigRedBuster]

Currently a couple months away from getting my Master's at USD, we have a couple of very famous journalism alums in Tom Brokaw and Al Neuharth, and everyday on my ways to class I get to walk by this:

 

 

Every single time I have passed by the Neuharth Center (a 89 year old building that was originally a gym, hosting our basketball teams until construction of the DakotaDome in the late 70s, and then modified to host SDPB and the Media & Journalism program) in the past year or so I can't help but wonder how we got to where we are now. How has this nation adopted a leader that is so squarely against this principle of free speech that our nation was founded upon? The first amendment is under fire. It is surreal that we are living in a reality where our president is at war with those seeking to inform the population.

 

 

I want to be clear about something I feel strongly about.

 

The media does take one hell of a lot of blame for all of this. They have been biased. They have created a world of parties controlling outlets. They are the ones who built their business models around opinion shows that do nothing but promote rumors and lies supporting one side or the other.

[Enhance]

 

Currently a couple months away from getting my Master's at USD, we have a couple of very famous journalism alums in Tom Brokaw and Al Neuharth, and everyday on my ways to class I get to walk by this:

 

 

Every single time I have passed by the Neuharth Center (a 89 year old building that was originally a gym, hosting our basketball teams until construction of the DakotaDome in the late 70s, and then modified to host SDPB and the Media & Journalism program) in the past year or so I can't help but wonder how we got to where we are now. How has this nation adopted a leader that is so squarely against this principle of free speech that our nation was founded upon? The first amendment is under fire. It is surreal that we are living in a reality where our president is at war with those seeking to inform the population.

I want to be clear about something I feel strongly about.

 

The media does take one hell of a lot of blame for all of this. They have been biased. They have created a world of parties controlling outlets. They are the ones who built their business models around opinion shows that do nothing but promote rumors and lies supporting one side or the other.

 

"The media" is not a singular entity who adapt similar business models and operate TV shows. "The media" is a generic and ambiguous term that unfairly encompasses a significant group of people.

 

One journalist's perspective.

 

Before I disappoint everyone with the lack of agenda setting and scheming that really happens in newsrooms, let me address the term “the media” because, well, I don’t really know who that is.

Saying it’s “the medias” fault confuses me.

Is that your local meteorologist?

The person who covers lifestyle news in the city newspaper?

The video editor at CNN?

The host of an opinion show?

Me writing this article?

You on social media?

Your neighbor who just started a blog?

I’m not quite sure who “the media” is (or are), but since everyone else is aware, for the sake of this post, I’ll use the term.

When people say news and media coverage is slanted and there’s an agenda, I really don’t see it. This is why.

[ZRod]

Is the media to blame for that? Or is it the consumer who watches and reads those outlets, bolsters their ratings, and lines their pockets?

[knapplc]

The media has to decide what they want to be. Do they want to be the Fourth Estate that reliably informs the public, or do they want to be infotainment that makes their mogul owners rich? Because they can't be the same thing.

 

Four-panel screens with people shouting over each other is a news-media creation. The media cannot claim they are innocent and unfairly aggrieved by the government when that is the content they push on America.

 

Every time I see some member of the media go on about how desperately we need them, cloaking themselves in the righteousness of the First Amendment, I picture those news shows.

[QMany]

Even Fox & Friends can't protect him from himself.

 

[Enhance]

The media has to decide what they want to be.

Much of "the media" has.

 

Unfortunately, they're being competed against by unethical television shows and millions of Americans who can't stop watching them.

[BigRedBuster]

 

The media has to decide what they want to be.

Much of "the media" has.

 

Unfortunately, they're being competed against by unethical television shows and millions of Americans who can't stop watching them.

 

Just because the public is the consumer, doesn't mean the media outlets don't take a large amount of the blame. They are the ones who created these shows and promoted them onto the American public. YOU are correct in that we (America) are to blame because we have chosen to consume that crap.

 

I didn't say the public doesn't take any blame. They do. In fact, correcting this problem is going to have to come FROM the people because the media outlets make way too much money off of them now to get rid of them.

 

The shows that Knapp described with 4 people yelling at each other for 20 minutes is nothing more than the most recent version of how parties get their propaganda out and try to prevent the other side from doing the same thing.

 

I was watching one once and it was so bad. There were two guys on the show. One Republican and the other Democrat. It became absolutely so clear that one guy's tactic was any time the other guy spoke, he was supposed to talk too so he wasn't able to say anything.

 

We have got to get to a point where these opinion shows that pimp one side or the other are exposed for what they are to way more people.

[Enhance]

 

 

The media has to decide what they want to be.

Much of "the media" has.

 

Unfortunately, they're being competed against by unethical television shows and millions of Americans who can't stop watching them.

 

Just because the public is the consumer, doesn't mean the media outlets don't take a large amount of the blame. They are the ones who created these shows and promoted them onto the American public. YOU are correct in that we (America) are to blame because we have chosen to consume that crap.

 

I didn't say the public doesn't take any blame. They do. In fact, correcting this problem is going to have to come FROM the people because the media outlets make way too much money off of them now to get rid of them.

 

The shows that Knapp described with 4 people yelling at each other for 20 minutes is nothing more than the most recent version of how parties get their propaganda out and try to prevent the other side from doing the same thing.

 

I was watching one once and it was so bad. There were two guys on the show. One Republican and the other Democrat. It became absolutely so clear that one guy's tactic was any time the other guy spoke, he was supposed to talk too so he wasn't able to say anything.

 

We have got to get to a point where these opinion shows that pimp one side or the other are exposed for what they are to way more people.

I also didn't say the media is void of blame - in fact, I tried to be pretty clear by calling them "unethical television shows." It looks like we're on the same page here in this regard, though - certain segments of media are to blame just as certain segments of America are to blame.

 

However, as long as people are willing to consume this information, I found it doubtful these programs will disappear. We may be in luck, though - television is taking a significant hit right now because of live streaming and all the other distractions we have going on. The ratings numbers for many programs are getting poorer.

 

My only dog in this fight is that "the media" encompasses a lot more than just propaganda television shows, and it's incredibly unfair to bulk meteorologists, newspaper reporters, local TV reporters, etc., into the same group as the talking heads on Fox or CNN. But, whether people realize it or not, that's what happens when they lambast "the media."

[BigRedBuster]

 

 

 

The media has to decide what they want to be.

Much of "the media" has.

 

Unfortunately, they're being competed against by unethical television shows and millions of Americans who can't stop watching them.

 

Just because the public is the consumer, doesn't mean the media outlets don't take a large amount of the blame. They are the ones who created these shows and promoted them onto the American public. YOU are correct in that we (America) are to blame because we have chosen to consume that crap.

 

I didn't say the public doesn't take any blame. They do. In fact, correcting this problem is going to have to come FROM the people because the media outlets make way too much money off of them now to get rid of them.

 

The shows that Knapp described with 4 people yelling at each other for 20 minutes is nothing more than the most recent version of how parties get their propaganda out and try to prevent the other side from doing the same thing.

 

I was watching one once and it was so bad. There were two guys on the show. One Republican and the other Democrat. It became absolutely so clear that one guy's tactic was any time the other guy spoke, he was supposed to talk too so he wasn't able to say anything.

 

We have got to get to a point where these opinion shows that pimp one side or the other are exposed for what they are to way more people.

I also didn't say the media is void of blame - in fact, I tried to be pretty clear by calling them "unethical television shows." It looks like we're on the same page here in this regard, though - certain segments of media are to blame just as certain segments of America are to blame.

 

However, as long as people are willing to consume this information, I found it doubtful these programs will disappear. We may be in luck, though - television is taking a significant hit right now because of live streaming and all the other distractions we have going on. The ratings numbers for many programs are getting poorer.

 

My only dog in this fight is that "the media" encompasses a lot more than just propaganda television shows, and it's incredibly unfair to bulk meteorologists, newspaper reporters, local TV reporters, etc., into the same group as the talking heads on Fox or CNN. But, whether people realize it or not, that's what happens when they lambast "the media."

 

You are correct with the bold. When I talk media as it pertains to politics, I assume people realize I'm not talking about your local weather person, Kid's news on the Cartoon channel, or ESPN. I'm talking about the media that actually attempts to act like they are reporting on political issues.

 

This is all the way from Fox, CNN, MSNBC, Breitbart, Rush, Infowars, Huffpo....etc.

 

Like it or not, these are the places most Americans garner their political views from.