Howard Beale: “…at the bottom of all our terrified souls, we know that democracy is a dying giant, a sick, sick, dying, decaying political concept, writhing in its final pain.”
I almost feel like Tom is answering something I said in response to a post by James Fallows, that is, if I didn’t know better I’d think the media wants Trump to win. Tom has explained that yes they do because ratings. Very coherent explanation.
Also, I also now limit my MSNBC exposure to one show. It’s way too repetitive otherwise, and my brain wants new stuff. So if I am interested in a semi-historical or contextual presentation I’ll tune in Maddow’s show, or if I’m in the mood for polemics I’ll watch O’Donnell.
You can watch Hayes with the volume off for 10 minutes and his owlish facial expressions will tell you how the day's been going. The details are in the roster of talk guests.
I don't have a TV. I get MSNBC highlights a day late -- that's enough. Chris Hayes does a good podcast called "Why Is This Happening." Mostly I read. It's a much faster way to get the basic info, and pretty much the only way to get the background necessary to understand the basic info. (P.S. MSNBC's best stuff is in the columns. Steve Benen is amazing, and plenty of the others are also excellent.)
I watch Jen and Rachel. Am hoping to get back to Nicolle when she comes back from maternity leave. Tired of O'Donnell and Stephanie Ruhle. Joy Reid and Alex Wagner are hit and miss. I like Ari and Hayes.
Saw a short video of the interview of Mitch Landrieu on NBC Meet the Press - cant remember the name of the gal who is gotcha type interviewing him regarding the Hur report. And it just goes to show exactly what you said, TC. Every time she opened her mouth it was to drag the "elderly" part of the report - altho I have to say Landrieu really did a good job on what he had to say - he didnt let her get away with as much as she wanted to. NBC for crying out loud!
The description of "news" and "journalism" just doesnt fit anymore.
Right - Kaitlan Collins - wasnt exactly rising after that. There is a resemblance between several of these interviewers - not calling them journalists at this point.
I used to watch it but got really disappointed in Chuck Todd so quit. I do still watch Face the Nation - Margaret Brennan is still doing a pretty good job. Depending on who the guests are. Nikki Hailey got away with a campaign speech Sunday tho.
I do record CBS this morning - now mainly for the local weather!!! Too much time spent on celebrity drama.
Wretchedly depressing, but bang on the money..... Problem is, Will McAvoy is still right - an educated and informed electorate is essential for maintaining a healthy democracy - we're fucked.
Our TV died around the last time a Bush was running. The election was nasty (oh, were we naive!), so we decided to wait to replace the television until after the election. Life became so much more pleasant we never did get around to buying another. We manage to stay informed, but I miss the days of Uncle Walter.
Carlin said something similar. "Forget the politicians. The politicians are put there to give you the idea that you have freedom of choice. You don’t. You have no choice. You have owners. They own you. They own everything. They own all the important land. They own and control the corporations. They’ve long since bought and paid for the Senate, the Congress, the state houses, the city halls. They got the judges in their back pockets and they own all the big media companies, so they control just about all of the news and information you get to hear. They got you by the balls. They spend billions of dollars every year lobbying. Lobbying to get what they want. Well, we know what they want. They want more for themselves and less for everybody else, but I’ll tell you what they don’t want. They don’t want a population of citizens capable of critical thinking. They don’t want well-informed, well-educated people capable of critical thinking. They’re not interested in that. That doesn’t help them. That’s against their interests.”
He said that in late 2006. It was broadcast in 2007, about a month before he died. It remains relevant.
And Rupert led the way, watched as Walter retired, Dan was targeted and Rupert and Roger plotted to take over our communication apparatus. All the while, the glitterati was enthralled with Ron and Nancy (which included at least one national anchor) and the fun began.
"Infotainment." Now there's a Frankensteinian bastardisation if ever I heard one. Leave "men" out of it and then that label might just be closer to a truism.
It’s all about the pursuit of ratings and the money from advertisers for those ratings. The more sensational and lurid the storylines, the better as good news doesn’t sell product for the sponsors, so the more loaded with controversy, the better. That’s why Fox Noise is an entertainment outlet, not a true news network, if such a creature ever really existed since the Reagan years. It’s all about manipulation of public opinion, not the reporting of facts, and Fox Noise is the king of misinformation and misdirection on the airwaves. And the rest of the MSM plays along, as getting their base riled up helps their bottom line, too. And the best tonic for their ratings malaise is trump, trump, trump, and more trump…24/7 and 365/6 this year.
We gave up television long ago. We have one, but other than an occasional movie (using our kid's login), it's black reflective wall art. Thank god for you substack writers. And thank god I love to read. TC, Robert Hubbell, HCR, Robert Reich, Dan Rather, Joyce Vance, Aaron Rupar and so many others keep me informed and grounded.
The way I am viewing this hi jacking of credible news is that you have to be discerning & be grateful to catch the worthwhile hosts / guests still on the air. I like to see film footage of events but AI will be corrupting that soon enough. Kudos to those still publicly speaking up as we are warned we could even lose this shell game. Stopped watching CNN even when it was still Turner. MSNBC has some good people . Another good post TC.
This is my news. I don’t own a TV. Only seen them in passing through someone else’s reality. Last night I watched the SuperBowl. The whole thing. Unfuckenbelievable. That’s Another Fine Mess is a relief. (As are Letters.) i feel very crazy. Maybe I’ll go to an AA meeting…
Great piece, and truer than the media, both print and broadcast, would like us to be aware of. One note, A Modest Proposal was Jonathan Swift's, not Daniel Defoe.
I stick with Substack, Public Radio, Frontline, and sometimes C-span when something important is being jawboned there. A few weeks ago Thom Hartmann warned about local start-up news sources that are almost always rags and reports put out by the monied right wingers. They start out as reasonable sources of local news but very subtly turn into the reactionary propaganda items they intend to be. Worse, they're peddled free of charge. I'm keeping my eye on one locally that popped up to compete with our longstanding local newspaper, in print and online. It surfaced late last fall and grabs news from other sources with no discernable staff writers of their own, just ad sales staff. They've been innocuous so far, but I'm suspicious of their timing and placement in our area where we've had moderately reliable reporting from the other paper. I remember this going on 25 years ago when I lived in a town 20 miles away. The paper came and disappeared right after the election, and it was widely distributed and free.
I almost feel like Tom is answering something I said in response to a post by James Fallows, that is, if I didn’t know better I’d think the media wants Trump to win. Tom has explained that yes they do because ratings. Very coherent explanation.
Also, I also now limit my MSNBC exposure to one show. It’s way too repetitive otherwise, and my brain wants new stuff. So if I am interested in a semi-historical or contextual presentation I’ll tune in Maddow’s show, or if I’m in the mood for polemics I’ll watch O’Donnell.
And if I'm in the mood for information and thoughtful analysis (more days than Rachel), I watch Chris Hayes.
You can watch Hayes with the volume off for 10 minutes and his owlish facial expressions will tell you how the day's been going. The details are in the roster of talk guests.
Yes.
I don't have a TV. I get MSNBC highlights a day late -- that's enough. Chris Hayes does a good podcast called "Why Is This Happening." Mostly I read. It's a much faster way to get the basic info, and pretty much the only way to get the background necessary to understand the basic info. (P.S. MSNBC's best stuff is in the columns. Steve Benen is amazing, and plenty of the others are also excellent.)
I watch Jen and Rachel. Am hoping to get back to Nicolle when she comes back from maternity leave. Tired of O'Donnell and Stephanie Ruhle. Joy Reid and Alex Wagner are hit and miss. I like Ari and Hayes.
My choice is Alex Wagner. Like her interviews and guests. And always watch for Rachel on Mondays.
Saw a short video of the interview of Mitch Landrieu on NBC Meet the Press - cant remember the name of the gal who is gotcha type interviewing him regarding the Hur report. And it just goes to show exactly what you said, TC. Every time she opened her mouth it was to drag the "elderly" part of the report - altho I have to say Landrieu really did a good job on what he had to say - he didnt let her get away with as much as she wanted to. NBC for crying out loud!
The description of "news" and "journalism" just doesnt fit anymore.
Kristen Welker - another proof that "Harvard's not sending us their best." A perfect replacement for Chuck Todd. (/snark)
Wasnt she the one who "interviewed" tfg at some town hall? Not a great resume there.
No that was the "rising star" from CNN who did that fakakte.
Right - Kaitlan Collins - wasnt exactly rising after that. There is a resemblance between several of these interviewers - not calling them journalists at this point.
Agreed. The rants and hairdos made it too hard for me to watch and listen to a long time ago.
‘Meet the Press’ has lost its relevance decades ago!
I used to watch it but got really disappointed in Chuck Todd so quit. I do still watch Face the Nation - Margaret Brennan is still doing a pretty good job. Depending on who the guests are. Nikki Hailey got away with a campaign speech Sunday tho.
I do record CBS this morning - now mainly for the local weather!!! Too much time spent on celebrity drama.
Wretchedly depressing, but bang on the money..... Problem is, Will McAvoy is still right - an educated and informed electorate is essential for maintaining a healthy democracy - we're fucked.
Our TV died around the last time a Bush was running. The election was nasty (oh, were we naive!), so we decided to wait to replace the television until after the election. Life became so much more pleasant we never did get around to buying another. We manage to stay informed, but I miss the days of Uncle Walter.
Carlin said something similar. "Forget the politicians. The politicians are put there to give you the idea that you have freedom of choice. You don’t. You have no choice. You have owners. They own you. They own everything. They own all the important land. They own and control the corporations. They’ve long since bought and paid for the Senate, the Congress, the state houses, the city halls. They got the judges in their back pockets and they own all the big media companies, so they control just about all of the news and information you get to hear. They got you by the balls. They spend billions of dollars every year lobbying. Lobbying to get what they want. Well, we know what they want. They want more for themselves and less for everybody else, but I’ll tell you what they don’t want. They don’t want a population of citizens capable of critical thinking. They don’t want well-informed, well-educated people capable of critical thinking. They’re not interested in that. That doesn’t help them. That’s against their interests.”
He said that in late 2006. It was broadcast in 2007, about a month before he died. It remains relevant.
He had it nailed right to the end.
Yep.
But isn’t it the corporations that have bought out the politicians?
One and the same.
Miss him
We all do.
TV channels didn't go broke when news wasn't considered a money maker. What changed. Greed was redefined: from a vice to a goal.
Exactly right.
And Rupert led the way, watched as Walter retired, Dan was targeted and Rupert and Roger plotted to take over our communication apparatus. All the while, the glitterati was enthralled with Ron and Nancy (which included at least one national anchor) and the fun began.
"Infotainment." Now there's a Frankensteinian bastardisation if ever I heard one. Leave "men" out of it and then that label might just be closer to a truism.
It’s all about the pursuit of ratings and the money from advertisers for those ratings. The more sensational and lurid the storylines, the better as good news doesn’t sell product for the sponsors, so the more loaded with controversy, the better. That’s why Fox Noise is an entertainment outlet, not a true news network, if such a creature ever really existed since the Reagan years. It’s all about manipulation of public opinion, not the reporting of facts, and Fox Noise is the king of misinformation and misdirection on the airwaves. And the rest of the MSM plays along, as getting their base riled up helps their bottom line, too. And the best tonic for their ratings malaise is trump, trump, trump, and more trump…24/7 and 365/6 this year.
We gave up television long ago. We have one, but other than an occasional movie (using our kid's login), it's black reflective wall art. Thank god for you substack writers. And thank god I love to read. TC, Robert Hubbell, HCR, Robert Reich, Dan Rather, Joyce Vance, Aaron Rupar and so many others keep me informed and grounded.
That's nice company for me to be in. :-)
You've earned your place in the pantheon.
Thank you.
The way I am viewing this hi jacking of credible news is that you have to be discerning & be grateful to catch the worthwhile hosts / guests still on the air. I like to see film footage of events but AI will be corrupting that soon enough. Kudos to those still publicly speaking up as we are warned we could even lose this shell game. Stopped watching CNN even when it was still Turner. MSNBC has some good people . Another good post TC.
Brilliant analysis. Two of my all-time favorite films. Paddy was a genius. Thanks!!
Excellent summary of the history of media giants assault on democracy!
I do not have cable, so am saved from TV MSM. I surf
online and research. And I
have Substack.
Who was it that sang, "Bubble headed, bleached
blonde comes on at five"?
That's about the time frame
I lost interest in TV News.
Don Henley. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwgJgTL5JmE
"Dirty Laundry"! Thanks Kent.
This is my news. I don’t own a TV. Only seen them in passing through someone else’s reality. Last night I watched the SuperBowl. The whole thing. Unfuckenbelievable. That’s Another Fine Mess is a relief. (As are Letters.) i feel very crazy. Maybe I’ll go to an AA meeting…
Great piece, and truer than the media, both print and broadcast, would like us to be aware of. One note, A Modest Proposal was Jonathan Swift's, not Daniel Defoe.
Rioght - correction made soon.
Current events remind us of the genius of Swift and why his work is classic.
All so tragically true that it's hard to hit the "heart" button. I need a "scream" button.
I stick with Substack, Public Radio, Frontline, and sometimes C-span when something important is being jawboned there. A few weeks ago Thom Hartmann warned about local start-up news sources that are almost always rags and reports put out by the monied right wingers. They start out as reasonable sources of local news but very subtly turn into the reactionary propaganda items they intend to be. Worse, they're peddled free of charge. I'm keeping my eye on one locally that popped up to compete with our longstanding local newspaper, in print and online. It surfaced late last fall and grabs news from other sources with no discernable staff writers of their own, just ad sales staff. They've been innocuous so far, but I'm suspicious of their timing and placement in our area where we've had moderately reliable reporting from the other paper. I remember this going on 25 years ago when I lived in a town 20 miles away. The paper came and disappeared right after the election, and it was widely distributed and free.