How CNN and the AP rolled over to lies and bullying this week.

[sharedvalues]

First, CNN. They tried on Friday to show Giuliani a video that contradicted what he was saying out loud - showing that he was lying.

Link to tweet

"Josh Marshall @joshtpm
Lol. I’ve never seen a guest trying to talk over a video clip showing they’re lying. But Rudy gave it a shot."

But Giuliani tried to filibuster - to talk louder than the clip. And CNN let him do it.

Link to tweet

"southpaw @nycsouthpaw
Giuliani didn’t just give it a shot here. He won. The CNN control room decided to allow his objections to drown out their own relevant evidence and then cut off the clip before it was finished. Everyone who works at CNN should be embarrassed by this. "

---------------------

On Wednesday, the AP correctly noted that Trump had called immigrants "animals" (similar to the things Nazis said about Jews.)

And on Thursday, after getting attacked by the Administration, the AP rolled over and gave in to the lies.
They said

"AP has deleted a tweet from late Wednesday on Trump’s “animals” comment about immigrants because it wasn’t made clear that he was speaking after a comment about gang members. (ed note: this is a falsehood told by Sarah Sanders.)"

Link to tweet

?s=20

-------------------

We need our media to
#ProtectTheTruth

That is, they need to stop only reporting what people say. They can just report what is TRUE. It's not that hard. The BBC does it. The American press did it 40 years ago. Why can't the media report the truth today? Why do they have to hide behind false unbiasedness and just report what people say? We've now got plenty of evidence: if the media just reports what people say, the Republicans will lie with abandon to manipulate the press. The press is getting used, and they are just taking it.

[Crutchez_CuiBono]

1. I agree w you.

In corporation led America though, honesty revokes your access and press pass. What do you do except choose your battles? It's ugly. And I'll be glad when it's over.

[sharedvalues]

3. another big factor is the format of cable news

Most news segments have a very strict time limit: 3 min, 7 min, 11 min etc. And that means the guests know they can run out the clock. And the short times make it hard for the hosts to ask followup questions. That's the key: the followup questions.


We've got a lot of problems with our media today that prevent robust honest public debate. Baby steps, but we should be trying to move forward and improve.

p.s. Jake Tapper is really really good and is trying. I generally think Jake does a good job.

[Crutchez_CuiBono]

6. I like Jake.

he and Chris Cuomo can really cross examine someone. I think Chris allows to much time, impo. But, you can see his eyes when he's about to pop someone.
Couldn't agree more about the format. Filibustering the host.
"I'm not going to directly answer anything but , I WILL switch the topic and stack three or four "Alternative things" I want you to think about, and shame you (the host) for not reporting on them." (Over and over.) They don't report on them bc it's all half-truth's and made up shit.

[sharedvalues]

8. Yup. I love this video from the British press. I wish the American press would do this more.

(Tapper does things like this sometimes)

[Crutchez_CuiBono]

9. Holy shit.

"BRAH"-VO!!"

[NRaleighLiberal]

2. check the party affiliation and wealth of the owners of the media.

that pretty much answers it, I think.

[sharedvalues]

4. yes. But the right talks about the liberal media. Up is down. Left is right.

For progressives, a really important message to get out to the whole country is that corporate media actually leans right.

Yes, I said it. CNN actually in many ways LEANS RIGHT. 90% of Americans' heads would explode if they heard that. How did we get into such an upside-down state?

[underpants]

5. Also - access

The media HAS to have both sides on or they will be depicted as biased which they dread. At this point there is absolutely no reason to provide the right's side on the economy, National Defense, etc. they've failed miserably in every aspect and their "ideas" have crumbled into a smoldering heap at every turn but we just HAVE to get both sides. Without competition/conflict there is no wrestling match.

[sharedvalues]

7. Right but why?

Why do they dread that depiction? (I don't think it's just about access. The best explanation is that poor journalists are afraid of the right propaganda machine calling them biased.)

Sports journalists report on the Cleveland Browns and they write articles saying the Browns are a bad team. And they don't worry about getting called biased. The Browns are bad. So say it: the Browns are a bad team and other teams are good teams.

Why can't political journalists say the same thing? The GOP is corrupt and autocratic and doesn't care about poor people. The Democrats care about helping people and the social safety net and Obama was one of the most ethical presidents ever.

It's just a tautology -- to get exactly even coverage, you must have two sides or teams that are totally equal. If there is any unbalance in reality, you're going to get unbalance in reporting. It's obvious. Why can't journalists just SAY THAT? Why can't they report the truth, even when the truth about the parties is unbalanced?


(That's why Lakoff talks about "protecting the truth&quot

[NRaleighLiberal]

10. They need clicks and eyeballs - it is ALL ABOUT MONEY. Period.

The media are part of the protected class (so they think) - their wealth protects them (they think) - so to me, they really think that which they report on can't touch them.

All of this is why I turned TV off 10 years ago and haven't missed it a bit.

[sharedvalues]

16. Hmm

I know a lot of media members, and my sense is that they have all been brainwashed to believe the only way to do news is to avoid any accusations of bias at all costs.

Some certainly are chasing profits (Cillizza seems to be), but mostly that happens at the CEO/management level, like how Zucker at CNN aired Lord to get ratings.

But for most media members, the pressure comes from within. They have seemingly been all persuaded to believe that the “savvy style” is good - that they should report what each side says, never taking sides on what the truth is.
Articles like this one capture it, I think.
http://pressthink.org/2012/08/everything-thats-wrong-with-political-journalism-in-one-washington-post-item/

[NRaleighLiberal]

20. It all just makes me feel "old" and that we are living in a time I don't really relate to -

be it pop music, movies, pop culture - been there, done that - and love that my wife and I can remove ourselves from it all and do our thing - garden, kayak, read, walk - ANYTHING but watch TV!

We - the world - is in a very strange place, that's for sure....and there are a LOT of factors that play into it. Just hoping we can get through it all.

[sharedvalues]

21. Chinese curse "May you live in interesting times". We're there now.

Let's hope we can get through it all, yes.

[underpants]

11. NRalighLiberal's Post mostly and...

That's just the methodology they go with. Sports is a merit based system - you have a number at the end to tell you how you did. Yes the Browns suck and there is no doubt about it. Remember as much as everyone thinks they can get market share ESPN is still king. There is little or no real competition while in "News" there is tons of competition.

If, say, CNN really called people out the right would refuse to appear. Then there'd be no drama and people like watching the drama much like pro wrestling.

[stuffmatters]

12. It's journalistic malpractice to give lies, liars, ignorance unchallenged airtime Sick of it too.

[Sherman A1]

13. Expecting them to be something they are not is a sure path to be disappointed

CNN, MSNBC, Fox are infotainment channels which may occasionally brush up against something resembling news, but mostly just blather repeating their breathless version of "breaking news" over and over again between ads for drugs that we didn't know we needed and car insurance commercials.

The best solution I have found is to turn them off.

[sharedvalues]

17. Two things

Yes CNN and MSNBC are ratings and profit driven. But please DO NOT lump them with Fox. CNN is infotainment. But Fox is straight GOP propaganda.

Fox, OANN, Sinclair, Right-wing radio: these are propaganda designed to get votes for GOP billionaires. There is no equivalent on the left. MSNBC and CNN are basically the same as each other outside of Maddow and Lawrence. This has been proven by economists: Fox is propaganda and CNN and MSNBC are both centrist.

[Sherman A1]

19. I certainly agree that there are various degrees of the use and affects of the medium

However, they do all seem to follow a very similar model, which is to keep as many people engaged in order to sell advertising as opposed to being more focused on doing much more than surface reporting and sensationalism, that the first mission (making money) is served.

I am old enough to recall the great promise of cable TV when it was commercial free as you were paying for the service and thus you would not pay again (with your time) to watch advertisements. Once that model changed and the quest to turn news delivery vehicles into profit centers for their owners became necessary and clear, they all devolved into the same thing. So Yes, I will lump them all together.

Take an hour or two and watch CNN or MSNBC not for what is being said on any particular day or topic, but rather the methods of the delivery. Tale note of the amount of commercial time in each hour and what those are selling. Sit back and watch style as opposed to the immediate and decide for yourself.

I watch only a few minutes every few days of what I call "the breathless, 24/7, Cable Noise Infotainment Channels", so that a group of people that I don't know can either talk over each other or yell at me before commercial break.

[progree]

14. Politifact too on Trump's "animal content" -- by showing the transcript

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2018/may/17/context-donald-trumps-comments-about-immigrants-an/

Trump’s remarks came during a May 16 immigration roundtable discussion that touched on so-called sanctuary cities, MS-13 gang members, the federal "catch and release" practice, and policies in California related to the detention of immigrants. Participants included cabinet members, California sheriffs and other elected officials.

...

Margaret Mims, Fresno County Sheriff: "Thank you, Mr. President. You know, sheriffs in California are now in an untenable position when it comes to trying to figure out — now, we have state law, we have federal laws, and here we are stuck in the middle. Sheriffs, especially, because most of us run our county jails.

"When there became a legal challenge to the 48-hour holds for ICE, it was very frustrating for us. So what I did is I invited ICE to put their officers in my jails so they're able to do their work. We didn't have the staffing to be able to help figure out who they wanted to talk to or didn't. I said, come on in, work with our people to keep our community safe. Two weeks later, Mr. President, Kate Steinle was murdered.

"Now, I wasn't the only sheriff to do that. Sheriff Youngblood did, Sheriff Christianson. And it was perfect — because we didn't have to take our time, with our staff, to do, to do anything. ICE was in there doing their work in a safe, controlled, environment. And then, the initiatives started happening -- the TRUST Act, the TRUTH Act, and finally, SB 54, the Values Act. And that is causing us all kinds of turmoil.

"So here we are, stuck in the middle, trying to decide. We have federal law, we have state law. And that's why I welcomed Attorney General Sessions's lawsuit, because that will provide us the clarity that we need and direction that we need. What do we do? Because here we are.

"And I appreciated Mr. Homan and ICE. We had a great relationship; we still do. But now ICE is the only law enforcement agency that cannot use our databases to find the bad guys. They cannot come in and talk to people in our jail, unless they reach a certain threshold. They can't do all kinds of things that other law enforcement agencies can do. And it's really put us in a very bad position."

Trump: "It's a disgrace. Okay? It's a disgrace."

Mims: "It's a disgrace."

Trump: "And we're suing on that, and we're working hard, and I think it will all come together, because people want it to come together. It's so ridiculous. The concept that we're even talking about is ridiculous. We'll take care of it, Margaret. We'll win."

Mims: "Thank you. There could be an MS-13 gang member I know about — if they don't reach a certain threshold, I cannot tell ICE about it."

Trump: "We have people coming into the country, or trying to come in — and we're stopping a lot of them — but we're taking people out of the country. You wouldn't believe how bad these people are. These aren't people. These are animals. And we're taking them out of the country at a level and at a rate that's never happened before. And because of the weak laws, they come in fast, we get them, we release them, we get them again, we bring them out. It's crazy.

The dumbest laws, as I said before, the dumbest laws on immigration in the world. So we're going to take care of it, Margaret. We'll get it done."

Politifact ruled Senator Dianne Feinstein's tweet as "Needs Context"

Sen Dianne Feinstein
@SenFeinstein

Immigrants are not “animals.” The president’s statement was deeply offensive and racist. Immigrants are our family and friends and they make significant contributions to our country.

7:40 PM - May 16, 2018

==============================================================

"AP has deleted a tweet from late Wednesday on Trump’s “animals” comment about immigrants because it wasn’t made clear that he was speaking after a comment about gang members.

[sharedvalues]

18. Yup. Here's Josh Marshall laying down why the animals comment shouldn't be caveated

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/watch-the-whole-video

[stuffmatters]

15. This is never going to stop until there's a national boycott of the MSM "news"

Starting with the Nightly local and national MSM news. It's the only way they'll change.

It would also be a good idea if Tom Perez took some of the DNC money & started a Truth in Media Watch & Response Squad. One of the reason the Repugs get away with this shit is that they have such an organized,brazen "outrage"machine" and Dems have zero.