General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsBar diagram of what M$M covered during 2016 Election...
...most of us here were aware of this and ignored the BS. But those that are less informed were snookered
Link to tweet
SunSeeker
(51,557 posts)BSdetect
(8,998 posts)Roy Rolling
(6,917 posts)Yes. They went for the money. Trump meant ratings and advertising dollars. Did anyone expect differently? The bias is monetary, not political. Get money out of politics and there won't be as much cash looking for a place to buy influence.
gratuitous
(82,849 posts)The coverage is almost precisely what they wanted. It's not like there was someone holding a gun to their collective head, telling them to ignore any issues the Clinton campaign was talking about. They collectively decided (nobody can say how anymore) that Trump's very real scandals didn't merit any coverage while the bogus scandals about Clinton concocted in the right wing fever swamps had to outpace all other coverage of anything.
But by all means, let's look around for One Main Thing (preferably having to do with those dirty fucking hippies) on which to blame Clinton's loss in the general election.
Botany
(70,506 posts)By ELIZA COLLINS 02/29/2016 06:15 PM EST
Donald Trumps candidacy might not be making America great, CBS Chairman Les Moonves said Monday, but its great for his company.
"It may not be good for America, but it's damn good for CBS," Moonves said at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference in San Francisco, according to The Hollywood Reporter perfectly distilling what media critics have long suspected was motivating the round-the-clock coverage of Trump's presidential bid.
"Most of the ads are not about issues. They're sort of like the debates," Moonves said, noting, "[t]here's a lot of money in the marketplace."
The 2016 campaign is a "circus," he remarked, but "Donald's place in this election is a good thing."
"Man, who would have expected the ride we're all having right now? ... The money's rolling in and this is fun," Moonves went on. "I've never seen anything like this, and this going to be a very good year for us. Sorry. It's a terrible thing to say. But, bring it on, Donald. Keep going.
Ohiya
(2,232 posts)Think of the ratings!
procon
(15,805 posts)the media has utterly failed to deliver.
Pop Quiz: What will affect me more?
A). Clinton's emails or
B). Trump's immigration policies
A). Clinton Foundation or
B). Trump's views on women
A). Clinton's comments on Benghazi or
B). Trump's ties to Russia
vkkv
(3,384 posts)SergeStorms
(19,201 posts)Well, it was the "fake news", it seems, that got him elected.
Now, since he's biting the hand that MADE him, they're getting equally good ratings tearing him apart. It would have been nice if they'd NOT paid so much attention to him THEN, so they wouldn't have to pay so much attention to him NOW!
They made him, now they're breaking him. A win-win for the MSM!
I'd have preferred they never gave him so much coverage in the first place. The country wouldn't be at the mercy of a madman at the moment. But he IS good for their business, and that's all that matters to them.
vkkv
(3,384 posts)pointing it out.
"yes, we have an issue with that open sore -and we can sell it"
uponit7771
(90,339 posts)ProudLib72
(17,984 posts)I was affected by HRC's negative press. I was always going to vote for her, but the press got me down. Remember all the people who said, "These are the two best candidates you can come up with?" Yeah, that was a common sentiment.
We've seen threads about messaging. We know good and well that Russia meddled. However, I'd be willing to bet that it was the negative press that really did the most damage. People were unsure just weeks before the election. That was accomplished by the press. Then the emails at the last second clinched it.
not fooled
(5,801 posts)about 20 or so years ago that HRC was likely to run for president. So, they set out to poison the well by concocting a constant stream of negative fake scandals involving her and getting the worthless corporate media to cover said "scandals".
The result was a vague, negative attitude towards her by many, many people.
Oh, and you can't convince me that the corporate media don't want pukes in office because the wealthy benefit from puke tax and economic policies. And, warmongering (see: GE-NBC).
SonofDonald
(2,050 posts)As soon as Clinton became President they took a good look at her and realized that she would in fact run for President someday and would be someone to fear.
I do remember they started after her very early in her position as FLOTUS and never let up, then they kept at it constantly to this day and they are still trying new and different ways along with the same old email shtick.
She scares them, they are terrified of her with good cause as she will bring their house down around them if she becomes president.
If pretty much any of these right wing politicians had faced the constant withering attacks they've subjected her to they would have thrown in the towel or ended up in way too much of the spotlight to survive.
She's too strong and way too intelligent, and it scares them to death, so it's attack, attack, attack, the only way they can "Win" against her.
Because it's obvious that's all they have, their party is bankrupt in every way and they can't beat her by actually doing their jobs they were elected to.
To make it a better world for us, the people they work for, they have forgotten this.
Time to send a message in 2018, and every day till then, loudly.
sharedvalues
(6,916 posts)The bogus GOP charity "Judicial Watch" ( which receives tax-exempt donations), got about $500M over 20 years to attack the Clintons.
Also the NYT attacked her: starting with Safire, ending recently with Haberman.
http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/news/a54602/new-york-times-clinton-coverage-book/
not fooled
(5,801 posts)and as a consequence now we have to watch (or not, as much as that's possible) the orange anus careen from one disastrous act to another.
The same election gave us a puke-controlled congress that acts to rob us blind in order to enrich their cronies, and Federal agencies that are either sabotaged from within or converted into vehicles to loot the resources of this nation.
Dire consequences from seeds planted against the Clintons by the GOPee decades ago.
Warpy
(111,261 posts)because unless there is a massive change in the control of the industry, as likely as the Pope on a pogo stick, it is going to happen again in 2020. There is nothing we can do about crooked and hostile media.
I don't watch broadcast news, cable or aired. I gave up in 2004 when I saw how they were treating Democrats then and realized how long it had been going on. I won't deliver my body to their advertisers. I did keep up with the data on what stories they were reporting and how, so none of this surprises me.
I would suggest Democrats develop their ground game, precinct to precinct and neighborhood to neighborhood. Instead of spending money on ads that are buried in unpopular shows, spend it on leaflets designed according to the KISS format, things that will be read on the way to the garbage can. Concentrate on getting the message out on social media. Set up tables at all the public functions they can. And definitely tie their party to Dump and Nazis. Don't let anyone try to wriggle off that hook, they stuck themselves onto it gladly.
(KISS= Keep It Simple, Stupid)
sharedvalues
(6,916 posts)I don't think it's possible.
I think they believe it's all going to be ok if they continue interacting with the press the way they do right now.
You'd think none of them had ever read 1984.
Warpy
(111,261 posts)They might find out just how fucked up our Fourth Estate really is.
sharedvalues
(6,916 posts)Franken wrote two books about it. He knows the truth. I don't understand why he doesn't put forth a coordianted talking point surrogate strategy like the right uses.
BainsBane
(53,032 posts)which means you can learn from it. A lot of people won't.
JoeStuckInOH
(544 posts)iluvtennis
(19,858 posts)sharedvalues
(6,916 posts)CNN, NBC, ABC, MSNBC: for-profit infotainment, ratings-seeking.
Fox, Limbaugh, right-wing radio, Sinclair, Circa, Breitbart, NY Post, Boston Herald, WSJ ed page: GOP propaganda and lies
NYT, LA Times, some of WSJ news pages: centrist, both-sides-ist, play it safe, afraid of getting attacked by the right.
------------
That is the media landscape we must deal with.
LakeArenal
(28,817 posts)tiptonic
(765 posts)Goes back to the old argument for free media for the elections and complete government funding. Plus they have to, really answer questions, during the debates.
BadgerMom
(2,771 posts)YOHABLO
(7,358 posts)Equinox Moon
(6,344 posts)How to change this?
erronis
(15,258 posts)One of the reasons I trust furrin broadcasting more than commercial US (and that increasingly includes NPR). At least the moneybags behind Der Spiegel and BBC and Figaro aren't "our" moneybags. Shit, even that USSR site RT had better coverage of many issues.
I use a lot of RSS feeds from lots of sources and can scan quickly what looks real vs. what looks foxed-up.
sharedvalues
(6,916 posts)We have to stop the right-wing propaganda press -- and stopping them is more than just getting profit out of news. Hell, Breitbart is funded heavily by big GOP donors.
dchill
(38,496 posts)NRaleighLiberal
(60,014 posts)And I mean true liberals or Democrats - not luke warm moderates. Not only TV, but radio as well - such as NPR news shows.
That would be another example or examples of truly skewed graphs.
The corporate owners want it like this.
iluvtennis
(19,858 posts)FailureToCommunicate
(14,014 posts)iluvtennis
(19,858 posts)AtheistCrusader
(33,982 posts)They NEEED the controversy in the election, and then when it all goes horribly wrong in the end and we get Barron Von FakeTan in the Oval Office, they get to cover THAT too, and the election handwringing, and his scandals, and and and....
Media is selling clicks. Whatever is most controversial is clicky.
I mean FUCK MSN for running with the 'biggest' headline story on their site today, of Miley Cyrus and Kristen Stewart getting hacked/photos stolen. FUCK MSN. Jesus fuck that's the biggest story they can come up with today? I'm changing my landing page to the Guardian.
rufus dog
(8,419 posts)That chart proves it!
She kept talking about all of her scandals.
Ninsianna
(1,349 posts)RainCaster
(10,877 posts)I am so disillusioned with our press. BBC and Guardian are doing a much better job.
sharedvalues
(6,916 posts)(and the main reason we have an authoritarian political party purchased by billionaire donors - the GOP)
MarianJack
(10,237 posts)...by the news media's constant fawning over Donald Trump. Sickening. and do not expect that it'll be any different if he is still around to run in 2020.
PEACE!
KrazyinKS
(291 posts)but the damage is done, you can't change that.
The Wizard
(12,545 posts)short on news and information.
spanone
(135,835 posts)PNW-Dem
(244 posts)I cant believe that the Benghazi bar is so low. One would think that it would be the tallest given the 24/7 coverage of that issue.
BumRushDaShow
(129,017 posts)The "emails" were a much juicer fake target for the M$M to fawn over because that was new and they could manufacture all sorts of hypotheticals, and then call them "facts".
L. Coyote
(51,129 posts)Hamlette
(15,412 posts)and remind them of their part in creating the monster.
progressoid
(49,990 posts)DemSoc
(52 posts)Paladin
(28,261 posts)delisen
(6,043 posts)She reported much on the email non-issue as though it were urgent important news and she sounded totally gleeful when Comey re-ignited the email issue in the last few days of the campaign.
She had to have known throughout the campaign that there was not anything there.
She is also on the payroll at Fox but I believe her bias against Clinton goes way back and she does not control for it.
BlancheSplanchnik
(20,219 posts)Effing media whores.
workinclasszero
(28,270 posts)with fascist Trumpism!
VOX
(22,976 posts)That bastard had his phone calls taken on-air; he dropped into the studios almost daily; and the HOURS of free campaign advertising "news" devoted slavishly to tRump and his goddamned rally-performances.
The media was only out for the ratings and clicks. Disgusting what passes for "news" these days.
continentalop2
(29 posts)If your issue is "Mexicans are rapists so let's build a big wall to keep them all out" that's inherently more newsworthy than sensible policy discussions.
It seems to suggest that there's a genuine publicity benefit to making big outlandish controversial policy proposals.
iluvtennis
(19,858 posts)culture. Superficial for the majority that is. So of us do "double click" and dive deeper.