Much of the country’s punditry is debating the Trump administration’s decision to revoke the press credentials and White House access for CNN Chief White House Correspondent Jim Acosta. Cries of censorship, banana republic-style vindictiveness, and yet more comparisons to the Nazis are in abundance.
This has set off another of the media’s rallying cries. That is, President Trump’s labeling of the news media as the “enemy of the people.” Nothing seems to anger my colleagues more than that accusation, and that’s not surprising.
But here’s the thing, are we sure it isn’t true?
I have a confession that most people who know me won’t find very shocking. In my two-and-a-half decades as a TV news producer, I’ve felt like the enemy of the people on too many nights to count.
Here’s why: the American news media is oozing with three distinct biases that serve as a regular attack on the public at large. The first and most powerful bias is the media’s propensity to promote negative stories. I first learned this during my six long years in local TV news where the “if it bleeds it leads” philosophy was drilled into my head early and often. Crimes, fires and hyped up scare tactics before every snow flurry or rainstorm were the norm for the news programs I produced in the 1990s. I felt dirty every time I broadcast a mug shot, perp walk or video of a crime scene that I knew likely fed into a racial and geographic stereotypes still too rife in America today. Sometimes I succeeded in diverting the focus to other kinds of stories. Usually, I failed.
Anyone who watches local TV news in America for even three nights and doesn’t think it serves as an enemy of decent society is really not paying attention.
But local news is an easy target. The national news media also isn’t equipped or inclined to focus on the more positive news that’s just as abundant in America. Yes, it’s true that frightening and negative stories usually get more ratings and clicks than happier or more encouraging stories. If the reason that the news media focuses on bad news is because it sees it as a more lucrative enterprise, then so be it. However, it can’t do that and also pretend it’s not acting as a potential enemy of the people every time it does so.
The second serious bias in American journalism is geography. Despite the explosion of news sources over the past 25 years because of the internet, a greater percentage of professional journalists are based in New York City and Washington, D.C. than ever before. It is a result of simple economics. Newsroom employment fell nearly 40 percent between 1994 and 2014. More news organizations are run by conglomerates that pool their resources and never set out from New York City to see what is happening at their “sister” network in Fort Wayne, Ind. It also leaves much of rural and Midwestern America out of the picture. Ignoring that large swath of the public is a form of hostility that at least makes the news media unwitting enemies of the people in those areas.
The third news media bias is political, and the mainstream media’s liberal bias has been dissected thousands of times over the years. By not seeking a more fair and balanced approach rather than activism, most of the news media are acting as enemies of the American people who deserve more honesty.
More and more of today’s journalists are seeking to be more like liberal activists than reporters. An example of this is NYU Journalism Department Chairman Jay Rosen, who says being an activist and being a journalist need not be mutually exclusive.
The “media is the enemy of the people” mantra merely proves the point that, indeed, not only is the fake news media the enemy of the people, but the media actually KNOWS it and tries to mask it by leaving out that vital word…. “fake”. I have tried several times to get our liberal friends to answer the question of if the media lied to the public, would that be bad? That’s simply one of those simple, easy questions liberals don’t want to think about. It hurts.
On the NYT Facebook feed, I wrote that Acosta should not be allowed back in the White House until he writes the definition of “invasion” 1,000 times on a blackboard. This drew an onslaught of responses from the liberal inhabitants, declaring that “a few refugees seeking asylum” is not an invasion. They could not believe the 12,000 illegal immigrant figure I provided them. This is verified by Mexican sources.
The conclusion is liberals are IGNORANT. Liberal sources keep them ignorant for reasons that are all too apparent. Stupidity is the liberal’s friend. Yet, they don’t make the connection between their own ignorance and the orchestrated lies they are fed, but when the point of the actual size of the invading force of illegal immigrants was verified and it was then clear WHY Acosta was being such a dick, the response from those liberals was silence. I don’t know if they actually began doing some introspective reevaluation or they ran away from being shown WHY they are ignorant.
@Deplorable Me:
RE: the media actually KNOWS it and tries to mask it by leaving out that vital word…. “fake”.
So where does one go to find a list of media that Trump has separated into honest and fake?
And when he wags his finger across the room at his rallies and accuses the press pool of being “fake news,” are there some in that press pool that he really doesn’t think are fake? Which ones would that be?
And when Sean Hannity jumps on stage with Trump at a rally and accuses the press pool of being fake news, are his colleagues at Fox wrong for believing that Hannity means that they too are fake news? Hannity never distinguishes, just like Trump.
When Trump sent out one of his first accusatory tweets calling the press fake news and placed the word fake in parentheses next to the word negative, didn’t that really tell you all you need to know about what he thinks is fake news, namely anything that’s negative about him?
@Gary Miller:
He hasn’t. But, when they do it, they KNOW it.
Trump’s statement is pretty clear; “the FAKE NEWS media is the enemy of the people”. It is unambiguous. It does not say ALL the media is the enemy of the people and it states, clearly and accurately that FAKE NEWS (the media lying to the people) is the enemy of the people. Would you disagree that the media lying to the people is bad?
While he HAS denounced FAKE NEWS (he hasn’t called the press “fake news”; he calls fake news fake news), I have never seen or heard him say “all negative news about me is fake”, so I can’t pass judgement on that. That is the job of those who prefer to imagine what he says, then hate him for it.
So, in addition to the above question (in bold), why do you continue to criticize Trump for calling the media or press fake news when that is not what he has said? That simply PROVES that FAKE NEWS IS the enemy of the people, for it poisons minds.
@Gary Miller:
You know so little about the history of the American press it makes me actually surprised you even know how to read.
@Deplorable Me:
He made it clear as a bell right here:
Donald J. Trump
✔
@realDonaldTrump
The Fake News is working overtime. Just reported that, despite the tremendous success we are having with the economy & all things else, 91% of the Network News about me is negative (Fake). Why do we work so hard in working with the media when it is corrupt? Take away credentials?
116K
6:38 AM – May 9, 2018
So Deplorable Me, it couldn’t be any clearer. Anything negative about him he deems to be fake. That is just nonsense.
And that’s how he explained it to Lesley Stahl:
“I said, ‘You know, this is getting tired. Why are you doing it over and over? It’s boring and it’s time to end that. You know, you’ve won … why do you keep hammering at this?'” Stahl recalled.
“And he said: ‘You know why I do it? I do it to discredit you all and demean you all so that when you write negative stories about me no one will believe you.'”
Note use of the word “all.” Deplorable Me, you’ve got to be smarter than this. This guy is an incessant liar who’s just playing you for a fool. And when he calls the “fake news” — anything negative about him — the “enemy of the people,” that’s the crazy talk that makes idiots call CNN with death threats and makes another idiot show up at the Boston Globe and make threats. This is the President of the United States endangering lives because he simply doesn’t like something that has been written about him. How can you continue to support this guy?
@Gary Miller: CNN gave the questions of a presidential debate to Hillary before the debate, when will you admit they are 1 long mud slinging political ad? There is a list of reporters and outlets that worked with the DNC during the election, some not releasing a story til the DNC had an opportunity to edit it if they wished. The IG report found reporters and outlets that bribed government agents for negative scoops. Russia Russia Russia, with out any other proof or journalistic investigation other than un-named sources. Still not 1 iota of proof of any Russian Trump Campaign connection.
Reporter Kenneth Vogel sent an advanced copy of his story to DNC national press secretary Mark Paustenbach in late April. The email’s subject line read: “per agreement … any thoughts appreciated …
read for youself https://wikileaks.org/dnc-emails/emailid/23554
https://www.breitbart.com/tech/2016/10/14/wikileaks-reveals-long-list-clinton-media-canoodling/
@Gary Miller:
Really. Who does it benefit when the media does not report the booming, growing economy, increasing wages, low, low, low unemployment and better jobs? Why, the left, of course.
CNN lies
https://dailycaller.com/2018/08/31/cnn-list-bungled-reporting-fake-news/
MSNBC defends ANTIFA violence, lies about police
https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/brad-wilmouth/2018/08/14/msnbcs-johnson-defends-antifa-lumps-cops-white-nationalists?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=marketing&utm_campaign=johnson-antifa
Left wing media falsely claims Sessions chanted “lock her up” and interprets Russian to suit their leftist dialogue, lies about Putin wanting Trump to win
http://minx.cc:1080/?post=376277
MSNBC calls Trump a liar, then proves 6 times he didn’t lie
https://downtrend.com/71superb/msnbc-fact-checker-proves-trump-told-the-truth-still-calls-him-a-liar/
Liberal media has to issue corrections of the lies they were spreading about Trump’s immigration policies
http://www.breitbart.com/big-journalism/2018/06/01/establishment-media-issues-four-corrections-after-falsely-claiming-trump-separating-families-at-border/
CNN lies about school shooting in Santa Fe
https://www.conservativecash.us/minutes-texas-school-shooting-cnn-caught-huge-lie-misleading-americans/?utm_source=anh
Media lies about Trump backing DOJ withholding evidence from Nunes
http://thefederalist.com/2018/05/14/white-house-congress-reject-reports-trump-okayed-doj-obstruction/#.Wvn-ppAvJxE.twitter
No, really… NYT says Obama only lied 18 times
https://downtrend.com/nyt-fake-news/
http://dailycaller.com/2017/12/14/obama-lies-the-nytimes-chose-not-to-call-out/?utm_source=site-share
Media thinks Trump is causing mistrust of the media instead of the media’s lies causing mistrust
http://thefederalist.com/2017/12/07/repairing-media-mistrust-means-understanding-it-didnt-start-with-trumps-attacks/
CNN whips up three big lies in 7 days for the Democrats
https://thehornnews.com/cnn-just-caught-spreading-3-huge-lies/
Media ignores Trump accomplishments and progress or Hillary’s violations and obsesses with their phony conspiracies
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/indictment-obsessed-press-yawns-at-republican-agenda/article/2639067
Hillary pays for the dossier, has it shopped around liberal media, then repeats the lies after the media reports them
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/nov/2/hillary-clinton-defends-trump-dossier-opposition-r/
Liberals blame Trump for slow response to Puerto Rico hurricane, but union strikes for higher wages instead of distributing supplies
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2017/09/30/puerto-rico-teamsters-union-frente-amplio-refuse-to-deliver-supplies-use-hurricane-maria-as-contract-leverage/
Leftist media trying to whip up a Puerto Rican scandal for Trump with lies
http://minx.cc:1080/?post=371746
CNN caught staging protest
These are a few of the examples of the liberal media lying about Trump or his accomplishments. This is all fake news. The comment you take out of context (which is synonymous to lying) and was a discussion ABOUT a liberal lie.
I don’t expect you to read all these, for I am sure you lack the interest in the truth. However, just look them over (and this is but a few of what I have and what there is) and try to set aside your liberal bias and get a sense of she sheer magnitude of the liberal lying; FAKE NEWS.
Will you muster the courage to answer my questions in #3?
@Deplorable Me:
Re: “Who does it benefit when the media does not report the booming, growing economy, increasing wages, low, low, low unemployment and better jobs? Why, the left, of course.”
And here’s story after story of the New York Times reporting on the booming economy:
https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS780US780&ei=SJfrW8KXH4Oy5gLN1rPoDA&q=new+york+times+reports+booming+economy+&oq=new+york+times+reports+booming+economy+&gs_l=psy-ab.3..33i160.13244.13244..13734…0.0..0.69.69.1……0….1..gws-wiz…….0i71.Zu__FkOic6Y
And more from the Times. This one is my favorite:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/10/business/economy/trump-economy-credit.html
Now on to your litany of links. Oh boy. The Daily Caller, The Gateway Pundit, The Conservative Treehouse, The Federalist and the ridiculous Downtrend.com. These are your sources. Did you actually read any of these?
Let’s just look at one of these pieces:
MSNBC calls Trump a liar, then proves 6 times he didn’t lie
https://downtrend.com/71superb/msnbc-fact-checker-proves-trump-told-the-truth-still-calls-him-a-liar/
This piece was written by one Brian Anderson, who posts a video of Stephanie Ruhle of MSNBC. Here’s what Anderson writes:
“Trump claims he created 3.3 million jobs in his presidency so far. Ruhle’s fact-check of this stament included a graphic showing that 3.3 million jobs have been created during Trump’s presidency. Ruhle determined this was a lie.”
But Ruhle showed a graphic showing that 3.3. million jobs were created before Trump took office. You can see it for yourself, Deplorable Me. Just watch the clip. So Brian Anderson is just flat-out making crap up.
Then Ruhle shows a clip of Trump saying that wages are going up fast — but they’re not going up fast. Wages have risen just 2% since 2014. So she calls out Trump again, accurately.
Then Ruhle plays a clip of Trump saying that border crossings are down 40%. But Ruhle calls him out on it, because his numbers are doubly inflated. Anderson claims that Ruhle is showing that Trump is not a liar, but he surely is.
Then Trump says his wall is already under construction, which is totally baloney. And Ruhle shows how he is wrong again. And Anderson writes that Ruhle is actually proving him right. This is just bizarro stuff from the writer who calls himself Brian Anderson.
And you read this Downturn website and agree with a guy like this.
No, I’m not going to read any further. You’re a dishonest person, Deplorable Me, spreading dishonesty.
This piece was just one you posted somehow defending Trump’s decision to portray negative press about him as “Fake.” But as you can see, it’s not fake at all.
Stop allowing Donald Trump to play you for a sucker! And for goodness sake, stop defending his constant habit of endangering American lives.
@Gary Miller:
how is he doing this?
@Gary Miller:
Oh, I see. Aside from being afraid to look into them and discuss the content, I guess you are surprised there aren’t more links to NYT, CNN, MSNBC calling out liberal media bias.
Actually, yes, Trump has created 3 million jobs. And, not just jobs, but GOOD jobs.
Better jobs under Trump
https://qz.com/1347200/the-jobs-created-under-trump-are-different-than-under-obama/
Wages are up 2.3% since Trump took office.
Wages up under Trump
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2018/07/31/maganomics-second-quarter-wage-rate-growth-2-8-red-white-and-blue-collar-growth-well-over-3/
Yeah, illegal immigration dropped precipitously upon Trump’s election, driven almost entirely by his tough talk about border enforcement. Once it was clear that liberal judges will do all they can to keep the border open, the crossings increased.
https://www.businessinsider.com/border-crossings-arrests-trump-historic-low-data-charts-2018-4
I guess the “news” you watch didn’t cover it, but much was made of the prototypes of the wall that were constructed, the approval process, the final selection and the beginning of construction.
https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trumps-border-wall-already-being-built-construction-begins-texas-4-1135603
Nope, not balony… actual fact.
So, once again, you are wrong. Maybe you SHOULD read the rest, huh? You have quite a bit to learn.
Will you muster the courage to answer my questions in #3? And, yeah, how is he endangering American lives? By securing the border? By wanting to shut down sanctuary cities? By having ICE deport dangerous criminals? Please explain and stop running away from questions.
And these #1 enemies is TIME/CNN as well as the NYT’s Lies Decite and deception is their motto