Author Topic: Media, Ministry of Truth Issues  (Read 1032327 times)

G M

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Fake news!
« Reply #1850 on: December 20, 2016, 07:38:07 AM »


Was the truck radicalized?

Glad to see the MSM is working hard to rebuild it's credibility!

Crafty_Dog

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DougMacG

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Media, it was Megan McArdle, not Nate silver, with forecasting accuracy in 20017
« Reply #1855 on: December 28, 2016, 09:10:20 PM »
3 years ago:

Why I Think the GOP Will Have Control in 2017

http://meganmcardle.com/2013/07/12/why-i-think-the-gop-will-have-control-in-2017/amp/

"Getting a third term in the White House just seems to be really difficult.  And Barack Obama is not going to finish with a ground-shaking economic boom.
...
if the GOP takes the White House, I think the chances that they also take the House approach 100%."


Logic had it right.  Polling had it wrong.

ccp

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Trent Franks must read the forum
« Reply #1856 on: December 29, 2016, 07:07:21 PM »
Another famous person who read DB forum .  He must have seen my post of 12/11:

*****Well what are these allegations?  That Putin hacked in to both DNC and RNC and only released DNC stuff?
What about the Clinton emails?
I have not heard any thing alleged that disputes the information released was not true though I few Dems are of course making such suggestions.
The concept that Russia may have selectively released information that exposes real corruption is one to ponder.  Because if any of this is true then that basically is what they did.

*They did the job our media refuses to do.  *

Would it have been ok if they just release information revealing corruption on both sides?  Would it not be ok and allow the corruption to go silent?
Just wondering.
Maybe we should just do the same to Putin.  Can we?  Just release the truth.****

Congressman Trent Franks in news today:

https://www.yahoo.com/news/gop-congressman-russia-did-what-the-media-should-have-done-by-leaking-emails-214115748.html

G M

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G M

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No, Media, the Election Wasn’t ‘Hacked’ — Stop Saying It Was
« Reply #1858 on: December 31, 2016, 07:54:45 AM »
http://heatst.com/politics/media-election-hacked/

No, Media, the Election Wasn’t ‘Hacked’ — Stop Saying It Was
Home Politics
By Stephen Miller | 12:40 pm, December 30, 2016
  
When President Obama announced Thursday he was taking retaliatory measures against Russia for its role in cyber-attacks against Democratic Party institutions, the mainstream media pounced.

They listened to the Obama administration describe Russia’s “aggressive harassment,” “malicious cyber activity” and “data disclosure activities,” and quickly seized upon an ominous phrase: “election hacking.” Election hacking took off so fast that the narrative needed an attendant and drink cart accompanying it.


To be perfectly clear, there is zero evidence of actual election hacking, such as the hacking of voting machines, paper ballots or voter fraud on the part of Russia in an effort to install Donald Trump into the White House. There’s no evidence Russia employed a massive cloaking device from a secret submarine in Lake Erie, over the state of Wisconsin, where Hillary Clinton did not campaign once during the general election.


There’s no evidence Russia influenced Clinton campaign operatives to steer SEIU members on the ground away from Michigan. As of yet, there is no proof it was Russia who directed Lena Dunham to campaign in North Carolina, or the aged cast of the West Wing to stump in Ohio. There is no evidence that rural voters in Pennsylvania, whom Mrs. Clinton ignored in the final weeks of the campaign, are actually Russian spies. It is still not known whether Katy Perry is in fact a Russian agent.

If any actual electoral fraud was engineered by Putin and Russia, giving Hillary Clinton almost 3,000,000 more votes than Donald Trump is an amazing cover.

 
But again, none of this occurred on the day Americans went to the polls. The word “hacked,” or variations thereof, does not appear in the White House statement and only once, prefaced by “allegedly” in the DHS statement. There is no evidence of any illicit activities occurring on Election Day.

John Podesta was hacked. The election was not. Podesta’s emails were stolen, not via some sophisticated cyber operation, but through a common email phishing scam, the same ones your grandparents fall for when you catch them writing a big check to that wonderfully nice and thankful Nigerian prince.

There was no forced breach of information, or Russian agents hanging from ceilings at Langley, or stealing files from offices late at night . No one broke into the DNC and stole discs in a daring midnight raid. The information was given willfully and ignorantly by Podesta and his staff. They are the ones responsible.

If the illegal attainment of leaked information is considered “hacking the election,” then file the 2012 election under being hacked as well.

So the question becomes why is our national media intent on spreading misinformation about a “hacked election”? It certainly looks purposeful, if not downright dishonest.

On Yahoo News, a recent purveyor of fake news, the headline initially read: “US Sanctions Russia over vote hacking.” It has since been changed to the more accurate: “US hits Russia for election meddling.” Hopefully this becomes a trend, because plenty of outlets have been repeating the “hacked election” formulation.


"Vote hacking" is the #fakenews headline the media is pushing based on no evidence that Russia actually hacked votes https://www.yahoo.com/news/us-expels-35-russian-intel-agents-over-vote-193213160.html
12:13 PM - 29 Dec 2016
  787 787 Retweets   721 721 likes
CNN blasted out a tweet saying “Obama issues an executive order against 6 Russian individuals and 5 Russian entities over election hacking.”

Politico’s breaking news tweet read: “White House sanctions Russia over election hacks,” as did NPR’s, stating “President Obama orders sanctions against Russian intelligence services officials in response to election hacking.” The New York Times’ headline stated: “U.S. Punishes Russia for Election Hacking, Ejecting Operatives.”

Tom Winter of NBC News tweeted out the name of an alleged suspect wanted by the FBI for his role in the “election hacking.”


NBC News: Documents & officials say Evgeniy Bogachev who is alleged to be part of election hacking has been wanted by the FBI in other cases
12:23 PM - 29 Dec 2016
  629 629 Retweets   444 444 likes
Matthew Dowd of ABC News, in a not-so-subtle jab at Donald Trump, tweeted: “What is more problematic for US national security: few thousand Mexicans coming across the border for work, or Russia hacking our election?

What is more problematic for US national security: few thousand Mexicans coming across the border for work, or Russia hacking our election?
12:42 PM - 29 Dec 2016
  193 193 Retweets   456 456 likes
It’s worth nothing, ABC News is now assisting Facebook in fact-checking newsfeeds for fake news, as is the Associated Press, which also reported on Obama’s “retaliation for election hacking.”

News organizations obsessed with a sudden new found mission of loyal fact checking and accuracy when it comes to a Donald Trump presidency apparently are letting these rules slide when it pertains to the election that put him in the White House. Whether intentional or not, the media’s misreporting appears to be influencing the public’s perception of events.

According to a study published in the Washington Post, almost one half of Hillary Clinton voters now believe that Russia hacked the election itself, specifically vote totals, despite the Obama Administration stating no such hack occurred. It’s not hard to guess why so many might have gotten that impression — they’ve been reading about a “hacked election” for weeks.

Is this a purposeful effort on behalf of mainstream outlets and the people charged with relaying information to undermine a Donald Trump presidency? Who knows? It might just be that they are using “election hacking” as shorthand for “Hey man, maybe don’t click suspicious viagra links in your gmail.”

If media outlets want to continue to sound the alarm about “fake news,” they should be more concerned with accuracy in their reporting. This looks sloppy, biased and, worst of all, malicious. On the plus side, the Obama administration should be applauded for finally coming around to the threat Russia poses even if it only took his party losing an election to do so.

ccp

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Huff Post upset WSJ will not call Trump lies lies
« Reply #1859 on: January 02, 2017, 05:04:27 AM »
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/wall-street-journal-lies-donald-trump_us_586934b8e4b0eb586489df43?m193yjqmfmyy3z0k9

It was only in the last one to two years any media called any politicians' lies - lies.  I even recall posting I wish that they would start using the "L" word when it is clearly that.

After 8 yrs of lying Democrats and every single media person avoiding the work "lie" it become very frustrating.  Where was Huff post during 8 yrs of the lying Obama? Or the 25 yrs of lying Clintons?

Now, rather suddenly , it is imperative we call politicians (Republicans) liars.


Crafty_Dog

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WSJ: Trump's Method to his Madness
« Reply #1860 on: January 02, 2017, 11:24:15 AM »
 By Gerald F. Seib
Jan. 2, 2017 12:23 p.m. ET
249 COMMENTS

Is it method or madness?

That is the question perplexing the world as President-elect Donald J. Trump continues his unorthodox campaign-season communications habits. He tweets, apparently randomly. He wades into subjects that he could easily avoid. He picks fights.

It is a risky approach. By weighing in on all sorts of matters large and small, Mr. Trump already may be in danger of devaluing the most valuable asset any president has, which is the bully pulpit. Will any individual message from the new president have the impact he wants if it is lost in the static of running commentary?

It’s also hard to argue that a presidential communication can have the depth, texture and subtlety often required when it comes in 140 characters.

Yet it also would be a mistake to dismiss Mr. Trump’s transition-season interventions as random musings. That was a mistake his opponents made consistently through a long presidential campaign.

In fact, there seem to be specific objectives behind many of Mr. Trump’s seemingly scattershot missives and comments. Often, say those who know him, he is posturing or positioning in pursuit of broader goals. He doesn’t mind roiling the waters in the process—and, as a consequence, some of what he says isn’t to be taken literally.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who speaks regularly with Mr. Trump and is developing a lecture series and book examining Trumpism, suggests the president-elect is in this regard similar to Franklin Roosevelt, who sometimes seemed to cultivate chaos in preparing the ground for his initiatives. Mr. Gingrich also predicts the style won’t change:  “My advice is to relax. It’s going to be this way for eight years.”

So what might Mr. Trump be trying to accomplish? There are three likely goals:

He is positioning himself for a negotiation or a deal. Mr. Trump has said that a good way to understand how he operates is to read his book, “The Art of the Deal,” which describes his approach to business negotiations. And in any negotiation, the opening posture isn’t the same as the bottom-line position.
More From Gerald F. Seib

    Ten Red-State Democrats May Hold the Balance of Power Dec. 26, 2016
    Why a Russian Hacking Inquiry Is in Trump’s Best Interests Dec. 19, 2016
    Listen Closely: Trump Proposes Big Mideast Strategy Shift Dec. 12, 2016
    Trump Shuffles the Ideological Deck Dec. 5, 2016
    Group Launches Effort to Protect Moderate Candidates Dec. 4, 2016

The best example may be the way Mr. Trump has approached China, a country with which he figures to have plenty of tough negotiations on trade and military maneuvering in the South China Sea. His opening bid came when decided to accept a call from the president of Taiwan, a step that was sure to rile the government in Beijing. He then followed with a series of tweets saying that the Chinese don’t ask for permission to take steps that irritate the U.S., implying they shouldn’t expect the new president to worry too much about keeping them happy either.

“That was the surest signal to the Chinese that things are going to be different,” says Mr. Gingrich.

Then, when the Chinese navy snatched an American underwater drone from the waters of the South China Sea, Mr. Trump, seemingly unprompted, tweeted out a message to the Chinese that the drone wasn’t that important and that they could just keep it—even as the U.S. Navy was scrambling to try to retrieve a valuable piece of sensitive equipment. The apparent goal was to lower the value of the drone in Chinese eyes, lest they think they could use it as a bargaining chip with the new president.

He is seeking to control the agenda. Early-morning tweets have a way of establishing what everyone else will be compelled to talk about that day. They also have had a way of upstaging the man who still happens to be the president, Barack Obama, annoying the White House and potentially creating confusion abroad about who really is in charge.

Thus did Mr. Trump tweet that the U.S. should veto a United Nations Security Council resolution condemning Israeli settlements on the West Bank before that resolution was even formally debated, and that the U.S. should be prepared to enlarge its nuclear-weapons arsenal soon after Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested Russia might do the same. In both cases, the question immediately became what the new president thought as much as what the current president might do.

He is creating rabbits for others to chase. For two weeks Mr. Trump nursed along the idea that he might pick former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney as his secretary of state. Ultimately, he didn’t—but he sparked a string of news stories suggesting he was reaching out to embrace former enemies, and distracting from less beneficial topics such as potential conflicts of interest in his nascent administration.

Certainly there is danger in leaving the world unsure which messages to take literally, and in trying to handle subjects as sensitive as nuclear-weapons strategy on the fly. But it’s also likely Mr. Trump knows exactly what he is doing.

Crafty_Dog

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Pravda on the Potomac (WaPo) has $600M CIA contract???
« Reply #1861 on: January 03, 2017, 08:02:12 AM »
Russia Today is asserting:

"WaPo refuses to add disclosure about $600M CIA contract.  In 2013, Jeff Bezos bought the Washington Post for $250 million. Only 4 months later, he was awarded a $600 million contract with the CIA. So the CIA has a direct connection to the Washington Post, the paper of record in our nation's capital, but they refuse to add a disclosure to stories they write about the CIA"

Is this true?

ccp

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WaPo's owner Bezos has BIG contract with CIA
« Reply #1862 on: January 03, 2017, 08:59:51 AM »
This is true.  From Huffington Post no less going back to 2014:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/norman-solomon/the-cia-amazon-bezos-and_b_4559317.html

Of course the Huff Compost would be silent about this now as it flies in the face of its' and the other composts political agenda.

I find it very disturbing to think this guy Bezos is or has built a "private" cloud for the CIA.

Egadz.  We are supposed to trust this egomaniac who is jealous of Trump?
« Last Edit: January 03, 2017, 10:10:19 AM by Crafty_Dog »

Crafty_Dog

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WaPo washes its Russian grid hack story
« Reply #1863 on: January 03, 2017, 10:02:53 AM »
Fk!!!  Truly I was righter than I realized when I began calling our MSM "the pravdas"!  Again we get more truth from the Russians!  

WTF?!?   :x :x :x


http://www.forbes.com/sites/kalevleetaru/2017/01/01/fake-news-and-how-the-washington-post-rewrote-its-story-on-russian-hacking-of-the-power-grid/#2484f597291e
« Last Edit: January 03, 2017, 10:11:02 AM by Crafty_Dog »

Crafty_Dog

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ccp

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Re: Media, Ministry of Truth Issues
« Reply #1866 on: January 04, 2017, 05:22:23 AM »
I for one will not miss Kelly from FN.   
Will we see her tru colors on NBC?  More feminism or Trump bashing or more Leftist leaning tendencies .  I don't know.  But I won't be watching NBC any more than now which is essentially not at all.

OTOH I am not sure an unabashed, "no matter what" , Trump supporter taking her place is good or not. 


http://www.breitbart.com/big-journalism/2017/01/03/report-fox-news-considering-pro-trump-conservative-woman-fill-megyn-kellys-timeslot/

Crafty_Dog

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ccp

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Re: Media, Ministry of Truth Issues
« Reply #1868 on: January 07, 2017, 09:46:36 AM »
Media purposely distorts Trumps firing ambassadors.  Obama fired all the Bush ambassadors and I don't remember hearing a single peep about.  These are not lifetime appointments.  Their shift is up.  Go home.  No controversy here.  I don't know how we can defeat the msm CNN ha become the worst of bunch. .
   

http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/06/politics/us-ambassadors-obama-trump/index.html

Crafty_Dog

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G M

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Re: WaPo takes on Breitbart
« Reply #1870 on: January 07, 2017, 10:43:21 AM »
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/allahu-akbar-chanting-mob-sets-alight-germanys-oldest-church-shocking-story-if-it-were-true/2017/01/06/30470f58-d36a-11e6-9651-54a0154cf5b3_story.html?utm_term=.b8b6359dc98b

For the record, I have been burned more than once on FB for citing Breitbart.  I am pretty fg irked.


I' d vett everything from Brietbart, it's as untrustworthy as the Washington Post.

DougMacG

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Re: WaPo takes on Breitbart
« Reply #1871 on: January 07, 2017, 12:12:39 PM »
"I'd vett everything from Brietbart, it's as untrustworthy as the Washington Post."


Or the NY Times.  It's a good comparison.  There was Breitbart the man, deceased, a very aggressive investigative journalist.  Breitbart the website is an agenda driven outlet just as eager as Wash Post and NYT to advance their narrative at the expense of accuracy.  And then there is the double standard.  When NYT or Wash Post gets it wrong they just run a correction - or not.  When Breitbart gets it wrong they are forever deplorable and unworthy of ever citing again even when right.




DougMacG

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Media, Ministry: Kaine the tie-breaking vote in the Senate as VP, 78% chance
« Reply #1872 on: January 09, 2017, 12:08:15 PM »
Media and The Left are overlapping threads.  Looking back at this from the Huffington Post never gets old.   )


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/democrats-78-percent-chance-50-senate-seats_us_57b8a525e4b0b51733a3cda0

Republicans Set To Lose Senate Control
Democrats have a 78 percent chance of getting 50-plus seats in November, the HuffPost Senate model shows.

Most models give the Democratic ticket of Hillary Clinton and Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) at least an 80 percent chance of winning the presidency. That would make Kaine the tie-breaking vote in the Senate as the vice president, shifting Democrats back into the majority by a 51-50 split.
--------------------------------------------------------

Tim Kaine is becoming the trivia question no one can answer and Mike Pence the 46th President of the United States, with 80% certainty, lol.

G M

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A professional journalist! With credentials! On guns!
« Reply #1873 on: January 10, 2017, 06:23:48 PM »
Remember, they have layers of fact checkers and editors!


http://thefederalist.com/2017/01/10/washington-post-reporter-doubles-down-on-fake-news-about-guns/


 Washington Post Reporter Doubles Down On Fake News About Guns

Instead of just admitting and correcting a simple reporting error about the .22 LR rifle caliber, Washington Post reporter Mike Rosenwald doubled down on his ignorance.
January 10, 2017 By Sean Davis

It’s bad enough when a newspaper like the Washington Post publishes fake news, but it’s even worse when its own reporters double down on their ignorance and refuse to correct the record when blatant journalistic errors are brought to their attention.

Washington Post reporter Mike Rosenwald published a lengthy attack on efforts to remove suppressors–mufflers for firearms that can reduce the report of a gunshot by approximately 30 decibels–from the list of highly regulated items covered by the National Firearms Act of 1934. Although actual firearms can be purchased easily following an instant background check, the process of legally purchasing a suppressor, which is not a firearm and is incapable of shooting any projectiles, can take more than a year and cost hundreds of dollars above and beyond the price of the actual suppressor. Hearing protection advocates say the suppressor regulations not only make little sense, but they also lead to the infliction of needless hearing damage on those who regularly use firearms.

Instead of providing an accurate reflection of the suppressor debate and the facts surrounding it, Mike Rosenwald chose to glibly dismiss the legitimate claims and concerns of those who actually understand how firearms and suppressors work while elevating the specious claims of gun controllers who oppose any efforts to make it easier for law-abiding citizens to purchase and use suppressors for hearing protection. The most shocking assertion by Rosenwald, and one which cast significant doubt on the rest of his reporting, was that a .22 LR rifle–far and away the smallest and weakest readily available rifle caliber on the market–was actually a “high-powered rifle”:

    But gun-control activists say silencers are getting quieter, particularly in combination with subsonic ammunition, which is less lethal but still damaging. They point to videos on YouTube in which silencers make high-powered rifles have “no more sound than a pellet gun,” according to one demonstrator showing off a silenced semiautomatic ­.22LR.

Firearms experts reacted with shock that a reporter for the Washington Post would make such an outrageous and obviously absurd claim, and that the claim would somehow survive editorial scrutiny:

The .22 LR caliber is so weak that it’s considered cruel and inhumane to hunt anything but varmints with it. Just to give you some perspective, in the picture below showing dozens of different rifle cartridges side by side, the .22 LR round is the tiny one at the very far left of the top row:

rifle-caliber-comparison

International gun control advocates don’t even go so far as to claim that .22 LR is “high-powered.” GunPolicy.org, a global gun control outfit that was run by the University of Sydney, says the term “high-powered rifle” is “used to differentiate larger-calibre (centrefire), factory-made repeating long guns from single-shot shotguns, .22 calibre rimfire rifles, and home-made firearms.”

Rather than being a “high-powered” round, .22 LR is so low-powered that it’s what many parents and instructors use when teaching young children how to shoot. That doesn’t mean it’s harmless, but there is simply no planet on which .22 LR comes even close to resembling a “high-powered” rifle cartridge. It is a nonsensical claim that instantly discredits anyone who makes it. But rather than admit error and issue a correction, Mike Rosenwald doubled down. And he doubled down in the most absurd way possible: by mocking anyone who corrected him, and then by refusing to provide any source or data to back up his absurd claim:

Nothing says journalistic integrity and trustworthy reporting like making an absurd claim, mocking everyone who called it absurd, refusing to provide any source information to back up the claim, and then telling everyone else to do the reporter’s research for him.

Unfortunately for Rosenwald, it appears that Google is actually too “high-powered” for him to use and fully understand. By his own veiled admission, Rosenwald apparently based his claim that .22 LR is a “high-powered rifle” on the fact that the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) sometimes utilize the caliber in limited circumstances (there’s no evidence of any other modern military on the planet issuing .22 LR rifles for any purpose beyond varmint control or plinking). Had Rosenwald followed his own advice to use Google to verify simple facts, he would’ve learned that IDF sometimes issues .22 LR rifles in extremely limited circumstances not for combat purposes, but to kill small animals and injure violent protesters. The only reason the IDF turned to the .22 LR in the first place was because it wanted something less lethal than the standard military-issue 5.56mm round and which could be deployed at greater distances than non-lethal rubber bullets. Nothing says “high-powered” like a rifle that’s only used to injure protesters, amirite?

So to review: Washington Post reporter Mike Rosenwald made an outrageous claim with no basis in reality, mocked everyone who pointed out that his claim was absurd, doubled down on his ignorance, made another outrageous claim to support his original outrageous claim, and then promptly stepped on a rake because he was too lazy to do the simple research he snidely demanded that everyone else do on his behalf.

Earlier this week, Washington Post media columnist Margaret Sullivan wrote a long article demanding that conservatives stop using the term “fake news” to criticize coverage from outlets like the Washington Post. I’ve got a better idea: we’ll stop using the term “fake news,” especially fake news about guns, when the Washington Post stops publishing it.

Sean Davis is the co-founder of The Federalist.

ccp

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Re: Media, Ministry of Truth Issues
« Reply #1874 on: January 13, 2017, 04:42:17 AM »

Crafty_Dog

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Re: Media, Ministry of Truth Issues
« Reply #1875 on: January 15, 2017, 11:14:54 PM »
Ukraine thread too please.

objectivist1

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Greenfield: Establishment Media Regretting "Fake News" Meme...
« Reply #1876 on: January 16, 2017, 04:42:26 PM »
Trump, master of media combat, turned this term around on them - now all of a sudden they want to "retire" the term.  Cowards.

www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/265466/media-will-pay-price-its-fake-news-daniel-greenfield

"You have enemies?  Good.  That means that you have stood up for something, sometime in your life." - Winston Churchill.

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How to save CNN from itself
« Reply #1882 on: January 26, 2017, 02:08:54 PM »
By JESSICA YELLINJAN. 26, 2017
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Credit Alec Doherty

In 2004, eight years after he’d sold CNN to Time Warner, Ted Turner, the network’s founder, sounded an alarm about the dangers of corporate ownership of news organizations. Mr. Turner wrote that in his day, “we put journalism first, and that’s how we built CNN into something the world wanted to watch.” In his view, “quarterly earnings obsessed” corporate owners would not have the same priorities because “the emphasis instantly shifts from taking risks to taking profits.”

His warning is especially chilling today, when the integrity of the press matters more than ever. Unfortunately, in the past 20 months CNN’s management has let down its viewers and its journalists by sidelining the issues and real reporting in favor of pundits, prognostication and substance-free but entertaining TV “moments.”

Still, I believe the network can again play an essential role. At its best, CNN is a journalistic enterprise with unparalleled reach and resources, connecting its viewers with people and conflicts half a mile or half a world away.

That’s why I believe that as a condition of Time Warner’s bid to merge with AT&T, CNN should be sold to a new independent entity. This sale would also include CNN international, Headline News and its digital and related properties. Though AT&T has dismissed talk of a sale, one could be compelled by regulators. A consortium of concerned Americans — philanthropists, foundations, small-dollar donors — could fund a trust to operate an independent CNN dedicated to news in the public interest. Subscription fees from cable and other service providers, along with ad revenue, would allow the network to support itself.
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I became a devoted viewer of CNN in 1989, during its coverage of the standoff in Tiananmen Square. I remember my father telling me that the only reason the Chinese government didn’t massacre those kids right away was because CNN had cameras on the scene.

From Tiananmen Square to the fall of the Berlin Wall, from the Exxon Valdez oil spill to Hurricane Katrina, CNN provided exhaustive live, on-the-ground reporting. Its saturation coverage has had such a profound impact that there’s even a term for it: “the CNN effect,” the power to shift policy and inspire empathy by keeping eyes on unfolding events.

Consider how far CNN departed from this model in the last election. Even though CNN has many able journalists prepared to report stories and talk to voters in communities across the country, its programs were dominated by pundits in Washington and New York squabbling over tweets and polls.

From a journalistic perspective, this model poses real problems. Surrogates are held to a different standard from reporters and often given airtime even when they’ve proven to be reckless with the truth. CNN’s expert input is often of questionable value, as evidenced by the panel last Saturday night, which at one point consisted of one woman and eight men discussing the Women’s March.

But from CNN’s perspective, a pundits-on-panels model offers several benefits. To start with, it’s cost effective. On-the-ground reporting requires expensive crews, satellite trucks and travel. With far less effort, news executives can present polarized, high-drama debates that spike viewers’ outrage and short-term ratings. Most of that recent drama was centered on Donald J. Trump, who, during the early months of the campaign, got coverage from CNN that dwarfed that of the other 16 Republican contenders.

All this was about one thing, and it’s not better journalism. It’s bigger profits. Insiders have reported that CNN made more than $1 billion gross profit in 2016, at least $100 million more than the company projected.

While CNN made its numbers, it missed the story. After the election, CNN’s own media critic, Brian Stelter, rightly told the audience, “Some of you watching right now are having a very hard time trusting this channel.” And yet Time Warner’s chief executive declared 2016 a “killer year” for CNN.

Is there any reason to believe the pressure to maximize profits will decrease after AT&T spends $85 billion to buy Time Warner?

Freed of the relentless pressure to drive up profits, an independent CNN could rededicate itself to “journalism first.” Reporters could focus on informing the audience and exposing wrongdoing. This would create opportunities for journalistic rigor, risk and innovation.

There are instructive comparisons. Nonprofits like PBS and NPR often cover issues with more complexity and nuance than corporate-owned networks. The Center for Public Integrity, ProPublica and the Center for Investigative Reporting are more fearless about holding power to account.
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In my 15 years as a TV reporter, seven of them at CNN, almost every time I visited a newsroom, an office on Capitol Hill or an official in the White House, CNN was on. This hasn’t changed. The network still has an outsize impact on the world of politics and media, perhaps one reason President Trump has singled out CNN in his attacks on the press.

Thanks to CNN’s innovative technology, seasoned journalists and global reach, it can again be the world’s most trusted TV news brand. But only if the coming years are different than the last.

A healthy democracy needs trusted news sources to which all citizens can turn. Given the new administration’s hostility to dissenting voices and willingness to strong-arm corporations, we need independent and responsible media outlets more than ever before. I believe that CNN could once again be the place Ted Turner envisioned and built years ago. A strong independent CNN that answers to no one but the public would be a powerful force to safeguard our democracy.

Jessica Yellin is a former chief White House correspondent for CNN.

DougMacG

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Re: Media, Ministry of Truth, polling accuracy?
« Reply #1883 on: January 26, 2017, 04:27:59 PM »
Real clear politics:
President Trump Job Approval: Gallup 46% | Rasmussen 59% | Quinnipiac 34%

25 point spread, how can that be?

Crafty_Dog

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Re: Media, Ministry of Truth Issues
« Reply #1884 on: January 26, 2017, 07:18:19 PM »
 :-o :-o :-o

ccp

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Re: Media, Ministry of Truth Issues
« Reply #1885 on: January 26, 2017, 08:16:31 PM »
"25 point spread, how can that be?"

maybe the numbers go up and down with the daily tweets.

Oh he tweeted this I love him.  Next day he tweeted that I hate him.

Tweetle dee tweetle dum

I am glad he is in our side  because otherwise I could not take 4 yrs of this.

OTOH it is hard to feel sorry for the Left after what they have been doing to us for the past 25 yrs.

DougMacG

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Re: Media, Ministry of Truth Issues
« Reply #1886 on: January 27, 2017, 07:37:28 AM »
It's too early to measure, but what an amazing difference.  Media report historically horrible approval at inauguration and Rasmussen measures it at 57%.

Different samples but I suspect it is a quite different way they ask the question.  Making polls to move people rather than to measure movement.

Crafty_Dog

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USA Today deceives on good guy with gun
« Reply #1887 on: January 27, 2017, 11:54:42 AM »

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ccp

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Re: Media, Ministry of Truth Issues
« Reply #1891 on: February 10, 2017, 07:51:38 AM »
it was certainly a surprise to me to find out what a big Leftist liberal Cronkite was after he reitred in his later years.  He certainly hid his personal views very well I thought.

Not like today with many of the pundits ( oh excuse me , I mean jornolists)

ccp

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Re: Media, Ministry of Truth Issues
« Reply #1892 on: February 12, 2017, 02:00:46 PM »
Wasn't it a week or so ago when there were rumors Trump would not go to the WH correspondents dinner?
So the libs,  true to their usual deceitful from  are trying to re write history and claim they were the one's who would not go.
In any case the dinner has become a pig sty and should be ignored by this WH  and should have been long ago as I have mentioned last few years:

https://www.yahoo.com/news/turmoil-grows-over-white-house-correspondents-dinner-061612606.html


Crafty_Dog

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Imginary News
« Reply #1894 on: February 18, 2017, 03:52:00 PM »

ccp

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fall from grace
« Reply #1895 on: February 22, 2017, 07:57:43 AM »
to bitter old man because he just cannot stomach
Trump

Quit Republican party fired from Fox and now goes on MSNBC to be useful idiot

He has some good points with regards to budget def. and spending issues but still ,  i find it hard to stomach this guy anymore .  He is a the classic beltway guy now:

http://www.breitbart.com/video/2017/02/21/george-will-conservatives-will-turn-trump-mid-summer/

Crafty_Dog

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Re: Media, Ministry of Truth Issues
« Reply #1896 on: February 22, 2017, 11:04:39 AM »
Though he is a beltway guy in many ways, many of his points have merit.  There ARE some fundamental contradictions that will be put to the test.   Good luck to Will at MSNBC-- maybe he will rediscover some of his animating fire in the progressive maelstrom over there.

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AIM takes on CNN
« Reply #1897 on: February 23, 2017, 07:51:05 AM »


Crafty_Dog

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