The shutdown deal didn’t just collapse under political pressure. It wilted in an information ecosystem designed to underplay the stakes. Mark Jacob’s point lands hard here: the press, afraid to "hit the total button," treated this as another partisan squabble rather than a test of whether Democrats could hold the line against Trump’s accelerating authoritarianism. The media’s default mode, calm, balanced, and incremental, doesn’t just misinform, but disarms.
If more coverage framed this moment as part of a larger authoritarian pattern, if more headlines said plainly that the GOP is holding the government and healthcare hostage, maybe Democratic senators would feel more cover to resist. Instead, the system rewards de-escalation and penalizes confrontation, especially when it comes from the left.
That’s the link: Democratic leaders fear being labeled the extremists because the media treats the collapse of norms as yesterday’s news. And so, a manufactured crisis becomes just another day in Washington, and a chance to resist slides quietly into history.
“The media's desire to sedate its audience is evidenced by NBC News' new slogan: "Facts. Clarity. Calm." This is not the time to be calm. This is the time to be scared enough to defend our democracy.”
Richard D, If only your vision comes true, BUT there is no time!! The Democratic Party has FAILED AGAIN to deliver for our Nation!!! They are spineless, as is legacy media, and have capitulated, once again, to this monstrous administration.
We must stop the sycophantic GOP before it’s too late… we’re getting close to the point of no-return-to-normal!! We have to take a solid stand! Contact your Congressional members and demand that they FIGHT TYRANNY! NOW!
This is one of the smartest things I've read for a very long time, and I read a great deal. Everyone should read it and then read it again, and share it with others.
As we said in the '70s, Mark, you're damned straight the media are easing us into tyranny, as you so aptly put it. Mindboggling complacency (complicity?) when people yearn for the truth is a death sentence for democracy.
The mainstream media has made itself irrelevant. The only people watching news networks or reading newspapers are people over 60. The media decided long ago to be partisan to appeal to people who agree with them. Fox, News max, MSNBC, CNN, Washington Post, NY Post etc are all just companies that sell advertising.
The problem is that the mainstream media are up to their necks and sinking deeper into the quicksand of ownership by corporations with other, substantially larger, financial holdings. The reason why the media are complicit in our precipitous drop into dictatorship is built into their economic infrastructures.
The recent debacle at CBS - caused by the $8billion merger of Skydance Media with Paramount Global - is but one such example.
The shutdown deal didn’t just collapse under political pressure. It wilted in an information ecosystem designed to underplay the stakes. Mark Jacob’s point lands hard here: the press, afraid to "hit the total button," treated this as another partisan squabble rather than a test of whether Democrats could hold the line against Trump’s accelerating authoritarianism. The media’s default mode, calm, balanced, and incremental, doesn’t just misinform, but disarms.
If more coverage framed this moment as part of a larger authoritarian pattern, if more headlines said plainly that the GOP is holding the government and healthcare hostage, maybe Democratic senators would feel more cover to resist. Instead, the system rewards de-escalation and penalizes confrontation, especially when it comes from the left.
That’s the link: Democratic leaders fear being labeled the extremists because the media treats the collapse of norms as yesterday’s news. And so, a manufactured crisis becomes just another day in Washington, and a chance to resist slides quietly into history.
More thoughts: https://www.stewonthis.com/p/moderation-vs-centrism
Well put and exactly right.
🐸🔥DearMedia-WAKE UP‼️
❣️🇺🇸Excellent-Mark Jacob..
“The media's desire to sedate its audience is evidenced by NBC News' new slogan: "Facts. Clarity. Calm." This is not the time to be calm. This is the time to be scared enough to defend our democracy.”
https://bsky.app/profile/kenaiseasky.bsky.social/post/3m5ccr4fdsk2a
Give it time. The Democrats might have the White House next. Then it will be the GOP croaking about "authoritarians".
Richard D, If only your vision comes true, BUT there is no time!! The Democratic Party has FAILED AGAIN to deliver for our Nation!!! They are spineless, as is legacy media, and have capitulated, once again, to this monstrous administration.
We must stop the sycophantic GOP before it’s too late… we’re getting close to the point of no-return-to-normal!! We have to take a solid stand! Contact your Congressional members and demand that they FIGHT TYRANNY! NOW!
This piece is 10/10. This line sums up America, and is due to the press’s failure:
Trump has been dropping feces on us for a decade… and now we’re used to it.
But, what can an average person do about it?
This is one of the smartest things I've read for a very long time, and I read a great deal. Everyone should read it and then read it again, and share it with others.
As we said in the '70s, Mark, you're damned straight the media are easing us into tyranny, as you so aptly put it. Mindboggling complacency (complicity?) when people yearn for the truth is a death sentence for democracy.
Thanks for writing this.
Impeccable timing, I included a media angle in my latest report: https://open.substack.com/pub/willfries/p/mayor-randy-taylor-bigot-salisbury?r=17md5s&utm_medium=ios
The mainstream media has made itself irrelevant. The only people watching news networks or reading newspapers are people over 60. The media decided long ago to be partisan to appeal to people who agree with them. Fox, News max, MSNBC, CNN, Washington Post, NY Post etc are all just companies that sell advertising.
The problem is that the mainstream media are up to their necks and sinking deeper into the quicksand of ownership by corporations with other, substantially larger, financial holdings. The reason why the media are complicit in our precipitous drop into dictatorship is built into their economic infrastructures.
The recent debacle at CBS - caused by the $8billion merger of Skydance Media with Paramount Global - is but one such example.