Given that corp media has purged their ranks of real reporters with stiff spines and replaced them with yes men (&w) who play reporters with spines, I can’t see them putting up much of a fight.
thank you Mark, for the useful shorthand of the Times' "obtuse headlines," there's no better single word to describe them.
as for obeying in advance, seems we've been getting signals from all over for quite some time that corporate media's focus is as ever on keeping shareholders happy, and they ain't gonna cotton to having their investment sink to support obscure stuff like democracy and honest reporting.
Elon Musk paid $44 billion for Twitter under the false guise of "free speech absolutism," which he thinks means the freedom to spread defamatory, fraudulent, and violent rhetoric. It doesn't. The 1st A has NEVER protected fraud, libel, defamation or inciting violence. Musk will eventually be sued for funding a campaign that has clearly signaled its intention to spread violence; someone (perhaps I am Exhibit A) will organize a class action by people killed or injured in the next coup attempt. Musk's nazi-infested megaphone has cost him about $22 B so far, but it will cost him far more after the violence he's helping promote takes hold. Musk and other billionaires don't seem to understand that Trump, as an officeholder, will hold legal immunities they don't. Their fortunes are at risk, Trump's are not.
God forbid that Trump wins, but if he were to do so, the mainstream news organizations would fall over themselves in their rush to line up and prostate themselves before him.
Yes, of course there are wonderful journalists with courage and conviction at these organizations, but their voices are going to be marginalized, if not silenced, in a system where profitability is the main goal.
Let's make sure we win, and by overwhelming numbers.
To relieve tension, another commenter and I on a different Substack have been thinking up new pandering headlines for the NYT if you-know-who wins. (A New Streamlined Look for the Capitol Workforce! 20 Vegan Recipes That Will Make You Forget the Packinghouse Worker Shortage!) I bet this group could come up with some doozies.
"Fall in line"? MSM has already fallen in line. Despite endorsing Harris, the NY Times still spits out fpotus propaganda, and treats fpotus's gibberish as presidential campaign pronouncements. MSM will totally fold as faux "news" clones, if fpotus/Vance is in power. Only christian nationalist rags will flourish. Fpotus using laws to rein in media? He'll shut them down under executive power. The SC says he can do anything he wants, with immunity.
All of the above, but you're giving Trump too much credit. It's the guys (and they are mostly guys) behind Trump -- and Vance -- who'll be in charge of this. Also -- look at how hedge funds and corporate buyouts have gutted local and regional news media across the country. Look at how much of the country is dominated by the likes of Fox and Sinclair. Overt censorship from the White House would be merely a coup de grâce at this point. Since social media is corporate-controlled, maybe it's time for those of us with experience in pre-digital alternative media to start sharing our (probably rusty) skills with pens, typewriters, X-acto knives, and the rest of it.
Mark's analysis underscores the delicate balance between a free press and political power, questioning whether the media will uphold democratic principles or yield to political expediency under Trump's influence. My friends on the right express similar criticisms, arguing that outlets like CNN, MSNBC, and The Washington Post are biased toward the left. However, many on the right raise a false equivalence when I bring up the serious threats outlined in this Substack. The concerns in Mark's analysis are about the media's potential capitulation to authoritarian pressure, not mere bias. Equating these distinct issues overlooks the gravity of the threat to press freedom and democracy.
Aren’t most major 'news' outlets self-censoring as if there is a law against carnographic speech restraining them? But Mark, what other motivations are in play in addition to corporate self-preservation? 🤔
Fall in line compared to what? They're already papering over his faults, failures and felonies. I can't imagine there is an even lower level of sycophancy corporate media can fall to, but I've been wrong before.
You probably have noticed that the New York Times has given more favorable news coverage to Jill Stein than it has ever given to Biden or Harris. It's awfully clear now that the NYT is going to keep its reporters neutered through the election. My only appreciation of Trump's rant about Arnold Palmer's genitals came from the audio played by a morning disc jockey. Trump's dementia was on full display. There's no way even a transcript could have done it justice.
Of course they will, they’ve already started!
Anticipatory obedience, see Germany 1930s,
Dr. Timothy Snyder warns us all not to capitulate in advance. Sad that most, if not all, of the corporate media has already done so.
We need reporting like this. Although it's becoming harder and harder to read, and I'm not in the camp of NYT.
Given that corp media has purged their ranks of real reporters with stiff spines and replaced them with yes men (&w) who play reporters with spines, I can’t see them putting up much of a fight.
thank you Mark, for the useful shorthand of the Times' "obtuse headlines," there's no better single word to describe them.
as for obeying in advance, seems we've been getting signals from all over for quite some time that corporate media's focus is as ever on keeping shareholders happy, and they ain't gonna cotton to having their investment sink to support obscure stuff like democracy and honest reporting.
Elon Musk paid $44 billion for Twitter under the false guise of "free speech absolutism," which he thinks means the freedom to spread defamatory, fraudulent, and violent rhetoric. It doesn't. The 1st A has NEVER protected fraud, libel, defamation or inciting violence. Musk will eventually be sued for funding a campaign that has clearly signaled its intention to spread violence; someone (perhaps I am Exhibit A) will organize a class action by people killed or injured in the next coup attempt. Musk's nazi-infested megaphone has cost him about $22 B so far, but it will cost him far more after the violence he's helping promote takes hold. Musk and other billionaires don't seem to understand that Trump, as an officeholder, will hold legal immunities they don't. Their fortunes are at risk, Trump's are not.
God forbid that Trump wins, but if he were to do so, the mainstream news organizations would fall over themselves in their rush to line up and prostate themselves before him.
Yes, of course there are wonderful journalists with courage and conviction at these organizations, but their voices are going to be marginalized, if not silenced, in a system where profitability is the main goal.
Let's make sure we win, and by overwhelming numbers.
WILL they fall in line. WTF they already are!
To relieve tension, another commenter and I on a different Substack have been thinking up new pandering headlines for the NYT if you-know-who wins. (A New Streamlined Look for the Capitol Workforce! 20 Vegan Recipes That Will Make You Forget the Packinghouse Worker Shortage!) I bet this group could come up with some doozies.
"Fall in line"? MSM has already fallen in line. Despite endorsing Harris, the NY Times still spits out fpotus propaganda, and treats fpotus's gibberish as presidential campaign pronouncements. MSM will totally fold as faux "news" clones, if fpotus/Vance is in power. Only christian nationalist rags will flourish. Fpotus using laws to rein in media? He'll shut them down under executive power. The SC says he can do anything he wants, with immunity.
All of the above, but you're giving Trump too much credit. It's the guys (and they are mostly guys) behind Trump -- and Vance -- who'll be in charge of this. Also -- look at how hedge funds and corporate buyouts have gutted local and regional news media across the country. Look at how much of the country is dominated by the likes of Fox and Sinclair. Overt censorship from the White House would be merely a coup de grâce at this point. Since social media is corporate-controlled, maybe it's time for those of us with experience in pre-digital alternative media to start sharing our (probably rusty) skills with pens, typewriters, X-acto knives, and the rest of it.
Yes.
Mississippi Free Press “flips the bird” at WaPo and LAT for “falling in line: https://www.mississippifreepress.org/democracy-as-fascism-looms-the-free-press-must-stand-and-report-in-the-breach/
Mark's analysis underscores the delicate balance between a free press and political power, questioning whether the media will uphold democratic principles or yield to political expediency under Trump's influence. My friends on the right express similar criticisms, arguing that outlets like CNN, MSNBC, and The Washington Post are biased toward the left. However, many on the right raise a false equivalence when I bring up the serious threats outlined in this Substack. The concerns in Mark's analysis are about the media's potential capitulation to authoritarian pressure, not mere bias. Equating these distinct issues overlooks the gravity of the threat to press freedom and democracy.
Aren’t most major 'news' outlets self-censoring as if there is a law against carnographic speech restraining them? But Mark, what other motivations are in play in addition to corporate self-preservation? 🤔
Fall in line compared to what? They're already papering over his faults, failures and felonies. I can't imagine there is an even lower level of sycophancy corporate media can fall to, but I've been wrong before.
You probably have noticed that the New York Times has given more favorable news coverage to Jill Stein than it has ever given to Biden or Harris. It's awfully clear now that the NYT is going to keep its reporters neutered through the election. My only appreciation of Trump's rant about Arnold Palmer's genitals came from the audio played by a morning disc jockey. Trump's dementia was on full display. There's no way even a transcript could have done it justice.