Outgoing WHCA president Weigia Jiang's claim that this ridiculous dinner is integral to preserving the First Amendment struck me the same way as Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred's claim that his sport had to get into bed with gambling platforms to make sure he would be aware of any scandals. I won't bore your readers by explaining why this, too, is ridiculous. As for Kristin Welker, the kindest thing I can say is that she should have never allowed herself to be in that position.
I saw that clip of Welker and Miller. I wonder does she even realize that she is talking to someone who looks at her with disdain as a person of color AND as a working woman. That is the way he thinks about people of color and women working outside the home. I could never ever put myself in a casual conversation with someone who I know has that attitude about me. Maybe she needs to do more homework before engaging with these people. Thank you, Mark.
I’m still feeling wounded & low over the press offering themselves for sacrifice for a meal and night out with the worst human to ever occupy the White House - who is actively attacking the Freedom of the Press, brazenly and nastily insulting its members, and installing Heritage Foundation puppets in positions that redirect facts away from Truth.
Paramount, Ellisons, Brendan Carr (now FCC) and most disappointingly Bari Weiss (Now CBS)
-unabashedly telling staff to lie to our people -Unabashedly fearing no reprisal
It bodes Putin’s Russia state owned media standing in offstage in the macabre theatre wings.
Excerpt from your article:
“But in the case of the Good and Pretti murders, CBS executives crossed a far darker line. They took the side of lying politicians trying to justify shooting Americans. And since then, ICE has killed more people.”
“This wasn’t “politics.” It was a test of whether a news outlet would prioritize basic human decency. CBS News failed that test.”
IN NOVEMBER VOTE LIKE YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT! BECAUSE IT DOES! TRUMP AND MAGA NAZIS ARE DESTROYING THIS COUNTRY TO ENRICH THEMSELVES AND THEIR CRONIES AND TAKING IT FROM THE WORKING RETIRED AND POOR! STRIPPING LAWFUL PROTECTIONS AND DOING AWAY WITH THE PROCEDURES TO REDRESS OUR VALID ISSUES! WHEN IT'S GONE IT'S GONE FOREVER!
Mark thank you for this article, it’s my hope these members of ice get charged with a state crime. Murder 1. Especially now. These men need to be prosecuted by Minnesota State.
However, I think the instruction you received at the Tribune not to characterize Trump's many untrue statements as lies was correct. You'd have to get deep into someone's head to know whether an utterance is merely an error or a lie, which is an intentional deception.
In fact, I've noticed zero hesitation in media to label Trump as a serial liar (which he may well be). To me, this suggests a know-it-all type of elite arrogance too common in upper echelons of acceptable discourse. And I think it's part of the reason driving the widening gyre of disgust expressed by broad segments of the public toward our various expert/elite classes and their nearly 50-year neoliberal project of deindustrialization/financialization that has hollowed out so much of the country. (Please forgive the rant.)
Trump is certainly providing no answers and, in fact, is making things worse, both by keeping his promises and by breaking them -- spectacularly in the case of Iran. But the media don't help matters by appearing to take sides in both flagrant and subtle ways.
If a prominent politican keeps repeating the same incorrect statements month after month despite widely reported public fact-checking, it's clear that they're lying. In libel law, the phrase is "reckless disregard of the truth." But even if you don't want to use the word "lie" suggesting intent, journalists could and should call the statements "misleading" or "false." My higher-up at the Tribune instructed me not to do even that.
I completely agree. When the media goes beyond the many opportunities for plainly justified criticism of what Trump does or says by misrepresenting or mischaracterizing his actions in various respects, this allows him and his supporters to point to such excesses as proof that all criticism of Trump is based on falsehoods (“fake news!”), the effect of which is to undercut the criticism that is completely justified.
Outgoing WHCA president Weigia Jiang's claim that this ridiculous dinner is integral to preserving the First Amendment struck me the same way as Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred's claim that his sport had to get into bed with gambling platforms to make sure he would be aware of any scandals. I won't bore your readers by explaining why this, too, is ridiculous. As for Kristin Welker, the kindest thing I can say is that she should have never allowed herself to be in that position.
I saw that clip of Welker and Miller. I wonder does she even realize that she is talking to someone who looks at her with disdain as a person of color AND as a working woman. That is the way he thinks about people of color and women working outside the home. I could never ever put myself in a casual conversation with someone who I know has that attitude about me. Maybe she needs to do more homework before engaging with these people. Thank you, Mark.
Thank you for this article Mark. Keep up your reporting please.
Thank you - great article Marc
I’m still feeling wounded & low over the press offering themselves for sacrifice for a meal and night out with the worst human to ever occupy the White House - who is actively attacking the Freedom of the Press, brazenly and nastily insulting its members, and installing Heritage Foundation puppets in positions that redirect facts away from Truth.
Paramount, Ellisons, Brendan Carr (now FCC) and most disappointingly Bari Weiss (Now CBS)
-unabashedly telling staff to lie to our people -Unabashedly fearing no reprisal
It bodes Putin’s Russia state owned media standing in offstage in the macabre theatre wings.
Excerpt from your article:
“But in the case of the Good and Pretti murders, CBS executives crossed a far darker line. They took the side of lying politicians trying to justify shooting Americans. And since then, ICE has killed more people.”
“This wasn’t “politics.” It was a test of whether a news outlet would prioritize basic human decency. CBS News failed that test.”
VOTE VOTE VOTE OUT THE REPUBLICANS
IN NOVEMBER VOTE LIKE YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT! BECAUSE IT DOES! TRUMP AND MAGA NAZIS ARE DESTROYING THIS COUNTRY TO ENRICH THEMSELVES AND THEIR CRONIES AND TAKING IT FROM THE WORKING RETIRED AND POOR! STRIPPING LAWFUL PROTECTIONS AND DOING AWAY WITH THE PROCEDURES TO REDRESS OUR VALID ISSUES! WHEN IT'S GONE IT'S GONE FOREVER!
Mark thank you for this article, it’s my hope these members of ice get charged with a state crime. Murder 1. Especially now. These men need to be prosecuted by Minnesota State.
CBS knows under Weiss just how to disappoint.
Sounds about right.
However, I think the instruction you received at the Tribune not to characterize Trump's many untrue statements as lies was correct. You'd have to get deep into someone's head to know whether an utterance is merely an error or a lie, which is an intentional deception.
In fact, I've noticed zero hesitation in media to label Trump as a serial liar (which he may well be). To me, this suggests a know-it-all type of elite arrogance too common in upper echelons of acceptable discourse. And I think it's part of the reason driving the widening gyre of disgust expressed by broad segments of the public toward our various expert/elite classes and their nearly 50-year neoliberal project of deindustrialization/financialization that has hollowed out so much of the country. (Please forgive the rant.)
Trump is certainly providing no answers and, in fact, is making things worse, both by keeping his promises and by breaking them -- spectacularly in the case of Iran. But the media don't help matters by appearing to take sides in both flagrant and subtle ways.
If a prominent politican keeps repeating the same incorrect statements month after month despite widely reported public fact-checking, it's clear that they're lying. In libel law, the phrase is "reckless disregard of the truth." But even if you don't want to use the word "lie" suggesting intent, journalists could and should call the statements "misleading" or "false." My higher-up at the Tribune instructed me not to do even that.
Absolutely agree. How about a falsehood? Also as a 69 yr old Chicagoan, the Tribune has always been the “conservative’/ republican, paper.
I completely agree. When the media goes beyond the many opportunities for plainly justified criticism of what Trump does or says by misrepresenting or mischaracterizing his actions in various respects, this allows him and his supporters to point to such excesses as proof that all criticism of Trump is based on falsehoods (“fake news!”), the effect of which is to undercut the criticism that is completely justified.
Funny how they black it out to whitewash it… Actually, it’s sick and sad