Opinion Once again, the media fails to press Republicans on Trump's vile rhetoric

[Uncle Joe]

(snip)

One might expect the media to stop treating Republicans like normal politicians after their “big lie” about a stolen election, their ongoing whitewashing of the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol, their attacks on the FBI and their indifference — if not assent —to racism. Alas, there is little sign that mainstream outlets have dropped their addiction to false equivalence and willful, moral blindness.

(snip)

First, they cannot leave these exchanges for the end of an interview, when the guest can filibuster until the commercial break. Do it upfront, and don’t allow them to move on unless they give a straight answer. If Trump and his party present a threat to democracy, don’t treat their misconduct as an afterthought.

(snip)

Third, the media cannot allow the plethora of Trump outrages to go down the memory hole. Scott cannot get by without answering questions on GOP attacks on the FBI, Trump’s hoarding of top-secret documents at Mar-a-Lago or any other topic that suggests the party is a hapless front for a delusional cult. Yet for too many in the media, a smooth, cordial interview seems more important than exposing GOP lies and antidemocratic tactics, handing Republicans a cloak of respectability to reassure voters they are just ordinary politicians.

Fourth, there is nothing to be gained from inviting election deniers, violence enablers and abject liars on TV to talk about “regular” topics. Scott does not have anything unique to offer about Hurricane Ian. You’d never know from the interview that he released an agenda this year attacking women’s rights, LGBTQ Americans, Social Security and the separation of church and state. It’s akin to inviting Greene to talk about Georgia’s economy without grilling her on her lies.

(snip)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/10/03/media-fails-trump-republicans-mcconnell/

[dlk]

1. Infotainment v. hard news reporting

There's more money to be made with infotainment.

[Uncle Joe]

2. Infotainment is just another word for dumbing down the people

and I'm convinced that's deliberate.

[Mozeltov Cocktail]

3. Sadly, most of our "news" media is owned by republicans...

In my area, our local news outlets are all right to far right leaning. During President Biden's recent trip to Florida, Rhonda Santis was constantly referred to as "possible presidential candidate" rather than his actual title of governor. I'm in a fairly blue area of Florida but the right wing propaganda and indoctrination is relentless. Local Fox News is indistinguishable from the other 3.
We are regularly treated to coverage of Scott, etc like they just came down from the mountain top.
I think that just as we are learning how the police, the military and the churches are packed with far right wing nuts, the media has more than their fair share.

[Uncle Joe]

4. I believe the corporate media is so conglomerated, it simply doesn't take

many people to own it.

There are only five or six corporate media conglomerates that own 90%+ of everything the American People see on television, hear on the radio or read in publications.

Combine that with the ethos of their corporate conglomerate business model structure and they become authoritarian by nature, there is nothing small d democratic about corporations, so it has all become top down focus disconnecting too many of them from the vast majority of the American Peoples' reality.

To paraphrase Amy Goodman from this speech, 'the corporate media is not so much about telling as selling' and I would add, they want to keep selling.

From October of 2017

I believe It all boils down to this, we got January 6th because the corporate media didn't want the United States government to be progressive in the sense of living up to the preamble to the U.S. Constitution because "to actually promote the general welfare" might pinch some of their specific wealth.

No, it's much easier for them to if not promote then meekly acquiesce to the corporate centric Republican view, that the Constitution is a fossil of democracy and that each "self-evident" bit of truth and freedom has to be individually added to the skeleton.

I prefer the Democratic view that the Constitution is living, breathing, evolving as is American society and overall humanity.