Bernie Sanders tones down criticism of Washington Post but expresses frustration with campaign cover

[brooklynite]

CNN

Littleton, New Hampshire (CNN)Sen. Bernie Sanders scaled back his criticism of the media on Tuesday, telling CNN he did not believe that Amazon founder and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos was dictating the paper's coverage of his campaign.

But while the 2020 Democratic presidential candidate acknowledged that there is no direct link between the Post newsroom and Bezos, he continued to argue that the structure of the mainstream media leaves candidates like him at a disadvantage. "I think my criticism of the corporate media is not that they are anti-Bernie, that they wake up, you know, in the morning and say, 'What could we do to hurt Bernie Sanders?' -- that's not the case, that Jeff Bezos gets on the phone to The Washington Post," the Vermont independent said in an interview with CNN. "There is a framework of what we can discuss and what we cannot discuss, and that's a serious problem."

Sanders clarified his position on Bezos' role after suggesting twice on Monday that his public objections to Amazon's business practices had influenced the Post's reporting.

"I talk about (Amazon's taxes) all of the time," Sanders said in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, a day earlier. "And then I wonder why The Washington Post, which is owned by Jeff Bezos, who owns Amazon, doesn't write particularly good articles about me. I don't know why."

[wyldwolf]

1. well, damn! There goes a convenient excuse for anything now.

[SidDithers]

2. "I talk about Amazon's taxes all the time"...

‘You can read my thoughts in my books, which are easily purchased online at amazon.com’

Sid

[George II]

4. Bazinga!

[mcar]

22. Surely his supporters recognize the...

shall we say hypocrisy?

[Hassin Bin Sober]

28. The "hypocrisy" is your own made up issue.

Bernie never boycotted or asked other people to boycott Amazon.

All he did was shame them in to paying their employees more. And it worked.

Those are inconvenient facts but you will just have to deal.

[Cha]

34. I would say..

no they don't.

[Cha]

24. Yeah, that's the part he doesn't complain

about.

And, no thanks.

[frazzled]

3. That's toning it down?

It seems that he is so sure of his rectitude and importance that he cannot conceive of (or tolerate) either criticism or lack of attention to his ideas.

This sounds like someone else we know (ahem).

Criticizing the media for indifference to you kind of reeks of egoism, and it mirrors the reports we have had recently about how he does not engage with people at campaign events, just expostulates his ideas in speeches to them, apparently thinking that they cannot fail to succumb. He doesn’t need people, because he has himself, and himself can’t understand how people don’t see how right he is. This is a serious personality deficit.

[betsuni]

29. The People agree with Bernie and if only the media and establishment Democrats

did not conspire to stop him at any cost, The People would hear his message of economic justice and flock to him and follow him to victory. The revolution would begin.

But what do you do when The People HAVE heard your message and nothing happens? It could make a person a little bit grumpy.

[frazzled]

31. Who are "The People"?

Right now, approx. 15-17 percent of Democratic voters “agree” with him. And Democratic voters are only about 1/3 of all the People who vote.

So if by The People you mean a fairly small minority of Democratic voters, you’ve got a point. If The People means the American people, you’re way off base.

I think it’s always wrong to talk about what The People do or do not think. It’s an imaginary construct. The people, when they think at all, think many different things.

[betsuni]

32. It's sarcasm.

Bernie really thinks this. Will add sarcasm symbol.

[frazzled]

33. Oh, it's late, and I guess I missed the sarcasm

It sounded so much like what Bernie supporters often say. Good imitation.

[OilemFirchen]

5. I have a suggestion for the good Senator:

Do or say something newsworthy. Always an attention-grabber for the news media.

[yaesu]

6. that's good because I was afraid of losing some sleep worrying about Bezo

[Uncle Joe]

7. This is actually a decent article, more balanced.

(snip)

"I made news today. I made big news today," Sanders said during a swing through the Midwest. "Because I talked with four senior citizens, you were there, and one senior said that the cost of her medicine soared. Extraordinary news. Because that's news that millions of people will shake their heads at. What you mean by news is I gotta say something that I didn't say yesterday."

Despite his complaints, Sanders has regularly defended the media against President Donald Trump's rhetoric -- and again criticized the President on Tuesday.

"Donald Trump thinks that media in America is the enemy of the people. And to me, that is a disgusting remark which undermines American democracy. We need a free media to be there to analyze what's going on, and to criticize, you know, candidates. That's what a free media is about. Donald Trump thinks CNN is fake news; I don't," Sanders said.

(snip)

"So all I'm asking is, you know, when you have a media, owned by large multinational corporations, I would hope that the media does the best that it can to kind of free itself from that corporate domination and cover campaigns as objectively as they can."

https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/13/politics/bernie-sanders-washington-post/index.html

Thanks for the thread brooklynite.

[OilemFirchen]

9. "What you mean by news is I gotta say something that I didn't say yesterday."

Uhm... yeah. That's how news works.

If we news consumers want to hear the same story repeated daily, we can talk to our moms.

[Uncle Joe]

12. That's not news, that's fluff.

That's the problem with being a "news consumer" any fast food will do, so long as it's "new."

The problems facing our nation are much deeper, long term, substantive and no "happy" or "sad" meal will suffice.

The American Nation desperately needs substance even if it's repetitive because recognizing the deep seeded maladies which face our people of over 330 million requires repetition and constant drumbeat so that it sinks in.

Saying something new and having that treated as "news" is a major reason for Trump's rise to the White House.

Wine, water and (actual) red meat -- it's a Donald Trump press conference

(snip)

"You have to do what's right," Trump said, explaining why he refused to settle pending lawsuits against his defunct for-profit education venture, "and believe it or not, I'm a very highly principled person. If you live by principle, you're going to do very well."

For the friendly guests invited into the Election Night venue: servers walking around with champagne and wine glasses, along with a table stocked with cheese, charcuterie, fruit and cookies.

There was also a "step and repeat," the kind of banner backdrop typically seen behind movie stars on a red carpet. This one, of course, featured Trump branding.

The wine -- including bottles of rosé, Blanc de Blanc, chardonnay and a Meritage red -- is all featured online at the Trump Winery website.


https://www.cnn.com/2016/03/08/politics/donald-trump-steak-wine-water-press-conference/index.html

[OilemFirchen]

13. I implore you to create a "Same", "Old", or "Continuing" media.

In the interim, I expect the News media to deliver news.

[Uncle Joe]

15. That process is actually taking place all over the Internet.

Despite my cynicism, I have a higher expectation from the news media that they will deliver increased amounts of newsworthy news.

[OilemFirchen]

17. Then what are you bitching about?

BTW, even now you can walk into a library and peruse magazines with in-depth stories, books devoted to entire subjects and audio and videotapes full of insightful analysis. You can even learn tons of history from similar sources, including actual historical documents and facsimiles of such.

Per the last, you might want to inform yourself about the history of the news media, including, but not limited to, how politicians have typically held them in low esteem... in pretty much the same manner as you.

[Uncle Joe]

20. Politicians aren't the only people that view corporate media conglomerates in low esteem.

(snip)

https://news.gallup.com/poll/1663/media-use-evaluation.aspx

1976 was a good year though.

[OilemFirchen]

23. And they form their opinion based on opinions from thier favored media. 'Twas ever so.

Memo to Donald Trump: Thomas Jefferson invented hating the media

“Nothing can now be believed which is seen in a newspaper,” Jefferson said then.

“FAKE NEWS media … makes up stories and 'sources,'” Trump tweets now.

The FAKE NEWS media (failing @nytimes, @NBCNews, @ABC, @CBS, @CNN) is not my enemy, it is the enemy of the American People!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 17, 2017

“Thomas Jefferson was as irritated with newspaper coverage as any public figure of his era,” Ken Paulson, president of the Newseum Institute's First Amendment Center, told The Washington Post in an email. “For all the talk of media bias today, it can't compare to the overt partisanship and personal attacks appearing in papers in our nation's early years. But Jefferson also knew that our democracy could only flourish with a free press that would keep an eye on people in power and help protect our freedoms.

[betsuni]

30. "If we news consumers want to hear the same story repeated daily, we can talk to our moms."

[lapucelle]

14. It almost sounds like someone saying, "And you know that unethical practice that I keep

bringing your name into over and over? I would hope that you do the best you can to avoid engaging in it."

Any update on Jeff Weaver walking back his accusation against CNN and MSNBC?

Sen. Bernie Sanders’ senior adviser criticized the media Monday for publishing what he said were flawed polls that show support slipping for the Vermont senator and for “declaring the Sanders campaign over” with six months to go before the first ballots are cast in the Democratic primary.

During a conference call with members of the media, adviser Jeff Weaver singled out CNN and MSNBC for airing inaccurate polling data and for unfairly writing off the Sanders presidential campaign.

[Uncle Joe]

16. I hope he doesn't, Jeff made a good point for anyone that actually read the article and 538

link to five polls which reflected that Bernie received the greatest bounce after the second debate.

[George II]

18. Taking into account the margin of error, he hasn't gained in any of those polls.

[Uncle Joe]

21. 1.8 is more than anyone else.

[lapucelle]

19. Weaver's point was that CNN and MSNBC use flawed and inaccurate polls to advance

a narrative against one of the candidates.

Sorry, that is not a good point in my eyes.

[Cha]

25. Hahahahaah.. ".. flawed polls.. " I see their

angle now!

[Gothmog]

8. I've reported on Bernie Sanders for years. A free press won't give him what he wants.

This is an interesting article https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/02/26/ive-reported-bernie-sanders-years-free-press-cant-give-him-what-he-wants/

Though Sanders understands the problem, his solutions leave something to be desired. The way the senator sees it, the job of a journalist is merely to transcribe his diatribes unchallenged and broadcast his sermons unfiltered.

“He would not be happy with anything that did not basically publish his press release in its entirety — word for word, quote for quote,” said Graff, who spent nearly three decades reporting in Vermont for the AP.

Back when Sanders held regular news conferences in Vermont — it’s been a few years — he typically refused to answer questions unrelated to his chosen topic of the day. That’s problematic for local reporters, who rarely have the opportunity to quiz the members of Congress they cover without spokespeople running interference.

At a 1985 forum on the media, the late Vermont political columnist Peter Freyne complained to Sanders, then the mayor of Burlington, that he had reneged on his promise to hold regular press conferences, pointing out that “When asked a question you don’t want to answer, you leave the room.”

[Thekaspervote]

11. "When asked a question you leave the room." Seems a rather long contentious complaint by

Senator sanders.... or is it just me?

[lapucelle]

26. There's some troubling stuff in that story.

Sanders has always preferred to bypass the news media in order to stay on his chosen message. That’s why he hosted his own cable access show as mayor, his own talk radio show as a member of the House and his own podcast and social media empire as a senator.

In December 2015, as Sanders’s first presidential campaign was gaining traction, the candidate returned to familiar rhetoric, accusing the networks of engaging in a “Bernie blackout.”

Back home, Vermont news organizations were suffering from a different kind of Bernie blackout: For more than two years, he refused to speak with VTDigger or Seven Days, and he refused to appear live on Vermont Public Radio’s marquee call-in show, “Vermont Edition.” Unlike the “corporate” media he loathes, it should be noted, the three news outlets are nonprofit or locally owned

[Gothmog]

27. There is some interesting material in that article

[George II]

10. Reporters and editors, including EX-reporters, have said Bezos has never interfered.

[Cha]

35. Sanders clarified his position on Bezos' role after suggesting twice on Monday that his public

objections to Amazon's business practices had influenced the Post's reporting."