Are Bernie Sanders' attacks on the media fair - or Trumpian?

[TomCADem]

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/aug/27/bernie-sanders-attacks-media-press-fair-or-trump-2020-democrats

The Vermont senator recently lambasted the ‘corporate and billionaire-owned media’ – and to some, it mirrors the right’s anti-media accusations

he newsletter landed in supporters’ email inboxes with an ominous subject line: “What We Cannot Discuss.” In it, the author lambasted “the Washington pundits who are paid by the corporations and billionaires who own the media”.

“[C]orporate and billionaire-owned media often tilts coverage against candidates … who push a working-class agenda – an agenda that threatens the political power of corporations and billionaires,” he continued, arguing that such biases have harmed his boss’ presidential campaign.

The author’s boss is, perhaps surprisingly, Democrat candidate Bernie Sanders, and not the notoriously anti-media Donald Trump.

[George II]

1. I haven't seen any of his recent complaints about the media based on documented facts.

[TomCADem]

20. Bernie Sanders' 2020 presidential campaign will face the scrutiny Clinton got in 2016.

The fact of the matter is that Bernie's coverage is pretty positive. On gun control, he still continues to get a free pass during this spate of mass shootings. Bernie's pro-Russian votes are largely ignored even as Trump continues to cozy up to Putin. Bernie uses racist RW talking points attacking "open border" policies even though no candidate is supporting open borders. Finally, Bernie is borrowing from Trump's playbook in repeatedly complaining about the media's coverage of him even though he largely gets a free pass.

https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/bernie-sanders-2020-presidential-campaign-will-face-scrutiny-clinton-got-ncna973136

The ultimate problem that Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., faces right now, after announcing his intention to again seek the Democratic Party's nomination for president, is that Democratic voters aren’t fully aware of his record — yet.

That may seem counterintuitive after the rough 2016 primary and his supporters' blanketing of social media. But, in truth, the 2016 Clinton campaign never named him in a single negative television or digital ad. And the media never truly educated the primary voting public with the intensity reserved for candidates seen as viable: His underdog status protected him then, but he won’t have that this time around.

There were, of course, numerous news stories that covered Sanders’ positions throughout the campaign, in between the obsessive coverage detailing the gritty ins and outs of the latest in the Clinton email scandal. A study from Harvard's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy suggests as much: Only seven percent of his coverage was about his policies, but 83 percent of that was positive, whereas 28 percent of Clinton's coverage was policy-based and 84 percent of that was negative.

* * *
For example, many Democratic voters may now be surprised to learn that Sanders opposed a staggering number of gun safety measures throughout his career. He voted five times against the Brady Bill, a common-sense measure mandating a waiting period and background check before purchasing firearms. Rather than apologize, his 2016 campaign doubled down: His top aide, Jeff Weaver, characterized the Brady Bill, in Politifact’s words, a "federal overreach."

[Hassin Bin Sober]

2. Today we are not complaining about "gaffe coverage" and complaining about the complaining?

[TomCADem]

3. Trump Is Going Nuclear on the Media With Ugly Personal Attacks and Crazy Conspiracy Theories

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2019/08/trump-war-on-media-personal-attacks-conspiracy-theories/

President Donald Trump has stoked much controversy and chaos this summer. News coverage has swirled around everything from his racist rants against Democratic congresswomen, to him calling the Federal Reserve chairperson he appointed an “enemy” of the United States, to him once again downplaying white supremacist terror—this time after a mass murder by a gunman who explicitly cited the type of migrant “invasion” Trump has long alleged.

Other disturbing conduct by Trump has drawn less notice, however, particularly his intensifying attacks on journalists and news organizations, which he has pursued throughout the other mayhem. By now, the country is used to Trump’s “fake news” and “enemy of the people” rhetoric. The constant repetition of those messages is no accident: His overarching goal is to try to discredit the press and reduce the impact of reporting that exposes his administration’s lies, negligence, and failures and his own possible criminality.

Trump’s incessant war on the American press has grown more extreme as his presidency has gone on, and recently that pattern has further escalated. Not only has Trump continued to smear journalists with ugly hyperbole—despite clear evidence his words have provoked violent threats against Americans working in newsrooms—he is now also seeking to whip up a conspiracy theory about the Democratic Party and the news media and position the press as a scapegoat for a potential economic recession.

In early July, the president inveighed against NBC and MSNBC journalists as “degenerate Trump haters,” using a label that historically has connotations of eugenics and Nazi propaganda. (Previously, Trump used “degenerate” to refer to ISIS terrorists, but also Washington Post reporter Carl Bernstein.) As outrage blew up later in the month over Trump’s attacks on Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and other Democratic women of color in Congress, the president blasted the “crazed” news media and claimed it had “either officially or unofficially become a part of the Radical Left Democrat Party.” He called it “a sick partnership.”

[Vegas Roller]

4. Both are geared to play the victim card and get in the news cycle

to maintain relevance.

[redstatebluegirl]

5. This!

[betsuni]

7. +1

[TomCADem]

11. NY Times: Tensions Flare Between Trump and Fox News

The primaries have not even begun and Trump's campaign is complaining about his coverage by Fox News and Bernie's campaign is complaining about Bernie's coverage by MSNBC.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/30/business/media/trump-fox-news.html

Tensions between the White House and Fox News ratcheted up this week after President Trump declared that the network was letting his supporters down and two on-air personalities said they “don’t work” for him.

The back-and-forth began Wednesday when Mr. Trump took to Twitter to rebuke the network for airing an interview with Xochitl Hinojosa, a spokeswoman for the Democratic National Committee.

Mr. Trump said Ms. Hinojosa was “heavily promoting” Democratic candidates with “zero pushback” from the anchor, Sandra Smith.

“They should go all the way LEFT and I will still find a way to Win - That’s what I do, Win,” he wrote.

[Cha]

42. ..

[Cha]

43. ..

[yaesu]

6. would never, ever compare such a fine progressive patriot like Bernie to a russian agent criminal

nazi like tRump. The corporate networks hate him because he's the peoples candidate and that scares them to death. Remember billionaires are billionaire because they are selfish bastards, do you think they care about you?

[TomCADem]

10. Daily Beast: Tensions Between Bernie Sanders and MSNBC Boil Over

It just seems odd how both Bernie and Trump who seem to always be featured on TV always complain about their coverage. Trump complains about Fox. Bernie complains about MSNBC. They both (repeatedly) say that they have been targeted by the media.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-war-between-bernie-sanders-and-msnbc-reaches-a-new-peak

The mounting tension between a leading progressive presidential campaign and a leading progressive cable news network has reached a new peak.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and MSNBC have always had a complicated relationship. Sanders, a top-tier contender for the Democratic nomination, has long questioned the news media’s biases, while pundits have taken fresh shots at the Vermont senator this cycle. But officials in Sanders’ campaign contend that leading up to the 2020 election, the network is one of several cable news outlets directly contributing to a media climate where false claims go unchecked and requests for progressive voices on-air are frequently turned down.

“More often than not these commentators are injecting their opinion without any policy discussions,” Nina Turner, the national co-chair of Sanders’ campaign, told The Daily Beast. “They’re not there to tell the gospel truth.”

The backlash from Sanders-world reached a new high on Sunday, when MSNBC analyst Mimi Rocah, a former assistant U.S attorney for the Southern District of New York and occasional contributor to The Daily Beast, launched a personal critique of Sanders during a segment with host David Gura, saying that he makes her “skin crawl” and that he’s not a “pro-woman candidate.”

[SidDithers]

8. They're tiresome, is what they are...nt

Sid

[Cha]

44. ..

[TSIAS]

9. Such a disingenuous comparison

Bernie Sanders wants the media to do a better job. Trump wants to destroy it.

Look at Sanders' policies he put out this week. Many of his ideas were amazing, but his most favorable coverage came because of the one Monmouth poll he was leading.

I was of the opinion that liberals universally believed corporate control of media was a problem. It's shocking to see that people don't understand how a Jeff Bezos can impact the slant of his newspaper.

Notice most of the brushback is from the very same media he is covering. I want MSNBC CNN WashPo to live up to higher standards. The comparison between Trump and Sanders should be clear to anyone who's brain is not yet totally broken.

[TomCADem]

14. Mother Jones - "Bernie Sanders Hates the Media Just as Much as Republicans Do"

Ok. Here is Mother Jones making the same point. Mother Jones is a very progressive publication.

The problem with Bernie's view is that if the media is being forced to push your view of the world such as the 30 minute Daniel Ortega President's show, then you may think it is okay. But, what if the President has policy views like Trump? Would you really Trump to be in control of a media world as envisioned by Bernie? We don't have to imagine how President Trump views questions or issues that he would rather not discuss.

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/11/bernie-sanders-corporate-media-revolution/

An ardent supporter of the leftist Sandinistas in Nicaragua, who then controlled the government, Sanders was furious with the US media coverage of Nicaraguan president, Daniel Ortega. “Ronald Reagan has said that he’s a communist and if you say the word communist over and over again then you create the truth,” Sanders said during the panel with Hoffman. “And it is not essentially different from what goes on in the Soviet Union. There the party makes the lie and the media copies it to a very significant degree; here the government creates the lie and the lie continues.”

It was a refrain he returned to again and again. In 1985, during his second term as mayor, Sanders appeared on a televised panel called “Does the Media Lie?” The forum pitted a group of politicians, including Sanders and former US Sen. Jim Jeffords, against members of the Vermont political press with whom the mayor had sparred. Half an hour into the forum, Sanders asked a reporter his first question: “What is a communist?”

Because Sanders hated 30-second local-news segments and unserious stories, he developed a reputation among the local press corps as antagonistic. (He once brought a 60 Minutes camera crew into the Associated Press’ Montpelier bureau so the crew could watch him grill reporters about their coverage.) He could be relentlessly on message and took offense when reporters asked him about something other than what he wanted to talk about that day. And he rejected the very idea of “news” as something that must be new.

* * *
He believed he should have his own forum on television, much like a president, to convey his message without a media filter. When he visited Nicaragua, for instance, he’d been enthralled by a television show Ortega hosted, in which Ortega simply spoke with the people, they relayed their concerns, and he made his case. The result was Bernie Speaks With the People, a quirky television show on Chittenden Community Television in Burlington, that allowed Sanders to speak directly to the camera once a week.

[Newest Reality]

27. ++Good!

[Gothmog]

12. K&R

[Eric J in MN]

13. It's an OK article. The headline is dubious though.

Media criticism has existed as long as media.

The headline shouldn’t float the idea that criticizing the media makes one like Trump. Hillary Clinton supporters said the media was sexist towards her.

[macone]

15. Bernie has reason to complain

Last edited Sun Sep 1, 2019, 08:36 PM - Edit history (1)

Here are a few of the attacks on Sanders that are the reason for his complaints. These attacks started in 2016 and haven’t stopped.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/wp/2016/02/11/stop-sending-around-this-photo-of-bernie-sanders/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/08/28/sanderss-flawed-statistic-medical-bankruptcies-year/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/sen-bernie-sanders-changes-medicare-for-all-plan-in-face-of-opposition-by-organized-labor/2019/08/21/d8144e06-c423-11e9-9986-1fb3e4397be4_story.html

Three of these are based on lies and one is just bat-shit crazy hate-mongering.

[TomCADem]

18. Study: "Sanders Received Most Favorable Media Coverage"

There have been several studies that have shown that both Bernie and Trump got very favorable, uncritical news coverage even as they made it a point to repeatedly attack the media as unfair. One of the goals of this technique is to insulate their followers against any negative or critical stories. Thus, rather than respond to the substance of the critique, they both just shout Fake News!

Why do Bernie/Trump attack the media? Because it works to a certain extent even though it is based on a false premise that they are somehow disadvantaged by media bias.

https://politicalwire.com/2016/06/15/sanders-received-most-favorable-media-coverage/

A new study from the Shorenstein Center at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government found that Sen. Bernie Sanders received the most “overwhelmingly positive” media coverage of any presidential candidate.

“The Democratic race in 2015 received less than half the coverage of the Republican race. Bernie Sanders’ campaign was largely ignored in the early months but, as it began to get coverage, it was overwhelmingly positive in tone. Sanders’ coverage in 2015 was the most favorable of any of the top candidates, Republican or Democratic. For her part, Hillary Clinton had by far the most negative coverage of any candidate. In 11 of the 12 months, her ‘bad news’ outpaced her ‘good news,’ usually by a wide margin, contributing to the increase in her unfavorable poll ratings in 2015.”

The study also confirmed “the me­dia’s ex­cess­ive and of­ten un­crit­ic­al cov­er­age of Don­ald Trump in the run-up to the primar­ies played a ma­jor role in his ex­plos­ive polit­ic­al rise.”

[George II]

22. +1,000,000

[MrsCoffee]

16. Bernie actually getting vetted this time. I knew he and his supporters would hate that much.

[Eric J in MN]

17. If bogus Fact Checks are vetting.

The Washington Post printed an article that 500K people per year go bankrupt because of medical bills.

Then Bernie Sanders said that.

Then the Washington Post published a Fact Check saying that statistic is false because the people going bankrupt also have other expenses.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/08/31/sanders-campaign-demands-washington-post-retract-fact-check-medical-bankruptcies

[George II]

25. No one has demonstrated that the Washington Post's fact checking hs been incorrect.

[Eric J in MN]

30. Compare

Before the WaPo was responding to Bernie Sanders and after:

Link to tweet

?s=20

[Cha]

34. Precisely, MrsCoffee!

[Joe941]

19. Just another hit piece... I grow weary of this garbage. Got anything better?

[TomCADem]

21. Trump blasts NYT tax story as 'hit piece'

The facts and studies showing that Bernie has complained about the media, even though studies show that he has largely received favorable coverage, are not a hit piece. Of course, when Trump similarly dismisses negative coverage as a "hit piece" we see it for what it is. Heck, even Mother Jones, which I quoted above, took careful note of Bernie's long history of complaints about the media.

The danger of Bernie and Trump's repeated attacks on the media is that they may be used a yet another propaganda device to build support by attacking one of pillars of American democracy.

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/409623-trump-blasts-nyt-tax-story-a-hit-piece

President Trump on Wednesday accused The New York Times of writing a "hit piece" against him for publishing a bombshell report about "dubious" tax practices he used in the 1990s.

In a tweet, Trump called the story an "old, boring and often told hit piece on me" but stopped short of denying its claims.

"The Failing New York Times did something I have never seen done before. They used the concept of 'time value of money' in doing a very old, boring and often told hit piece on me," the president wrote.

Trump suggested the Times holds a grudge against him because the paper failed to predict his victory in the 2016 presidential election.

[Turin_C3PO]

23. I don't agree with Bernie's characterizations of the media.

But he’s 10000x better and is in NO WAY comparable to Trump.

[Gothmog]

24. I trust the Washington Post

[guillaumeb]

26. 6 large corporations control 90% of the US media.

But the GOP meme is that the US has a liberal media.

The difference between Sanders' charge, and the GOP claim of a liberal media is that the GOP charge is a lie, and Sanders is speaking the truth.

[Newest Reality]

28. Ah,

Yup! Vested interests are a factor.

[TomCADem]

32. Bernie Is Hardly The Only Democratic Candidate Who Has Criticized Media Consolidation

Yet, it appears that Bernie is only the candidate who frequently argue that critical stories about him are biased based on his views. Indeed, attacking the media is a feature of Bernie's campaign message, this idea that he is somehow being uniquely and unfairly targeteed when objectively Bernie tends to gets more positive coverage than his rivals. For example, Joe Biden gets scrutinized for his age and gaffes even though Bernie is older and makes as many misstatements or errors. If Biden makes a mistake about a city's name, it goes on endless repeat and cited as an example of his age. But, Bernie can do this and it does not even make a blip, because it does not fit the narrative:

We should be careful about Bernie's consistent efforts to discredit media coverage of him. This notion that media is biased against him because of he holds commonly held views regarding media consolidation just do not hold water.

https://www.politico.com/story/2007/11/media-consolidation-silences-diverse-voices-006758

Media consolidation silences diverse voices by Senators Barack Obama and John Kerry

The bedrock of America’s greatest advances — the foundation of what we know today are defining values — was formed not by cheering on things as they were, but by taking them on and demanding change.

The thoughtful exchange of diverse viewpoints not only helps guarantee our freedom as individuals, it ensures those in power can be held accountable for all that they do.

But to engage in the debates that have always made America stronger, it takes a stage and a platform for discussion — and never before have these platforms been more endangered.

In recent years, we have witnessed unprecedented consolidation in our traditional media outlets. Large mergers and corporate deals have reduced the number of voices and viewpoints in the media marketplace.

[guillaumeb]

36. Exactly.

And the interests of the 1% are always served.

[TomCADem]

31. So, How Does That Translate Into Bias Against Bernie. Sounds Trumpian

Let me understand your logic. The Washington Post, CNN and MSNBC are biased and writes untrue stories against Bernie, because Bernie is one of many folks who have criticized corporate control of the media? That makes as much sense as Trump's attacks on a Mexican judge, because Trump has advocated building a border wall with Mexico. Plus, Bernie Sanders is hardly the only Democratic candidate who has criticized corporate control of the media.

Media consolidation silences diverse voices by Barack Obama and John Kerry
https://www.politico.com/story/2007/11/media-consolidation-silences-diverse-voices-006758

Yet, Bernie Sanders somehow argues that he is being uniquely targeted. Amazing.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/nation-world/ct-judge-trump-border-wall-20180227-story.html

Judge who Trump called biased for Mexican heritage sides with the president in border wall case

A judge who was taunted by Donald Trump during the presidential campaign sided with the president Tuesday on a challenge to building a border wall with Mexico, removing what could have been a major obstacle to the signature campaign pledge.

* * *

Trump berated Curiel during the campaign for his handling of fraud allegations against now-defunct Trump University, suggesting the Indiana-born judge's Mexican heritage reflected a bias.

Curiel mentioned his roots in his 101-page ruling Tuesday when he cited another native of the state, U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, who wrote in another case that courts should not make policy judgments.

[guillaumeb]

37. My statement stands. eom

[TomCADem]

38. Warren: DOJ should pay 'close attention' to media mergers

I guess if you are correct, then the media should be displaying a similar bias against every Democratic candidate given that most Democrats are opposed to the consolidation of media companies. That being said, I think every other Democratic candidate should be commended for not focusing their campaign on complaining about how they are unfairly targetted by the media. I think it is not Presidential in Trump, and it would not play well if a Democratic candidate complained all the time about being unfairly targetted by the media.

It makes you wonder if as President, Bernie would complain about his press coverage as much as Trump does. I guess the only difference is that Bernie supporters will think it is totally justified while Republicans will dismiss Bernie's constant complaints about his treatment by the media as whining.

https://thehill.com/policy/finance/trade/457596-warren-justice-department-should-be-playing-close-attention-to-media

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who is running for president, is calling for federal regulators to look more closely at a wave of mergers involving entertainment giants.

“First Disney acquired 21st Century Fox. Now CBS and Viacom are merging. Consolidation raises serious concerns for consumers, employees, and the entire sector. The Department of Justice should be paying close attention,” Warren tweeted Thursday.

The planned CBS-Viacom merger, announced Tuesday, would result in an entertainment conglomerate bringing in more than $28 billion in revenue.

In another high-profile merger earlier this month, Gannett and Gatehouse, the two largest newspaper companies in the nation, announced they would combine.

[guillaumeb]

39. In my view, the US corporate media defines the limits of acceptable debate.

And that is a reworking of Noam Chomsky's idea.

And that limitation of what is considered achievable defines what politicians treat as achievable.

And those limitations insist on predatory capitalism as the only reasonable system.

[Hoyt]

29. Media -- One of aspects of modern society that gets trashed by both sides.

[myohmy2]

33. definitely...

...fair...

...it's impossible for Bernie to be 'Trumpian' when Bernie's the epitome of the anti-trump...

‘corporate and billionaire-owned media’

...it's the truth...

...when trump and the Right yaps about the 'fake' media they're complaining about their 1% buddies not giving them total control or coverage regarding their fascist propaganda...

...when Bernie states a corporate reality, it's only to get his foot in the 1%'s door in order to talk about the many issues negatively impacting the 99%...

...be fair...

[YOHABLO]

35. It's not a left or right issue. It's about the power corporate control has in shaping perspective

It's about Democratic Socialist ideals vs unregulated Capitalism. You want fair elections, get rid of Citizens United.

[Gothmog]

40. It appears that the Washington Post was correct

Link to tweet

In this case, The Post's fact-check mentioned that some critics believe that Sanders' use of the 500,000 figure — which was from an editorial published in the American Journal of Public Health — was perhaps casting "too wide a net." The fact-check said that the actual study published in the journal surveyed people who had gone bankrupt in part due to medical bills, not necessarily entirely because of their medical bills.

"Sanders glosses over those nuances, stating that health-care costs drove people to bankruptcy in all 500,000 cases. The study he's citing doesn't establish that," The Post's article said. …..

In a response shared with Business Insider, the Post's managing editor Cameron Barr wrote to Gunnels that the points of contention raised by the Sanders campaign don't hold up.

"That study did not seek to determine what causes bankruptcies, only factors that contribute to them. On this basis alone, the statements by Sen. Sanders are misleading," Barr wrote.

Barr also denied the "pattern of bias" against Sanders that his campaign claimed, writing that it was "categorically false."

"Though the Sanders campaign may not like some of our coverage, it has been fair, professional and accurate," he wrote.

[TreasonousBastard]

41. Cry, whine, moan-- the press and Washington have been at odds since Washington...

Rumor has it that ol' George almost didn't run for a second term due to press attacks, and called it quits after the second term because it got worse.

This is actually a good thing-- an alternative is the free press of North Korea.

https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/press-attacks/

At the time of his inauguration, George Washington was described in almost universally glorified terms by the national presses. However, by the end of the President's first term, hostile newspaper writers were attacking the administration's domestic and foreign policy. These attacks escalated in Washington's second term into personal attacks questioning his integrity, republican principles, and even military reputation. While the harsh attacks may have initially backfired on Washington's political opponents, the President's bad press signified the opening of a new type of political force, and one that had significant effects on the course of the Washington presidency.

Proliferation of Newspapers

The number of newspapers printed in the United States exploded in the period of the Early Republic, and the presses became much more fiercely partisan than during both the Colonial and Revolutionary periods. The popular press exploded from under fifty newspapers around 1776 to over 250 by 1800, encouraged by new federal laws that made it cheaper to send newspapers through the postal system.1 Newly aggressive newspaper editors toke a stronger role in shaping the newspaper's message in support of, or in opposition to, the government.

Criticisms

The first significant press criticisms concerned the Washington administration's supposed "monarchial" style, including its formal European-style levees and other "aristocratic" behavior, as well as Secretary of Treasury Alexander Hamilton's economic program.2 Interestingly, these initial attacks betrayed a certain "monarchial" style of thinking themselves. Washington’s earliest critics seemed reluctant to criticize the revered President himself. They thus blamed the "errors" of his government on evil sycophantic ministers. As Thomas Jefferson wrote privately to James Madison, his close confidant, "the President, tho' an honest man himself, may be circumvented by snares and artifices, and is in fact surrounded by men who wish to clothe the Executive with more than constitutional power."3 The President's "monocratic" ways proved to be a contentious issue throughout his administration, one which only garnered more criticism as an opposition to his policies mounted.

By the end of 1792, there was a recognizable opposition party, centered around disgruntled Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson; newspapers gave this party one of their strongest means of critiquing the Washington administration. Although he denied it publicly at the time, Jefferson was a key figure behind the scenes in establishing the opposition presses. While press criticism in these early years was more restrained than later salvos and rarely attacked Washington personally, by the end of 1792, the opposition newspapers had succeeded in framing the debate over Hamilton's economic plans and the general direction of the administration in term of "republicanism" versus "aristocracy." Attacks frequently depicted the Washington administration as a force for the latter.

Much more at link