1. Don't call it "CNN’s tack toward the middle". They're not moving toward "the middle". Pro-democracy is the middle. They're moving away from that.
2. CNN's recalibration does not make any business sense. They were splitting the non-traitor audience with MSNBC. If they move away from being stridently pro-democracy, then normal Americans are going to drift more towards MSNBC. I certainly am not interested in hearing any more from Scott Jennings or Rick Santorum or Chris Christie or whatever other treason apologist they're going to have on more. Meanwhile, there's no chance they're going to pick up any of the cretins who watch Fox News, after Trump and the traitor caucus spent years using CNN as the prime example of the "enemy of the people".
“There’s the Republican Party, which is being taken over by the movement, but hasn’t completely been yet.”
I disagree. Pro-democracy Republican leaders have been nearly snuffed out, or silenced by their own cowardliness, enough to be irrelevant at this point. MAGA Republicans are living in an alternate universe where their “news” source is based on lies, conspiracy theories, Trump’s grievances and their own feelings of being left behind, of being neglected by the political system and stunted economic growth for decades. When they look around their communities they’re constantly reminded of what that neglect has wrought (specifically, I’m using Sen. Josh Hawley’s home county in Missouri as my example.) People who still consider themselves Republicans but not MAGA are also living in their own delusional world.
To counter the MAGA Rs, we have Democrats who have been so dependent on their own response to traditional Republican policy positions to moderate their own positions most of them have no idea what to do now. (A few examples ACA w/o public option, Medicare non-negotiated drug prices, and big one Hyde Amendment).
My advice to journalists and Democrats: Focus on REALITY, whatever it is. If the REALITY Is bad, then Democrats need to propose ways to fix it. If journalists focus on reporting REALITY, like the success of California to get through a heat wave without major black outs or EV sales in US reaching a tipping point, and when actual REALITY becomes more satisfying and empowering than attending a Trump rally and wallowing in Trump’s pity, then MAGAs will eventually dwindle but the Democratic Party cannot and should not ever use the traditional or MAGA Republican Party ‘platform’ to moderate its own policies again.
Sep 12, 2022·edited Sep 12, 2022Liked by Aaron Rupar
First, CNN has been pretty awful for a long time now. Their bias was tedious and boring, and it was punctuated by the irritating habit the utterly annoying Wolf Blitzer had of always referring to Trump as "The President of the United States." The one bright spot in their mediocre journalism was their covid 19 coverage, except for the sloppiness and unethical policy of allowing Chris Cuomo to star in the silly "interviews" of his brother. Later, that same coziness cost Chris his job and disgraced CNN for its lack of ethics.
CNN is hurting because its ratings have sunk precariously, and their idiotic solution to this is to try to steal some of Fox's audience. That's the bottom line - market share. What else can we expect from 21st century cable TV channels? Remember, CNN's live streaming channel lived for a month before it was put out of its misery. And most importantly, journalists are required to write what their editors tell them to.
Sep 13, 2022·edited Sep 13, 2022Liked by Aaron Rupar
Excellent! Jay Rosen has been helpfully engaged regarding the media especially these last several years as a voice of reason and fairness. We are nevertheless in a battle about truth. In the beginning there was so much shuffling (fear) in the media about using the words “lie” and “lying”. Then the scorekeeping rose about it after. How many lies? That though became not truth telling but part of the silo building and the war we are in as Kelly tried to tell us the lies are an alternative truth. We have a real problem on first base regarding truth and lies, right and wrong.
Using the term “pro-democracy” may not be helpful as an adjective phrase or label without explaining just what is meant. It may be made into a negative by the ill intentioned devoid of meaning if it has not been yet, unbelievably.
Apart from special events I don't watch CNN, but I have been listening to coverage of whar's going on there. I think it's happening to various degrees in other places (like maybe the New York Times? OMG). It's alluded to a few times -- e.g., references to "CNN executives" and the network's "new Republican leadership" -- but I think it bears further exploration. Where is the both-sides pressure coming from?
Well, one doesn't need a weatherman, or CNN's example, to surmise that it's coming from the executive suites and the big money above them that hires, fires, and pays everyone's salary. THAT's the dilemma. When the right-wingers yell about the "liberal media," I start cackling hysterically. Journalists may skew liberal -- I *expect* them to skew liberal in all meanings of the word because a good journalist is open to new experiences, new ideas, different people, etc. -- but those boardrooms and financial interests generally don't. Even a liberal corporate exec probably moves in circles that aren't liberal at all, and the circles one moves in tend to have a pronounced effect on what one considers normal or OK. Under the circumstances it's pretty amazing that there's as much useful stuff in the "corporate media" as there is. Hell, I even subscribe to some of it. (Not the NYT, however. I mooch off them when I need to.)
I have friends who watch mostly CNN (at least they used to!) -- are CNN viewers sensing the changes going on? Is it obvious/noticeable or is it like the boiling frog scenario and they aren't necessarily seeing the changes?
As to the three-way fight idea....the pro-democracy Republicans need to speak out and show they are against the MAGA loud-mouths that are so good at screaming their sound bites and buzz word salad in order for anyone to know they still exist. Otherwise, the limelight goes to whoever can yell the loudest and any pro-democracy GOPers just cower behind McConnell and McCarthy and eventually leave office.
Two thoughts about today's newsletter:
1. Don't call it "CNN’s tack toward the middle". They're not moving toward "the middle". Pro-democracy is the middle. They're moving away from that.
2. CNN's recalibration does not make any business sense. They were splitting the non-traitor audience with MSNBC. If they move away from being stridently pro-democracy, then normal Americans are going to drift more towards MSNBC. I certainly am not interested in hearing any more from Scott Jennings or Rick Santorum or Chris Christie or whatever other treason apologist they're going to have on more. Meanwhile, there's no chance they're going to pick up any of the cretins who watch Fox News, after Trump and the traitor caucus spent years using CNN as the prime example of the "enemy of the people".
Solid interview, Thor.
“There’s the Republican Party, which is being taken over by the movement, but hasn’t completely been yet.”
I disagree. Pro-democracy Republican leaders have been nearly snuffed out, or silenced by their own cowardliness, enough to be irrelevant at this point. MAGA Republicans are living in an alternate universe where their “news” source is based on lies, conspiracy theories, Trump’s grievances and their own feelings of being left behind, of being neglected by the political system and stunted economic growth for decades. When they look around their communities they’re constantly reminded of what that neglect has wrought (specifically, I’m using Sen. Josh Hawley’s home county in Missouri as my example.) People who still consider themselves Republicans but not MAGA are also living in their own delusional world.
To counter the MAGA Rs, we have Democrats who have been so dependent on their own response to traditional Republican policy positions to moderate their own positions most of them have no idea what to do now. (A few examples ACA w/o public option, Medicare non-negotiated drug prices, and big one Hyde Amendment).
My advice to journalists and Democrats: Focus on REALITY, whatever it is. If the REALITY Is bad, then Democrats need to propose ways to fix it. If journalists focus on reporting REALITY, like the success of California to get through a heat wave without major black outs or EV sales in US reaching a tipping point, and when actual REALITY becomes more satisfying and empowering than attending a Trump rally and wallowing in Trump’s pity, then MAGAs will eventually dwindle but the Democratic Party cannot and should not ever use the traditional or MAGA Republican Party ‘platform’ to moderate its own policies again.
Excellent.
How about a follow-up on the further rightward drift of Politico? Please.
First, CNN has been pretty awful for a long time now. Their bias was tedious and boring, and it was punctuated by the irritating habit the utterly annoying Wolf Blitzer had of always referring to Trump as "The President of the United States." The one bright spot in their mediocre journalism was their covid 19 coverage, except for the sloppiness and unethical policy of allowing Chris Cuomo to star in the silly "interviews" of his brother. Later, that same coziness cost Chris his job and disgraced CNN for its lack of ethics.
CNN is hurting because its ratings have sunk precariously, and their idiotic solution to this is to try to steal some of Fox's audience. That's the bottom line - market share. What else can we expect from 21st century cable TV channels? Remember, CNN's live streaming channel lived for a month before it was put out of its misery. And most importantly, journalists are required to write what their editors tell them to.
Excellent! Jay Rosen has been helpfully engaged regarding the media especially these last several years as a voice of reason and fairness. We are nevertheless in a battle about truth. In the beginning there was so much shuffling (fear) in the media about using the words “lie” and “lying”. Then the scorekeeping rose about it after. How many lies? That though became not truth telling but part of the silo building and the war we are in as Kelly tried to tell us the lies are an alternative truth. We have a real problem on first base regarding truth and lies, right and wrong.
Using the term “pro-democracy” may not be helpful as an adjective phrase or label without explaining just what is meant. It may be made into a negative by the ill intentioned devoid of meaning if it has not been yet, unbelievably.
Apart from special events I don't watch CNN, but I have been listening to coverage of whar's going on there. I think it's happening to various degrees in other places (like maybe the New York Times? OMG). It's alluded to a few times -- e.g., references to "CNN executives" and the network's "new Republican leadership" -- but I think it bears further exploration. Where is the both-sides pressure coming from?
Well, one doesn't need a weatherman, or CNN's example, to surmise that it's coming from the executive suites and the big money above them that hires, fires, and pays everyone's salary. THAT's the dilemma. When the right-wingers yell about the "liberal media," I start cackling hysterically. Journalists may skew liberal -- I *expect* them to skew liberal in all meanings of the word because a good journalist is open to new experiences, new ideas, different people, etc. -- but those boardrooms and financial interests generally don't. Even a liberal corporate exec probably moves in circles that aren't liberal at all, and the circles one moves in tend to have a pronounced effect on what one considers normal or OK. Under the circumstances it's pretty amazing that there's as much useful stuff in the "corporate media" as there is. Hell, I even subscribe to some of it. (Not the NYT, however. I mooch off them when I need to.)
I have friends who watch mostly CNN (at least they used to!) -- are CNN viewers sensing the changes going on? Is it obvious/noticeable or is it like the boiling frog scenario and they aren't necessarily seeing the changes?
As to the three-way fight idea....the pro-democracy Republicans need to speak out and show they are against the MAGA loud-mouths that are so good at screaming their sound bites and buzz word salad in order for anyone to know they still exist. Otherwise, the limelight goes to whoever can yell the loudest and any pro-democracy GOPers just cower behind McConnell and McCarthy and eventually leave office.