We got the bubble-headed-bleach-blonde who comes on at five. She can tell you 'bout the plane crash with a gleam In her eye. It's interesting when people die ~ Don Henley (dob 7/22/1947). Lyric from the song Dirty Laundry from the 1982 album I Can't Stand Still.
In regards to the Trump candidacy, CBS CEO Leslie Moonves said "it may not be good for America, but it's damn good for CBS". This admission of a love of (advertising) money over country is surely not unique to CBS, as it seems as if even msnbc is a (free advertising for) Trump network.
As Progressive radio host Thom Hartmann pointed out on the 3/1/2016 broadcast of his program, it was the (WJC signed) telecommunications act (a deregulatory bill that lead to massive media consolidation) that caused "incredible damage". In that now what we have are "news" organizations where spectacle (drawing eyeballs/generating ad revenue) is more important than informing and educating the public.
"He is an invention of the media" said Hartmann. Trump would not be the frontrunner if all the potus candidates had received the same amount of coverage. But he has received significantly more. Because it's good for ratings and therefore good for Big Media's bottom line.
| "I've never seen anything like this, and this going to be a very good year for us. Sorry. It's a terrible thing to say. But, bring it on, Donald. Keep going", said Moonves. "Donald's place in this election is a good thing", he said Monday at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference in San Francisco. "There's a lot of money in the marketplace", the exec said of political advertising so far this presidential season. (Leslie Moonves on Donald Trump: "It May Not Be Good for America, but It's Damn Good for CBS" by Paul Bond. The Hollywood Reporter 2/29/2016). |
Sure, I bet he's really "sorry". The infotainment nooz channels have elevated Trump (with all the free air time they've devoted to him), and it's worked out really well for them. Drawing the eyeballs of both the misinformed Fox viewers - angry White racists (like David Duke) who support Trump - and those of us who can't believe that a racist misogynist bigoted blowhard reality TV star could win the GOP nomination. It's like a car accident that backs up traffic because every car passing by has to slow down to take a gander.
"If we had not changed the rules on media ownership back in 1996, I don't think Donald Trump would be where he is right now" Hartmann said at the close of this segment. A statement I've got to agree with. Reporting the news did not used to be a for profit venture (SWTD #94). Now that it is, the viewers aren't being informed, they're being entertained.
A predicament that has help Trump enormously. And also boosted Hillary Clinton, I think. IMO (and Thom Hartmann's) Bernie Sanders would be doing better if were being more fairly covered by Big Media (Hillary Clinton Gets 14 Times More Network News Coverage Than Bernie Sanders).
BTW, the Don Henley song, Dirty Laundry, was about how the news media exploits personal tradegy for financial gain. Now they're selling out the entire country... it may not be good for America, but it's damn good for CBS! A new low.
Audio: CBS Chairman Discusses Trump's Candidacy. Audio attached to a 2/19/2016 Intercept article by Lee Fang.
Update, 10/6/2017: According to the brainwashed trumpdupe (and ironically self-styled) FreeThinke, "ninety percent of ALL MEDIA and all ACADEMIA is OWNED and OPERATED by Cultural Marxists". Which would make Moonves (who does not give a damn about anything other than profit and unequivocally SAYS SO) a "Cultural Marxist". Proof FT's claims about "Cultural Marxism" are pure buncombe; an obvious FACT every sane person will acknowledge.
That is truly disgusting. The news network that was hosted by Edwin Murrow and Walter Cronkite. I have often sought truthful journalism there even after the demise of Dan Rather. I can only get three networks without paying for cable. (One of them being PBS.) I used to trust CBS. It was a big deal for me to hook up the antenna to the living room TV and watch important political debates.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Dervish, for some important journalism.
hey, look, it is important to make money because there is cost associated with running a business. No business, unless it has the luxury of getting cost plus from the government, can survive unless the business can cover cost and overhead while making at least a moderate profit.
ReplyDeleteWhat I heard this CEO say is it is a shame the political marketplace has devolved to the Trump et all level where substance and intelligent discussion are left by the curb to discuss garbage and personal crap. Personally I blame the American people for allowing the idiot savants to succeed in dumbing down America.
But that is just me.
I do NOT hear the CEO say is it is a shame the political marketplace has devolved to the Trump et all level where substance and intelligent discussion are left by the curb to discuss garbage and personal crap. I hear a man who is ecstatic about it. Billions are being spent and Big Media is the recipient of a lot of that cash. Some government regulation is desperately needed, I think.
ReplyDeleteWhat form do think the regulation should take?
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure, RN. It might be impossible to put that genie back in the bottle. Some things that could be done would be to not approve any more mega-mergers (Time Warner, et al), break up the media monopolies, and bring a new case to the Supreme Court (with a new Obama-appointed justice) to overturn Citizens United (then some sensible campaign finance reforms could be passed by a Democratically controlled Congress).
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