JVL, What would happen if the entire press pool was made up of only maga media outlets? Would it benefit the anti-maga movement or would it hurt the anti-maga movement?
Legacy media is gone. They are cowardly. They should all decide to boycott any action to disallow AP or any others. The media is so poor now. How many mentioned that the US voted on the side of Russia at the UN? I immediately stopped watching MSNBC after Reid, I left WaPO after Bezos donated to Trump, I use FB and Twitter to publish truth from my Substacks. Not easy to be on either platform because I get threats and bullying. I block them. I am slowly changing from Amazon, I unsubscribed to LATimes, and several other publications. I subscribed to 15 Substack journalists and groups. Money is tight but getting legitimate news is critical.
Right about the press: it should boycott White House press conferences. That would
give Trump the chance to select lapdog journalists on the Far Right but it would make a point that might resonate with the general public. I say might because so many Americans distrust the mainstream press. We are seeing the slow death of democracy by a thousand maneuvers.
I am re-reading A People's History of the United States by Zinn. As I read JVL's latest on WaPo and "asymmetry," I could help but think of Zinn's chapter on labor and class in America 1830-1870. The times were the very definition of asymmetry. A rich .5% had most of the wealth, while in our cities, hundreds of thousands lived in the streets. In NYC, working women literally moved between police stations each night to sleep. Mill workers made $1 a week, while a bag of flour cost $5. Sewage, piles of trash, and rats lined the streets. Immigrants from Europe actually begged to go back. Collectives sprung up, eventually became unions, and protests resulted in urban warfare. Why? Governors, presidents called in the military and bashed heads. People on both sides died. Eventually, the 10 and then 8-hour working day was born. Wages increased. Our history tells us that labor, including journalists, only get a little bit of security if they literally fight for it.
I ended mine in 1991 when my incredibly saavy international mentor opined that it's only value is in wrapping fish. Right now: Bloomberg, AP, regional/local U.S., and int'l papers.
True.True. True!! All of us who give a DAMN about our democracy need to GROW UP and understand that we have to take a stand or be trampled under the foot of fascism. That includes the "PRESS."
JvL, I would be interested to know if its the reporters unwilling to push back or management? My guess is that its management. I can think of one person willing to take over the WP, Bezos ex-wife. Put the paper in a trust, and put a renegade behind it. Not a newspaper historian, but isn't this how a lot of anti-corruption papers got started back at the turn of the century? What old is new again? Keep up the good work.
It's a mystery than any owner would deliberately wreck his own property, but in the cases of Musk/Tesla and Bezos/Washington Post, the explanations must be that they both have their eyes on much bigger prizes, i.e., government contracts for space, IT, military, etc.; and these are just strategic sacrifices made for those goals. You have to ask, what wealth is enough for men who'd wipe out their personal reputations for the sake of money they hardly need, and what do they think they'll end up with as legacies. Their behavior already betrays everything that real philanthropists value. They might have been seen before as world-changers; now they're just two more clever corporals of industry turned shitheaded by money.
The asymmetry here suggests that symmetry lies in giving a fair hearing to doublethink on the grounds that yes, five is not eight, but maybe we ought to debate the question anyway because someone who deeply wants five to be eight is being dismissed unfairly. Many men do indeed want to debate this because they love to think that five really is eight. Any woman can tell you that no dear, five isn't eight, and it's not going to be (and on the off chance that you're Ross Douthut, three isn't eight), so put your pants back on, debate is closed.
The Right has made asymmety its fundamental tactic for decades. They say openly what the Left declines to see: they're at war. In war hypocrisy and lies are weapons, not breaches of trust. Asymmetry is the rule. The Left defends itself with pecksniff umbrage.
"Stop acting like it’s 2012. Quit playing access games in search of scooplets. Tell the White House that you’ll fuck all the way off before you accept Newsmax as a peer." Love this.
JVL, What would happen if the entire press pool was made up of only maga media outlets? Would it benefit the anti-maga movement or would it hurt the anti-maga movement?
If everyone who can resist quits in protest who will be left to resist?
Legacy media is gone. They are cowardly. They should all decide to boycott any action to disallow AP or any others. The media is so poor now. How many mentioned that the US voted on the side of Russia at the UN? I immediately stopped watching MSNBC after Reid, I left WaPO after Bezos donated to Trump, I use FB and Twitter to publish truth from my Substacks. Not easy to be on either platform because I get threats and bullying. I block them. I am slowly changing from Amazon, I unsubscribed to LATimes, and several other publications. I subscribed to 15 Substack journalists and groups. Money is tight but getting legitimate news is critical.
Right about the press: it should boycott White House press conferences. That would
give Trump the chance to select lapdog journalists on the Far Right but it would make a point that might resonate with the general public. I say might because so many Americans distrust the mainstream press. We are seeing the slow death of democracy by a thousand maneuvers.
Mark Cuban, George Soros, Michael Bloomberg. Buy the Washington Post!
If liberals without giving quarter to attackers don't defend the populations and issues they care about first, the laws will be irrelevant.
Why don’t they all just boycott Trump and his spokesmen? All they do is lie anyway.
Maybe the NYT’s devotion is not to fairness or liberalism. Maybe its devotion is to profit. Maybe they capitulate for money.
I am re-reading A People's History of the United States by Zinn. As I read JVL's latest on WaPo and "asymmetry," I could help but think of Zinn's chapter on labor and class in America 1830-1870. The times were the very definition of asymmetry. A rich .5% had most of the wealth, while in our cities, hundreds of thousands lived in the streets. In NYC, working women literally moved between police stations each night to sleep. Mill workers made $1 a week, while a bag of flour cost $5. Sewage, piles of trash, and rats lined the streets. Immigrants from Europe actually begged to go back. Collectives sprung up, eventually became unions, and protests resulted in urban warfare. Why? Governors, presidents called in the military and bashed heads. People on both sides died. Eventually, the 10 and then 8-hour working day was born. Wages increased. Our history tells us that labor, including journalists, only get a little bit of security if they literally fight for it.
I have been a Post subscriber since 2006. Today, that ended.
I ended mine in 1991 when my incredibly saavy international mentor opined that it's only value is in wrapping fish. Right now: Bloomberg, AP, regional/local U.S., and int'l papers.
I ended my WAPO subscription on February 14th as a valentine for Mr. Bezos.
True.True. True!! All of us who give a DAMN about our democracy need to GROW UP and understand that we have to take a stand or be trampled under the foot of fascism. That includes the "PRESS."
JvL, I would be interested to know if its the reporters unwilling to push back or management? My guess is that its management. I can think of one person willing to take over the WP, Bezos ex-wife. Put the paper in a trust, and put a renegade behind it. Not a newspaper historian, but isn't this how a lot of anti-corruption papers got started back at the turn of the century? What old is new again? Keep up the good work.
Great post. Especially the summary of Douthat’s take on the NYT being closed. You nailed it.
Douthat's a weenie.
I wish more would call him out on it.
What is happening is step 3, of my list of 10 steps to creating an autocracy.
3. Control information at home; misinform abroad:
While propaganda and state-owned media is not new, control of modern technology and information has become a key battleground.
Gain control over the media and use propaganda to shape public opinion. This includes:
• state-owned media, internet blackouts, and spreading misinformation both domestically and internationally.
• Legal actions against independent news media to coerce through
o Intimidate
o Leverage other means of influence over independent news media.
o Have oligarchs purchase independent media sources
• Gain control of modern technology and information
o Have oligarchs purchase independent media sources
o Grant favors, or threaten restrictions.
my substack post
https://davem28.substack.com/p/10-steps-to-creating-an-autocracy
I wonder how long it will be before we see a Government contract to Blue Origin? Probably won't be until we see Musk's role as shadow president ends.
But then, Bezos may not want to wait that long.
You mean Chinese?
It's a mystery than any owner would deliberately wreck his own property, but in the cases of Musk/Tesla and Bezos/Washington Post, the explanations must be that they both have their eyes on much bigger prizes, i.e., government contracts for space, IT, military, etc.; and these are just strategic sacrifices made for those goals. You have to ask, what wealth is enough for men who'd wipe out their personal reputations for the sake of money they hardly need, and what do they think they'll end up with as legacies. Their behavior already betrays everything that real philanthropists value. They might have been seen before as world-changers; now they're just two more clever corporals of industry turned shitheaded by money.
The asymmetry here suggests that symmetry lies in giving a fair hearing to doublethink on the grounds that yes, five is not eight, but maybe we ought to debate the question anyway because someone who deeply wants five to be eight is being dismissed unfairly. Many men do indeed want to debate this because they love to think that five really is eight. Any woman can tell you that no dear, five isn't eight, and it's not going to be (and on the off chance that you're Ross Douthut, three isn't eight), so put your pants back on, debate is closed.
The Right has made asymmety its fundamental tactic for decades. They say openly what the Left declines to see: they're at war. In war hypocrisy and lies are weapons, not breaches of trust. Asymmetry is the rule. The Left defends itself with pecksniff umbrage.
What's a $100M or so when you've got a stockpile of multiple billions?
The amount of wealth those two goofs have acquired is beyond obscene.
"Stop acting like it’s 2012. Quit playing access games in search of scooplets. Tell the White House that you’ll fuck all the way off before you accept Newsmax as a peer." Love this.