Democracies risk 'losing souls' as media freedom erodes, group says

89% of MSM coverage of Trump is negative after they licked obama's boots for 8 years, but yeah there is no bias, lol.





As President Trump approaches the end of his first 100 days in office, he has received by far the most hostile press treatment of any incoming American president, with the broadcast networks punishing him with coverage that has been 89% negative. The networks largely ignored important national priorities such as jobs and the fight against ISIS, in favor of a news agenda that has been dominated by anti-Trump controversies and which closely matches what would be expected from an opposition party.

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For example, President Trump’s push to invigorate the economy and bring back American jobs received a mere 18 minutes of coverage (less than one percent of all airtime devoted to the administration), while his moves to renegotiate various international trade deals resulted in less than 10 minutes of TV news airtime.

Eight years ago, in contrast, the broadcast networks rewarded new President Barack Obama with mainly positive spin, and spent hundreds of stories discussing the economic agenda of the incoming liberal administration.

For this study, MRC analysts reviewed all of ABC, CBS and NBC’s evening news coverage of Trump and his new administration from January 20 through April 9, including weekends. Coverage during those first 80 days was intense, as the networks churned out 869 stories about the new administration (737 full reports and 132 brief, anchor-read items), plus an additional 140 full reports focused on other topics but which also discussed the new administration.

Five big topics accounted for roughly two-fifths (43%) of the whopping 1,900 minutes of total network airtime devoted to the Trump administration. But those five topics accounted for a much larger share (63%) of the negative coverage hurled at the administration, as the networks covered each with an overwhelmingly hostile (more than 90% negative) slant.

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Methodology: Our measure of spin was designed to isolate the networks’ own slant, not the back-and-forth of partisan politics. Thus, our analysts ignored soundbites which merely showcased the traditional party line (Republicans supporting Trump, Democrats criticizing him), and instead tallied evaluative statements which imparted a clear positive or negative tone to the story, such as statements from experts presented as non-partisan, voters, or opinionated statements from the networks’ own reporters.

Using these criteria, MRC analysts tallied 1,687 evaluative statements about the Trump administration, of which 1,501 (89%) were negative vs. a mere 186 (11%) which were positive.

The networks spent 223 minutes on the battle over the President’s executive orders aimed at temporarily banning immigration from seven (later reduced to six) countries that are either failed states or otherwise safe havens for Islamic terrorism. All three networks showed their disdain by filling their newscasts with soundbites from those distressed by the order. “I feel ashamed to be living in this country now,” one traveler was shown saying on CBS’s January 28 broadcast, while ABC weekend anchor Cecilia Vega said the order had created “chaos, confusion and fear.”

“It feels like a nightmare,” a Syrian resident of Pennsylvania told NBC two days later, after his relatives arrival was delayed by the order. There was no balance to this debate, with our analysts tallying 287 negative statements on this topic vs. a mere 21 positive, which computes to an astounding 93% negative spin.






The next-most-covered item (222 minutes) was the continuing probe of Russia’s presumed role in last year’s hacks of Democratic e-mails, and whether individuals connected to the Trump campaign may have participated in the scheme. While this topic generated only about half as many evaluative statements as the travel ban, an overwhelming 97% (153 out of 157) were critical of President Trump and his associates.

The GOP effort to repeal and replace ObamaCare received 152 minutes of evening news coverage, with a ridiculously lopsided 94% hostile spin (193 negative vs. 12 positive statements). The Trump administration’s effort to crack down on illegal immigration, including increased deportations, an end to sanctuary cities, and a border wall, received 120 minutes of network coverage, 93% of which was negative (117 negative vs. 9 positive statements).

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And the President’s March 4 claim that Trump Tower was “wiretapped” by President Obama drew 97 minutes of coverage, an astronomical 99.5% of which was negative: 189 negative statements, vs. only a single soundbite in support of the President — a man at a pro-Trump rally shown on ABC’s World News Tonight on March 5, saying, “I think there’s some validity in Mr. Trump’s comments.”

Network anchors used the flap to brand the President as an incorrigible liar. “After a string of unproven claims, will this President struggle to keep the trust of the American public?” NBC’s Lester Holt intoned on his March 20 newscast.

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Earlier, on March 8, CBS’s Scott Pelley suggested President Trump had psychological problems, asking longtime Democratic official Leon Panetta: “Is it appropriate to ask whether the President is having difficulty with rationality?”

Other topics, ostensibly far more important to voters, were pushed far down the network news agenda. The entire process, from nomination to confirmation, of new Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch received just 69 minutes of network evening news coverage. The ongoing war against ISIS, including the tragic raid in Yemen that killed a Navy SEAL, was given just 57 minutes of coverage.

Eight years ago, the networks’ treatment of President Obama’s first 100 days was very different. Back then, the networks delivered most of their coverage to Obama’s key policy priorities, topped by the nearly $1 trillion “stimulus” package (150 stories, or 15% of the total). The network spin for that legislation: 58% positive, vs. 42% negative.

As MRC analysts calculated at the time, the networks also doled mostly positive coverage for Obama’s intervention in the housing market (59% positive), his decision to use taxpayer money to fund embryo-destroying stem cell research (82% positive), as well as his push for more government action on global warming (78% positive).

“The President’s first seven weeks have been a whirlwind, with often dramatic movement in all directions, on all fronts: the economy, health care, two wars and today education reform,” then-anchor Brian Williams marveled on the March 10, 2009 NBC Nightly News.

On World News, March 1, 2009, ABC’s medical editor, Dr. Tim Johnson, gushed after a forum on health care: “I was blown away by President Obama’s grasp of the subject, how he connected the dots, how he answered the questions without any script.”

obama2009.jpg


The networks also broadcast dozens of stories that treated Obama and his family as pop culture celebrities. “From the moment the Obamas landed in Britain, hand in hand, many here were already star-struck,” NBC’s Dawna Friesen enthused on the April 1, 2009 Nightly News. Covering a European leaders summit a few days later, ABC’s David Muir warmly referred to Obama as “the cool kid in the class.”

Needless to say, President Trump and his family have received no such positive reviews. Instead, the media’s reaction this President has been unremittingly hostile, with aggressively negative coverage of both the new administration’s policy agenda as well as his character.

When the President shares the media’s liberal mindset, journalists are willing to be seen as cheerleaders, shaking their pom-poms on behalf of the White House. But when voters select a President who challenges the liberal establishment, those cheerleaders morph into unleashed pitbulls, ferociously attacking both the President and his agenda.

http://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/nb...neymoon-hell-liberal-media-vs-president-trump
 
Funny how agenda driven news agencies like CNN can find all of the victims of every single budget cut, but they couldnt possibly find anyone who was going to get hurt by Obamacare back in 2008. The other day on CNN they ran a piece saying EPA cuts was going to hurt military veterans, because there are veterans working at the EPA, then they trot out a veteran to talk about how he feared losing his job at the EPA because of the cuts. What kind of dishonest bullshit is that?

Does anyone think that is not agenda driven nonsense? I could find a military veteran who was going to be hurt by raising the inheritance tax, and sell that story if i wanted too. Would that be honest journalism?

Funny how when dems want to raise taxes they dont trot out a military veteran to talk about how the tax increases will hurt their family, and they dont put out a ridiculous story like that. You can find someone who is hurt by literally every single action the government takes, its a zero sum game, for someone to win someone else has to lose so its pretty disingenous to claim that the MSM is honest when they are running agenda driven journalism on steroids.

Its funny how the left doesnt see this stuff going on, because they agree with the MSM, on these issues, so to them, its just a fact that cutting EPA regulations will supposedly hurt children and veterans, there is no other side to the argument, its all just taken as a fact.

EPA regulation cuts likely to hurt children most, experts say

http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/13/health/epa-cuts-children-health/
 
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The mainstream media has traditionally been vigilant about separating opinion from straight reporting. Efforts were made to keep reporting balanced so that both sides of controversial issues were reported. Opinion was relegated to the editorial pages.

With the internet came cheap ready access to an audience. Traditional broadcast and print media found it increasingly challenging to compete. Their costs were higher. They needed audience share to attract sufficient advertising dollars to keep their organizations financially afloat. They drifted toward the sensational, and away from drier topics, because that's where the audience was. In their attempt to compete with completely unaccountable purveyors of 'truthiness' occupying the internet space, they unwittingly signed on to truthiness, infomercials, and outright disinformation. Eventually we arrived at the present post-truth era, where distinction between truth and fiction is being lost.

Do we need any more convincing that we have arrived at the apotheosis of our transformation then the ascension of a post-truth television personality to the Highest Office in the Land. I can't see why we should. We need a new word to replace that obsolescent word 'reporting'. It is now something else. But what to call it?: "Spinning" perhaps, as in, "Who do you spin for?" "I spin for Infowars." Truth has morphed into truthiness and disinformation.

Fortunately we still have a few organizations that are doing their best to hang on to truth in their reporting: Pro-Publica, PBS, Politico (despite being profit driven, it's managed somehow to swim upstream) etc. Even the NY Times*, has managed, to hang on to truth. I presume this is because it is owned by a family controlled Trust. Its lifeblood is not dependent on truthiness and spin. Even so, I have to admit it's the NYT editorials and commentary I spring for. I'm a sucker for the ridiculous, the sensational, the outrageous and the titillating. I hate myself for it.
PBS was the original liar. P stands for Pravda. During the Clinton mud term upset when only one nonincumbent democrat was elected guess who they interviewed. They didn't know any republicans to talk to. I hate them the most because they still pretend to be honest.
 
PBS was the original liar. P stands for Pravda. During the Clinton mud term upset when only one nonincumbent democrat was elected guess who they interviewed. They didn't know any republicans to talk to. I hate them the most because they still pretend to be honest.


Yeah thats the most cynical part of it all, while i cant stand that whiny little douche Sean Hannity, there is no doubt in anyones mind where he stands and he openly admits it, then on the other side you have people like Rachel Maddow claiming she is just an honest journalist with no bias whatsoever. And its even more cynical when people like Anderson Cooper make that claim because people actually believe it.
 
When Jon Stewart interviewed Rachel Maddow he warned that their side was becoming just like Fox. She disagreed and said, No, we are telling the truth.
 
I have watched her some, but I must have missed that.

This is one quote, you were right it was hard to find, her name is blowing up on google since tax return debacle.

"People want to draft me as an activist all the time, ascribe that role to me," Maddow said. "I'm not. The reason I know I'm not is that I stopped doing that in order to be the person who explained the news and delivered the news instead. It's a very clear line to me.".

In other words "Im the arbiter of truth, no poltical leaning whatsoever. Im not an activist just because i make an hour long show towing the liberal line every single day of the week, no i couldnt be that."

She has made a more egregious quotes than that one time too, but i spent 10 minutes looking through my own posts just to find that one, because it got buried on google after the Trump tax return story, but she makes this claim all the time, I used to watch her once in a while under Obama, because she is somewhat intelligent but she leaned more and more towards party insider as the obama years went on and i lost all interest. I think the other time i remember was on Bill Maher's show if this quote isnt from it.

Cant say i really blame her, id probably sell out too if that much money was on the line, all of the most popular people in the newsworld are hyperpartisan, gee i wonder why. But if i wanted to listen to the DNC platform id go watch debbie wasserman schultz videos, thats why i dont listen to Hannity either, i like people who think for themselves on all the issues.
 
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89% of MSM coverage of Trump is negative after they licked obama's boots for 8 years, but yeah there is no bias, lol.





As President Trump approaches the end of his first 100 days in office, he has received by far the most hostile press treatment of any incoming American president, with the broadcast networks punishing him with coverage that has been 89% negative. The networks largely ignored important national priorities such as jobs and the fight against ISIS, in favor of a news agenda that has been dominated by anti-Trump controversies and which closely matches what would be expected from an opposition party.

interioroverall.jpg



For example, President Trump’s push to invigorate the economy and bring back American jobs received a mere 18 minutes of coverage (less than one percent of all airtime devoted to the administration), while his moves to renegotiate various international trade deals resulted in less than 10 minutes of TV news airtime.

Eight years ago, in contrast, the broadcast networks rewarded new President Barack Obama with mainly positive spin, and spent hundreds of stories discussing the economic agenda of the incoming liberal administration.

For this study, MRC analysts reviewed all of ABC, CBS and NBC’s evening news coverage of Trump and his new administration from January 20 through April 9, including weekends. Coverage during those first 80 days was intense, as the networks churned out 869 stories about the new administration (737 full reports and 132 brief, anchor-read items), plus an additional 140 full reports focused on other topics but which also discussed the new administration.

Five big topics accounted for roughly two-fifths (43%) of the whopping 1,900 minutes of total network airtime devoted to the Trump administration. But those five topics accounted for a much larger share (63%) of the negative coverage hurled at the administration, as the networks covered each with an overwhelmingly hostile (more than 90% negative) slant.

charttwo.jpg


Methodology: Our measure of spin was designed to isolate the networks’ own slant, not the back-and-forth of partisan politics. Thus, our analysts ignored soundbites which merely showcased the traditional party line (Republicans supporting Trump, Democrats criticizing him), and instead tallied evaluative statements which imparted a clear positive or negative tone to the story, such as statements from experts presented as non-partisan, voters, or opinionated statements from the networks’ own reporters.

Using these criteria, MRC analysts tallied 1,687 evaluative statements about the Trump administration, of which 1,501 (89%) were negative vs. a mere 186 (11%) which were positive.

The networks spent 223 minutes on the battle over the President’s executive orders aimed at temporarily banning immigration from seven (later reduced to six) countries that are either failed states or otherwise safe havens for Islamic terrorism. All three networks showed their disdain by filling their newscasts with soundbites from those distressed by the order. “I feel ashamed to be living in this country now,” one traveler was shown saying on CBS’s January 28 broadcast, while ABC weekend anchor Cecilia Vega said the order had created “chaos, confusion and fear.”

“It feels like a nightmare,” a Syrian resident of Pennsylvania told NBC two days later, after his relatives arrival was delayed by the order. There was no balance to this debate, with our analysts tallying 287 negative statements on this topic vs. a mere 21 positive, which computes to an astounding 93% negative spin.






The next-most-covered item (222 minutes) was the continuing probe of Russia’s presumed role in last year’s hacks of Democratic e-mails, and whether individuals connected to the Trump campaign may have participated in the scheme. While this topic generated only about half as many evaluative statements as the travel ban, an overwhelming 97% (153 out of 157) were critical of President Trump and his associates.

The GOP effort to repeal and replace ObamaCare received 152 minutes of evening news coverage, with a ridiculously lopsided 94% hostile spin (193 negative vs. 12 positive statements). The Trump administration’s effort to crack down on illegal immigration, including increased deportations, an end to sanctuary cities, and a border wall, received 120 minutes of network coverage, 93% of which was negative (117 negative vs. 9 positive statements).

piecharttrump.jpg


And the President’s March 4 claim that Trump Tower was “wiretapped” by President Obama drew 97 minutes of coverage, an astronomical 99.5% of which was negative: 189 negative statements, vs. only a single soundbite in support of the President — a man at a pro-Trump rally shown on ABC’s World News Tonight on March 5, saying, “I think there’s some validity in Mr. Trump’s comments.”

Network anchors used the flap to brand the President as an incorrigible liar. “After a string of unproven claims, will this President struggle to keep the trust of the American public?” NBC’s Lester Holt intoned on his March 20 newscast.

pelleyrationality_0.jpg


Earlier, on March 8, CBS’s Scott Pelley suggested President Trump had psychological problems, asking longtime Democratic official Leon Panetta: “Is it appropriate to ask whether the President is having difficulty with rationality?”

Other topics, ostensibly far more important to voters, were pushed far down the network news agenda. The entire process, from nomination to confirmation, of new Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch received just 69 minutes of network evening news coverage. The ongoing war against ISIS, including the tragic raid in Yemen that killed a Navy SEAL, was given just 57 minutes of coverage.

Eight years ago, the networks’ treatment of President Obama’s first 100 days was very different. Back then, the networks delivered most of their coverage to Obama’s key policy priorities, topped by the nearly $1 trillion “stimulus” package (150 stories, or 15% of the total). The network spin for that legislation: 58% positive, vs. 42% negative.

As MRC analysts calculated at the time, the networks also doled mostly positive coverage for Obama’s intervention in the housing market (59% positive), his decision to use taxpayer money to fund embryo-destroying stem cell research (82% positive), as well as his push for more government action on global warming (78% positive).

“The President’s first seven weeks have been a whirlwind, with often dramatic movement in all directions, on all fronts: the economy, health care, two wars and today education reform,” then-anchor Brian Williams marveled on the March 10, 2009 NBC Nightly News.

On World News, March 1, 2009, ABC’s medical editor, Dr. Tim Johnson, gushed after a forum on health care: “I was blown away by President Obama’s grasp of the subject, how he connected the dots, how he answered the questions without any script.”

obama2009.jpg


The networks also broadcast dozens of stories that treated Obama and his family as pop culture celebrities. “From the moment the Obamas landed in Britain, hand in hand, many here were already star-struck,” NBC’s Dawna Friesen enthused on the April 1, 2009 Nightly News. Covering a European leaders summit a few days later, ABC’s David Muir warmly referred to Obama as “the cool kid in the class.”

Needless to say, President Trump and his family have received no such positive reviews. Instead, the media’s reaction this President has been unremittingly hostile, with aggressively negative coverage of both the new administration’s policy agenda as well as his character.

When the President shares the media’s liberal mindset, journalists are willing to be seen as cheerleaders, shaking their pom-poms on behalf of the White House. But when voters select a President who challenges the liberal establishment, those cheerleaders morph into unleashed pitbulls, ferociously attacking both the President and his agenda.

http://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/nb...neymoon-hell-liberal-media-vs-president-trump
Have you considered the possibility that Trump is well and truly full of shit (yes you have, because you already said so), and that the media doesn't like to be lied to as a matter of course?

And if you do believe he's so full of shit, which you do, then wouldn't you want him to be held to account?

Consider that Trump is arguably a pathological liar. He lies as easily as you breathe; he's an intraday flip-flopper. He's spent over 30% of his time thus far on vacation and played way more golf than Obama (whom he complained about), and has signed more executive orders than any president since WWII, a number of them unconstitutional. And you don't want him to be held to account?

As for how the legitimate media treated Obama, consider it a matter of mutual respect. He didn't get a free ride and he was held to account when it was necessary. With Trump, who has no respect for either the truth or the legitimate media who report it, it's always necessary. "Truthful hyperbole" and all that.
 
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We recognize that organizations like people are fallible, you being the possible exception. But when you consider the organizations I named, their records, on a relative basis, are impeccable. I mean, consider just the Times, for example: consider how many thousands of news reports run in the Times against how many significant retractions; how many really horrible transgressions, totally fabricated reports and stories (there has been a few over the years, but damn few, that we know about, and the perpetrators were fired.) The organizations I mentioned haven't given up trying to be even handed, factual and detailed. But there are others too, of course.

The Times, at one time, was about the truth. In the last decade, however, I suspect your ratio of "signal to noise" you refer to has degraded far more than you will acknowledge. Partisan politics wasn't anything remotely like it is now back in "the day". Media outlets like the NYT have chosen a side - that's the primary issue here. Other outlets, like Breitbart, etc, came into being to balance the choices made by the Main Stream Media's bias and blatant pandering. If publications like the NYT had remained balanced and objective, there wouldn't have been any market for Breitbart in the first place. The fact is, a deliberate choice by the main stream media to move significantly left of center left everyone else who doesn't agree with that stance looking for an alternative. Thus, the media of the right was born and thrived. You would have thought the media would have learned from the demise of Air America - Americans don't want one sided bullshit. But no, the left was more concerned with its message than sustainability.

Now, if you consider fhl's and jem's posts above, there you can see direct evidence of what has happened; direct evidence as it were of the post-truth era. What's happened? The false stories, the ones that quoted out of context, the ones that simply invented, or the ones that were true but made use of believable innuendo, but innuendo which no evidence supported, have become the "truth", and what was once truth is now routinely considered, at best, to be truthiness, or at worst a lie dreamed up by conspirators.

There have been proven instances of complete and total fabrication by the publications you hold dear - Wash Po, Huff Po, NYT, CNN, MSNBC - outright lies that have come out to embarrass them. In today's hyper-visible, everything available in an instant with a click world, these are big, black eyes on the so-called truth you claim these companies seek. Blame no one but yourselves for the alienation.

Consider if you will the recent political campaign. All candidates on both sides took occasional liberties with the truth. However one candidate built his entire campaign on outright fabrication, truthiness, and disinformation. Millions believed they were hearing truth, and millions more knew they weren't but didn't care. Truth was not important to them compared to other considerations. We are living in the post-truth era.

Both candidates built their entire campaign on fabrication and disinformation. Both. Because that's what politicians do to get elected in our country. The reason why you are so out of touch is because you only recognize the bullshit when it is on the other side of the aisle. This is why you and the media you croon over have no credibility whatsoever. It would be different if you were calling out both sides. But you think you're all squeaky clean. The hypocrisy is so monumental that those of us watching cannot fathom what is wrong with you.
 
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