The Media Reaches Critical Mass on Trump

[babylonsister]

http://billmoyers.com/story/medias-critical-mass/

The Media Reaches Critical Mass on Trump

Is the tide turning? The words "lie" and "liar" are beginning to turn up in New York Times and Washington Post headlines about the GOP nominee.

By Neal Gabler | September 20, 2016


If you sniff around media blogs, which is part of my job, you know that something momentous may have happened last Saturday: The mainstream media finally came out of hiding and called Donald Trump what he is — a liar. And not just any old mainstream media, but the gray lady herself: The New York Times.

The mainstream media finally came out of hiding and called Donald Trump what he is — a liar.

snip//

But now, with his birther announcement, some folks think he may have actually crossed that line. As Beinart put it, “He has so brazenly lied, so nakedly appealed to bigotry and so frontally challenged the rule of law that he has made the elite media’s decorum absurd. He’s turned highbrow journalists into referees in a World Wrestling Entertainment match. Last Saturday, The Times answered Trump’s challenge.” In fact, Paul Krugman’s blog post was headlined, “A Lie Too Far?”

I am not sure whether this really is a turning point or not. We will know a lot more when we see how Trump’s lies are treated during the debates. Nor do I think the media’s turn had much to do with what he said in “retracting” his noxious birther charge. I believe it had much more to do with how he did it. He lured the media to his new Washington hotel by creating what he himself called “suspense.” Until now the media had gamely allowed themselves to be played. It was actually one of the things they seemed to admire about Trump, even as so many of them were trashing him. He knew the game. He knew how to manipulate them. He had the craft down. He was good at it.

And then he overplayed his hand. The eruptions on CNN were a perfect example of how Trump seemed to have blown it. Commentator after commentator protested that after the big buildup, Trump gave the media a hotel commercial and a scant 30 seconds of walkback with no apology. The Huffington Post noted that CNN anchors had said on the air, “We got played.”

So for the media, Trump’s sin wasn’t lying. It was his lack of craft in recanting the lie. After all, the folks at CNN are in the TV business. And so is Trump. He should have known better. He should have been smoother. But it remains to be seen if that constitutes a critical mass or not. Stay tuned.

[JustAnotherGen]

1. Until I see an onslaught of accurate and fair reporting

For two weeks straight -

I hold out no hope for the media.

They shock the Trump campaign for three hours -then turn right back around and give him free advertising (his rallies are always shown live) and fawn over him when he's not 'rallying'.


I don't believe they have the will, ethics, or morals to do their jobs.

[dem in texas]

2. Yes, the word "Journalism" now means reporting lies for the highest ratings.

I was reading an article in the Dallas Morning News and it said Trump "misspoke" when he was quoting some numbers that anyone with an ounce of brain matter would know were out and out lies.

Cable news are nothing but news prostitutes reporting on anything, never questioning the facts quoted, no matter how wild and outrageous they are. All for higher ratings for their network.

[irisblue]

3. the media failed to do their job, got played for fools

& now they are feeling shamed & pissed. Where was they in the fall?
.

[Fla Dem]

4. I'll wait until after if the first debate to determine if the media has turned.

If they hold Trump to the same scrutiny and criticism, don't grade him on the curve because he's an "inexperienced debater" then I might agree the press and media have found their balls.

[world wide wally]

5. Take note of how the polls have turned when the media turned.

Their power is a scary thing and they are all together too willing to wield it for the right price. Of course, Trump and all Republicans think regulation is a dirty word, but so is "former" democracy

[rurallib]

6. insightful observation that we won't see in the corporate media

[malthaussen]

7. Bit late, I'd say.

Who reads the NYT anyway?

-- Mal