F CNN and their headlines

[helpisontheway]

They have a headline about our messy retreat from Afghanistan raises questions about Biden’s leadership. Then says his defenders say that he is being blamed for 20 years of strategic failures but he authored his own postscript of incompetence. What the absolute hell? F CNN and everyone on there. Damn.

[DanieRains]

1. If Dems Amass Too Much Power

Their billionaire owners may someday have to pay taxes.

Can't let that happen.

Biden and our military did great considering what they inherited.

[OldBaldy1701E]

20. And, we are done here.

You nailed it.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

2. I haven't watched CNN lately, after seeing them interview...

... one war-hawk after another who was criticizing the exit, and lamenting how we were leaving behind Afghan soldiers who had supposedly saved the lives of so many American soldiers over the years.

This 12 year-old video, from British reporters, seemed to tell a different story about the situation over there! And I strongly doubt that it changed much in the interim, or those "trained" Afghan soldiers surely wouldn't have collapsed almost instantly after our soldiers were finally pulled out of that mess.

[Sherman A1]

3. The best thing to do with cable noise is to turn it off and leave it off

There function is to create drama that fills airtime between ads for drugs we never knew we needed. I don’t bother watching any of it anymore and surprisingly I’m still informed by watching NHK, France 24, DW, BBC, PBS and listening to NPR.

Turn it off and send them an email as to why you are doing so. The don’t deserve your time.

[EYESORE 9001]

4. Couldn't agree more

I’m astounded by the number of people who complain about talking-head shows…every day. I got fed up with that codswollop so many years ago I don’t even remember how long it’s been since watching any of it. Cut off their oxygen by ceasing to watch - and then stick to it.

[Sherman A1]

5. Precisely

As you mentioned the surprise is the number of folks that seem to continually post about their disdain for this host or guest or headline or reporter or whatever. I just shake my head and have to wonder just why those posting cannot figure out the game being played on them.

[OldBaldy1701E]

22. Because

Brainwashing works. It has since time immemorial and thanks to advertising, we learned how to hide it in other messages. We let them do this. I suspect that there is also another possible reason. Remember that, at one time, the news was truly that. They were not beholden to ratings or anything. They were just a service that reported the news. I think that some people cannot understand that the news programs that used to be just for the news had to change to compete with drama shows and sitcoms. So, the networks sensationalized it. Which removed the reason why we watched it in the first place.

[wnylib]

11. NPR has corporate sponsors and is

pushing the incompetence narrative, too. This morning they interviewed a woman who was part of the Bush II administration. She said that Afghans had too much red tape to get through so she organized rescues using the planes of weathy people to rescue them and will continue her private efforts.

The Republican establishment is campaigning full steam ahead for 2022 and 2024.

[Sherman A1]

17. None are perfect

There was an “expert” on NHK last week bashing the withdrawal from Afghanistan but overall I would much rather listen to NPR or the others listed as they tend to not yell through the screen at me and insult my intelligence.

[wnylib]

19. I agree that they don't yell, and

their coverage is better than some news sources. But they do insult intelligence with their bias.

[Sherman A1]

25. I'm not sure that offering different points of view

Is bias and I don’t think it is insulting to do so by PBS and NPR but we all have our own opinions.

[JohnSJ]

12. Exactly. There are plenty of places to go for news with less editorializing.

[Lonestarblue]

6. I've been a bit surprised at how negative the media is and how long they've kept it going.

I expected them to be negative at first, but they just never stopped. Getting 123,000 people out of Afghanistan is far more than initially expected, yet it’s not enough because some were left behind. It’s probable that a million Afghans would have left if they could have to avoid living under the Taliban. And they keep pushing Republican talking points about Biden’s weakness as a leader. What he has done in the past month alone shows strength in making tough decisions.

What a farce that people believe the media is so liberal.

[Deminpenn]

9. A lot of the media has lost perspective

because they know or have worked with Afghans. If the person or people they know didn't get out and might be in danger or had trouble getting out, that colors their reporting. They are reporting based on emotions, not facts.

Also, Biden's administration has run like clockwork. Covering competent government is kind of boring especially after the daily adrenaline rush of outrage over the incompetence, grift and chaos of the Trump years.

[wnylib]

14. Don't forget that the media are owned by corporate

conglomerates that support Republican politics. They have been waiting for their opportunity to pounce on Biden. His liberal economic programs for average citizens have them worried. Attacks on him over Afghanistan are their way of discounting him in order to protect their corporate asses.

[gab13by13]

28. Exactly,

I have been saying for years that MSNBC and CNN are right wing propaganda outlets. The anchors read from scripts and if they stray from the script they get fired. Look back at the anchors who have been fired by MSNBC. My favorites were Keith Olbermann, Dylan Ratigan, and Martin Brashear. Dylan was my favorite because he was exposing corporate America, and he was just as passionate as Keith. Remember?

Even now I see a difference in Rachel. Was she threatened? She used to be an investigative reporter but now she is more like story book theater. Cable news anchors must toe the line. Look how propaganda works, everyone here, except myself, calls MF45's border fence a wall.

Cable news is more than just pushing prescription drugs, although that is a part of it, it is about controlling the narrative. The narrative it is pushing now is that president Biden did a terrible job in Afghanistan, that he is incompetent. I suspect that history will look upon president Biden favorably, that it will look upon his withdrawal from Afghanistan as courageous. Not many cable news anchors pushing that narrative are there?

[Hortensis]

30. This. I can't help wondering if being "surprised" now means

completely missing the years-long character assassination of Hillary Clinton. Could some here still be waiting for missing emails to send her to jail?

Most of the MSM always systematically work to destroy Democrats to keep Republicans in power. How can anyone not know that by now? It happens every election; the woman was just gone after more blatantly.

But they were also desperate. She was a huge threat in 2016 with long, looong coattails. They were running a depraved clown against someone the entire nation thought they knew. the reality a very redoubtable liberal, progressive policy wonk and a lifelong crusader for the rights of women and children. Because of that last, she was for years the most admired woman on the planet. And as U.S. senator and SoS she had very high popularity ratings, in the 70s! And that women politicians scored much higher than men in belief that they were caring and trustworthy was a huge problem given the GOP's massive corruption and predatory governing -- and tRump.

That's why the MSM spent years destroying the public image of who she is. And they succeeded in making her name synonymous with untrustworthiness, corruption, and callous, uncaring greed.

Surprised that they're going after Biden? Come on: he's the head of the Democratic Party!

[gab13by13]

32. Could not agree more,

Reasonable Democratic ideas are trashed. Adding 4 SC justices is demonized to the point that any politician who suggests it is a nut case. On the other hand, the GQP can pass laws that kill people and that enables them to run for president.

[Hortensis]

33. +1000. And all with one goal, keeping agents of the wealthy RW in power. nt

[Lonestarblue]

41. Actually, I didn't miss the media's character assassination of Hillary.

My surprise was more that polls, at least in the beginning, favored Biden’s decision to leave, and the media usually pays at least some attention to polls of public opinion. But this time, they just kept hammering away at Biden and actually helped turn some opinion against him through their bias for remaining in Afghanistan forever. And weeks later, they’re still criticizing him. I suppose that’s to get more clicks, but it’s tiresome.

[Hortensis]

42. :) They didn't surprise me because I assume everything, one way or another,

will be about November 8, 2022 and then November 5, 2024.

That we lost control of the withdrawal and did "leave people behind" means this was their chance to finally hit hard. We shouldn't fool ourselves -- this doesn't just not look good, in some ways it was not good, whether it could be done much better or not. Imo, their response was as predictable as that of attack dogs thrown a bloody chuck roast.

Fwiw, I agree their sophisticated tactics always require paying attention to polls, but I believe they did do that here. After all, they need readers to first trust them and not be turned off. Then they can really get down to work changing the polls.

[Deminpenn]

34. Money's the bottom line

Boring is bad for business, otoh, controversy isn't.

[uponit7771]

35. After the border coverage this looks par for the course

[J_William_Ryan]

7. Further proof that the notion of the 'liberal' media is a lie.

[Comfortably_Numb]

8. This. Turned on New Day at 5:00 my time, over to the US Open at five after

When I heard Berman’s opening salvo of bullshit blaming Biden for failing to get every American out, and seeing Clarissa in her hijab reporting on the refugee “crisis” from Pakistan. As you said, F ‘em.

[Ford_Prefect]

10. However much CNN has distorted we have Lord Rupert to thank for the trend.

He's been tilting the news game since Reagan and is responsible for a whole generation of reporters and editors who go for the jugular at the drop of a hat. Social Media (now there's a misnomer) has accelerated the trend towards what once was called yellow journalism.

[twodogsbarking]

13. Just remember that TV's purpose is to sell drugs with the side effects of

vomiting, nausea and diarrhea.

[Kaleva]

16. MSM is a for profit business and always has been

The Spanish-American War was a media created conflict. Yellow journalism was especially rampant in the 1800's and newspapers were extremely partisan.

[Kaleva]

15. Then stop watching CNN.

[GoCubsGo]

18. ABC ain't much better this morning.

Twelve minutes in, and they still haven't shut up about it. Poor Martha Raddatz is just devastated that her war porn got cut off. They're hammering Biden over the hundred people who didn't leave when they were told to months ago, and are now stuck there, while ignoring the tens of thousands who were evacuated. Fuck them.

[cayugafalls]

21. The m$m is really just the "town crier" doing the bidding of those in charge.

In the case of America, they are controlled by the corporate oligarchs.

NEWS has nothing to do with helping "we the people".

[evemac]

23. This is exactly what I thought last night

I don't watch CNN, but I look at their website regularly, and as I have friends in New Orleans, I was looking for updates and up to date information about this storm that has impacted millions of Americans. I had to scroll through at least 10 headlines, many of which had to do with the negative impacts of the Afghanistan situation to Biden, before I could find anything about Ida.
And so I angrily filled in a comment box for CNN last night and totally slammed them regarding their coverage of Afghanistan. I've had enough. I don't intend to diminish what the human impact is there, but they seem to blather on about the optics of the pullout.

[dlk]

24. This is just more of the MSM's toxic bothsiderism

Because Republicans got us into this war, Democrats must be blamed for the exit.

[Vinca]

26. I just saw that and it really pissed me off. I tried to find a way to email the writer of the piece

but apparently they get to say what they like without comment. The only reason Biden's leadership is in question is because they need a news story and that's what they're peddling.

[yardwork]

27. Neoliberalism is based on a war economy.

The MSM coverage this past week is more proof, if we needed it.

Being at war is almost inconceivably profitable for a whole lot of people who run, well, almost everything. Ending war is not part of their plan. They will punish anybody who tries to end the trillion dollar machine. These people run the media and everything else.

I've never been more proud of Joe Biden.

[NoMoreRepugs]

29. So easy to blame Democrats and Biden because

they don’t have their own network to counter the false narrative - like Faux counters reality for the RePutinicans.

[Johnny2X2X]

31. More than just the headlines

They have an article about women returning to school in Afghanistan and it frames it as a "blow to feminism" because the Taliban is going to mandate male and female be taught in separate classrooms. While that's backwards, that article could have been framed as a victory for women in Afghanistan because they're going to continue to go to school.

Is it a blow to feminism? Or is it a meaningful reform?

The Taliban is not modern or good for women, period, but that doesn't mean they shouldn't be encouraged in the reforms that they are apparently going through. Women and girls are going to be allowed to go to school. Burqas are not going to mandated. Women are going to be allowed to work outside the home. Women are going to be allowed in the government. These things appear to be facts and are a positive step for the Taliban.

There are other steps too, there have not been mass killings. They aren't rounding up and punishing their enemies. The random killings that did happen do not seem to be sanctioned by the Taliban leadership.

CNN is going crazy right now, it's disgraceful. Their headlines are garbage. One the other day made it seem like the Taliban killed a female activist when the woman was killed in the IS-K suicide bombing. The Taliban is not a favorable or friendly government, but they're so far a lot better than they were in the late 90s and the US was fine with them then.

[Deminpenn]

36. A lot has happened in the 20 yrs between Taliban rule

An entire generation of woman has grown up in relative freedom.

There are now cell phones in many hands to document abuses and such things. It's like in the classroom. the teacher has one pair of eyes watching the students while the students have 20 pairs of eyes to watch the teacher.

Those genies are not going back in the bottle.

Even in Afghanistan, times have changed. If the taliban want to stay in power, they had better adapt to this reality.

[Johnny2X2X]

40. Agree

And one thing that is often overlooked, is that the Taliban never went anywhere. They controlled parts of Afghanistan this whole time and had members embedded all over Afghanistan too. They've been part of the changes of the last 20 years to some degree.

[Deminpenn]

43. Like in the US, there are spots in Afghanistan that are educated

and urban, but many places are rural, conservative and unwilling to lose their traditions and ways.

[Kingofalldems]

37. Oh I see what's up here.

[0rganism]

38. Think it's nasty now? Just wait until 9/11.

President Biden better have something special ready to go or the media will blame him for terrorist attacks too. They're in full take-down mode now and priming America to look for scapegoats in the current power structure. The next two weeks are going to be ugly.

[pwb]

39. Turn it off.

A lot of us have.