Bernie Sanders Hammers The Media For Refusing To Educate People About The Real Issues

[babylonsister]

http://www.politicususa.com/2014/11/02/bernie-sanders-hammers-media-refusing-educate-people-real-issues.html

Bernie Sanders Hammers The Media For Refusing To Educate People About The Real Issues
By: Jason Easley
Sunday, November, 2nd, 2014, 5:50 pm



Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) pulled no punches by calling out the media for refusing to inform and educate people.

Video of Sen. Sanders on Moyers & Company @ link~

Transcript:

BILL MOYERS: Well, that’s interesting. Because, you know, I’ve seen you quite recently on television. It’s always the same questions and always the same five headlines. What’s the story that the corporate press is not letting you tell?

BERNIE SANDERS: Oh, my God. You see, this is the issue. I mean, I’ve been on a million of these shows. They say, ‘Here’s the story of the day. What do you think about the Secret Service? What do you think about this? What do you think about Ebola?’ All of those issues are important.

But the issues that impact ordinary people, is they’re asking why, despite all of the productivity, people are working longer hours for lower wages. Have we had that discussion, Bill? Have you ever heard anybody talking about it? They’re asking how come we’ve had this unfettered free-trade policies that have resulted in the loss of millions of good-paying jobs and you got both parties still saying, well, that’s pretty good.

And this issue of income and wealth inequality, wow. One percent owning 37 percent of the wealth in America. Bottom 60 percent owning 1.7 percent. One family, the Walton family of Wal-Mart, owning more wealth than the bottom 40 percent. Do you think we should be talking about that issue? You can’t get the discussion going on TV.

BILL MOYERS: Why?

BERNIE SANDERS: Because it’s not in the interest of the corporations who own the networks to actually be educating the American people so that are debating the real issues. It’s much better to deflect attention away from those issues and get into the story of the day.

There was some guy who was a football fan who walked halfway across the country. Boy, that’s a really big story. Or, Chris Christie yelled at somebody. History will certainly remember this as one of the important issues of the 21st century.

snip//

The media’s distaste for the issues that impact regular people is the main reason why Sen. Sanders has such a difficult time getting his message out. The reason the media are comfortable parroting Republican positions is because the corporate press has become a kindred soul to the GOP.

The media and the Republican Party both don’t care about the struggles of regular people. Walmart buys oodles of advertising, so a critical story about the role that the nation’s largest private sector employer plays in worsening income inequality never gets seen.

As long as the media powers remain guided by corporations and the profit motive, the American people will continue to be grossly uninformed. An informed population is the greatest weapon of change, which is why the corporate owned media works so hard to keep folks in the dark.

[mcar]

1. Sen. Sanders is correct

The media commits journalistic malpractice on a daily basis.

[pangaia]

2. Sure, he is right, absolutely, but nobody who needs to hear it watches Moyers.

Waste of time..

[intheflow]

35. You're right, Bernie should just sit down and shut up.

"Waste of time?"

[pangaia]

49. Did I say that?

No. You did.

[intheflow]

52. You said his talking on Moyers was a waste of time.

So, yeah, basically. I mean, if his speech is just a waste of time, he should probably just sit down and shut up. That's what people generally mean when they demean free speech by saying it's a waste of time.

[pangaia]

54. Wrong. YOU said it again.

I did NOT say he should 'sit down and shut up." YOU said that I said that. Not me.
You see, I said I feel telling the truth on Moyer's great show is not going to help. I did NOT say he shouldn't say the same things somewhere else.

I have said NOTHING against free speech.
Jeesh..Get in the flow, man.

[intheflow]

55. Free speech is free speech.

It doesn't matter the platform. It might help someone. You have no idea of the scope and influence of any given bit of free speech.

[pangaia]

56. Where did I say anything against free speech?

[PAProgressive28]

3. Go Bernie Go

He's the only hope we have for a challenger to Hillary. O'Malley, Cuomo, etc. don't actually have a chance and aren't different enough from Hillary.

[KingCharlemagne]

5. Well, Liz Warren is a potential challenger. At this point, she has ruled out a run in 2016. However,

she might be planning some sort of RFK '68 strategy repeat, wherein Warren lets Sanders knock off Hillary in Iowa (where Sanders' small-town retail politics persona will play very well in the caucuses) or in New Hampshire, where Sanders would be something of a regional favorite son. At that point, with Hillary's inability to command the base of the party, Warren could easily decide to toss her hat into the ring. Stranger things have been known to happen.

[brooklynite]

13. Uh, huh...and RFK endorsed LBJ before the election?

Trying to understand the analogy here.

[KingCharlemagne]

15. Sorry, was too cryptic in my original comment. RFK waited until Sen. Eugene McCarthy

had come within a whisker of defeating LBJ in the NH primary. Following LBJ's near loss (close on the heels of the Tet '68 debacle), RFK throws his hat in the ring. At which point, LBJ drops out.

Coming to 2014, let's assume hypothetically that Sanders runs even with or defeats Hillary in either Iowa or NH. At that point, Warren would probably reassess her decision not to run, Hillary's vulnerability suddenly stark and impossible to miss.

Sanders plays the role of Gene McCarthy and Warren the role of RFK. Oh, yeah, and Hillary the role of LBJ.

[brooklynite]

16. And Warren endorsed Hillary Clinton...did RFK endorse LBJ?

'"All all of the women — Democratic women I should say — of the Senate urged Hillary Clinton to run, and I hope she does. Hillary is terrific,"

[KingCharlemagne]

24. Yeah, I grant you the analogy is imperfect. I take it you think Warren has no chance of entering the

race? Seems like your position is as valid, or more so, than mine now. But suppose Sanders delivers a surprise upset in Iowa or NH, such that Hillary drops out (a la LBJ). Do you think if Hillary were to bow out that Warren might reconsider her decision?

Now that you mention it, I cannot recall if RFK had 'endorsed' or even offered tepid support for LBJ. (For RFK to have endorsed McCarthy's insurgent campaign would have been heresy, but not sure where RFK stood with respect to LBJ's re-election ambitions.) I know as 1966 turned into '67, that RFK's criticisms of our Vietnam policies became increasingly focused and sharp. But I don't know where he actually stood with regard to LBJ in the run-up to NH '68. If you know, please let on. Otherwise, it's back to the history books for me today!

Thanks for your annotation, btw. Always good to have one's analogical thinking challenged.

[brooklynite]

25. I think she has no DESIRE to enter the race...

...whether Hillary runs or not.I think she feels a commitment to the people of Massachusetts who elected her to the Senate.

[KingCharlemagne]

27. Good point. You really have to WANT to be president to endure the challenges of a

national campaign. Any thoughts on RFK and LBJ in '66 and '67?

[brooklynite]

28. Add to that, the dynamics of campaigning have changed radically since 1968...

...despite the periodic dreams of a "white knight" candidate or a "brokered convention, it's just not possible to raise the money and build the organization you need at the last minute to support a late entry.

[KingCharlemagne]

30. Again, excellent observations. If Sanders is going to make a serious run for it, he himself is

going to need to shit or get off the pot and pronto, else Hillary's national organization wins almost by default. (The wild card here is that there seems to be a significant degree of grass roots enthusiasm for Sanders nationally but, even so, a national strategy and organization are the sine qua non of today's presidential campaigns.)

Hillary can show a reasonably clear path to the nomination right now. Sanders cannot (at least as I read the tea leaves).

[sheshe2]

4. KnR

[cantbeserious]

6. The Oligarchs, Corporations And Banks Own And Control The Politicians That Own And Control Us

Why would any of that group want to undermine their racket?

[PatrickforO]

7. Bernie is right yet again.

[Man from Pickens]

8. That stat on the Waltons is stunning

1 family has more than 40 percent of the country. One.

If there was anything that made more salient the fact that our government works for people like the Waltons and not the rest of us, I haven't heard it yet.

[WillyT]

9. K & R !!!

[DeSwiss]

10. ''Freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those who own one.'' ~A. J. Liebling

[freshwest]

11. Go Bernie! So glad he is getting a bit of media coverage.

[kairos12]

12. Please Bernie, stay off small planes.

[brooklynite]

14. ...because the Democratic Party leadership wants to kill you?

UNREC

[kairos12]

20. Let's ask Paul Wellstone about small planes. Oh wait, we can't.

[brooklynite]

23. Last month, five freshman at my nephew's college rented a plane and it crashed...probably a dry run?

Because plane accidents are never accidental.....

[kairos12]

51. Yeah sure.

[Takket]

17. Sanders just gets it. Period.

[BuelahWitch]

19. Two more reasons

1. Talking about real issues would involve more than the 6 minutes or so that these shows devote to their "stories." It would also likely be hard for the Barbie and Ken bunch in front of the cameras to have an intelligent discussion about something that is not superficial.

2. For the past 20 years, many of these "news" programs have been trying to convince the American people that they too can be like the Walton family if they just work a little harder, golly gee. can't make ends meet? It's your fault! To discuss the truth about income inequality would show them as the liars they are.

[Populist_Prole]

39. Yeah, that's the crux of it alright

Your first bullet point is right-on. Condensed and concise.

[Babel_17]

21. He gets it (nt)

[Vinca]

22. I can't believe the media is giving Jodi Ernst a pass.

She's every bit as nutty as Todd Akin, the witch candidate and the pay-your-doctor-with-a-chicken lady.

[NM_Birder]

26. Change. foreign. trade. policy.

if you want Americans to have better jobs on American Soil CHANGE FOREIGN TRADE POLICY.......... If not, get used to South Korea being the new "global model". Every little scrap of American Industry will be snatched up and performed overseas.

Unemployment is 6.whatever percent right ? If you believe that is a true and accurate indicator of the American Economy, you are missing the long range effects, and are rejoicing in a colorful superhero band-aid, politically applied to an open head wound.

[suffragette]

29. K&R

[malthaussen]

31. Bernie is good on economic issues.

However, I don't hear much from him about climate change or the war on women. It seems that he is focused on wealth and income distribution. Are these the "most important issues?"

-- Mal

[Populist_Prole]

40. Well....for now....Yes

Seriously though, even as social and environmental issues are important parts of progressive bulwarks, what good are they if a person is homeless and penniless?

[navarth]

50. If I may....

I hear Bernie mention global warming almost every time I hear him speak. Thom Hartmann's 'Brunch with Bernie' is on Fridays, I recommend it. I would be inclined to trust him on women's issues as well.

If that's any help.

[JonLP24]

32. I don't understand how real conspiracies and outrages

Well documented are presented by Frontline who'll give whatever side on any issue to give their opinions from the bar owner expressing disappointment that they can't execute the guy each time for each kid who died in the fire who was executed for a conviction based on bad arson forensics & jail house informant who saw his sentence cut short & later recanted (he did once, then reversed back to original claims recanting the rancant, then recanted his original testimony a second time). To the coroner of New Orleans having plenty of fair time to address the incredible messy New Orleans coroner system which was the worst in a nation where coroner systems are horrible all over the country.

Documentaries like the one on forensics where they have the "bite mark/jaw expert" testified in a case where someone was sent to prison but released when evidence clearly pointed the other way, he still testifies and judges still allow his testimony.

Nothing got my blood boiling more than the one on NOPD post-Katrina where ironically the same New Orleans coroner played a part and they certainly gave airtime to assholes justifying their abuses "things were crazy" was basically what the argument boiled down to.

The Frontline on NSA would probably bore the countless people that love talking about Free Masons, Illuminati, New World order stuff. Naomi Klein had a good line in reference to tsunami conspiracies (some sort of underwater bombing or some nonsense) "The truth is at once less sinister and more dangerous." That is the way I feel about those mindless conspiracies everyone loves talking about but real shut, public isn't interested in that.

My original question was "Does the public care?" considering Frontline does top-notch fair reporting on real issues but it isn't as popular as it should be. Then I realized, the public does seem to understand somewhat about the cable news media but I run into the types that don't believe anything at all said the news but trust whatever source that led them to believe Obama is a free mason. The news media won't tell you he is a free mason because they don't want you to know who is a free mason but you can find free masons at some charitable events for some reasons.

[1StrongBlackMan]

33. I wonder what would happen if ...

a sitting Senator, would partner with sitting House Representatives, in holding a press conference wherein they introduce a comprehensive, "Income Equity Rectification Act", that raised the minimum-wage,, established a national infrastructure repair Jobs program and a comprehensive training program to support those jobs, closing loophole that foster off-shoring, and {insert your progressive initiative here}, all financed through increased taxes on the wealthiest 1% and a "Corporate Free-loaders Tax" (equal to the amount of governmental aid an employer's employees qualify for/receive)?

And what would happen if these Senators and House members held these press conferences every Friday, a twice on the first business day of the month, re-introducing the legislation or calling out the leadership to move the Bill through the legislative channels.

Such a move, I suspect, would do nothing about moving the Bill through thye legislative channels; but, it WOULD start the conversation ... just as the 50+ "votes" on the ACA, did. But first, there would have to be a Senator and House members that are willing to be about it; rather than, talk about it.

[Dems2002]

46. The People's Budget

It's been around for a few years. It was introduced the same time the media carried their boner for the simpson bowles budget. Did it receive any press? Ha ha ha.

http://cpc.grijalva.house.gov/the-peoples-budget/

[1StrongBlackMan]

48. Very little ...

But doing it every Friday (and twice on the first of the month) will gin up the media coverage we need ... even if it is initially done mockingly.

[intheflow]

34. Bring back the Fairness Doctrine!

I brought this up in my Masters of Library Science class a few weeks ago and got a lot of blank stares from my classmates, most of whom were born after the Fairness Doctrine was killed by Reagan. I explained to them what it was and the light bulbs going off over their heads was nearly blinding. "Aaaaah! THAT explains why the media lies to us!"

[hifiguy]

37. The repeal of the FD is part of it.

Equally big parts are the consolidation of media and the complete refusal to enforce antitrust laws. Add those to the merger of news into entertainment operations and you have a near-perfect propaganda machine/echo chamber. Somewhere Josef Goebbels is nodding in gleeful approval.

[kentuck]

53. If you think about it...

...that's really the only way we are going to be able to control this unlimited money from dark sources. With renewal of the Fairness Doctrine, they could spend all they wanted on ads but the radio or TV station would have to give his opponent an equal amount of time at no charge. It has come to that.

[raouldukelives]

36. Kick!

Bernie gets it. Every dollar in Wall St is a dollar invested against honest & open democracy. Those who would fill the coffers of corporations in pursuit of greater riches themselves do no favors to those of us trying to GOTV and defeat conservatives. But, sadly, that is where many draw the line at trying to save our country. They will vote against Republicans, they will speak out against them, but they will be damned if they won't do all they can to profit alongside them.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

38. That's not going to change as long as it's U.S. policy to promote capitalism globally.

[tclambert]

41. The media educate people? Media bosses want to keep people stupid and confused and afraid.

FEAR! Yargle-bargle, FEAR! Science is a hoax! FEAR! Stop thinking, just repeat what you hear on TV. And FEAR!

[Populist_Prole]

42. He sure hit the bulls eye here

The few times I'm forced to be exposed to MSM news aggravate me to no end. It's absolutely unbearable, and made all the more so by the fact so many just lap it up and let it do their thinking for them. I hear it all the time from those I'm around most every day; all they're talking about ( issues-wise ) is the typical MSM-driven "story of the day" bullshit. It just goes on and on and on, and has over time in a vicious rolling pattern of keywords and talking points and on any given day it's all you ever hear for the next few days: OJ, 9-11, Honey Boo Boo, ISIS, Ebola......

Try and cut through the horseshit and bring up the issues in the OP, and I get scoffed at as some eccentric wonk. I swear we're due for extinction at the rate we're going.

[FourScore]

45. He pretty much always does. n/t

[polichick]

43. k&r for truth

[grahamhgreen]

44. One percent owning 37 percent of the wealth in America. Bottom 60 percent owning 1.7 percent"

[blm]

47. The corporate media DOESN'T CARE one bit about being 'called out' because

they control who HEARS it and how far the 'news' of it will travel.