The American Media Is The Dog That Didn't Bark

[ffr]

The media are supposed to be the watchdogs of democracy, but what good is a watchdog that is easily distracted by little treats from the burglars, and only barks after the thieves have already left the house? There you are, with your TV, stereo, laptops, jewelry and cash gone for good.

That was our 2016 election. Remember when the New York Times "cleared" Trump of Russian influence shortly before the election, and how they ran with the Comey letter to smear Hillary Clinton? Good times!

The questions I would be asking right now: How did someone who lost $1.2 billion come up with CASH to buy golf courses? Where is the Russian money Don Jr. talked about? Was the National Enquirer the source for the Jerry Falwell "racy photos"? Did Trump blackmail Falwell into supporting him? Just for starters.
<snip>

Instead, we were exposed to talking heads ridiculing Hillary Clinton and asking her why people didn't trust her. Oh, I don't know -- maybe the constant stream of insinuation and outright skepticism? The questions about why people didn't "like" her (even though she went on to earn three million more votes than the alleged winner).

Let me remind you: Everything Clinton warned about has come to pass. Yes, Trump is a crook. Yes, he's controlled by Russia. No, he wasn't a successful businessman. Yes, his becoming president would be dangerous for our democracy.

And what thanks did she get? The Times and the Washington Post ran with their infamous Clinton Cash stories, either unaware or indifferent to the fact that Peter Schweizer, the book's "author", was president of an organization called the Government Accountability Institute. He co-founded the org with Steve Bannon, executive director and coincidentally, Trump's campaign manager. In an entity that paid Peter Schweizer's bills while he wrote his hit job.

If you're a longtime C&L reader, you already know how victory for the right wing is defined as getting their fabrications into the mainstream.

Why didn't either of these important papers ever apologize?
<snip>

David Fahrenthold won a much-deserved Pulitzer this year. But that doesn't pay anywhere near as well as snagging a prime-time cable news gig.

And chicks really dig guys who are on TV! - Crooks and Liars

There are few left in the media who are the people's watchdog. And if you stick your neck out too far, like Dan Rather, you get it taken off. It doesn't matter that you've got the news dead-on accurate the whole rest of your career.

[spooky3]

1. Good points. But WaPo and NYT have both brought

Us much better coverage of events in the past year—and some outstanding opinion columns—than many other outlets.

[Hoyt]

2. Actually, a lot of the media has been critical of trump. But too many white wingers

just don’t care.

The entire media could start and end all reports with “Lock trump up.” And 45+%of voters still would be supportive of the Racist-in-Chief.

[Midnight Writer]

3. Was there honestly not one MSM that could not have found undocumented workers on Trump property?

Before the election?

The man is a grifter with hotels, resorts, restaurants, golf courses. Wouldn't the first thing to do be check into the status of his employees, given Trump's "War On Illegals"?

[Honeycombe8]

4. Journalism is the watchdog of democracy. Not "media."

Political talk shows aren't journalism.

The journalists did a great job. They reported on everything...the lies, the scandals, mocking a disabled reporter, no tax returns, the bloviating, the fake doctor exam, and all the rest.

It's time to stop blaming everyone in the world but the candidates, their staffs, Jill Stein (who took votes from Clinton), and Russia. No candidates campaign and strategy is perfect. No staff is perfect executing that strategy. Susan Sarandon should not have been supporting the Russian-connected Stein to compete with Hillary. And finally....Russia. I personally think it was mainly Russia. And we do have evidence of that.