The Rude Pundit Today-Media Teetering Near Tipping Point?

[Somawas]

Let us posit a theory of media tipping points for a moment or two here. President Bush's approval ratings have sunk to lows that make the post-9/11 Dubya lovefest seem as distant as, well, Bush, Sr.'s post-Persian Gulf lovefest. And when you get to specific issues, like Iraq or just about anything, or the direction of the country, the big mo on George W. is down, down, down. Consistently. In every scientific poll.

So let's say you're a scotch-swillin' exec at a big ass corporate media entity, say a TimeWarnerCNN-type. You have to say, "Sweet merciful fuck, I'm a ratings whore. I gotta jack up that 25-49 demo like it's Bob Dole's dick. How am I gonna shove some Viagra down this throat?" Now, there's decisions to be made. Big fuckin' decisions. 'Cause every instinct that has guided you for four years now has been to wave that fuckin' flag, man, to repeat the government line like it's gospel. So your decision is this: do you keep doin' that shit, thinkin' that the only people sittin' on their asses and watchin' Wolf Blitzer and Lou Dobbs are the Bush-lovin' 40 percent (and sinkin' fast)? Or do you look at polls, since numbers are your game, motherfucker, and say, "Shit, we better ride this trend"?

Because, see, the bottom line is the bottom line, right? And as much as you wanna keep the peace with Karl Rove and manipulate people into thinkin' Bush is a great man, a great President, and the best fuck you never had, at some point the democracy of audience share and ad dollars is gonna override your obeisance to your Republican masters. If your shareholders start to get unhappy, it ain't Rove's or Karen Hughes' ass on the line. Well, not directly. So maybe you need to start programming things with a tilt towards what the vast majority of Americans believe, about the war, about Social Security, about the Congress, about Bush himself. (If 51% of the vote is a "mandate," then 60% of a poll is a "vast majority" - it's new millenium comparative mathematics.)

http://rudepundit.blogspot.com/

Maybe the Pundit is on to something. Bush's numbers are tanking so deep that it may be in the media's interest to jump all over Barbara's evil spawn.

[swimboy]

1. Awesome augury from the Turnip Dude!

[Writer]

In not as crude of terms as this writer has put it...

but I absolutely agree. The market-driven media is now swinging about to our favor. We now will start REAPING the benefit of consumer-driven news.

[blm]

2. All I can say is GAWD - I HOPE SO!

.

[Ysolde]

3. Wishful thinking.

The execs at the corporations really don't care about the long-term health of their corporations. They drain so much money and bennies from the company that they often work against the corp's long-term health (see health care costs and read how anti-competitive the US is for labor due to it) for their private gain. So, even though what you're saying is ultimately true, the folks running the show need to keep the Shrub in power to insure that they keep their ill-gotten gains. So, the media will continue to fawn and their ratings will continue to decline.


edited cause I can't type right!

[mr_hat]

4. I don't see it. News operations have been stripped to the bone >

in terms of their being able to actually persue and report the news. No one is going to re-invest in real news.

And the MSM doesn't really have to turn independent profits, as long as they're keeping the pipeline full with compliant consumers for their corporate masters. So there's no motivation there, either.

We may see the balance of pathetic sound bytes shift somewhat left. I don't see that as cause for celebration, though.

[NorCalDem]

5. I love the Rude Pundit

he says it as I could only dream of saying it. And with plenty of profanity too, I love it!

Thanks Rude Pundit! oh, and Somawas for bringing us this.

[gratuitous]

6. Elegantly put by the Rude Pundit

Because something finally loosened Eleanor Clift's straightjacket enough that she was able to type out that maybe it's about time for George W. Bush to be frank with the American people about the illegal invasion of Iraq. Three years too late, but I guess we'll have to take what we can get.

Some people are trying to paint Eleanor of the Newsweek as one of the Liberal Good Guys, but try as I might, I can't seem to track down her column from the last three years that says, "You know what? Screw Newsweek and screw the Washington Post! I can see as well as anyone that George W. Bush is lying his ass off to inveigle us into an invasion of Iraq. My corporate media overlords have said that we are to take the administration talking points as they come and question nothing we're told, even when we know they're lying in our faces. But I love this country too much, and I value the lives of our men and women in uniform too highly to let them be sent off for a phony rationale that will cost us far too much in terms of our national honor and prestige, not to mention the lives of our military and Iraq's citizenry and our national Treasury to let this string of hooey go on any longer. Either Bush comes clean or we should impeach him. I know I'm taking an awful chance because establishment Washington is ready to sign on to this fake war, but doggone it, I'm going to tell the truth!"

Is it so gauche to point out that the media have been hypnotized by Bush's artificially high approval numbers? Because if they have, I certainly hope the spell has been broken by his sinking down to 40%. Otherwise we're looking at another three years of fawning credulous coverage.

[kansasblue]

7. and they have to compete with the internet

move and move people get there news from the internet and the blogs. These people are leaving in droves. I suspect there are some very very nasty fights in the board rooms between swing Right (Go Fox-like) and the other arguing to go left!