“All news organisations, when they get something wrong they have an absolute responsibility to correct it and to apologise for it.” — Lachlan Murdoch LOL. The lying at Fox News was premeditated and deliberate. There is no doubt about that. The cause was an absence of integrity, values and grit. It was caused by greed and arrogance. In the end, the meltdown of Rupert Murdoch’s lie machine was caused by panic. The simple truth is that most individuals and businesses who drown don’t do so because they can’t swim. They drown because they panic, and thus it was so at Fox News, America and journalism’s version of pancreatic cancer.
When reading I wasn’t thinking about news but Johnson and Johnson’s reaction to the 1980’s Tylenol poisoning by outside parties. They went back to their basics - First do no harm. J&J recalled every package.
We have six major news organizations ( need to add PBS in that mix) and yes there are shared resources ( setups are expensive) However, the five need to go back to their core principles-do they report the truth or they support lies They have a choice to make.
The pool is polluted and has been since Fox was invited to take the plunge. Believe them, and I know that’s almost impossible for most of us, when their own lawyers say Fox is not a news organization. They are not . They are a lying fascist propaganda machine the likes of which Dr. Gobbles would be proud to call his own.
Steve, careful. Puck colleagues are not uniformly committed - access is a problem for at least one - and I gave him his breakaway book 📕 in three days of a memory dump. I spoke. He taped. He came to the farm to listen. Later, I introduced him to Opinion under David J. Shipley at NYT in a full page truth blast that offered Use Immunity - my name appears first. He hangs my thoughts and his fabulous writing over his desk. He is access ruled. Sadly. Proof on request. He can do better, but he lives for access. I am known as Sandy B. Lewis on OpEd. Salim Bonnor Lewis aka Sandy will do it. The Year They Sold Wall Street by Tim Carrington is about me. We love Tim. My wife of 62 years read the proof sent first and a second was requested. And written. We have both. I’ve read neither. Access is greed. Greed is not good. I spoke with Ivan Frederick Boesky on his 86th. He’s lonely. He might be ready - to share what he knows. He has little to lose. And a young daughter... children matter, sometimes.
Facts matter, and without them there is no democracy. An un encumbered fourth estate with integrity is essential. Capitalism does not automatically lead to democracy. Witness where FOX is taking us, and Russia and China. “A republic, if you can keep it,” was Ben Franklin’s response to the outcome of the Constitutional Convention. ACTION is imperative to keep ours, and taking down the propagandists at FOX is critical. Timothy Snyder has a series of superb YouTube videos on “Presidents and Ukraine,” Ukraine History, and more. In this short one, at 19’ he discusses books, the internet, and the necessity for the investigative journalism of which Steve has given examples.
Steve - you lead again. So, congratulations and thank you, no truer words have been written. It’s disgusting. It’s incredibly dangerous.
George Orwell lives, access players are wall to wall. Brave New World projected our future. We are blind to the fog. We want to believe. Outrage is dead. Daily mass murders are ignored and the causes are ignored. Deliberately.
Steve, the pool is polluted. The game is polluted. Habit rules - with profit, loss, taxes.
I agree with Celeste, we worked hard in Collier County Fl to turn out the registered Dem voters, in 2020 we succeeded with 93% of registered dems voting but failed in 2022 with only 53% voting. It is so discouraging but concerning that now Vote by Mail isn't automatically continued but every voter who wants VBM must re-instate their request.
"There is no freedom in societies where the truth is whatever the powerful declare it to be. "
This is where we are and have been for a very long time. We the People, don't control many aspects of our own lives. When banks fail, they get bailed out, private for-profit businesses should not get bailed out with taxpayer funds!
I'm so tired of giving money for nothing, Taxation without say as to where or what gets done with it.
If we lived our lives like the businesses and governments do business, we'd all be dead. Who would give us a bailout? Who has given me, you, us, bailouts.
The rich keep getting richer, and the poor, well heaven help them cause no one else will.
So tired of the Defense, Pharmaceuticals, Health, Transportation, Energy, Govt., ETC. doing what they want to US and getting away with it at every turn. I thought after the 2008 FC that we'd be rioting in the streets however, we like getting screwed over by those who say they care. Talk about fake news and alternative facts.
The vacation stories don't get me this worked up. :-)
There are some brilliant comments this morning. My only contribution is to recall the late 50’s into the early 80’s when the “fairness doctrine” was nullified, that prior to that, broadcast news was reliable and played from the same hymn book. BTW I believe the three networks led by cbs had no profit strategy for news departments.
I believe that changed with Roon Aldridge at abc.
Once the guard rails were removed the thirst for ratings and profits spawned Bob Grant (local talk radio intellectually gifted racist & right winger) to rush to Sean Alex Jones and 100s of others looking for attention by being more racist, nationalist and anarchistic than the others.
Wish I had a suggestion but I believe the ship has sailed and we are headed to the rocks.
The dominant religious symbol in the U.S. isn’t ✝️, it’s 💲. SCOTUS assures us that corporations are people, and the primary purpose of any corporation is to make money for its investors. How it does so is peripheral to its existence, even if its methods include the sorts of vulture capitalism that lead to degradation of service or quality, or even destruction of the company. Since money is speech (see SCOTUS), these “people” can and do buy whatever politicians are needed to maintain this ultimately unsustainable status quo. We might do well to re-evaluate this arrangement.
Looking forward to the verdict of the Dominion trial. It should be a doozie. Isn't this why we have civil litigation? Hopefully, they get butchered like the tobacco companies, the people that gave us Asbestos, and the Sacklers. It took forever, but the gig is up.
If there is a need to pool resources for coverage of the stuff that should be on the news instead of the political propoganda, that begs the question of why do we have so many broadcast networks? Seems like this broad competition for eyeballs to drive advertising revenue is fueling this beast. Like we are seeing with sports broadcasting (ESPN and the Regional Sports Networks), the downfall of cable television will cut off the gravy train and force the media companies to go direct to the consumer. Maybe CNN's streaming service wasn't a bad idea, but just a few years too early.
Adding a significant financial settlement and any regulatory penalties, that should be a near death sentence to Fox News as we know it, but it won't go away because there are so many people who will want access to the content. Limiting Tucker Carlson to a streaming platform with paid subscribers, while likely still profitable for Tucker, will be better for all of us.
I want to make it really clear: I am not defending Fox News. But to describe Chris Licht as restoring CNN's integrity defies all logic.
When reading I wasn’t thinking about news but Johnson and Johnson’s reaction to the 1980’s Tylenol poisoning by outside parties. They went back to their basics - First do no harm. J&J recalled every package.
We have six major news organizations ( need to add PBS in that mix) and yes there are shared resources ( setups are expensive) However, the five need to go back to their core principles-do they report the truth or they support lies They have a choice to make.
The pool is polluted and has been since Fox was invited to take the plunge. Believe them, and I know that’s almost impossible for most of us, when their own lawyers say Fox is not a news organization. They are not . They are a lying fascist propaganda machine the likes of which Dr. Gobbles would be proud to call his own.
Interested international citizens can get access to any tv station online for free. I do daily.
Murdoch gutter media shared the Tucker jan 6 clips.
Pence did piss weak comments about Jan 6. A former radio host with a love of power but no integrity.
I’m glad I’m seeing snippets of people fighting back Jan 6 whitewashing in old school media and social media.
Leaders of all types need to step out of the shadows and denounce what Fox News is doing.
#MurdochGutterMedia infects too many households.
Steve, careful. Puck colleagues are not uniformly committed - access is a problem for at least one - and I gave him his breakaway book 📕 in three days of a memory dump. I spoke. He taped. He came to the farm to listen. Later, I introduced him to Opinion under David J. Shipley at NYT in a full page truth blast that offered Use Immunity - my name appears first. He hangs my thoughts and his fabulous writing over his desk. He is access ruled. Sadly. Proof on request. He can do better, but he lives for access. I am known as Sandy B. Lewis on OpEd. Salim Bonnor Lewis aka Sandy will do it. The Year They Sold Wall Street by Tim Carrington is about me. We love Tim. My wife of 62 years read the proof sent first and a second was requested. And written. We have both. I’ve read neither. Access is greed. Greed is not good. I spoke with Ivan Frederick Boesky on his 86th. He’s lonely. He might be ready - to share what he knows. He has little to lose. And a young daughter... children matter, sometimes.
Spot on, Steve!
Facts matter, and without them there is no democracy. An un encumbered fourth estate with integrity is essential. Capitalism does not automatically lead to democracy. Witness where FOX is taking us, and Russia and China. “A republic, if you can keep it,” was Ben Franklin’s response to the outcome of the Constitutional Convention. ACTION is imperative to keep ours, and taking down the propagandists at FOX is critical. Timothy Snyder has a series of superb YouTube videos on “Presidents and Ukraine,” Ukraine History, and more. In this short one, at 19’ he discusses books, the internet, and the necessity for the investigative journalism of which Steve has given examples.
https://youtu.be/YY6LCOJbve8
I doubt Brian Stelter would agree with you.
Steve - you lead again. So, congratulations and thank you, no truer words have been written. It’s disgusting. It’s incredibly dangerous.
George Orwell lives, access players are wall to wall. Brave New World projected our future. We are blind to the fog. We want to believe. Outrage is dead. Daily mass murders are ignored and the causes are ignored. Deliberately.
Steve, the pool is polluted. The game is polluted. Habit rules - with profit, loss, taxes.
Chris Licht restoring CNN's integrity?! I'm so beside myself right now, Steve, I can't even comment.
I agree with Celeste, we worked hard in Collier County Fl to turn out the registered Dem voters, in 2020 we succeeded with 93% of registered dems voting but failed in 2022 with only 53% voting. It is so discouraging but concerning that now Vote by Mail isn't automatically continued but every voter who wants VBM must re-instate their request.
They need to do what is right, not what is easy.
Another Outstanding piece of writing Mr. Steve!
"There is no freedom in societies where the truth is whatever the powerful declare it to be. "
This is where we are and have been for a very long time. We the People, don't control many aspects of our own lives. When banks fail, they get bailed out, private for-profit businesses should not get bailed out with taxpayer funds!
I'm so tired of giving money for nothing, Taxation without say as to where or what gets done with it.
If we lived our lives like the businesses and governments do business, we'd all be dead. Who would give us a bailout? Who has given me, you, us, bailouts.
The rich keep getting richer, and the poor, well heaven help them cause no one else will.
So tired of the Defense, Pharmaceuticals, Health, Transportation, Energy, Govt., ETC. doing what they want to US and getting away with it at every turn. I thought after the 2008 FC that we'd be rioting in the streets however, we like getting screwed over by those who say they care. Talk about fake news and alternative facts.
The vacation stories don't get me this worked up. :-)
There are some brilliant comments this morning. My only contribution is to recall the late 50’s into the early 80’s when the “fairness doctrine” was nullified, that prior to that, broadcast news was reliable and played from the same hymn book. BTW I believe the three networks led by cbs had no profit strategy for news departments.
I believe that changed with Roon Aldridge at abc.
Once the guard rails were removed the thirst for ratings and profits spawned Bob Grant (local talk radio intellectually gifted racist & right winger) to rush to Sean Alex Jones and 100s of others looking for attention by being more racist, nationalist and anarchistic than the others.
Wish I had a suggestion but I believe the ship has sailed and we are headed to the rocks.
The dominant religious symbol in the U.S. isn’t ✝️, it’s 💲. SCOTUS assures us that corporations are people, and the primary purpose of any corporation is to make money for its investors. How it does so is peripheral to its existence, even if its methods include the sorts of vulture capitalism that lead to degradation of service or quality, or even destruction of the company. Since money is speech (see SCOTUS), these “people” can and do buy whatever politicians are needed to maintain this ultimately unsustainable status quo. We might do well to re-evaluate this arrangement.
Looking forward to the verdict of the Dominion trial. It should be a doozie. Isn't this why we have civil litigation? Hopefully, they get butchered like the tobacco companies, the people that gave us Asbestos, and the Sacklers. It took forever, but the gig is up.
If there is a need to pool resources for coverage of the stuff that should be on the news instead of the political propoganda, that begs the question of why do we have so many broadcast networks? Seems like this broad competition for eyeballs to drive advertising revenue is fueling this beast. Like we are seeing with sports broadcasting (ESPN and the Regional Sports Networks), the downfall of cable television will cut off the gravy train and force the media companies to go direct to the consumer. Maybe CNN's streaming service wasn't a bad idea, but just a few years too early.
Adding a significant financial settlement and any regulatory penalties, that should be a near death sentence to Fox News as we know it, but it won't go away because there are so many people who will want access to the content. Limiting Tucker Carlson to a streaming platform with paid subscribers, while likely still profitable for Tucker, will be better for all of us.
Steve, perhaps you should not be using the word “news” in back of Fox in your columns.
Also…am I off base when I’m wondering if the FCC is supposed to step in when Fox Fiction is stoking the fires of revolution?