Here are my observations for the day.
THE AVERAGE JOE on the street, it appears, has no idea of what’s in the House Intelligence Memo released to the public last Friday; primarily because the media coverage was all about the political in-fighting over the release itself, and not the content. The anchors on CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC and MSNBC, and their guests, all referred to it as a “nothing-burger.” Obviously, lifted from Democratic talking points.
While we are constantly lead to believe that increasing numbers of Americans are relying on the Internet and social media for their news, I wonder how many of them sought out and read the memo and the White House cover letter. And how many have taken the time to learn about the FISA Court?
MORE ABOUT THE FOURTH ESTATE – It pains me to write again about the near death of journalism as we once knew it. You may recall that on January 30, 2018, I told you the sad story of two individuals with the Arizona Republic who saw no benefit in watching the State of the Union address.
For those who simply cannot bring themselves to believe that the media is out to bring down the Trump presidency, a single paragraph in The Wall Street Journal’s Notable & Quotable feature today adds more fuel to the fire.
“The political press corps lost its steam,” writes Kyle Pope, editor of the floundering Columbia Journalism Review (CJR), who is disturbed how coverage of the president has been reduced to narratives of reinforcing (for the left) and debunking (the right).
HERE’S THE KICKER – After referring to President Trump as “a racist, who lies, both of which we already knew,” he encourages journalists to continue negative reporting, as he says, “repeating the exercise every day; maybe this will be the thing that finally does him in.”
“Rule #8: Keep the pressure on. Never let up.” – Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the CJR, it considers itself the “intellectual leader in the rapidly changing world of journalism … a respected voice on press criticism (that) shapes the ideas that make media leaders and journalist smarter about their work.”
“Rule #10: “If you push a negative hard enough, it will push through and become a positive.” – Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals
I find it sad that the once prestigious CJR has reverted from objective reporting to become a tool of the left to teach advocacy journalism. Although it’s demographics are not current on the Internet, some 6,000 journalism students are said to be subscribers.
The CJR, like news magazines and newspapers, has suffered from journalism’s lack of credibility, requiring the frequency of its magazine to be changed from once every other month to just two issues a year. Support from George Soros’ Open Society Foundation and other left-leaning organizations may not save it from extinction.
PREDICTION – Although the media has summarily ignored the impressive performance of the stock market since Donald Trump assumed the presidency, you can be assured that Monday’s correction will be the highlight of every news cast, with negative comments questioning his impact, and that of the tax legislation, on our economy.
ANOTHER PREVENTABLE KILLING – An intoxicated illegal immigrant from Guatemala, who had been deported twice, killed Edwin Jackson of the Indianapolis Colts and his Uber driver on an Indiana highway this past weekend. Reports indicate there are 85,000 to 100,000 illegals in Indiana. I’m reminded of the moans from the left, the open-borders crowd, when the president spoke of killings like this during his State of the Union address.
