The former Fourth Estate now prefers the controversy and circus atmosphere of the Jerry Springer show instead of providing a vital service to defend and strengthen democracy. It is all about revenue, profit, and return on investment. They should all be paying rent for use of public airwaves -and the rent collected shoul…
The former Fourth Estate now prefers the controversy and circus atmosphere of the Jerry Springer show instead of providing a vital service to defend and strengthen democracy. It is all about revenue, profit, and return on investment. They should all be paying rent for use of public airwaves -and the rent collected should be directed at actually fulfilling a public purpose.
Ronna would make a terrific guest on Springer or other chair throwing table flipping venues.
Let us put aside the fact that Ronna is a toady for treason. She's just bad at politics. Epically, historically, incontrovertibly bad. She led a party with a ton of advantages into a years-long losing streak on every level, left it with dwindling finances, shambolic organization, and no policy platform at all.
Why would you want someone so bad at something to help analyze that thing on your channel? This would be like HGTV hiring Gallagher. This would be like Reading Rainbow being hosted by the dog from the Begging Strips commercial.
This would be like getting someone who's been bankrupt half a dozen times to host a reality show on creating wealth. Oh, wait...
But it's all about those differing perspectives, amirite? Can't have the liars and failures feeling unrepresented! Why leave those potential viewers on the table? Hey, you know what we should do? Let's give the Chinese Communist Party the Sunday Morning Show! There are LOADS of untapped viewers who live over there! While we're at it, anybody got a couple of those new African military juntas on speed dial? Maybe they have something to say, too... and a captive audience back home! Broadcast TV is bringing the world together again, baby!
Long story short, these people have greenbacks where their grey matter should be.
I will not watch it either.Hiring someone like McDaniel cheapens the work of a whole group of journalists some of whom should be very concerned with this action(Rachel Maddow, Lawrence O’Donnell, Chris Hayes to name a few).Shame on MSNBC. That they would even consider bringing some like her on-board is troubling.
I did watch Morning Joe for a few minutes today... they were against the hiring, but said none of the on-air network staff were asked for their opinion beforehand. So this is all on the money-grubbing front office. And they only listen if their numbers are falling. We're each only one, but there are many of us.
Thanks for this information.I cancelled my NYT subscription because of the constant Biden bashing and both-sidesism of their reporting and I can quit watching MSNBC/NBC too.It pisses me off and also disappoints me that the owners of this channel care so little for the many people who support this network by watching their shows.I also wonder if this channel is trying to attract MAGATs with this hiring?
Why in the world would they want someone who will lie? I guess tfffg told fox not to hire her. I also dropped my NYT subscription and told them why. All the news fit to print. NO. the newspaper of record. NO. These magnut people need to be punished not rewarded. What they did was TREASON.
I also ended my subscription to NYT. I quit watching MSNBC pundits because, as Teri Kanefield explains , they (among others) perpetuate the misinformation - outrage cycle. She analyzes that in a quite educated and detailed way. And I feel so much better for it. I now only get news from PBS and NPR, some explanation and analysis from a few Substack writers. And of course, terikanefield.com.
I've had my own "path of cancellation," first with the Times, then the Washington Post, and finally, The Guardian. I guess there are just no national (or international!) news sources that can't both-sides everything. I'm done with it.
As for NBC/MSNBC, I'd sort of given up on that kind of thing years ago. I mean, I like Rachel Maddow but after all that's gone on, I just don't need to see that horse beaten to death anymore. I'll just take these letters every day and maybe sprinkle in some of the music/media/cultural criticism from Ted Gioia. That's enough.
Wasn't the trump townhall scheduled because of bad ratings? It was free publicity for the rude candidate and gave him another opportunity to display his usual disrespect for women.
Many people have emailed Blumenstein and Budoff to express their anger at hiring Ronna McDaniel. I am one. Hopefully, enough people express their outrage and McDaniel is fired. How could you know she was telling the truth? You couldn't.
Excellent points Tim. This is why people need to vote in primaries and media must report the turnout. Bring on the flood!!“Elections are more than a toggle switch for one candidate or the other. If Trump had lost by just a few votes, I suspect his efforts before and after the election to overturn the vote would have been far more effective. As it was, a flood of 7,000,000 votes separated him from the winner. In each of the battleground states, his loss or win was decisive. This matters. Your vote and mine counted. Every vote added to the decision. The lies about the election would have been a little more effective for each missing vote.”
You’re right and that’s key but with all the corporate news bias, nasty availability to spread bias and the knowledge that major big money is and will continue to support the radical, vicious right it can be hard to keep this momentum up. Fortunately here on substack there are voices of encouragement like Simon Rosenberg, posters who remind us we can do this, historians like Heather Cox Richardson and Steve Schmidt who remind us of the price our ancestors paid for our democracy and finally Jeff Tiedrich who makes me laugh, an outrageous much needed laugh.
I have now gained back hours of time each week thanks to the greedy corporate overlords of NBC/MSNBC and their decision to give air time to a fascist and a traitor.
I’ll miss Rachel, Lawrence, and Stephanie. I will not watch this network, nor will I click on the network’s news stories. I’m thankful for the abundance of quality writing based on facts, and the honest perspectives that we have here on substack.
You save a lot of money by not having a cable bill. I quit mine years ago. Haven't missed it at all. I have my trusted news sites (Heather and Meidas Touch on YouTube, mostly). The provide their trusted sites.
MSNBC fired McDaniel almost immediately and both Rachel and Lawrence laid out in clear terms why so many at MSNBC revolted against bringing her on board. Broadcast channel NBC has yet to take that step.
Exactly. I did watch MSNBC tonight to see if they would take on the issue. They did not and I get it’s their job but it’s also their credibility on the line. Done with them as well.
What did you watch on MSNBC. Both Maddow and O'Donnell spoke at length last night about the pushback against hiring McDaniel for MSNBC, resulting in McDaniel no longer to be associated with MSNBC.
NBC, however, is a different kettle of fish, they haven't yet 'fired' her but I'm sure they're being inundated with email complaints.
I'm running short on 'gift' links so here are a couple of headlines/subheadlines from the NY Times:
March 24 "Business
Chuck Todd and ‘Morning Joe’ Hosts Object to NBC’s Hiring of Former R.N.C. Chair
The extraordinary comments on “Meet the Press” revealed tensions in NBC’s news divisions over Ronna McDaniel, who recently stepped down as head of the Republican National Committee."
March 25 "NBC News Faces Rebellion Over Hiring of Former Republican Party Chair
In extraordinary on-air remarks, Mika Brzezinski, Joe Scarborough and Nicolle Wallace questioned their own network’s decision to hire Ronna McDaniel as a political analyst."
There are similar articles in the Washington Post.
I hope you watched Rachel Maddow and Lawrence O'Donnell last night. They made clear that Ronna McD will not be involved with MSNBC as the result of objections made by them and many other MSNBC personnel. The issue remains (since I've not heard otherwise) that Ronna McD is still contracted with the broadcast channel NBC. At least at MSNBC, pushback worked. Hopefully, the same will soon be true at NBC.
I will be watching both Maddow's show as well as O'Donnell's tonight to see what, if anything, they say about McDaniels' hiring. If they speak against it, or defend it in convincible ways, then I'll continue to watch it. Otherwise, probably not.
The reaction to MSNBC's apparent misstep here is similar to the comments I'm seeing on Threads about the NY Times and its "bothsidesism" editorials and especially headlines.
Just for the record, headlines are not written by reporters. They are written by the copy desk. And, unfortunately, these folks don't always read the whole story.
Yes, I do know that, but headlines are what catches the eye, and most readers also don't read the articles. Headlines, to me, are editorial content.
The articles themselves also show a lot of bothsidesism, but in their attempt to be fair, they often fail to show that there are not equivalent arguments on the left and right. Ex.: Biden's occasional vocal gaffes which they attribute to age, vs Trump's much more frequent memory lapses, mispronunciations, misstatements of facts etc. which are much more significant.
This is incredibly apparent at the NYTimes. You would think after endless criticisms and the need to redo headlines the NYTimes might have someone review them. But no. Instead they publish different headlines as clickbait depending on one's perceived political.
That is correct. MSNBC on air and support personnel immediately pushed back and McDaniel will not be associated with MSNBC. NBC has not, so far, rescinded her contract as of this morning (3/26).
I don't watch NBC but find the hiring fascinating and now curious as to how it'll work. I would bristle every time Rick Santorum would come on, but it gave an opportunity for the left to bash the staunch conservative ideology he represented. And he was of the old guard. Will from Cal said, "Can't have the liars and failures feeling unrepresented!" Well guess what, the liars and failures are what now make up the majority of the GOP. If Ronna wants to come on and get bashed, let her. Jessica Tarlov does a fantastic job promulgating democratic policies on Fox. So you have the liar and conspiracy theorist representing MAGA/GOP on the liberal channel and a sane critical thinker on the conservative hoax Fox "news" channel. This is a snapshot of reality. Let's see how this goes....
Yes, I just cancelled my nightly NBC national news recordings. I'll be letting them know that I have been an NBC news follower for 60 years, but with this move on their part I'm gone! I'll still watch my local NBC station news, they are part of the Hearst Broadcast Group.
Money may talk but it doesn't talk to everybody & it certainly doesn't represent everybody!
Yeah it does. But after what happened in NY today lowering that bond I screamed too! I kept it down so my neighbors wouldn't be concerned. But I did scream. If the arthritis in my hands would diminish a bit I'd go to a gym & punch one of those punching bags but my hands are more important. I'll just keep screaming at my tv & scare my poor kitty 🐈!
Putin, along with his sick oligarch co-conspirators, and even even-more-sick, long-skirted, heavily bejeweled, eastern Orthodox priests, turned the Russian working classes back generations. Lost their good health care system. Got epidemics of tuberculosis and alcoholism. Demeaned, cheapened their schools. Drew fights with terror groups. Threw away the lives of several hundred thousand young men in stupid, stupid aggressive war. Gave all Russian natural resources to his co-conspirator fellow thieves.
Dictators, demagogues always incur massive costs for their stupidity. Ditto for the fools you also mention, Will, and the recklessness by which they, too, grabbed power.
The U.S. billionaires and their Republican enablers are costing Americans their formerly good schools, their natural environment, just as they cost millions of Americans the jobs these rich and apes to the rich offshored. Cost the country its AR-15 mass murder epidemic. Cost it its millions of homeless. Its addictions to OxyContin, Fentanyl, and obesity due to bad, bad, intentionally bad food.
Thank you, Phil, for this excellent post. What a great description of the Russian situation. Then in one paragraph, you explained our situation and what the Rs and their billionaires have wrought. Every time I see people wringing their hands about the economy, the gun deaths, the drug deaths, I think you are not holding the right people responsible. And the food. We were recently helping a friend celebrate her 80th. She wanted lobster, so we were at Bag O Crabs. We managed to eat without getting any seafood or anything deep fried. They had robots which brought the food and of course sang happy birthday. The food came out willy nilly. The place was packed and it was surreal watching people with bibs and plastic gloves slurp up crab legs and other things in these bags. Never again, not even for a friend.
Morning all! Robert Hubbell provided the email addresses of two NBC execs today. You can tell them yourselves how impressed you are with their hiring decisions. I am.
Will, I was getting ready to write a Dave Fake News article about NBC backtracking a little without actually Firing Ronna altogether by the creation of a new cooking show featuring Ronna and Sean Spicer
“Ronna’s Kitchen”.
The first episode would include The Infamous SOTU “Kitchen Lady’s” No Bake Vanilla Wafers
Excellent posts, Will and George. Even Chuck Todd who is not my favorite spoke against this move. As for watching NBC, we will continue watching the local NBC news because the other options are so bad and hopefully we will not see her on the national news with Lester Holt who must be vomiting. One of our former local reporters also does segments on the national news as well. Otherwise, our TV is tuned to streaming series and now and then, sports.
Hey Will, you left me with nothing to add. It simply absurd. I would encourage readers to send their comments to msnbc , perhaps at msnbctvinfo@nbkieni,com.
Agreed, which is why I left 'broadcast tv' years ago. I saw where it was headed and wanted nothing to do with it. I've discovered trusted sources like Professor Richardson who knows where the truth can be found. When CBS hired Mick Mulvaney I stopped watching news online and as long as Ronna Daniel is at NBC I won't be watching them either and I've told them so. I also stopped subscribing to The New York Times, they have turned too far to the right like too many others.
Absolutely! McDaniel is an unacceptable fool. Why put her anywhere near a camera when you already have Michael Steele in your stable? He's witty, conservative, and really astute in his political analysis.
Reagan mentor Milton Friedman made a thing out of claiming that the only social responsibility of a company was maximizing profit. But isn't a shared, foundational sense of social responsibility the glue that binds society into an entity, E Pluribus Unum, and enables the maintenance of liberty? After 40 years of Reaganomics, are we better off?
Reagan and his advisers helped establish the fictional frame of "the lone hard-working American cowboy". I built this instead of the more accurate we built this. (Although the reality is we stole this, then built it). This selfish individualistic caricature of an America -is the "Me first" DNA of the Reagan conservative looking to destroy the sense of community (except perhaps of the gated, exclusive variety), our foundational institutions, and our vital systems of governance.
Some are better off. The remaining Koch brother, Steve Wynn, Harlan Crow, Elon Musk, Barre Seid, Larry Ellison, Robert Mercer, and others who have accumulated great wealth during and post-Reagan.
And they use it get more and piss on the rest of us. You left Rupert off, otherwise good start on the perps. Chump is such a loser he couldn’t even make money on a casino, but he did better as a carnival barker…
Spot on, Jeri. I've always made that connection in my mind about trickle down. (When asked his opinion about the trickle down theory, trompy replied "Depends.")
The love of money is the root of all evil is, I think the more complete original quote. When love of money supplants love of your neighbor, your enemy, your community, your world, bad stuff ensues.
The late Kevin Phillips wrote several books in the 1990s critical of the Bush era. One of the things Phillips criticized is that he rightly thought people were making money by financializatiom of the economy and not by innovation. Phillips saw financialization as an indication that a society was in decay.
Yes. It's what I think of as wealth transfers. For example, when Walmart historically paid poverty-level wages, Walmart workers had $6.2 billion in taxpayer funded assistance (food stamps, etc.), while Walmart paid $6.6 billion in dividends to investors (and about half of that went to Walton family trusts). So it was externalizing costs to all of us, thus, diminishing our quality of life, while concentrating money to the top.
I'm not anti-wealth -when it is creating societal value. When wealth is used to lobby for eviscerating estate taxes, corporate taxation, and ensures that a teacher or a nurse is paying more as a percentage of income than Elon Musk -to me it is mass fraud perpetrated by the wealthy through their GOP shills (like Reagan, Bush, Trump) stealing from all of us (and future generations).
Financialization is just another business - it just needed to be regulated. The financial disaster of 2008 would have been avoided had the players been regulated.
If you read the Communist Manifesto, pretty much all of modern capitalism is exploitation, just almost sheer chance i'm reading it now - via reading on Oppenheimer Prometheus and Heather's How the South Won the Civil war, Titan - life of John Rockefeller. I see there was a healthy discussion on the matter. Much of that 1% wealth is tied up in capital investment, though the free cash flow by my meagre standards feels obscene. I'd suggest tapping much of that retained wealth through cash / holding taxes then cash on some not break the business basis. Corporate and other business is hugely subsidized by government one way or the other, as is the general population. This kind of taxation is the only way you'll significantly change the wealth distribution equation. Of course, "good luck with that'.
This is neither here nor there, but in fact there are 2 remaining Koch brothers -- you may be forgetting Bill Koch of sailing fame. His family's wealth supported his expensive hobby, but I don't believe he has or had any direct involvement with the running of Koch Industries. I'd like to think his politics are anathema to his brothers, but that's just me being hopeful rather than knowledgeable.
My partner and I started a consulting firm in 1990. We paid every employee more than they could have made in the insurance industry by 10-20% and provided a better benefit package than any insurance company. Our first five years in business we grew the company from the two of us to over 60 consultants. Our turnover rate for each of the first five years was ZERO. Our annual turnover rate was never over 5%. No one left. We sold the company after 10 years because my partner wanted to retire and I couldn't get the money (like Trump) to buy him out. When people left, they left usually it was because they went out on their own. We never tied them up with 401-k vesting or non-competes but we did tie them up with annual bonus's which always came a month after the busy season.
It's much easier to maximize profits when people don't leave for a better job in the middle of a project.
I’m old. I have watched it decimate our government, social structure and turn my mama’s religion of “love thy neighbor,” into prosperity gospel. The importation of Rupert kicked off the “rich buying the government they wanted” trend. As Jack Kemp said in WaPo article in Jan 1981, “Rupert Murdoch used the front page, the editorial page, and every other page necessary to get Ronald Reagan elected president.” Hats off to you Rupert, you epitome of evil.
Unfortunately not, and the concentration of wealth and deterioration of the middle class has.enabled a demagogue and charlatan like Trump to get attention. Friedman didn live to se the worst results of his policies take hold.
Not disagreeing, but even as a kid in the 50s i remember partisanship was a hallmark of American journalism, a miasma of one side trying to outshrill the other. That was the onset of civil rights era, anti establishment movement, McCarthyism, anti Vietnam, assassinations, nothing calm about the Eve of Destruction.... recurrent race riots
Fair enough, beauty being in the eye of the beholder. What was needed was political organization, a real economic and educational uplift, however managed - not burning down Watts, Detroit. In and of itself, it only led to more repression. Providing real answers in that history though is far beyond my competence.
Companies such as Patagonia with its founder Yves Chouinard and his family are turning profits into social and environmental/climate benefit instead of self-enrichment. There are many others that do as well.
Hiring McDaniel is like hiring the robber to be a cashier. She is a criminal and should be prosecuted not work for major media network. NBC's decision is one more example of people's ability to rationalize ANYTHING.
I felt compelled to register my own complaint about this horribly tone deaf hire…
Dear Ms. Blumenstein,
I must object to NBC decision to hire Ronna McDaniel for, ostensibly, her insight into contemporary conservative politics. I find that hard to believe given what a colossal failure she was. That would be like hiring the captain of the Titanic, had he survived, to enlighten your audience about why there weren’t enough lifeboats.
She caved to the MAGA wing of the former GOP party leaving it strapped for cash and credibility and without a platform. She falsely promoted Trump’s lies about election fraud and had the unmitigated gall to characterize the January 6th attack on the Capital as “…legitimate political discourse “ I wonder what her opinion is on the use of letter bombs to advance one’s political agenda?
Given the event was televised for all to see, even by NBC, and several unnecessary deaths and injuries resulted during the assault, should I assume that NBC agrees with Ronna that January 6th was “… legitimate political discourse “ ?
A disappointed and now former viewer,
Larry
We should all leave them a good-bye letter so get idea that this might not be a money making scheme!
It is unfair and inaccurate to smear 'the Fourth Estate' in totality. Your assertion is easily disproved right here where HCR routinely cites the reporting and analyses of those working in the press. It is truly a frivolous and undeserved dismissal of those people who every day are reporting from conflict zones and war zones, challenging those in power despite a range of threats, and witnessing the most mundane to the most momentous of happenings to bring us news. They and their work deserve a more serious consideration. And where called for critique. And note that the most strong public denunciation of NBC hiring the ousted RNC head came from Chuck Todd - on NBC.
I respectfully disagree. We are a far cry from Bernstein and Woodward and Murrow. My criticism is not those few journalists who diligently continue to report and inform. It is the loss of distribution of the journalistic output, and the lack of investment in news, analysis, and reporting.
There is a good deal to learn about journalism, 'the Fourth Estate' in the US, even by those who, perhaps, think themselves better informed about the subject than they may be, and Woodward is still at it! That doesn't mean that we don't need more of it.
'Solutions Oriented'
'How foundation money is transforming local news'
'OCTOBER 16, 2023'
'By MEGAN GREENWELL'
'Until a few years ago, the Cleveland Foundation had never considered supporting local media. The organization—the oldest community foundation in the world, with $2.8 billion in assets—seeks to “enhance the lives of all residents of Greater Cleveland”; its grants tend to focus on job training, violence prevention, and education in majority-Black neighborhoods. The organization’s staff were well aware that the city’s flagship newspaper, the Plain Dealer, was being stripped for parts by Advance Local, its corporate owner, and that nothing was filling the vacuum. But their aim was to solve problems, not assign articles about them. Besides, even in a more robust age of local news, the neighborhoods targeted by community groups were rarely covered in the press—except, perhaps, in the case of a grisly crime.'
'So in 2020, when the Cleveland Foundation awarded money to an initiative called Cleveland Documenters, it wasn’t classified as a reporting project. Documenters, which started in Chicago and has since expanded into a network of eleven cities, mostly in the Midwest, pays small fees to about six hundred Clevelanders—not experienced reporters, just curious citizens from every zip code—to take notes at local government meetings and post them online. Dale Anglin, the Cleveland Foundation’s vice president for grantmaking and community impact, thought of Documenters primarily as a tool to improve low voting rates.' “We don’t even call it journalism here,” she told me. “We call it information.”
"those few journalists who diligently continue to report and inform."
Your assertion simply does not conform to the facts. Historical or current.
And while remarkable investigative reporters do momentous work. Our democracy also depends on the most local of reporters who attend and report on innumerable town council and school board meetings.
Most of the information you rely on for your opinions comes from the diligent work of those you so easily dismiss.
They are inseparable. When I am critical of the healthcare industry, my frustration is not directed at nurses, doctors, and staff. It is the industry itself that prioritizes profit over patient outcomes. Similarly, when I speak of the erosion of the Fourth Estate in the United States it is not a criticism of actual journalists.
Lin, you’re right. That’s why I continue to support the local newspaper as their rates increase—they still have a few reporters that cover local and state politics.
Admirable. I support The Guardian, Pro Publica, and of course HCR’s LFAA for similar reasons. I gave up on NYT around Judith Miller’s adventures with yellow cake.
'Data and trends about key sectors in the U.S. news media industry'
'Since 2004, Pew Research Center has issued an annual report on key audience and economic indicators for a variety of sectors within the U.S. news media industry. These data speak to the shifting ways in which Americans seek out news and information, how news organizations get their revenue, and the resources available to American journalists as they seek to inform the public about important events of the day. The press is sometimes called the fourth branch of government, but in the U.S., it’s also very much a business – one whose ability to serve the public is dependent on its ability to attract eyeballs and dollars.'
'Over the years, the Center’s approach to these indicators has evolved along with the industry, carefully considering the metrics, sectors and format in which the data appear. Instead of a single summary report, our approach is to roll out a series of fact sheets showcasing the most important current and historical data points for each sector – in an easy-to-digest format – a few at a time. '
Thank you Fern -I have respect for Pew Research. Secondly -therein lies the problem:
The press is sometimes called the fourth branch of government, but in the U.S., it’s also very much a business – one whose ability to serve the public is dependent on its ability to attract eyeballs and dollars.'
George, good for you! I also support The Guardian, Pro Publica, HCR and Jay Kuo on Substack. I did support Steve Schmidt on Substack until he decided to take money for helping Dean in his presidential bid and I questioned both his intelligence and his independence (it appears that I was not alone).
I started my NYT subscription a couple of years ago, so missed Judith Miller and yellow cake (Duncan Hines or uranium?).
Nevertheless, Lin, greed, the quarterly returns obsession and the profit motive conditioning ethics do make for very leaky buckets wherever the provision of essential services is concerned. And we all know who profits and who suffers from the leakages...
My best friend is an emergency room physician whose hospital has been taken over by a hedge fund. I admire her work all the more for her unwavering diligence and care for her patients under these conditions.
Lin, another nail in the coffin is the migration of a substantial number of seniors from regular Medicare to Medicare Advantage plans. There are hospitals closing because the low rates (subst lower than regular Medicare) don’t allow them to make ends meet. We need to pass a law that allows a one-time return from Medicare Advantage to Medicare with Medicare supplement coverage (Medigap) at the same Medigap monthly cost as a new enrollee. Too many people are falling for the Medicare Advantage promise only to experience long waits for “elective” surgeries and emergency room doctors/anesthesiologist bills that aren’t covered (even though the hospital is in-network). Then, when they try to go back, they find that the premiums for the Medigap premiums are triple or quadruple what they were just one year before and they’re stuck because they can’t afford the new premiums.
Gail, this was a sop to the insurance industry to get Medicare passed. A law allowing a one-time return to the original low Medigap rates would allow people to recover from their uninformed choice of Medicare Advantage.
Mary, EXACTLY. I went on Medicare two years ago, and after seeing the problems my elder sister's husband had with Medicare Advantage, there is NO WAY I'd choose it, and I strongly advise my peers that have been turning 65 to avoid it.
Thank you (all that have replied about this)! I am eligible to enroll in Medicare this coming July (gulp, only a little denial going on that I am this old, haha). Had no idea Medicare Advantage was problematic. Thank you so much for the head's up!
Re. Switzerland, where you can reset your watch at the moment when trains or trams stop and social services are superb, in some big cities life is becoming too dear for ordinary Swiss citizens.
Those living near borders cross them to go shopping.
Last night a long conversation with a dear friend whose lung problems have now turned to emphysema about how takeover by hedge funds has made so many health services, previously subsidized by the State in France, too dear for many sick people...
All those services essential to society, including health, education and information, where the profit motive is irrelevant or, at the very most, a secondary, subordinate consideration.
Yesterday on CSpan I heard a Republican (maybe Tom Cotten) denouncing the ACA with examples of constituents' narratives. Then he 'jumped the shark' complaining about his ACA coverage as a member of Congress. 'Deer in the headlights moment' when caught out his own lie. Of course he has platinum level coverage through ... the government Republicans so revile and obstruct.
'Mike Johnson Claims Marjorie Taylor Greene Appears in Book of Revelation'
MAR 25
'WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—Widening a rift among House Republicans, Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters on Sunday that Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene “makes a prominent appearance” in the Bible’s most apocalyptic book.'
“I was in church this morning, just kind of flipping through the Bible,” 'Johnson said'. “And as I was reading the Book of Revelation, all of a sudden I was like,' ‘Holy cow, that’s Marge!’”
“I usually like to leave religion out of things, but since Marjorie is ushering in the End Times I felt I had to say something,” 'he said.'
'The Speaker was evasive when asked which character in the Book of Revelation mirrored the Georgia congresswoman, saying only,' “She’s not the seven-headed dragon. To my knowledge Marge has only one head.”
'He stressed that his decision to reveal Rep. Greene’s' “pivotal role” 'in the end of the world had '“absolutely nothing” 'to do with her motion to vacate the Speaker’s chair.' “As long as I am Speaker, the chair is already vacant,” he said. (Satire, borowitzreport@substack.com) Copy and paste address on Google.
I have watched MTG's antics in performative politics get worse and worse. I believe that she is running out of stunts to pull, and no matter how bad they are (like the Hunter Biden photos) since she gets away with it, she goes further.
I am dreading the day that I am certain will come: she either shows up at the Capitol totally nude, or displays such photos of herself.. She'd probably first attempt to borrow that Beetlejuice dress from Boebert, but since they are no longer buddies, that is unlikely to happen.
'The state of journalism in 6 acts. There’s reason to be upbeat'
'The head of Poynter’s Beat Academy sees its lessons reflected in great local news coverage'
'By: Jon Greenberg'
'September 29, 2023'
'If you want to read bad news about journalism, you can find it.'
'The United States is still losing local newspapers. Big outfits like CNN and NPR have cut news staff. The great Texas Tribune had its first ever layoffs. In 2022, the two largest Spanish-language television networks, Univision and Telemundo, saw their audiences drop.'
'But get up close and you start to understand why nearly 60% of journalists are optimistic about their profession. This predates the unveiling of Press Forward, a $500 million effort to bring relief to news deserts and fortify small newsrooms nationwide. The U.S. has an amazing number of good reporters producing stories that connect with people, who then actually read and share that work with friends.'
'From my perch at the Poynter Institute’s Beat Academy, I get to see who’s bringing it home for our team, and for the communities we serve. Beat Academy is Poynter’s new, ultraaffordable virtual training program, where we pick a slice of a big issue and give busy journalists the framework and reporting tools to localize the story for their market. We’ve tackled private equity, crime, climate change, immigration, and more. As project lead, I talk and email with editors and reporters across the country, from the smallest shops, like the tri-weekly Athens Messenger in Ohio, to regional powerhouses, like the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.'
'Six qualities of successful reporters stuck with me. My apologies in advance to the people and newsrooms I left off. '
'Let yourself be intrigued'
'Kenny Cooper'
“I’m a general assignment reporter who covers the suburbs of Philadelphia,” WHYY reporter Kenny Cooper said during one of our sessions on covering private equity. “Health care is not my specialty.”
'Nor was finance. Cooper had to get on that learning curve when a local hospital temporarily shut its emergency room in 2022 and employees told Cooper the managers were cutting back on other key services. The term “private equity” came up.'
“I was fascinated, because you hear these words, you know, private equity, we don’t necessarily always make the connection that this is something that has a real day-to-day impact on people,” Cooper said. “It can be a bit intimidating at first.”
'Cooper connected with ProPublica and the Private Equity Stakeholders Project. He fairly quickly linked what was taking place in suburban Philadelphia to a Los Angeles-based private equity firm that, along with other investors, had pulled $400 million out of a hospital chain. Cooper strapped in and wrote 25 stories about the local impacts.'
'Skip the rhetoric, get pragmatic '
'Makenzie Huber'
'The immigration debate is dominated by what’s happening at the border, but what happens far away in America’s heartland can be just as telling. Makenzie Huber with the South Dakota Searchlight looked at the intersection of immigration and the state’s booming dairy industry. Turns out, the downhome business of milking cows depends on having workers who want to run milking machines.'
'Huber’s piece Lack of action on immigration is ‘holding SD back,’ dairy farmers say lays out how farmers try to make their way through the maze of government rules to get the workers they need. By the way, Poynter offers — for free —an online course on the basics of immigration policy.'
'Be strategic and follow through '
'Adam Willis'
'Adam Willis with the Baltimore Banner will be the first to tell you that it takes some serious pitchwork to get an editor excited about ARPA, the America Rescue Plan Act.'
“These stories might not be obvious to other people, or even to your editors,” Willis said. “They might sort of say, ‘Well, there’s all this other stuff happening.’ ”
'But Willis saw ARPA as a kind of Rorschach Test of what Baltimore’s leaders valued, and whether the bureaucracy was capable of using the $361 million that fell into its lap. Tracking the dozens of streams of funding was a rare experiment to see if people in a city with deep problems could actually come out ahead.'
“That involves trying to get on the ground and figure out who’s benefiting from the money, and seeing if we are starting to see this money change people’s lives,” Willis said.
'He’s been tracking Baltimore’s ARPA saga as it unfolds, sometimes finding points of success, but also helping readers understand why the city has had to retrench on some of its big promises. '
Readers, there is more good news - really! See link below.
Robert Hubbell posted in his letter today: "As of Sunday evening, Ronna McDaniel appears to remain at NBC as a “contributor.” Thanks to a reader (Susan O. S.) for identifying the executives at NBC who oversee the news function at the NBC network (not to be confused with the cable-based MSNBC). The email addresses are:
I, for one, don’t mind having former RNC Chair McDaniel appearing on NBC. I can’t imagine that she will say/reveal anything that would change my mind about her, her tenure at the RNC, or her obvious backing of the former president. On the other hand, I thoroughly enjoyed the pushback administered to her by the Meet the Press panel, etc. Mother Ronna (her terminology, not mine) will spend her entire tenure at NBC attempting to erase her past. Good luck with that, I say.
Wa Po, 3/27 SUCCESS!!!!! "Amid a chorus of on-air protest from some of the network’s biggest stars, NBC announced Tuesday night that former Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel will no longer be joining the network as a paid contributor."
Thanks to everyone here who emailed their outrage. So happy when protest makes a difference!!
Alexandra -indeed it is good news and all who expressed their outrage to NBC and the NBC News Division definitely earned the right to celebrate.
(Warning: There is a 'However' coming) ...
And remember it's NBC who gave us "The Apprentice". It's NBC who added Matt "No follow-up questions for my pal Trump" Lauer.
However, I won't be satisfied until all who continued to act either as co-conspirators or accessories after the fact in the attempt to disenfranchise millions of voters in the attempt to subvert a free and fair election. McDaniel should be under an investigatory microscope along with everyone else who willfully participated. She should be barred from ever holding public office -along with the rest -before she's being inaugurated as the next Governor of Wherever, United States.
I think the example of CNN should be proof. When Trump left office, finally, in Jan of 20, they had to find something else to talk about besides how awful Trump is, they lost money, their CEO and on-air personalities
Thank you Heather.
The former Fourth Estate now prefers the controversy and circus atmosphere of the Jerry Springer show instead of providing a vital service to defend and strengthen democracy. It is all about revenue, profit, and return on investment. They should all be paying rent for use of public airwaves -and the rent collected should be directed at actually fulfilling a public purpose.
Ronna would make a terrific guest on Springer or other chair throwing table flipping venues.
Let us put aside the fact that Ronna is a toady for treason. She's just bad at politics. Epically, historically, incontrovertibly bad. She led a party with a ton of advantages into a years-long losing streak on every level, left it with dwindling finances, shambolic organization, and no policy platform at all.
Why would you want someone so bad at something to help analyze that thing on your channel? This would be like HGTV hiring Gallagher. This would be like Reading Rainbow being hosted by the dog from the Begging Strips commercial.
This would be like getting someone who's been bankrupt half a dozen times to host a reality show on creating wealth. Oh, wait...
But it's all about those differing perspectives, amirite? Can't have the liars and failures feeling unrepresented! Why leave those potential viewers on the table? Hey, you know what we should do? Let's give the Chinese Communist Party the Sunday Morning Show! There are LOADS of untapped viewers who live over there! While we're at it, anybody got a couple of those new African military juntas on speed dial? Maybe they have something to say, too... and a captive audience back home! Broadcast TV is bringing the world together again, baby!
Long story short, these people have greenbacks where their grey matter should be.
Very well put 🙌. I for one will not be watching NBC until Ronald McDonald I mean McDaniel is gone.
I will not watch it either.Hiring someone like McDaniel cheapens the work of a whole group of journalists some of whom should be very concerned with this action(Rachel Maddow, Lawrence O’Donnell, Chris Hayes to name a few).Shame on MSNBC. That they would even consider bringing some like her on-board is troubling.
I did watch Morning Joe for a few minutes today... they were against the hiring, but said none of the on-air network staff were asked for their opinion beforehand. So this is all on the money-grubbing front office. And they only listen if their numbers are falling. We're each only one, but there are many of us.
Thanks for this information.I cancelled my NYT subscription because of the constant Biden bashing and both-sidesism of their reporting and I can quit watching MSNBC/NBC too.It pisses me off and also disappoints me that the owners of this channel care so little for the many people who support this network by watching their shows.I also wonder if this channel is trying to attract MAGATs with this hiring?
Why in the world would they want someone who will lie? I guess tfffg told fox not to hire her. I also dropped my NYT subscription and told them why. All the news fit to print. NO. the newspaper of record. NO. These magnut people need to be punished not rewarded. What they did was TREASON.
I also ended my subscription to NYT. I quit watching MSNBC pundits because, as Teri Kanefield explains , they (among others) perpetuate the misinformation - outrage cycle. She analyzes that in a quite educated and detailed way. And I feel so much better for it. I now only get news from PBS and NPR, some explanation and analysis from a few Substack writers. And of course, terikanefield.com.
I get my news from 1440 and HCR. I’m quite well informed.
I've had my own "path of cancellation," first with the Times, then the Washington Post, and finally, The Guardian. I guess there are just no national (or international!) news sources that can't both-sides everything. I'm done with it.
As for NBC/MSNBC, I'd sort of given up on that kind of thing years ago. I mean, I like Rachel Maddow but after all that's gone on, I just don't need to see that horse beaten to death anymore. I'll just take these letters every day and maybe sprinkle in some of the music/media/cultural criticism from Ted Gioia. That's enough.
Wasn't the trump townhall scheduled because of bad ratings? It was free publicity for the rude candidate and gave him another opportunity to display his usual disrespect for women.
I saw Hannity on MSNBC advertising Prepper supplies 2 evenings ago!!! 3/23 or 24 PM
Many people have emailed Blumenstein and Budoff to express their anger at hiring Ronna McDaniel. I am one. Hopefully, enough people express their outrage and McDaniel is fired. How could you know she was telling the truth? You couldn't.
Me too. Here are the addresses:
President, NBC: Rebecca.Blumenstein@nbcuni.com
NBC SVP of Politics: carrie.budoff@nbcuni.com
And everyone counts. And can be counted if we vote.
https://yadontknow.blogspot.com/2021/01/by-people.html
Excellent points Tim. This is why people need to vote in primaries and media must report the turnout. Bring on the flood!!“Elections are more than a toggle switch for one candidate or the other. If Trump had lost by just a few votes, I suspect his efforts before and after the election to overturn the vote would have been far more effective. As it was, a flood of 7,000,000 votes separated him from the winner. In each of the battleground states, his loss or win was decisive. This matters. Your vote and mine counted. Every vote added to the decision. The lies about the election would have been a little more effective for each missing vote.”
You’re right and that’s key but with all the corporate news bias, nasty availability to spread bias and the knowledge that major big money is and will continue to support the radical, vicious right it can be hard to keep this momentum up. Fortunately here on substack there are voices of encouragement like Simon Rosenberg, posters who remind us we can do this, historians like Heather Cox Richardson and Steve Schmidt who remind us of the price our ancestors paid for our democracy and finally Jeff Tiedrich who makes me laugh, an outrageous much needed laugh.
Very well written and important message, I'm going to use in the future if I may (of course giving you credit).
I have now gained back hours of time each week thanks to the greedy corporate overlords of NBC/MSNBC and their decision to give air time to a fascist and a traitor.
I’ll miss Rachel, Lawrence, and Stephanie. I will not watch this network, nor will I click on the network’s news stories. I’m thankful for the abundance of quality writing based on facts, and the honest perspectives that we have here on substack.
You save a lot of money by not having a cable bill. I quit mine years ago. Haven't missed it at all. I have my trusted news sites (Heather and Meidas Touch on YouTube, mostly). The provide their trusted sites.
MSNBC fired McDaniel almost immediately and both Rachel and Lawrence laid out in clear terms why so many at MSNBC revolted against bringing her on board. Broadcast channel NBC has yet to take that step.
I canceled my Peacock subscription.
Exactly. I did watch MSNBC tonight to see if they would take on the issue. They did not and I get it’s their job but it’s also their credibility on the line. Done with them as well.
What did you watch on MSNBC. Both Maddow and O'Donnell spoke at length last night about the pushback against hiring McDaniel for MSNBC, resulting in McDaniel no longer to be associated with MSNBC.
NBC, however, is a different kettle of fish, they haven't yet 'fired' her but I'm sure they're being inundated with email complaints.
I'm running short on 'gift' links so here are a couple of headlines/subheadlines from the NY Times:
March 24 "Business
Chuck Todd and ‘Morning Joe’ Hosts Object to NBC’s Hiring of Former R.N.C. Chair
The extraordinary comments on “Meet the Press” revealed tensions in NBC’s news divisions over Ronna McDaniel, who recently stepped down as head of the Republican National Committee."
March 25 "NBC News Faces Rebellion Over Hiring of Former Republican Party Chair
In extraordinary on-air remarks, Mika Brzezinski, Joe Scarborough and Nicolle Wallace questioned their own network’s decision to hire Ronna McDaniel as a political analyst."
There are similar articles in the Washington Post.
"So this is all on the money-grubbing front office."
Ah, the famous line from Sherlock Homes last investigation: "The Strange Case of Disappearing Decency". ; )
I hope you watched Rachel Maddow and Lawrence O'Donnell last night. They made clear that Ronna McD will not be involved with MSNBC as the result of objections made by them and many other MSNBC personnel. The issue remains (since I've not heard otherwise) that Ronna McD is still contracted with the broadcast channel NBC. At least at MSNBC, pushback worked. Hopefully, the same will soon be true at NBC.
Caught them both... and was pleased by their commentary. Hoping NBC gets its executive head out in the sunshine.
I will be watching both Maddow's show as well as O'Donnell's tonight to see what, if anything, they say about McDaniels' hiring. If they speak against it, or defend it in convincible ways, then I'll continue to watch it. Otherwise, probably not.
The reaction to MSNBC's apparent misstep here is similar to the comments I'm seeing on Threads about the NY Times and its "bothsidesism" editorials and especially headlines.
Just for the record, headlines are not written by reporters. They are written by the copy desk. And, unfortunately, these folks don't always read the whole story.
Yes, I do know that, but headlines are what catches the eye, and most readers also don't read the articles. Headlines, to me, are editorial content.
The articles themselves also show a lot of bothsidesism, but in their attempt to be fair, they often fail to show that there are not equivalent arguments on the left and right. Ex.: Biden's occasional vocal gaffes which they attribute to age, vs Trump's much more frequent memory lapses, mispronunciations, misstatements of facts etc. which are much more significant.
This is incredibly apparent at the NYTimes. You would think after endless criticisms and the need to redo headlines the NYTimes might have someone review them. But no. Instead they publish different headlines as clickbait depending on one's perceived political.
I will not be watching anything on NBC! I would suggest that we all do the same!
I think MSNBC has already said they won’t be a part of nbc’s ploy.
I also hope you’re right, but if the SNL writers are smart, they could get a strong point across in Saturday’s cold open. 🤞🤞
A Must Watch!
Definitely!
Hope you are right
That is correct. MSNBC on air and support personnel immediately pushed back and McDaniel will not be associated with MSNBC. NBC has not, so far, rescinded her contract as of this morning (3/26).
I hope they do rescind ! She should NOT be paid 300,000 as a pundit after all that she has done to hurt the country.
I don't watch NBC but find the hiring fascinating and now curious as to how it'll work. I would bristle every time Rick Santorum would come on, but it gave an opportunity for the left to bash the staunch conservative ideology he represented. And he was of the old guard. Will from Cal said, "Can't have the liars and failures feeling unrepresented!" Well guess what, the liars and failures are what now make up the majority of the GOP. If Ronna wants to come on and get bashed, let her. Jessica Tarlov does a fantastic job promulgating democratic policies on Fox. So you have the liar and conspiracy theorist representing MAGA/GOP on the liberal channel and a sane critical thinker on the conservative hoax Fox "news" channel. This is a snapshot of reality. Let's see how this goes....
Yes, I just cancelled my nightly NBC national news recordings. I'll be letting them know that I have been an NBC news follower for 60 years, but with this move on their part I'm gone! I'll still watch my local NBC station news, they are part of the Hearst Broadcast Group.
Money may talk but it doesn't talk to everybody & it certainly doesn't represent everybody!
I just did. Courtesy of Robert Hubbell Carrie.budoff@nbcuni.com and Rebecca.blumenstein@nbcuni.com
Thanks for the e-mail links. I just forwarded my earlier e-mail to NBC News to them.
Thanks for the email links! I used them!!
Money doesn't talk it:
SCREAMS!!!!!!
Yeah it does. But after what happened in NY today lowering that bond I screamed too! I kept it down so my neighbors wouldn't be concerned. But I did scream. If the arthritis in my hands would diminish a bit I'd go to a gym & punch one of those punching bags but my hands are more important. I'll just keep screaming at my tv & scare my poor kitty 🐈!
Agreed and I actually sent an email to that effect.
Yes , I with you 100%
NBC News: The “He’s so old and he yelled at his staff a couple months ago” outfit.
Or, Will, they have deficit in greenbacks.
Putin, along with his sick oligarch co-conspirators, and even even-more-sick, long-skirted, heavily bejeweled, eastern Orthodox priests, turned the Russian working classes back generations. Lost their good health care system. Got epidemics of tuberculosis and alcoholism. Demeaned, cheapened their schools. Drew fights with terror groups. Threw away the lives of several hundred thousand young men in stupid, stupid aggressive war. Gave all Russian natural resources to his co-conspirator fellow thieves.
Dictators, demagogues always incur massive costs for their stupidity. Ditto for the fools you also mention, Will, and the recklessness by which they, too, grabbed power.
The U.S. billionaires and their Republican enablers are costing Americans their formerly good schools, their natural environment, just as they cost millions of Americans the jobs these rich and apes to the rich offshored. Cost the country its AR-15 mass murder epidemic. Cost it its millions of homeless. Its addictions to OxyContin, Fentanyl, and obesity due to bad, bad, intentionally bad food.
Yes, Will deficits, deficits, deficits.
Thank you, Phil, for this excellent post. What a great description of the Russian situation. Then in one paragraph, you explained our situation and what the Rs and their billionaires have wrought. Every time I see people wringing their hands about the economy, the gun deaths, the drug deaths, I think you are not holding the right people responsible. And the food. We were recently helping a friend celebrate her 80th. She wanted lobster, so we were at Bag O Crabs. We managed to eat without getting any seafood or anything deep fried. They had robots which brought the food and of course sang happy birthday. The food came out willy nilly. The place was packed and it was surreal watching people with bibs and plastic gloves slurp up crab legs and other things in these bags. Never again, not even for a friend.
Well said!
Morning all! Robert Hubbell provided the email addresses of two NBC execs today. You can tell them yourselves how impressed you are with their hiring decisions. I am.
I just did.
Me too!
Sending an email. right now also.
Can you share those addresses please?
Collection of NBC contacts to voice your concerns:
Rebecca.Blumenstein@nbcuni.com
carrie.budoff@nbcuni.com
NBCNewsMediaRelations@nbcuni.com
Rashida.Jones@msnbc.com
Comcast:
audit_committee_chair@comcast.com
Thank you!!!
Done all sent.
I did as well!
I just did as well!
I read my first LFAA 21May2022. Don’t own a TV and feel somewhat sane and informed.
you made me smile - almost laugh this morning. I'm not big on sarcasm - but you touched a nerve. All I can say is 'out damn spot' May she be gone!
Will, I was getting ready to write a Dave Fake News article about NBC backtracking a little without actually Firing Ronna altogether by the creation of a new cooking show featuring Ronna and Sean Spicer
“Ronna’s Kitchen”.
The first episode would include The Infamous SOTU “Kitchen Lady’s” No Bake Vanilla Wafers
Love this Dave. I need a good laugh this am.
I was also considering “Ronna’s Truth” but figured a documentary series based on Lizzy Bordan had a limited audience
LOL. That's too funny.
Featuring a segment called “What’s Behind The Stove?”
Classic!
Excellent posts, Will and George. Even Chuck Todd who is not my favorite spoke against this move. As for watching NBC, we will continue watching the local NBC news because the other options are so bad and hopefully we will not see her on the national news with Lester Holt who must be vomiting. One of our former local reporters also does segments on the national news as well. Otherwise, our TV is tuned to streaming series and now and then, sports.
Wow, Will, you captured it brilliantly. And you did it with skillful spelling out of actions - and not a snarky name-calling in sight. Thank you!
Does anyone know what Ronna's contract with NBC includes as far as severance is concerned?
Oh Will, you marry me?!?!🤗😂🤣
Great synopsis! Thank you and I am married and we both loved your writing!💕👏🏻🤗
😂 😂 🤣
Hey Will, you left me with nothing to add. It simply absurd. I would encourage readers to send their comments to msnbc , perhaps at msnbctvinfo@nbkieni,com.
Agreed, which is why I left 'broadcast tv' years ago. I saw where it was headed and wanted nothing to do with it. I've discovered trusted sources like Professor Richardson who knows where the truth can be found. When CBS hired Mick Mulvaney I stopped watching news online and as long as Ronna Daniel is at NBC I won't be watching them either and I've told them so. I also stopped subscribing to The New York Times, they have turned too far to the right like too many others.
Absolutely! McDaniel is an unacceptable fool. Why put her anywhere near a camera when you already have Michael Steele in your stable? He's witty, conservative, and really astute in his political analysis.
Will, your last line is perfection! Thank you.
Nebraska Senator Roman Hruska might argue that people who lie should be represented?
Reagan mentor Milton Friedman made a thing out of claiming that the only social responsibility of a company was maximizing profit. But isn't a shared, foundational sense of social responsibility the glue that binds society into an entity, E Pluribus Unum, and enables the maintenance of liberty? After 40 years of Reaganomics, are we better off?
Reagan and his advisers helped establish the fictional frame of "the lone hard-working American cowboy". I built this instead of the more accurate we built this. (Although the reality is we stole this, then built it). This selfish individualistic caricature of an America -is the "Me first" DNA of the Reagan conservative looking to destroy the sense of community (except perhaps of the gated, exclusive variety), our foundational institutions, and our vital systems of governance.
Some are better off. The remaining Koch brother, Steve Wynn, Harlan Crow, Elon Musk, Barre Seid, Larry Ellison, Robert Mercer, and others who have accumulated great wealth during and post-Reagan.
The rest of us? Not so much.
And they use it get more and piss on the rest of us. You left Rupert off, otherwise good start on the perps. Chump is such a loser he couldn’t even make money on a casino, but he did better as a carnival barker…
You know Jeri, "Piss on the rest of us" can be shortened to its MAGA/GOP preferred "trickle down." And yes, Rupert. Now I've thrown up a little.
Trickle down = piss on the rest of us.
More than a trickle these days, it seems
Yes - equating Trickle Down to Piss on the rest of us
Would make a great “meme” for anti-MAGA/GOP marketing
Men I know would finally understand the concept.
Jeri, thanks to you, I will forever think “piss on us” whenever I hear “trickle down”—thank you!
Sure fits, doesn’t it
Jeri, again, thank you!
Selling fear and hate - always an easy sale.
And from religion these days,
Churches have been selling fear and hate since at least St. Paul...
Spot on, Jeri. I've always made that connection in my mind about trickle down. (When asked his opinion about the trickle down theory, trompy replied "Depends.")
LOL!
Love it
George I remember the ‘American cowboy’ as the Marlboro Man—he regretted this role before he died of lung cancer.
Myths we live and die by.
POP = profits over people. Everywhere we see a problem greed is at the core. Trite is right; money is the root of all evil.
The love of money is the root of all evil is, I think the more complete original quote. When love of money supplants love of your neighbor, your enemy, your community, your world, bad stuff ensues.
George Polisner,
Well said..."Me first." .....was not the leadership skill I observed within my family.
Isnt wealth accumulation to property owners inherent to how capitalism works, and consciously aspired to?
Wealth accumulation through putting capital at risk, innovation, value creation -yes.
Wealth accumulation through privatization, externalities, wealth transfers, and eroding necessary safeguards against abuse -no.
The late Kevin Phillips wrote several books in the 1990s critical of the Bush era. One of the things Phillips criticized is that he rightly thought people were making money by financializatiom of the economy and not by innovation. Phillips saw financialization as an indication that a society was in decay.
Yes. It's what I think of as wealth transfers. For example, when Walmart historically paid poverty-level wages, Walmart workers had $6.2 billion in taxpayer funded assistance (food stamps, etc.), while Walmart paid $6.6 billion in dividends to investors (and about half of that went to Walton family trusts). So it was externalizing costs to all of us, thus, diminishing our quality of life, while concentrating money to the top.
I'm not anti-wealth -when it is creating societal value. When wealth is used to lobby for eviscerating estate taxes, corporate taxation, and ensures that a teacher or a nurse is paying more as a percentage of income than Elon Musk -to me it is mass fraud perpetrated by the wealthy through their GOP shills (like Reagan, Bush, Trump) stealing from all of us (and future generations).
Financialization is just another business - it just needed to be regulated. The financial disaster of 2008 would have been avoided had the players been regulated.
Are you talking about Mnuchin here. Isn’t he the master of the latter…
Milton Friedman. I get enjoyment moving his books (as well as books on Reagan) to the "True Crime" section of bookstores.
Jeri Mnuchin is vastly different than the Munchkins of Wizard of Oz. I yearn for the return of the Wizard—an affable, well-intentioned Frank Morgan.
… inherent to how "Unregulated" capitalism works…?
Econ 101: Capitalism can only survive if the wealth is redistributed. (evidence, trickle-down BS)
There's nothing wrong with acquiring wealth or property; there is something very wrong with doing so by exploitation and influence peddling.
If you read the Communist Manifesto, pretty much all of modern capitalism is exploitation, just almost sheer chance i'm reading it now - via reading on Oppenheimer Prometheus and Heather's How the South Won the Civil war, Titan - life of John Rockefeller. I see there was a healthy discussion on the matter. Much of that 1% wealth is tied up in capital investment, though the free cash flow by my meagre standards feels obscene. I'd suggest tapping much of that retained wealth through cash / holding taxes then cash on some not break the business basis. Corporate and other business is hugely subsidized by government one way or the other, as is the general population. This kind of taxation is the only way you'll significantly change the wealth distribution equation. Of course, "good luck with that'.
This is neither here nor there, but in fact there are 2 remaining Koch brothers -- you may be forgetting Bill Koch of sailing fame. His family's wealth supported his expensive hobby, but I don't believe he has or had any direct involvement with the running of Koch Industries. I'd like to think his politics are anathema to his brothers, but that's just me being hopeful rather than knowledgeable.
My partner and I started a consulting firm in 1990. We paid every employee more than they could have made in the insurance industry by 10-20% and provided a better benefit package than any insurance company. Our first five years in business we grew the company from the two of us to over 60 consultants. Our turnover rate for each of the first five years was ZERO. Our annual turnover rate was never over 5%. No one left. We sold the company after 10 years because my partner wanted to retire and I couldn't get the money (like Trump) to buy him out. When people left, they left usually it was because they went out on their own. We never tied them up with 401-k vesting or non-competes but we did tie them up with annual bonus's which always came a month after the busy season.
It's much easier to maximize profits when people don't leave for a better job in the middle of a project.
I’m old. I have watched it decimate our government, social structure and turn my mama’s religion of “love thy neighbor,” into prosperity gospel. The importation of Rupert kicked off the “rich buying the government they wanted” trend. As Jack Kemp said in WaPo article in Jan 1981, “Rupert Murdoch used the front page, the editorial page, and every other page necessary to get Ronald Reagan elected president.” Hats off to you Rupert, you epitome of evil.
Well said, Jeri.
Jack Kemp said it best.
Using the front page as the editorial page has a history, but I was told in school we had moved beyond that.
Rupert has never thought so, in my opinion. Sort of like NY Post
Unfortunately not, and the concentration of wealth and deterioration of the middle class has.enabled a demagogue and charlatan like Trump to get attention. Friedman didn live to se the worst results of his policies take hold.
I think a lot of right wing policy makers expect to bow out one way or the other before the excrement impacts the impeller.
Not disagreeing, but even as a kid in the 50s i remember partisanship was a hallmark of American journalism, a miasma of one side trying to outshrill the other. That was the onset of civil rights era, anti establishment movement, McCarthyism, anti Vietnam, assassinations, nothing calm about the Eve of Destruction.... recurrent race riots
Where your people saw "race riots" my people saw Revolution.
Fair enough, beauty being in the eye of the beholder. What was needed was political organization, a real economic and educational uplift, however managed - not burning down Watts, Detroit. In and of itself, it only led to more repression. Providing real answers in that history though is far beyond my competence.
Companies such as Patagonia with its founder Yves Chouinard and his family are turning profits into social and environmental/climate benefit instead of self-enrichment. There are many others that do as well.
NO! NO! NO!
Hiring McDaniel is like hiring the robber to be a cashier. She is a criminal and should be prosecuted not work for major media network. NBC's decision is one more example of people's ability to rationalize ANYTHING.
If Sarah Huckabee Sanders can be Governor of Arkansas I suppose we are fortunate Ronna isn’t running (yet).
Ugh. I can’t even listen to clips of her voice.
Ronna wouldn’t have a prayer of winning electoral office. Trump turned on her, and threw her under the bus.
I agree!!I see Chuck Todd is not happy with them hiring McDaniel!!Was a stupid thing to do!!
I felt compelled to register my own complaint about this horribly tone deaf hire…
Dear Ms. Blumenstein,
I must object to NBC decision to hire Ronna McDaniel for, ostensibly, her insight into contemporary conservative politics. I find that hard to believe given what a colossal failure she was. That would be like hiring the captain of the Titanic, had he survived, to enlighten your audience about why there weren’t enough lifeboats.
She caved to the MAGA wing of the former GOP party leaving it strapped for cash and credibility and without a platform. She falsely promoted Trump’s lies about election fraud and had the unmitigated gall to characterize the January 6th attack on the Capital as “…legitimate political discourse “ I wonder what her opinion is on the use of letter bombs to advance one’s political agenda?
Given the event was televised for all to see, even by NBC, and several unnecessary deaths and injuries resulted during the assault, should I assume that NBC agrees with Ronna that January 6th was “… legitimate political discourse “ ?
A disappointed and now former viewer,
Larry
We should all leave them a good-bye letter so get idea that this might not be a money making scheme!
Apparently the ceo from NBC must be a Trump supporter.
It is unfair and inaccurate to smear 'the Fourth Estate' in totality. Your assertion is easily disproved right here where HCR routinely cites the reporting and analyses of those working in the press. It is truly a frivolous and undeserved dismissal of those people who every day are reporting from conflict zones and war zones, challenging those in power despite a range of threats, and witnessing the most mundane to the most momentous of happenings to bring us news. They and their work deserve a more serious consideration. And where called for critique. And note that the most strong public denunciation of NBC hiring the ousted RNC head came from Chuck Todd - on NBC.
I respectfully disagree. We are a far cry from Bernstein and Woodward and Murrow. My criticism is not those few journalists who diligently continue to report and inform. It is the loss of distribution of the journalistic output, and the lack of investment in news, analysis, and reporting.
There is a good deal to learn about journalism, 'the Fourth Estate' in the US, even by those who, perhaps, think themselves better informed about the subject than they may be, and Woodward is still at it! That doesn't mean that we don't need more of it.
'Solutions Oriented'
'How foundation money is transforming local news'
'OCTOBER 16, 2023'
'By MEGAN GREENWELL'
'Until a few years ago, the Cleveland Foundation had never considered supporting local media. The organization—the oldest community foundation in the world, with $2.8 billion in assets—seeks to “enhance the lives of all residents of Greater Cleveland”; its grants tend to focus on job training, violence prevention, and education in majority-Black neighborhoods. The organization’s staff were well aware that the city’s flagship newspaper, the Plain Dealer, was being stripped for parts by Advance Local, its corporate owner, and that nothing was filling the vacuum. But their aim was to solve problems, not assign articles about them. Besides, even in a more robust age of local news, the neighborhoods targeted by community groups were rarely covered in the press—except, perhaps, in the case of a grisly crime.'
'So in 2020, when the Cleveland Foundation awarded money to an initiative called Cleveland Documenters, it wasn’t classified as a reporting project. Documenters, which started in Chicago and has since expanded into a network of eleven cities, mostly in the Midwest, pays small fees to about six hundred Clevelanders—not experienced reporters, just curious citizens from every zip code—to take notes at local government meetings and post them online. Dale Anglin, the Cleveland Foundation’s vice president for grantmaking and community impact, thought of Documenters primarily as a tool to improve low voting rates.' “We don’t even call it journalism here,” she told me. “We call it information.”
https://www.cjr.org/local_news/solutions-oriented-cleveland-documentars-community-foundation.php
Thank you Fern.
"those few journalists who diligently continue to report and inform."
Your assertion simply does not conform to the facts. Historical or current.
And while remarkable investigative reporters do momentous work. Our democracy also depends on the most local of reporters who attend and report on innumerable town council and school board meetings.
Most of the information you rely on for your opinions comes from the diligent work of those you so easily dismiss.
The decline of investment in local news, the closure of news bureau’s, and the loss of newspapers is pretty well-known.
https://citap.unc.edu/news/local-news-platforms-mis-disinformation/
I don't see how news of news bureau closures supports your dismissal of the press and hard working journalists.
Why not direct your ire to those who create the economic and political conditions which threaten the press.
They are inseparable. When I am critical of the healthcare industry, my frustration is not directed at nurses, doctors, and staff. It is the industry itself that prioritizes profit over patient outcomes. Similarly, when I speak of the erosion of the Fourth Estate in the United States it is not a criticism of actual journalists.
Lin, you’re right. That’s why I continue to support the local newspaper as their rates increase—they still have a few reporters that cover local and state politics.
George, I keep my NYT subscription and Washington Post subscription to support those diligent reporters. If they leave, all bets are off.
Admirable. I support The Guardian, Pro Publica, and of course HCR’s LFAA for similar reasons. I gave up on NYT around Judith Miller’s adventures with yellow cake.
'State of the News Media (Project)'
'Data and trends about key sectors in the U.S. news media industry'
'Since 2004, Pew Research Center has issued an annual report on key audience and economic indicators for a variety of sectors within the U.S. news media industry. These data speak to the shifting ways in which Americans seek out news and information, how news organizations get their revenue, and the resources available to American journalists as they seek to inform the public about important events of the day. The press is sometimes called the fourth branch of government, but in the U.S., it’s also very much a business – one whose ability to serve the public is dependent on its ability to attract eyeballs and dollars.'
'Over the years, the Center’s approach to these indicators has evolved along with the industry, carefully considering the metrics, sectors and format in which the data appear. Instead of a single summary report, our approach is to roll out a series of fact sheets showcasing the most important current and historical data points for each sector – in an easy-to-digest format – a few at a time. '
https://www.pewresearch.org/topic/news-habits-media/news-media-trends/state-of-the-news-media-project/
Thank you Fern -I have respect for Pew Research. Secondly -therein lies the problem:
The press is sometimes called the fourth branch of government, but in the U.S., it’s also very much a business – one whose ability to serve the public is dependent on its ability to attract eyeballs and dollars.'
George, good for you! I also support The Guardian, Pro Publica, HCR and Jay Kuo on Substack. I did support Steve Schmidt on Substack until he decided to take money for helping Dean in his presidential bid and I questioned both his intelligence and his independence (it appears that I was not alone).
I started my NYT subscription a couple of years ago, so missed Judith Miller and yellow cake (Duncan Hines or uranium?).
Her lack of specificity as to the type of cake was another boost in the race to invade the wrong country. In retrospect we know it was Duncan Hines. 🤓
Nevertheless, Lin, greed, the quarterly returns obsession and the profit motive conditioning ethics do make for very leaky buckets wherever the provision of essential services is concerned. And we all know who profits and who suffers from the leakages...
My best friend is an emergency room physician whose hospital has been taken over by a hedge fund. I admire her work all the more for her unwavering diligence and care for her patients under these conditions.
The same goes for journalists.
Lin, another nail in the coffin is the migration of a substantial number of seniors from regular Medicare to Medicare Advantage plans. There are hospitals closing because the low rates (subst lower than regular Medicare) don’t allow them to make ends meet. We need to pass a law that allows a one-time return from Medicare Advantage to Medicare with Medicare supplement coverage (Medigap) at the same Medigap monthly cost as a new enrollee. Too many people are falling for the Medicare Advantage promise only to experience long waits for “elective” surgeries and emergency room doctors/anesthesiologist bills that aren’t covered (even though the hospital is in-network). Then, when they try to go back, they find that the premiums for the Medigap premiums are triple or quadruple what they were just one year before and they’re stuck because they can’t afford the new premiums.
https://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/news/half-rural-hospitals-red-pressured-high-medicare-advantage-enrollment
Those premiums rise as they require underwriting after the initial Medicare enrollment period. Medicare advantage policies need to be dissolved.
Gail, this was a sop to the insurance industry to get Medicare passed. A law allowing a one-time return to the original low Medigap rates would allow people to recover from their uninformed choice of Medicare Advantage.
Mary, EXACTLY. I went on Medicare two years ago, and after seeing the problems my elder sister's husband had with Medicare Advantage, there is NO WAY I'd choose it, and I strongly advise my peers that have been turning 65 to avoid it.
Thank you (all that have replied about this)! I am eligible to enroll in Medicare this coming July (gulp, only a little denial going on that I am this old, haha). Had no idea Medicare Advantage was problematic. Thank you so much for the head's up!
Here we come up against the hard, hard realities of American exceptionalism.
Cain's am-I-my-brother's-keeper approach to life: solving social problems by causing them.
Of course, the Swiss are just Commies.
Peter, I hate to hear that. I hope that it’s not a trend.
Re. Switzerland, where you can reset your watch at the moment when trains or trams stop and social services are superb, in some big cities life is becoming too dear for ordinary Swiss citizens.
Those living near borders cross them to go shopping.
Good investigative reporting comment.
Yes. Medicare 'Advantage' is predatory, wasteful, and as you describe, harms everyone and as well as the entire system.
Medical care is rapidly declining and hedge fund take overs of hospitals is likely just putting the final nail in the coffin.
And nursing homes. Heartbreaking to see community-built facilities being bought and robbed, both financially and philosophically. First, Do Harm.
OMG. That won’t go well.
Literally the same reaction as MLMinET.
Last night a long conversation with a dear friend whose lung problems have now turned to emphysema about how takeover by hedge funds has made so many health services, previously subsidized by the State in France, too dear for many sick people...
All those services essential to society, including health, education and information, where the profit motive is irrelevant or, at the very most, a secondary, subordinate consideration.
Yesterday on CSpan I heard a Republican (maybe Tom Cotten) denouncing the ACA with examples of constituents' narratives. Then he 'jumped the shark' complaining about his ACA coverage as a member of Congress. 'Deer in the headlights moment' when caught out his own lie. Of course he has platinum level coverage through ... the government Republicans so revile and obstruct.
That live-and-let-die attitude. Sabotage the system, then complain it doesn't work.
As a cop from their favorite Hungary put it, criminals are doing fine, and none better than The Big Criminal.
'Mike Johnson Claims Marjorie Taylor Greene Appears in Book of Revelation'
MAR 25
'WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—Widening a rift among House Republicans, Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters on Sunday that Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene “makes a prominent appearance” in the Bible’s most apocalyptic book.'
“I was in church this morning, just kind of flipping through the Bible,” 'Johnson said'. “And as I was reading the Book of Revelation, all of a sudden I was like,' ‘Holy cow, that’s Marge!’”
“I usually like to leave religion out of things, but since Marjorie is ushering in the End Times I felt I had to say something,” 'he said.'
'The Speaker was evasive when asked which character in the Book of Revelation mirrored the Georgia congresswoman, saying only,' “She’s not the seven-headed dragon. To my knowledge Marge has only one head.”
'He stressed that his decision to reveal Rep. Greene’s' “pivotal role” 'in the end of the world had '“absolutely nothing” 'to do with her motion to vacate the Speaker’s chair.' “As long as I am Speaker, the chair is already vacant,” he said. (Satire, borowitzreport@substack.com) Copy and paste address on Google.
Fern, that is rich!
Thanks, Fern!
I have watched MTG's antics in performative politics get worse and worse. I believe that she is running out of stunts to pull, and no matter how bad they are (like the Hunter Biden photos) since she gets away with it, she goes further.
I am dreading the day that I am certain will come: she either shows up at the Capitol totally nude, or displays such photos of herself.. She'd probably first attempt to borrow that Beetlejuice dress from Boebert, but since they are no longer buddies, that is unlikely to happen.
LORD HELP US.
I love it fern!!Thanks for sharing this!!!!😀
'The state of journalism in 6 acts. There’s reason to be upbeat'
'The head of Poynter’s Beat Academy sees its lessons reflected in great local news coverage'
'By: Jon Greenberg'
'September 29, 2023'
'If you want to read bad news about journalism, you can find it.'
'The United States is still losing local newspapers. Big outfits like CNN and NPR have cut news staff. The great Texas Tribune had its first ever layoffs. In 2022, the two largest Spanish-language television networks, Univision and Telemundo, saw their audiences drop.'
'But get up close and you start to understand why nearly 60% of journalists are optimistic about their profession. This predates the unveiling of Press Forward, a $500 million effort to bring relief to news deserts and fortify small newsrooms nationwide. The U.S. has an amazing number of good reporters producing stories that connect with people, who then actually read and share that work with friends.'
'From my perch at the Poynter Institute’s Beat Academy, I get to see who’s bringing it home for our team, and for the communities we serve. Beat Academy is Poynter’s new, ultraaffordable virtual training program, where we pick a slice of a big issue and give busy journalists the framework and reporting tools to localize the story for their market. We’ve tackled private equity, crime, climate change, immigration, and more. As project lead, I talk and email with editors and reporters across the country, from the smallest shops, like the tri-weekly Athens Messenger in Ohio, to regional powerhouses, like the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.'
'Six qualities of successful reporters stuck with me. My apologies in advance to the people and newsrooms I left off. '
'Let yourself be intrigued'
'Kenny Cooper'
“I’m a general assignment reporter who covers the suburbs of Philadelphia,” WHYY reporter Kenny Cooper said during one of our sessions on covering private equity. “Health care is not my specialty.”
'Nor was finance. Cooper had to get on that learning curve when a local hospital temporarily shut its emergency room in 2022 and employees told Cooper the managers were cutting back on other key services. The term “private equity” came up.'
“I was fascinated, because you hear these words, you know, private equity, we don’t necessarily always make the connection that this is something that has a real day-to-day impact on people,” Cooper said. “It can be a bit intimidating at first.”
'Cooper connected with ProPublica and the Private Equity Stakeholders Project. He fairly quickly linked what was taking place in suburban Philadelphia to a Los Angeles-based private equity firm that, along with other investors, had pulled $400 million out of a hospital chain. Cooper strapped in and wrote 25 stories about the local impacts.'
'Skip the rhetoric, get pragmatic '
'Makenzie Huber'
'The immigration debate is dominated by what’s happening at the border, but what happens far away in America’s heartland can be just as telling. Makenzie Huber with the South Dakota Searchlight looked at the intersection of immigration and the state’s booming dairy industry. Turns out, the downhome business of milking cows depends on having workers who want to run milking machines.'
'Huber’s piece Lack of action on immigration is ‘holding SD back,’ dairy farmers say lays out how farmers try to make their way through the maze of government rules to get the workers they need. By the way, Poynter offers — for free —an online course on the basics of immigration policy.'
'Be strategic and follow through '
'Adam Willis'
'Adam Willis with the Baltimore Banner will be the first to tell you that it takes some serious pitchwork to get an editor excited about ARPA, the America Rescue Plan Act.'
“These stories might not be obvious to other people, or even to your editors,” Willis said. “They might sort of say, ‘Well, there’s all this other stuff happening.’ ”
'But Willis saw ARPA as a kind of Rorschach Test of what Baltimore’s leaders valued, and whether the bureaucracy was capable of using the $361 million that fell into its lap. Tracking the dozens of streams of funding was a rare experiment to see if people in a city with deep problems could actually come out ahead.'
“That involves trying to get on the ground and figure out who’s benefiting from the money, and seeing if we are starting to see this money change people’s lives,” Willis said.
'He’s been tracking Baltimore’s ARPA saga as it unfolds, sometimes finding points of success, but also helping readers understand why the city has had to retrench on some of its big promises. '
Readers, there is more good news - really! See link below.
https://www.poynter.org/from-the-institute/2023/the-state-of-journalism-in-six-acts-theres-reason-to-be-upbeat/
Robert Hubbell posted in his letter today: "As of Sunday evening, Ronna McDaniel appears to remain at NBC as a “contributor.” Thanks to a reader (Susan O. S.) for identifying the executives at NBC who oversee the news function at the NBC network (not to be confused with the cable-based MSNBC). The email addresses are:
President, NBC: Rebecca.Blumenstein@nbcuni.com
SVP of Politics: carrie.budoff@nbcuni.com
I wrote to both execs expressing my outrage over NBC giving lying, election denying McDaniel a platform of ANY kind.
Very very true George!!Ronna would make a perfect guest on Springer!!!
I, for one, don’t mind having former RNC Chair McDaniel appearing on NBC. I can’t imagine that she will say/reveal anything that would change my mind about her, her tenure at the RNC, or her obvious backing of the former president. On the other hand, I thoroughly enjoyed the pushback administered to her by the Meet the Press panel, etc. Mother Ronna (her terminology, not mine) will spend her entire tenure at NBC attempting to erase her past. Good luck with that, I say.
Wa Po, 3/27 SUCCESS!!!!! "Amid a chorus of on-air protest from some of the network’s biggest stars, NBC announced Tuesday night that former Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel will no longer be joining the network as a paid contributor."
Thanks to everyone here who emailed their outrage. So happy when protest makes a difference!!
Alexandra -indeed it is good news and all who expressed their outrage to NBC and the NBC News Division definitely earned the right to celebrate.
(Warning: There is a 'However' coming) ...
And remember it's NBC who gave us "The Apprentice". It's NBC who added Matt "No follow-up questions for my pal Trump" Lauer.
However, I won't be satisfied until all who continued to act either as co-conspirators or accessories after the fact in the attempt to disenfranchise millions of voters in the attempt to subvert a free and fair election. McDaniel should be under an investigatory microscope along with everyone else who willfully participated. She should be barred from ever holding public office -along with the rest -before she's being inaugurated as the next Governor of Wherever, United States.
I think the example of CNN should be proof. When Trump left office, finally, in Jan of 20, they had to find something else to talk about besides how awful Trump is, they lost money, their CEO and on-air personalities
LIVE, from the Colosseum in Rome, Italy....
From glad-handing to gladiator, this lady must be versatile. 😉
One network, one bad decision. Let’s see how this works out.