November 18, 2019
"The press does not like to do stories where the problem is bi-partisan," says Matt Taibbi, talking about why the press is not pursuing the Epstein murder story.
Scroll back if you want to hear Taibbi and Joe Rogan both express near certitude that Epstein was murdered. Keep listening to hear Taibbi talk about the economics of the news media in the internet era. Now, unlike in the golden age of Walter Cronkite, the media are "always trying to get everybody upset." It used to be "a unifying experience to watch the news." Really? Taibbi means there was basically one style or presenting the news on the 3 networks, but today, we can go wherever we want, so the media have adopted the strategy of "monetizing anger."
Taibbi is pushing his new book, "Hate Inc.: Why Today’s Media Makes Us Despise One Another."
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Everyone knew Epstein, it's true. All sorts of wealthy elites. Bill Clinton actually flew to that island with him, and ditched his security detail.
It's only a happy coincidence when anyone in the Clinton orbit finds an untimely death.
It's because the Clinton's are still powerful enough to control narratives that damage them personally. Taibbi might be genuine or he might be muddying the waters.
Also his everybody does it is too asymmetrical to fit the narrative he'e espousing.
Media coverage of suicides often lead to copycats or "suicide contagion." So maybe it was a suicide and journalists are just reluctant to cover it that way?
Also, did Epstein leave a suicide note? 30 to 50% of people leave some sort of note.
I'm glad Taibbi finally woke up. We have been saying this for years, and Rolling Stone used to be one of the main culprits.
Just as a matter of curiosity and newsworthiness, people want to know if this guy was murdered or did commit suicide. Big ratings! Sell papers!
The guards refused to take a plea bargain. That tells me they were paid so much money that they are willing to go to jail for a time in order to keep the money. Check their bitcoin accounts.
I'm no fan of Tabbai's politics, but he is a fantastic wordsmith and he's true to his principles. Like Glen Greeenwald, he'll never be as popular on his side of the aisle as he deserves to be.
Seth Rich unavailable for comment.
I agree with him. It's about the same as I posted on another thread.
The business model of newspapers has failed. We seem to be going back to an earlier model when newspapers were published by political parties and everyone knew it.
"...The guards refused to take a plea bargain...."
That tells me that the guards are bluffing the DA; they understand that the DA doesn't want a very public trial under any circumstances, as it would devolve into a circus and embarrassing facts may be presented. The guards are counting on the DA quietly dropping charges, and I suspect they're right.
Almost, not quite. The MSM will NOT go after any story that shows any one of its favored groups, especially itself, in any sort of bad light.
I disagree that partisan news is new. Small towns used to have independent newspapers that slanted Democrat or Republican. You could tell a family's politics by what they subscribed to.
Michael K said...The business model of newspapers has failed. We seem to be going back to an earlier model when newspapers were published by political parties and everyone knew it.
My late father worked for Madison Newspapers Inc, the company that published both the left leaning Capital Times and the staid Wisconsin State Journal.. He'd bring home copies of each everyday. I asked him once why he read them both and he said bluntly "I want to get both sides of the story."
The more unbiased news model of recent yore failed when those biased news source started to pretend that they were unbiased and they started getting called on their bullshift. That's why, for example, the Dan Rather fake news was such a big deal. Now we have a major network covering up their role in covering up Epstein. The transformation happened in our lifetime. Really, it's the news sources own fault for letting their impartiality slip. I pity them not and hope they fail. We need to go back to the older partisan model as a cleansing.
I have probably asked 25 or 30 people about the Epstein situation. I have yet to find a single person who believes that it was suicide.
Here in Las Vegas the center-right Review-Journal has a section called the Las Vegas Sun, which is a leftie paper-within-a-paper. The better hotels deliver a newspaper to your door, so this probably keeps everybody happy.
There have been several movies and television series that highlighted the misdeeds at Fox News or within the Murdoch organization. I have seen none that dramatize, even in a fictionalized way, the crimes of Epstein, Weinstein, Lauer, Moonves, Rose, Rolling Stone, et al. Am I the only one around who has noticed this discrepancy?
i wonder who now has all the videos Epstein took of his guests playing with little girls?
Related to journalism, has anyone else seen the epic burn FedEx applied to the NYT?
The Catholic Church lost the support of many of the faithful when it became apparent that the Church was more interested in protecting the reputations of its priests and bureaucrats than in safeguarding the faith and morals of the people who attended Mass.....Something similar is happening to the media. The truth is secondary to political interests and many of the people who report on the news are rapists or rapist enablers.
In Philly during the 70s, the three dailies were thought of not by political parties but by class. The Inquirer was for the elites and corporate types, the Bulletin for mid-managers and small biz owners, the Daily News was blue collar working class.
My family subscribed to all three for balance.
chickelit said...My late father worked for Madison Newspapers Inc, the company that published both the left leaning Capital Times and the staid Wisconsin State Journal.. He'd bring home copies of each everyday. I asked him once why he read them both and he said bluntly "I want to get both sides of the story."
Same with me when I read newspapers. I used to get the New York Daily News, and the New York Post for that same reason. (I live in New Jersey and ALL of our newspapers suck). I no longer read newspapers.
"I want to get both sides of the story."
Nowadays, by reading the (Gannett-owned) Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the Wisconsin State Journal, and the Cap Times, you can get all THREE sides of the story: moderate left, left, and far left!
The “Epstein was murdered story” shows that we are governed by an oligarchy who determine what we see in large part.
"i wonder who now has all the videos Epstein took of his guests playing with little girls?”
Nobody who wants to live to see tomorrow will admit it. If he wanted to really protect himself, he would have to have his “bomb: set to go off if he failed to do something by some time. If he trusted a lawyer, well, the second he’s dead... it’s a huge pot of gold. Like that asteroid.
Good explanation of who reads the various British Newspapers
Presenting 500 people who answer a phone from a pollster and happen to be willing to take the time to answer a few deliberately misleading questions is not a particularly good indicator of true public sentiment. But obviously that wasn't the point of this supposed poll.
The US MSM, nearly all of it, is a centrally controlled propaganda system.
You cannot get the other side of any story from that system, just the party line.
One has to mine inadvertent leaks through the system, or its opponents own, much weaker propaganda system, or foreign sources.
The general case is much like being dependent on the old Soviet information system.
The press knows how convenient Epstein's death was to many of Washington's most celebrated liberals. This is a story that will need to dig 6 feet straight up to see the light of day.
"Journalism is about covering important stories. With a pillow, until they stop moving.' -Iowahawk
Taibbi's larger critique of the branding of news is dead on.
None of the MSM actually makes money as a normal business. Or not as they did at least at some point in the past. At best they exist through various sorts of subsidies through their owners and a network of sponsors. These people do not expect, for the most part, that the advertising is effective. The value is in political influence.
Its interesting to consider the scale of the whole thing. CNN alone employs 4000 people.
The answer of "The press does not like to do stories where the problem is bi-partisan," is not precise enough. The press does not like to do stories that harm their political allies. There is no effective separation of the alphabet press and the Democrat Party. The alphabet networks in the US are promoting the Democrat Party and they actively cover for them. It's Chicago style machine politics gone national.
They like to say that they are there to "afflict the comfortable" but repeatedly suppress incredibly damaging but entirely newsworthy stories that reflect badly on powerful Democrats.
None of the MSM actually makes money as a normal business. Or not as they did at least at some point in the past.
Quite a few are vanity projects of the rich. Bezos, of course and Steve Jobs widow has "The Atlantic" to spew her leftist dogma.
"Why Today’s Media Makes Us Despise One Another." I dunno, I don't despise people with whom I disagree politically. But I do despise the news media, so they've accomplished something at least.
Well whatever is motivating the news media, whether it’s Hate! as postulated or partisanship as I see it, the ONE THING they are NOT focused on is seeking out and publishing NEWS. What they’re doing isn’t news it is entertainment programming. Which is fraud. Sad.
Labeling the news as entertainment programming is to be naive. It's propaganda for one political party and it's quite obvious.
Lack of investigative journalism into the Epstein murder is Exhibit A in the case of most media's current worthlessness. Journalism is in a Dark Age.
I haven't listened to the whole interview yet, but I had the distinct impression that Rogan was operating on a higher level than Taibbi.
"Two guards fell asleep AND the cameras were broken. This is believable because prisons are bad." -- modern journalism
Rogan has the advantage of not presenting himself as knowledgable on the subject. At one point Taibbi flatters him, tells him that people are coming to him for a honest look at the news, and Rogan is self-effacing — he's just the Shark Tank/MMA guy and if people who are coming to him for the news, that's a sad commentary on journalism today. Meanwhile, Taibbi has to be the news guy. But Taibbi misses some great cues from Rogan to go deeper or speculate in some new ways and Taibbi is on task, relaying what I assume is what's in his book.
I know I am comforted by the fact that free market Lefty prog Jo Rogan is onnit
"This is a story that will need to dig 6 feet straight up to see the light of day."
This a story where everyone knows the the answer. I don't think one American thinks anything but. It's the only thing we agree on. However, although the corpse is lying on the ground for all to see, anyone who "sees" as a matter of public record might find themselves six feet down. What this will do to the Democrats when the inevitable attempt begins is hard to say.
"The press does not like to do stories where the problem is bi-partisan"
Then the press is useless.
Lack of investigative journalism into the Epstein murder is Exhibit A in the case of most media's current worthlessness. Journalism is in a Dark Age.
Exactly, Freeman! In days of old, 60 Minutes would be on the case and perhaps also looked into the career of the Las Vegas shooter and the possibility that it was a sting operation gone awry. But these, along with many other 'down the memory hole' subjects, are off limits for the MSM now. Sad.
It was a very interesting discussion of where the suppression of speech was going. To hear Matt Taibbi talking about "inane public discourse where nothing is said" - I think that's more the problem of the younger generation trying to make their way and so keeping their heads down. This I am aware of. But I wasn't so aware of the resentment and the countermove to hear the banned ideas probably because as a Catholic I hear a lot of currently banned ideas all the time. I've been getting the same orders from the pulpit for my whole life and they have variously been normal, out-of-date, popular, and hypocritical; and now, apparently, they are trembling on the verge of samizdat news. I think its time the seculars like Bill Maher realize that they have an obligation to speak respectfully of religion in neutral secular state - and if they don't start to acknowlege and carry out that obligation, that's game two will play.
On the contrary the press is very useful. To someone.
You just have to adjust your concept of its purpose.
Is it useful to such as you and I?
It is, to the degree that you need to observe its activity as an combatants weapon on the battlefield.
I read Hate Inc and it's mostly a gonzo screed filled with exaggeration, invective and contumely. But once Taibbi gets his TDS out of the way, he does a pretty good job trashing the media. Lots of interesting tidbits in there.
But I don't get why he uses MSNBC the odious liberal counterpart to the equally odious Fox News, and says so little about CNN.
Oh, and I listened to the whole podcast. Bluetooth is the bomb.
I have a hard time listening to people, like Rogan, who say "no one could've seen Trump coming".
I had a blog called "The Macho Response" that predicted a Trump was not only coming, but was the answer to the problems we were facing over a decade ago.
He also automatically assumes cult practices like yoga and meditation are "good" which is extremely annoying.
I need someone with his feet more on the ground.
Matt Taibi is a fairly intellectually honest reporter from the far left, but he is actually wrong here- most of the media don't like to report stories that are bad for Democrats, not just ones that are bi-partisan in nature. When the issue is bi-partisan, the media will report it as a Republican/Conservative problem.
Surely, one can imagine a world where Trump ran for President as a Democrat- all one would have to do is imagine Trump being for open borders and appointing left-leaning Supreme Court justices- all of his other positions are mostly middle of the road political beliefs, or actually borrowed from some Democrats of the recent past, especially his views on trade. If you just reversed those first two actions, made Trump a Democrat and the reversed control of the House and Senate in the hypothetical, doesn't one know that the NYTimes, WaPo, ABC and others would be running stories about how the impeachment on the same set of facts was illegitimate, and would be running stories every day about how the former Vice President, a Republican, had a son who was the channel for the directing of bribes by a foreign entity? Of course, I know the the same would be true for the Right-leaning media in regards to the story- most of them would be saying it is impeachable, but then the right-leaning media is all that large outside the blogosphere, so the overall narrative would be almost exactly the opposite of today.
Freeman Hunt said...Journalism is in a Dark Age.
That's where it went to die. On purpose.
Freeman Hunt said...Journalism is in a Dark Age.
The Dark Ages were back when Oprah was on the air.
I don't know what to call the "post-______________" for willed mass ignorance.
I think it began with Donahue, that's where the seed pods began to form, that 35-40 years ago,
The press does not like to do stories where the problem is bi-partisan.
In the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. Ergo one-eyed Matt Taibbi is unable to see the real truth of the matter: The press does not like to do stories where the problem reflects badly on Democrats, especially Democrats called Clinton.
Imagine for a moment it was Donald Trump who made those dozens of flights to Epstein's paedophile paradise and Rachael Maddow's reaction to Epstein's demise.
The two talk along the lines of of course Trump is so bad(w/o saying why), it's tempting to put bad practices in place. Rogan also gets Matt thinking about whether Trump is on speed/Sudafedgate. They can see the bias in "the press" but not so much in themselves.
Obama is telling the Democrats to nominate someone electable, not someone who is openly as far left as Obama was attempting to push the country. LOL But Trump is accused of being a liar (by Rogan and many others) even though Trump is completely transparent about his aims. Humbug on Joe Rogan.
I tremble to think what the News (or anything else) would be like if Hillary were President. Stephanopolis could be her Goebbels.
Stephanolopois is HER-> Goebbels anyway.
24 hours of CNN versus 1 hour of Oprah?
The Dark Ages of journalism are now. It's hack-city up and down the dial. All of the alphabet channels are in lock-step hivemind - selling a narrative, hiding the truth. for The Party.
"Hate Inc.: Why Today’s Media Makes Us Despise One Another."
But the sides despise for different reasons.
The right despises the media's continual prog propaganda, the pervasive bad faith, the condescension toward the deplorables, and the prog intent to crush us in the culture war, all under the pretense that "the press" is objective and provides a public service.
The left simply uses the red meat served up by the MSM to fuel the hate they already feel, the contempt they already have for us deplorables--the media don't "make" them hate us, they just help turn their despising into cultural and political power.
Amy Robach's twitter pretty much silent beyond her interview with Hunter.
If you think Epstein killed himself, I've got a bridge to sell you.
Both guards are being crminally charged, and anyone who thinks the cameras just happened to malfunction at exactly the right time would have no qualms shelling out for the Brooklyn Bridge.
On politics, Matt Taibbi is a hopelessly confused liberal. But, to his eternal credit, he's not merely a Democrat zombie. He actually thinks about things and does actual reporting.
It is amazing that the mainstream media is so incurious about how Epstein died.
It is amazing that the mainstream media is so incurious about who the "Whistleblower" is, and who orchestrated his complaint.
But that's why we don't take CNN or ABC or CBS or NBC serious. We know they are clueless tools of the Left elite.
Bipartisan problem? Who are all these conservatives caught going to Epstein's child rape resort? Which Republican President was gittin' some?
If Trump was an Epstein island visitor even once, we would have thousands of witnesses, and an endless parade of them on MSNBC.
I believe Epstein was murdered, but it was an incredibly ballsy move by those involved. It only makes sense to do it if:
1) The stakes are extremely high having him alive.
2) The payoff exceeding generous to those who carried it out.
3) Those involved are highly confident that the media will drop it quickly for them.
Who's needs and resources meet those requirements? #3 eliminates Republicans.
"The two talk along the lines of of course Trump is so bad(w/o saying why),"
Nobody ever explains why they say it. It's assumed that it's true and obvious, but I wish someone would just for once ask: "what exactly did he do that's so terrible?", and then follow up with a few simple questions that would easily show they don't really have a reason they can defend with facts.
Seems like Matt's been sent out to do the ol' "pox on both their houses" routine while pretending to be in opposition. However, Trump kicked Epstein out of his club while Clinton went to the island a number of times, unescorted. The press does not like to do stories where the problem is serious and with Democrats. The Podesta emails from the leaked DNC server materials and shrill press defenses of James Alefantis are of a set.
@bago20: He could be in safer custody in preparation for bringing down the whole globo pedo-house. That's what skilled spooks and the "most respected law enforcement agency in the world" would do, contra the recently-animated "interagency consensus" clownery by insubordinate state department finks looking for more wars.
I'd pay a dollar for a news source that reported only the five Ws for any story on a daily basis, and had a good comics page.
BleachBit-and-Hammers said...
"24 hours of CNN versus 1 hour of Oprah?"
Nope: 24 hours of CNN versus 1 hour of Oprah for one hour a day - plus all the promotions, seminars, retreats, lectures, etc. - for 30 years straight, supported by about half the women in the country whether any of it makes sense of not.
That's what happened decades ago.
We're lost in it now.
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