I know I rant about the disservice I think the MSM is doing to the public by not reporting to passing on propaganda….few are listening instead they drink the disinformation kool-aid all to justify the waste of taxpayer money.
For now
In my considerable opinion it is failing badly…..the press that is…..
But then I am a cynic and do not think that the MSM is doing a service to the people of this country…..instead they are PR for the defense industry and as so they give only one side of any story….Ukraine is a perfect example of this disservice.
They have done their duty well…..their reporting have people so confused and indoctrinated that they will deflect when they are presented with alternative facts and information.
All that opinionated stuff aside….the question remains….is the media failing the citizens of this country?
As U.S. leaders speak more openly about their geopolitical goals, and Russian leaders warn of the risk of nuclear war, there are essential questions that journalists should be raising in their coverage of the war in Ukraine that they are not. Chief among them:
Is escalating what has clearly emerged as a proxy war between the United States and Russia hastening or prolonging the carnage in Ukraine?
And: What’s the best way to minimize the risk of a nuclear conflict?
Thus far, most American news coverage of the Russian invasion of Ukraine has reflected an unquestioned conviction that the more weapons the United States and the West send the Ukrainians the better.
It may well be that continuing and accelerating the arming of the Ukrainian military is, in fact, the best of bad options, the quickest way to peace, and doesn’t increase the likelihood of a nuclear strike. But that’s a hypothesis, which should be questioned and discussed, not blindly embraced as fact.
And in the meantime, Ukraine is being destroyed. Civilians are dying, refugees are fleeing for their lives, untold damage is being done to Ukraine’s infrastructure, and young men in arms are killing each other.
It’s time now for journalists to talk and write about at what point the goal of punishing Russia could diverge from the goal of bringing peace to the Ukrainian people as expediently as possible — and what the West should do if and when that happens.
The American media is failing us on Ukraine
I have been suspicious of the reports that were coming out of Ukraine….most are ‘unverified’ yet were reported as fact.
I am not alone….even real conservs see the crap the MSM is spreading…..
The coverage once again provided very little context regarding the underlying issues. Matters such as NATO expansion or the difficult, contentious Russia-Ukraine relationship were either ignored or treated in a way that confirmed Western and Ukrainian virtue and maximum Russian villainy. Journalists portrayed a complex situation as a stark melodrama, with all blame put on one side. Indeed, experts and pundits who even suggested that NATO’s policies had contributed to the current tensions were quickly smeared as siding with Putin, willingly circulating Russian propaganda or disinformation, or even as being outright Russian agents. Some of the architects of the new wave of smears were the same individuals who used similar tactics in the lead up to the Iraq War. Max Boot, Jennifer Rubin, and David Frum, for example, were all prominent alumni of that earlier campaign to silence dissenters, and here again they were hard at work branding critics of Washington’s Russia policy as disloyal.
The Press Fumbles Again on Ukraine
Americans need to care more about what is going on in Ukraine because there are American law makers that are calling for American troops to take a more active part in the conflict in Ukraine.
Even Pay Pal is trying to silent independent journalism by trying to close the accounts of two independent investigative journalism sites, Consortium News and Mint Press.
What are they afraid of?
Do you truly want another prolonged war?
NO?
Then pay attention and get all the facts before blindly side with war.
Be Smart…..Learn Stuff….
I Read, I Write, You Know
“lego ergo scribo”
In Saner Thought 
Having been somewhat involved with journalism many years ago, I can assure you, beyond all argument, that the MSM is driven by bottom line profits before anything else.
I can also assure you that the MSM has a whole bureau of people whose job it is to keep their eyes and ears on the pulse of American interests and opinions — and that bureau will shape the news that you receive through the broadcasts to play to those biases. It is their way of quietly and subtly playing up to their audiences while, all the time, engineering the news for the most shock or interest value based on their analyses of what the public wants to hear and will, consequently, buy.
I also have to tell you that a lot of the news being presented on MSM has a very heavy Madison Avenue influence because advertisers want to play the same “Satisfy the customers” game. So almost every proposed script is always reviewed and approved (with suggested changes for effect) by advertising geniuses.
In a nutshell, there is no news out there that is not agenda driven to one degree or another and, like everything else, it is the quest for money that drives the whole mechanism.
With effort one can separate crap from more crap…..I understand how the corporate media works…and there are more social media BS than news today….chuq
I have been the editor of two newspapers and one business journal during the period 1960-2000. I have been a student of the press all that time, as well. My second journalism instructor was barred from reporting during the 1950s Red Scare time. Newspapers have always followed the biases of their owners and were in the business of making money. “National” newspapers and media seemed to be more balanced from the mid-1950s to mid-1990s because of competition from first televised news and later Internet – social media news.
Mainstream Media today looks more like the broadsheet newspapers of the 1860s-1890s – mouthpieces for the owners and pandering to those who would sped a penny for their version of the news.
It has always been the responsibility of the reader to filter the news and use individual judgement to find the facts. Owners and editors who believe they can compete in the marketplace by offering “straight” news based on observed facts, research and balance of views are rarer today but could still make it if they dared to try.
I agree but readers no longer possess an analytic capability. chuq
Some ‘official’ political commentators in Russia are now beginning to openly criticise the Russian campaign in Ukriane, as well as some retired army officers. Despite so much fake news and NATO propaganda, I think it is becoming clear that Russia is failing badly in that war. They have not succeeded in intimidatiing smaller countries either, and it looks likely that Putin’s legacy will be the much bigger expansion of NATO. China is staying quiet about Ukraine, and only India and Pakistan seem to show moderate support for Putin. Backing Russia into a corner with the whole world openly against it may be dangerous, but no less dangerous than allowing Putin to expand into the Baltic States, or other countries that he sets his sights on.
Ukraine may well turn out to be a big mistake for Putin.
Best wishes, Pete.
Just as Afghanistan was for them…..chuq
They haven’t won a war since 1945. I suppose Putin thought Ukraine would be ‘his war’.
Best wishes, Pete.
I keep waiting to see what is up his sleeve…..he is not finished…..chuq