The press has been notoriously hard on politicians throughout the history of our country. Our very first president, the beloved George Washington, was attacked by many papers, most notably The National Gazette (Philadelphia). In her article penned in WashingtonPapers.com 03/24/19 (Assistant Editor) Lynn Price points out that The Gazette was run by Philip Freneau and a favorite target of the paper was the sitting president, George Washington. Price also asserts in her article that, ” The use of the press to spread misleading or outright false information, usually about a political opponent, is nothing new.”
Alan Pell Crawford documents in his article “WASHINGTON, JEFFERSON & MADISON” (mountvernon.org) that those three American Patriots once close relationships were fractured by early American politics. Washington preferring a strong central government and Jefferson and Madison opting to strengthen the states independence. At the time Washington was aligned with the Federalists (pro central government) and Jefferson and Madison were with The Anti-Federalists or Democratic-Republicans (pro state’s rights). In the early government they weren’t called political parties because the founders had hoped to avoid parties thinking it would lead to party competition rather than independent thoughts. MY NOTE: Those guys were really smart weren’t they? Additionally Crawford documents that after Washington appointed Jefferson as the first Secretary of State of the country Jefferson put Philip Freneau on the State Department payroll and installed him as the editor of the National Gazette and from that post Freneau campaigned hard against Washington’s administration while Jefferson was still a member of his cabinet. It is believed by many, including Washington while he was alive, that Jefferson encouraged the anti-Washington articles Freneau was writing.
In an article found in mountvernon.com titled PRESS ATTACKS I read that, “By the end of 1792, there was a recognizable opposition party, centered around disgruntled Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson; newspapers gave this party one of their strongest means of critiquing the Washington administration.”
I have jumped into the “Way back machine” (For any Sherman and Peabody fans still alive) to point out that the press has always been given a long leash to cover politics. The reason for this is that our founders considered the press an unofficial 4th branch of the government, an addition to the legislative, judicial and executive branches. It was hoped the press would keep politicians honest by documenting, without prejudice, their actions, votes, and speeches.
In the early days of the union some newspapers leaned to one side or the other and the articles written in those tabloids seldom hid those views. This was not a big problem into the 1960’s because the heavily conservative and liberal leaning papers were near equal in number and, it was my perception, they cancelled each other out. It seems to me, now, that the great majority of media outlets (Main Stream Media/MSM) are aligned against conservative thoughts and actions. I believe this takes the ability of the majority of U.S. citizens to make a free, informed, decision away. How can anyone make the right choice with only half of the information on a subject? Yes, it is true the other side of the story is available on some radio outlets and fewer TV or newspaper outlets, but a lot of the populace believes they are getting the truth from the MSM and don’t search out the rest of the story.
I grew up in Chicago and loved Ernie Banks (Cubs shortstop then first baseman). I loved Banks because the papers treated him fairly. They would document when he hit a homerun, when he made a game saving offensive play and also when he struck out or committed an error. This is fair and right, but if they had only printed stories about his errors and strikeouts I would have viewed him differently. Is that what’s happening in politics?
According to WIKIPEDIA the press was called the fourth estate to emphasize it’s independence from the government. WEBSTER defines the fourth estate simply as “The public press.”
In an article presented by the Yale Law School and Media Freedom & Information Access Clinic (written by Delbert Tran) first viewed 11/22/2016, Tran writes that Edmond Burke (An Irish statesman and member of The House of Commons in Great Britain) reportedly said that, “There were three estates… but in the Reporters Gallery yonder there sat the fourth estate more important far than they all.” I concur with Mr. Burke. The political opinion of the citizenry is, in a large part, formed by the information they garner from the media. If that media is slanted to one side it will have a large effect on the way the public votes.
Recent press coverage, I think, proves that is still true. Danielle Kurtzleben cites a Pew Research Center study in her article that appeared in the NPR October 2nd, 2017. The study revealed that fully 2/3 of news stories about Trump during his first 60 days in office were negative. the piece explained that, “If an article had twice as many positive as negative statements Pew declared it was an overall positive assessment of the president. The reverse was also true for stories determined to be negative.”
Almost three years later an article appearing in The Washington Times 08/17/2020 by Jennifer Harper titled, “Broadcast coverage of Trump 95% negative, according to new study” was released. Harper cites a Media Research Center study in her article. She quotes Rich Noyes a research director as saying, “I’ve been studying news media and elections for more than 35 years. Trust me–there’s never been anything like it.”
I ask was this fair to Trump? More importantly, I ask, was this fair to the country?
The article went on to advise that the study revealed that ABC, CBS, and NBC, aired 9 times more coverage of Trump than presidential candidate Joseph R. Biden. The coverage of Trump, the research found, was 95% negative. Meanwhile, the networks appear to be shielding Mr. Biden. “Biden escaped any scrutiny of his left-wing policy positions, past job performance or character,” the study said.
I ask, “How can a politician with nearly 50 years of political baggage (47 at the time) not have as many negative points as a political newcomer with less than 4 years in office?” I answer my own question, “He can’t.”
I’m not looking for a Trump verses Biden debate here. I am asking anyone who was yelling at there screen, “Well Trump was the king of mean tweats!” or something similar to search their soul and tell me if there was anything Biden did that they were glad wasn’t pasted on all the front pages and leading in national news broadcasts for days on end. If you are still scratching your head I urge you to look for the clip of then Vice President Biden telling reporters at a news conference that he withheld U.S. money promised to The Ukrane Government until they agreed to fire an investigator who he described as corrupt. The investigator in question was getting information on Hunter Biden’s business dealings. Biden ends the video saying, “Son of a Bitch, they did fire him.”
With all of the available information some people would have voted for Biden and others for Trump. My point is we should get all of the information as soon as possible or we are not a free people able to make informed decisions. Many people interviewed after the 2020 election said they would have voted differently if they had known about the Hunter Biden laptop, a story that was available in October of 2020 and not covered by the MSM until after the election.
There is more evidence of how the press seems to cover for people they agree with and roast (even with flimsy or outright false information) those people who hold views different than their own. Here are a few frontrunners in what is a very crowded field of examples.
Have you heard that the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) was listing gunshot victims, accidental deaths, and hospice patients (For other diseases) as Covid deaths as long as the victim tested positive for the disease? Did you know that 94% of the listed Covid deaths were Co-morbidities (This could be Covid and injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident). Did you hear this, even once, in the MSM? Don’t you think that is something that should have been covered and, most certainly, would have limited the fears of many?
Do you remember when Dr. Ezike (Director of The Department of Health in August of 2020) said that Covid 19 can be placed on the a death certificate when it is not the actual cause of death. She went on to give an example to clarify, saying, “If a person is placed in hospice care and given only a short time to live due to an unrelated illness, but tests positive for COVID, that would be considered a COVID death.” Were you aware of this?
Are you aware that there are thousands of doctors who have spoken out against the way Fauci is handling this pandemic? Did you read anywhere that Fauci, early on (Newsweek, Aila Slisco, 06/02/2021), said that masks are useless against Covid (As thousands of practicing doctors are still saying) and later started pushing the mandates? I think that would be newsworthy, but it was mentioned very few times in the MSM. Doctors who have made similar announcements have been silenced and investigated. Remember when open discussion was welcomed as a way we could all learn and make informed decisions. Boy! I miss those days! I guess, if doctors are no longer allowed to disagree, I should stop getting second opinions on major medical problems.
So many people are afraid to restart their lives because they haven’t heard a lot of facts that the MSM should have shared with us. I do not believe we should have ever been shut down. I believe the shut down definitely lasted too long and I feel there would have been a public outcry if evidence against the government shutdown had been disseminated instead of buried.
On that same subject we have all heard that the MSM and the liberals have all condemned the Hydroxychloroquine and Zinc combination. I have heard that it is dangerous and unreliable. Have you heard that it is inexpensive and effective? I viewed a video in October of 2020 in which Dr. Jeff Barkey announced he was speaking for thousands of doctors when he proclaimed that it is safe and effective. I also am aware that one of my nieces nursed her son through Covid and did not have any ill effects. She suffers from Lupus, a blood disorder, and has been on Hydroxychloroquine for years.
How about the vaccine. I will not take it. Because of my decision I have been removed from my retirement job at a Midwestern University. I was offered two teaching positions there, after teaching one quarter there. I was lined up to start my second class there until I told them I would not take the vaccine. Both offers were then rescinded. I ask, if all of the staff and students are forced to vaccinate, how could one unvaccinated adjunct professor hurt anyone. I told them I would wear a mask and test daily if they wanted me to.
Why won’t I take it? Some vaccines have been involved with fetal cells from abortions which I oppose. My ex-wife’s aunt was feeling healthy, got the vaccination and, almost immediately complained of severe headaches. She went right home, went to bed, and died the next morning. Her death certificate reads complications from the Covid 19 vaccine. A girl my daughter knows was healthy towards the end of a healthy pregnancy and during a check up in which her doctor said everything looked perfect she was cautioned that she might be endangering her baby if she didn’t take advantage of the vaccine. She took the vaccine and lost the baby a week later. A family friend in her 50’s was healthy in all ways, took the vaccination and within weeks felt an irregular heart rhythm and was diagnosed with an enlarged heart. I saw a video, which was taken down within a day, on Facebook in which a woman was twitching uncontrollably. She said, in the video, that she was perfectly healthy until taking the vaccine.
I understand that thousands have taken the vaccine without incident. I don’t judge people who have taken, or plan to take the vaccine. I have not had any vaccination since the 1980’s because of bad experiences with various shots.
I have a hard time believing a vaccine that was rushed to the public in a matter of months can be as good as the government is telling us it is, in fact, the fact that the government is pushing it so hard is one of the reasons I do not want to take it. By the way, have you heard that Christian Perronne (The former Vice President of World Health Organization European Advisory Group of Experts in Immunization) reported that vaccinated people should be quarantined over the winter and unvaccinated people will not be dangerous. Have you heard that from the MSM? I haven’t.
The Daily Caller reported that The White House is dodging calls for cost analysis of Biden’s spending plan. The article from 11/04/2021 written by Anders Hagstrom went on to say that, “The White House’ principal deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre dodged calls for an official cost analysis of President Joe Biden’s spending plans, which the administration has repeatedly insisted ‘costs zero dollars.'” I haven’t seen it on CNN yet, have you?
It doesn’t matter who any of us plan to support in upcoming elections. I say, loudly, that we should all DEMAND the complete story.
Here are a few more eye openers.
If you’ve been following the story of the young man from Illinois ( Kyle Rittenhouse, 17 years old at the time he was arrested) who shot and killed two Wisconsin rioters, referred to as demonstrators in most of the MSM coverage, and injured a third man. It received little coverage but, the judge presiding over the homicide trial (Judge Bruce Schroeder) criticized what he called a “vast amount” of “irresponsible and sloppy journalism” covering the events surrounding the case. Judge Schroeder said this, and more, to potential jurors in an effort to reverse negative effects of the one sided (my opinion/ and possibly the judge’s) press coverage Rittenhouse has received since the incident.
I watched “Perry Mason” as a child and served as a police officer for 35 years which required testimony in hundreds, possibly thousands of trials. In all the trials I have seen both on TV and in person I have never understood how a judge can expect jurors to “disregard” testimony.
Picture a witness under oath who makes a statement such as, “I know he killed her!” when facts have already shown the witness has no such knowledge. The defense attorney jumps up and objects. The judge sustains the objection and instructs the jury to “Disregard that last statement.” Maybe I, as a juror, could. Maybe I couldn’t. One thing I know for certain is that it would be a lot better for the cause of justice if the statement had never been made. I view biased press coverage the same way. Our country has libel and slander laws that I would like to see used more often.
We’ll never know, but would Trump have defeated Biden if the press coverage had been fair?
Do you remember the three or four years of “Russian collusion” that was proven to be unfounded? Have you heard that a second person (Igor Danchenko, the primary researcher of the dossier) involved in that hoax- as former President Trump refers to it- has been arrested for lying to the FBI? You didn’t hear? I’m not surprised, it doesn’t fit the MSM agenda. I heard about it in a “Daily Caller” article penned by Michael Ginsberg. You do hear anytime a Republican is arrested however- you just don’t hear if the charges are dropped later, just saying.
How about one last example that happened very recently. A key factor in the Virginia election was parents objections to Critical Race Theory (CRT) being taught in the schools and former governor McAuliffe saying the parents shouldn’t interfere with school curriculum (https://news.yahoo.com > mcauliffe). In an article written by Fred Lucas/ @FredLucasWH November 03, 2021 titled FACT CHECK: IS CRITICAL RACE THEORY TAUGHT IN VIRGINIA SCHOOLS? He gives examples of distortions from several news sources found both before and after the election trying to limit damage the Democratic candidate was doing to himself.
First Lucas points that, “..a simple Goodle search would have shown these pundits that public documents from the Virginia Department of Education repeatedly mention the phrase ‘critical race theory,’ as well as produced news stories about teacher training by consulting firms associated with critical race theory.”
Lucas mentions that among the documentation of Critical Race Theory (CRT) in Virginal schools are articles written by Christopher Rufo, a contributor to City Journal and Fox News.
In his article Lucas explains that CRT holds that race is the prism through which all aspects of American life should be analyzed, categorizing individuals into groups of either oppressors or victims of oppression. He doesn’t say it in the article, but I have learned that whites are listed as oppressors in CRT.
Nicolle Wallace (MSNBC Anchor) is quoted as saying, “I think the real ominous thing is that critical race theory, which isn’t real, turned the suburbs 15 points to the Trump insurrection-endorsed Republican.” She said that on the night of the election Tuesday 11/02. It appears the only accurate fact in her article was her name.
Later in the article I learned that CNN national politics reporter Eva McKend said, “This issue of critical race theory, even though it is not being taught in Virginia public schools, became so core in this race.” She had the nerve to report that blatant lie from Younkin’s (The Republican winner) headquarters in Chantilly, Virginia.
Another MSNBC contributor to the McAuliffe cover us was producer Kyle Griffin who tweeted three days before the election: “Virginia Republican Glenn Youngkin is calling to expunge the teaching of Critical Race Theory from Virginia’s schools- but the theory isn’t mentioned in the state’s learning standards and even Loudoun County has said it doesn’t teach CRT.”
CNN’s Eva Mckend suggested in her coverage that Youngkin only appealed to Republicans and repeated the lie that CRT was not being taught in Virginia schools. Youngkin won independents by 9%.
Lucas gave many more examples of untruths in coverage by MSNBC, CBS and CNN in his article. Why would major news sources miss the truth by such a large margin? How could these false stories get past editors? I’m afraid it is because they usually get away with it.
Maybe the answer to my lead about accountability is the press, our fourth estate, is not interested in keeping politicians honest. I think the evidence strongly points to an agenda driven MSM whose only concern is getting Democrats elected.
Let me know if you disagree. As always, please comment with positive or negative thoughts about this blog.
I look forward to hearing from you. If you liked it please share or tell friends.
Thanks, Phil
Impressive research.
Thank you