WAS: What Adults are Saying about Surviving Media Trying to Survive Trump
The return of 47 requires a far different approach to find valuable news media.
Sometime on January 20th between main stream media (MSM) fawning over Melania’s hat and an apartheid-raised Evon Musk auditioning as the next American Nazi, even the dimmest of the eight Crayola crowd could see things had forever changed. A new bottom in American political-media nonsense was discovered and like the proverbial tree in forest which fell sans witnesses, no media bothered to report it.
That this became one more link in the disgusting chain of news media failure is neither unexpected nor, for that matter, newsworthy. About 47 MSM have been heavily soiling the bed for years. That on the “historic” second placing of the Scoundrel in Chief most reporting were too busy auditioning to keep their jobs than they were finding news. The craven, yellow-stripe sane washing of 47 continued even they deranged hung clearly in the air
The examples were abundant showing that juvenile psychosis had returned. In lightning speed 47 went from oath taker to reaching for the lube so he could start giving it to others. This has continued unabated through his first week in office and all the while conventional media report it as though it’s a normal transition of Presidents. No adjective exists that describes both 47’s mania or the remnants of media left which treat it in normalized terms. The result is imbecilic content that catalogues 47’s misdeeds but not much else.
But even amid the rapidly changing media landscape adults still need credible coverage about the carnage. That is increasingly difficult to obtain from media accustomed to presenting low context content but especially now with most running around Washington doing everything possible to reduce any news to the lowest of common denominators and maintain the blessings of 47 and his sycophants. What’s an adult to do?
Consider the following:
Diversify media usage. There is no conventional media outlet left that singularly can be a thinking person’s “go to.” Those birds have flown. Television news versions are even worse. That means less use of those platforms and more intensive use of narrative intensive platforms are key. The Guardian, Pro Publica and even some posters here are righteous and talented contributors to not only documenting but building contextual heft about the very unusual White House behavior that some wish to treat as ordinary.
Remember what you already know. Anything “news” about 47 is really no news at all. He has repeatedly made clear in the most dehumanizing terms possible about what he is going to do—then does it. While the particulars matter to those directly affected, beyond that it’s irrelevant. It’s just another day of mayhem—like they all were before—and will continue to be. So a critical consumption of 47 madness will be needed. Yes, document and be mindful of the lunacy, but also aware of the consequences brought. MSM will be little help on this so filling in with other sources is key.
Forty-seven plans nothing being the highest political example of “winging it” ever seen. But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have an end goal in mind nor that there aren’t dozens of parasites doing the planning for him—then “paying” in one form or the other to get it enacted. Thus, ignore the next crazy thing that appears. You already know it’s going to be “crazy” and you know it’s intended to hurt others because well heeled ideologues are paying handsomely for that privilege. What matters more is how the brutish behavior combined is taking long-term hold or truly dismantling the government’s “administrative state.” There will be examples and anecdotes that will point to the worst of things but be careful in jumping to wholesale conclusions. For better or worse the Federal government we all know, deride and use to our benefit, is a slow, ocean going tanker. The minions of 47 can barely pilot a dinghy.
Avoid getting dizzy from the endless spin already started that lowers expectations about election claims. Other than grabbing a slice of all the dough that flows 47 cares about little. Combined with no planning this means he really doesn’t care what he ends up doing only that he can get citizens to believe he is doing what he claimed. He is the first President who has achieved electoral success solely on propaganda. That is his go to card and all his dark money supporters insist it continue lest we pull back the curtain looking for the wizard. You likely already know this, so, digest info accordingly.
Ignore MSM writer-style journalists who want to convert to new media and then promptly showcase their content in audio or visual forms. Such folk have ignored McCluhan about medium and messages and put themselves on a fast-path to irrelevancy. Their intents are well placed but their execution and absence of electronic media experience will reduce them to just another source of noise. At a time like this that’s no help. Even the most talented writer offering the best content on Substack today, Paul Krugman, is playing with this fire. Fingers are crossed he’ll soon get the message.
Do not think a daily accounting of all Washington activity is needed. This silly norm brought by cable news outlets is what facilitated their demise in the first place. Learning more and more about less and less (the cable news M.O. for decades) simply invites bright people down an information rabbit hole chewing up brain bandwidth. Meanwhile the not so bright maintain their ignorance but perhaps now with a bigger word or two and half dozen propaganda memes that makes things worse then sending student drivers into New York’s Lincoln tunnel.
Do not lie down on the job. To be informed about the stuff that really matters will take some diligence and a high commitment to rummaging through lots of news coverage to find value. With the exception of Fox News and other right wing channels, no platform can be always ignored everyday. Similarly no outlet, even those committed to new business models, can be your single go to all the time. As perverse as this sounds to be well and accurately informed is going to require more work by the end user than ever before. Do not succumb to frustration.
Not since the advent of the radio medium over 100 years ago have we faced a period like now where our mass media is in such disarray. Tried and true dependencies we’ve developed on certain channels or platforms are no more. Business concerns, widespread professional suicide and the remarkable rise in unchallenged political propaganda has ended that. Combine that with disgusting bootlicking efforts like Joe and Meka “Scarzinski” and it’s clear the days of Pulitzer, or Woodward and Epstein, or Murrow, or Cronkite or even more modern names with strong journalism chops , is all gone. It’s natural to think the information flow sky is falling, and while it’s now raining heavily, that sky is still firmly intact. Tighten up your screeners to bullshit, dig in and persevere so that you can fully understand and communicate with others about the madness of King 47.