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NewspaperWars

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garf

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I love the history of Journalism in America and although there have been dozens of "wars" between newspapers and magazines over time this current one seems to my old eyes as maybe as historical as any.
Some wars I remember and others I don't. Maybe you can add some here but these are the ones that stand out.
Trump/Russia
WMDs
Clinton (Lewenski)
Iran Contra
Watergate

I'll just give my take on one of them, Bush Iraq and WMDs.

This was a war between two newspapers. Wapo and NYT but there was another player who never scored many points in the skirmish, Knight Ridder publications, who actually won the war in the end.
I did not subscribe to Wapo or NYT at the time. I read the LA Times and the Long Beach Press Telegram. LAT is a decent left leaning daily of some renown and the Press Telegram was fairly local but had their own national journalists under the Knight Ridder umbrella of 61 other newspapers nation wide having sort of their own AP or UPI in house. I liked the sports section myself.

But as concerns WMDs they (KR) had an extraordinary group of investigative journalists in Jonathan Landay, Warren Strobel, John Walcott and Joe Galloway who looked deeper into the reasons for going to war in Iraq. On every single issue provided by the NYT's Judith Miller (who was admittedly unqualified to investigate the facts) Knight Ridder countered her every argument. Aluminum Tubes, African Uranium, mobile biological labs, Curveball and more were continuously questioned by the four journalists mentioned and continually published on the front page of all 61 KR newspapers. But Wapo and NYT as well as broadcast media ignored them.

So in this case the newspaper war was a game played by the varsity teams while the winner of the war was a JV upstart.

I am just posting this because I think we all need to step back and question the senior Newspapers. Don't crown them as winners yet. It will take time and in that period we will find many KR's who exist out the bubble to enlighten us. It just takes some effort on our part to find them.

Reading is important...reading everything is hard work.
 
garf said:
I love the history of Journalism in America and although there have been dozens of "wars" between newspapers and magazines over time this current one seems to my old eyes as maybe as historical as any.
Some wars I remember and others I don't. Maybe you can add some here but these are the ones that stand out.
Trump/Russia
WMDs
Clinton (Lewenski)
Iran Contra
Watergate

I'll just give my take on one of them, Bush Iraq and WMDs.

This was a war between two newspapers. Wapo and NYT but there was another player who never scored many points in the skirmish, Knight Ridder publications, who actually won the war in the end.
I did not subscribe to Wapo or NYT at the time. I read the LA Times and the Long Beach Press Telegram. LAT is a decent left leaning daily of some renown and the Press Telegram was fairly local but had their own national journalists under the Knight Ridder umbrella of 61 other newspapers nation wide having sort of their own AP or UPI in house. I liked the sports section myself.

But as concerns WMDs they (KR) had an extraordinary group of investigative journalists in Jonathan Landay, Warren Strobel, John Walcott and Joe Galloway who looked deeper into the reasons for going to war in Iraq. On every single issue provided by the NYT's Judith Miller (who was admittedly unqualified to investigate the facts) Knight Ridder countered her every argument. Aluminum Tubes, African Uranium, mobile biological labs, Curveball and more were continuously questioned by the four journalists mentioned and continually published on the front page of all 61 KR newspapers. But Wapo and NYT as well as broadcast media ignored them.

So in this case the newspaper war was a game played by the varsity teams while the winner of the war was a JV upstart.

I am just posting this because I think we all need to step back and question the senior Newspapers. Don't crown them as winners yet. It will take time and in that period we will find many KR's who exist out the bubble to enlighten us. It just takes some effort on our part to find them.

Reading is important...reading everything is hard work.
Click to expand...

The duty of the MSM first and foremost is to do the bidding of the establishment. When the establishment in the GOP runs counter the wishes of the DNC, then the MSM will side with the DNC everytime. Just look at their deliberate and willful sabotage of Bernie Sanders.
 
Some newspapers do it right, some do it wrong, many are simply propaganda tools for those behind the scenes.

I'm independent and think for myself.
 
reinoe said:
The duty of the MSM first and foremost is to do the bidding of the establishment. When the establishment in the GOP runs counter the wishes of the DNC, then the MSM will side with the DNC everytime. Just look at their deliberate and willful sabotage of Bernie Sanders.
Click to expand...

Well that is a new one on me. The mainstream media has a "duty".
Did not know that.
My fault not yours.
 
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Thoreau72 said:
Some newspapers do it right, some do it wrong, many are simply propaganda tools for those behind the scenes.

I'm independent and think for myself.
Click to expand...

Good for you.

So do you think Judith Miller was a "propaganda tool"? for the NYT or for the Bush admin? or maybe she just did it all wrong because, as she admitted, she was an unqualified journalist?

Interested in your independent thought.
 
Right now, the "war" consists of sitting around and hoping your rat calls you before their rat calls them. Or, fabricating a rat for a narrative pre-determined by your DNC bosses.

That's not really journalism.
 
garf said:
Good for you.

So do you think Judith Miller was a "propaganda tool"? for the NYT or for the Bush admin? or maybe she just did it all wrong because, as she admitted, she was an unqualified journalist?

Interested in your independent thought.
Click to expand...

Judith Miller and the NYT are propaganda tools for the powers that be, whether Deep State or Military Industrial Complex, or whatever on earth it really is. Judith and NYT support the status quo, which is military aggression and perpetual war. Bush and Obama provided the leadership for both, and now Donald is following suit it seems.
 
Thoreau72 said:
Judith Miller and the NYT are propaganda tools for the powers that be, whether Deep State or Military Industrial Complex, or whatever on earth it really is. Judith and NYT support the status quo, which is military aggression and perpetual war. Bush and Obama provided the leadership for both, and now Donald is following suit it seems.
Click to expand...

Good answer. That takes care of NYT. Which newspapers "do it right" in your opinion?
 
garf said:
Good answer. That takes care of NYT. Which newspapers "do it right" in your opinion?
Click to expand...

Very damn few in the mainstream western media. Cannot think of one at the moment, but I have other things on my mind.

Any of the independent journalists who question the status quo and question government pronouncements.

The independent thinker must read many and reach his own conclusions.
 
Thoreau72 said:
Very damn few in the mainstream western media. Cannot think of one at the moment, but I have other things on my mind.

Any of the independent journalists who question the status quo and question government pronouncements.

The independent thinker must read many and reach his own conclusions.
Click to expand...

Allow me to fix your post then, may I?

"Few newspapers do it right, most do it wrong, many are simply propaganda tools for those behind the scenes.

I'm independent and think for myself"

I have a differing view. Perhaps I am not a free thinker like you.
 
garf said:
Allow me to fix your post then, may I?

"Few newspapers do it right, most do it wrong, many are simply propaganda tools for those behind the scenes.

I'm independent and think for myself"

I have a differing view. Perhaps I am not a free thinker like you.
Click to expand...

Differing views are what make the world go 'round, eh?

In the end, media sources must be judged on a case by case basis. Each story must be judged on a case by case basis.
 
Thoreau72 said:
Differing views are what make the world go 'round, eh?

In the end, media sources must be judged on a case by case basis. Each story must be judged on a case by case basis.
Click to expand...

It is certainly coming to that.
 
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