Mainstream Media

[Tortilla]

@Menzo

No, in this case I think it’s actual cancel culture. But I’m OK with it.

Really? The stuff I was reading said Newsmax used to be free to DirectTV but has started to ask for money which is when DirectTV told them to take a hike.

[Menzo]

I don’t think that’s what I’ve heard. I believe what I’ve heard is that DirectTV was the main income for Newsmax and there has been discussion for quite a while about DirectTV cutting them off because they are terrible.

[Tin_Wisdom]

@Menzo

I don’t think that’s what I’ve heard. I believe what I’ve heard is that DirectTV was the main income for Newsmax and there has been discussion for quite a while about DirectTV cutting them off because they are terrible.

If this sounds familiar, it’s because DirecTV went through this same thing with OAN almost exactly a year ago. The big difference there was that AT&T (who own DirecTV) was the primary funding behind OAN’s launch in 2013, while Newsmax seems to be financially unconnected to DirecTV.

[Menzo]

Hmm, yeah, I might be getting them confused, because that tracks.

[scottagibson]

Because freedom means you’re obligated to fund someone else’s speech.

Aaron Rupar

[espressojim]

I always enjoy how much work the word “may” does. It gives you an exquisitely calibrated probability that congressional hearings will happen - in this case, either, they will, or they will not, so it’s clearly a probability of 0.5. He’s saying there’s a pretty good chance!

[Wallapuctus]

What is the point of these hearings besides being a dog and pony show? Nevermind Direct TV. When they called in Zuckerberg, for example, and he just stood there and bullshitted for hours, what was the point of that? Everyone knows no laws are going to get passed, no policy is going to change, nothing is gonna happen.

[strummer]

@Wallapuctus

What is the point of these hearings besides being a dog and pony show?

It is largely just their Festivus - airing of grievances, they get to display feats of strength and their followers can feast.

[easytarget]

@scottagibson

Rep. Michael Waltz says there may be congressional hearings about DirecTV dropping Newsmax

To which TPG Capital and ATT said, so what.

[scottagibson]

@Wallapuctus

What is the point of these hearings besides being a dog and pony show?

I think the dog and pony show is the point. It produces material they can use for campaign ads. For Republicans, being in office is about campaigning in office, not governing. For Democrats, it is about both campaigning in office and governing.

[easytarget]

@scottagibson

For Republicans, being in office is about campaigning in office, not governing

Absolutely.

[Tortilla]

@scottagibson

I think the dog and pony show is the point. It produces material they can use for campaign ads

I’m pretty sure that’s true of 99% of congressional hearings.

[scottagibson]

@Tortilla

I’m pretty sure that’s true of 99% of congressional hearings.

Yes, as I said:

@scottagibson

For Republicans, being in office is about campaigning in office, not governing. For Democrats, it is about both campaigning in office and governing.

[Tortilla]

Yeah I wasn’t disagreeing, just adding a qualifier as to the scale of the issue with congressional hearings :)

[Rock8man]

I will say that Congressional Hearing testimony makes for really dramatic moments years later in documentaries. That’s just something I’ve noticed.

[Freezer-TPF]

@scottagibson

I think the dog and pony show is the point. It produces material they can use for campaign ads.

And content for fundraising emails. “Click here to donate and join the fight against blah blah blah!”

[KevinC]

Gee, Media, I wonder why this might be?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/02/06/poll-americans-dont-feel-biden-impact/

Americans not feeling impact of Biden agenda, Post-ABC poll finds

More than 6 in 10 say the president has not accomplished much, despite the passage of numerous bills

The poll finds that 62 percent of Americans think Biden has accomplished “not very much” or “little or nothing” during his presidency, while 36 percent say he has accomplished “a great deal” or “a good amount.” On many of Biden’s signature initiatives — from improving the country’s infrastructure to making electric vehicles more affordable to creating jobs — majorities of Americans say they do not believe he has made progress, the poll finds.

While 77 percent of Democrats say Biden has accomplished at least a good amount, that drops to 32 percent among political independents. Only seven percent of Republicans say he has accomplished much, while 93 percent say he has accomplished not very much, little or nothing.

Doubts about Biden’s achievements are higher than those for former president Barack Obama in 2010 and 2012. As Obama sought reelection, 52 percent of adults said he had accomplished “not much” or “little or nothing” at both points. In a potentially ominous sign for the White House, Biden’s numbers are roughly on par with the negative ratings of former president Donald Trump, who went on to lose his reelection.

[SlainteMhath]

Media polls find Americans grossly uniformed, fails to see irony, immediately returns to 24/7 coverage of Chinese spy balloon and classified documents debacle.

[vinraith]

@SlainteMhath

Media polls find Americans grossly uniformed, fails to see irony, immediately returns to 24/7 coverage of Chinese spy balloon and classified documents debacle.

Immediately follow by publishing article about balloon “hysteria.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/02/06/china-balloon-war-hysteria-taiwan/

The whole incident leaves me feeling unsettled and alarmed. Oh, I’m not worried about the spy balloon. The violation of U.S. airspace was unacceptable, but it did not pose any actual threat, and it’s doubtful that it gathered any intelligence that Chinese spy satellites cannot. What concerns me is the hysterical overreaction on the part of so many Americans to the balloon’s progress.

Followed by blaming a lot of responsible parties, but NOT the nonstop media coverage.

[Charlatan]

You may think the media over-covered the balloon but as for me, I know for sure it was as big as 3 busses…

… actually, it turns out the PAYLOAD was as big as 3 busses, not the balloon itself. But they didn’t bother providing that insignificant clarification.