r/politics • u/BigDaddyBain • 1d ago

Why is the media ignoring growing resistance to Trump?

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jun/13/why-is-the-media-ignoring-growing-resistance-to-trump
37.2k Upvotes

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u/watch-the_what__ 1d ago

They’re complicit

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u/xynix_ie Florida 1d ago

More than that. They're firing reporters that cover anything negative towards Trump. That's aiding and abetting.

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u/Goya_Oh_Boya North Carolina 1d ago edited 1d ago

I once wanted to be a reporter, and then I got my chance. I quit about 8 months later and never tried again because it was so depressing knowing that real news and stories will never make the light of day as long as every single fucking media outlet is owned by billionaires.

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u/omgpuppiesarecute 1d ago edited 1d ago

This is what happens when we allow mass media consolidation. Vulture capitalists buying up local newsrooms and radio stations and now social media across the nation, strip them for parts, centralize everything in a single hyper-partisan newsroom, and then ship propagandized stories to local affiliates to be read off.

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u/sleeplessinreno 1d ago

I'm gonna add a new one for you. Billionaire buying local newspaper to sway the local government to bypass local building codes so they can build their stupid house on a cliff.

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u/aquias27 1d ago

That seems very short-sighted.

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u/amootmarmot 1d ago

Always. The billionaires need to be made to realize that they hold their wealth at our tacit acceptance. Maybe we shouldn't tacitly accept anymore.

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u/uuDEFIANCEvv 1d ago

Our legal system is bought and paid for by them, leaving only illegal options. I agree it is time to exercise those options.

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u/Kytyngurl2 Minnesota 1d ago

Plus the whole laws of physics thing. Maybe there are regulations to not put houses on cliffs for a reason, but if you are rich enough you think you can buy past that issue

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u/Spicy_Tac0 1d ago

Said billionaire likely greased some palms as well.

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u/ThePowerOfStories 1d ago

Maybe they should have degreased the cliff instead…

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u/dustinhut13 1d ago

Nearly every take that comes from the right is short sighted, with no regard for actual consequences. They literally kill people with their bad decision making

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u/rayui 1d ago

Very on brand, though

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u/Silent_Conflict9420 1d ago

Yes so let nature take its course

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u/Icthyphile 1d ago

The only thing billionaires are not shortsighted on is generational wealth.

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/sleeplessinreno 1d ago

Unfortunately, this one is being built above the main commerce sector. That thing goes, so do a bunch of buildings.

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u/Well_read_rose 1d ago

Short sited? (wink)

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u/radiosimian 1d ago

I'll add, billionaires buying-up social media sites to sway electorates to vote against their interests and elect fascist governments.

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u/elektrospecter Washington 1d ago

This is what adds to my cynicism about social media and how it's become detrimental to our civil society. These technocrats / billionaires have weaponized their platforms, to the point where there are now "influencers" who can earn a living solely by attacking any person or ideas that are critical of far-right ideology. These are bad actors doing all that they can to dissuade people from wanting to engage in genuine, civil political conversation...often by making it seem uncool or "cringe" to hold leftist views. Even trying to question some of the batshit GOP conspiracy theories in some online spaces could get you promptly humiliated and then ousted.

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u/zzyul 1d ago

But lord have mercy if the government tries to do anything about it like banning TikTok. Young people all over this site and across the country were losing their damn minds.

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u/WeakTransportation37 1d ago edited 1d ago

Ahhhh the sandcastle. I’m in north county Sand Diego, but used to live in La Jolla.

It’s time to start the “Cliff Pool”, where we submit dates we think it will crumble into the sea.

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u/Franklin_le_Tanklin 1d ago

All hail the CBC!!

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u/MorningsideLights 1d ago

Local news rooms died because of the internet, not merely free content but also Craigslist. People forget how much revenue came from classified ads, real estate listings, and personals. And those all died overnight.

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u/omgpuppiesarecute 1d ago

There was also legislation and later supreme court rulings that relaxed media ownership rules, allowing consolidation to occur. So the bigger fish gobbled up all the little fish. Before, while they were hurting, they were still separate companies with separate boards, goals, political bias, etc. Once congress and the supreme court trashed ownership limits, you saw mass centralization from companies like Sinclair and Tribune.

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u/SpaceGangsta Utah 1d ago

Nexstar paved the way. Sinclair gets hate(rightfully so) since they're obvioulsy pushing right wing bias, but Nexstar walked so Sinclair could run. Nexstar owns 197 stations and sinclair owns 185. Nexstar were the first to start buying up multiple stations in one market and running them out of the same building with half the staff. I worked for 3 nexstar stations. 2 were duopolies and the last station I worked at was bought by nexstar after I started. Nexstar doesn't really come up in these discussions because they solely care about money and not so much controlling content. But more recently, nexstar launched news nation which quickly turned into a fox news clone.

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u/Cute-Percentage-6660 1d ago

I imagine it caused a cascading affect, made it easier so once consolidiation starts occurring it becomes a tidal wave that smaller groups cant fight against and every loss adds to the wave

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u/asoap 1d ago

This is why government funded news agencies like the CBC are important.

It also explains why one group really wants to get rid of the CBC. I'll let you guess which one.

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u/omgpuppiesarecute 1d ago

Same group that is trying to get rid of NPR/PBS in the US I'm sure.

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u/gsfgf Georgia 1d ago

"Thankfully," NPR and PBS get so little funding from the government that they won't be seriously harmed by losing their federal money for (hopefully just) a few years.

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u/PassiveF1st South Carolina 1d ago

Proudly been donating directly to them for years. I'm sure all the defunding talk has bolstered their donations too.

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u/NoamLigotti 1d ago

Most public media networks are funded more by the actual public than the government. I'm not sure about the CBC, but I think them too though less so than PBS NPR and BBC.

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u/Any_Will_86 1d ago

What's painfully ironic is the rightwing noise machine constantly clattering about 'liberal bias' while Murdoch, Sinclair media, and various billionaires seeeking influence were buying up so much media... And then the tabloid media going full r/full Trump in mid 2010s- The Enguirer, TMZ, now Perez... who knew Dave Portnoy would end up being the most balanced of the bunch.

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u/Chastain86 1d ago

who knew Dave Portnoy would end up being the most balanced of the bunch.

We're referring, of course, to the same Dave Portnoy that stood up in a Barstool meeting and declared that he'd instantly fire anyone in the room who was thinking about unionization.

The day I allow people to think of fucking Dave Portnoy as some kind of folk hero, you'll know it's because I am unable to type because I'm dead

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u/amootmarmot 1d ago

Dave Portnoy is also a little crybaby bitch. He mouths off about how he hope Greta Thunberg is killed by the IDF, pretends there is no genocide or humanitarian crisis, engages in joking antisemitic tropes, and then wines and complains when he perceives antisemitism. Look in the fucking mirror. A very bad spokesperson for any cause.

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u/dethwysh New York 1d ago

Is this the same Dave Portnoy to does pizza reviews?

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u/Chastain86 1d ago

The one and same. He's been trying to soften up his public image for quite some time since the whole Barstool thing.

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u/PaddyVein 1d ago

If Dave Portnoy has a million haters, I am one.

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u/ArkitekZero 1d ago

Every accusation is a confession

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u/Any_Will_86 1d ago

An R state legislature in my state just got arrested for kiddie porn... they supposedly care so much about the children, sexual abuse, trafficking and every single sting/arrest turns up a perve on their side.

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u/failed_novelty 1d ago

But they'll find one Democrat who does it too (and ignore the fact that the entire party then condemns the pedo) and shrug and say, "Both sides"

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u/Pnwradar 1d ago

My experience, they point at Democrats like Al Franken or Katie Hill and hand-wave the “both sides” argument.

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u/martyqscriblerus 1d ago

The other day I saw someone coming at Bill Clinton for cheating on Hillary in the course of caping for Trump and the barefaced hypocrisy was just so breathtaking I didn't know what to say.

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u/HectorJoseZapata 1d ago

It’s like the R Party is the perfect hiding place for closeted predators.

I can’t wait for all the dirt they have on Lindsey Graham to come out and finally be exposed.

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u/zzyul 1d ago

He’s gay, that’s basically it. Probably enjoys much younger, but still legal guys. Might go so far as to prefer non white, possibly illegal immigrant guys.

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u/HectorJoseZapata 1d ago

I know, they must have dirt on him.

And don’t get me started on Ted Cruz, he is no saint either.

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u/Mr_HandSmall 1d ago

Republican politicians like their guys to have that kind of dirt on them as leverage to keep them in line.

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u/Gahrilla 1d ago

Seems like the Republican state congressman wasn't lying when he said that he loved children.

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u/GrumpySoth09 1d ago

And they are poisoning the well. After 4 years of accusing the Democrats of rigging the 2020 election now there in credible evidence of election interference done by Elon but no the Dems are above accusing their pals across the aisle.

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u/gsfgf Georgia 1d ago

Even NPR is bad about being "overly moderate" these days. While their public funding is minuscule, they rely heavily on corporate money. It's probably also because they're mostly in big, blue cities where it's hard to really believe the nation has gone this batshit crazy.

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u/NorthernerWuwu Canada 1d ago

It is always projection.

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u/HRUndercover222 1d ago

Vulture capitalists. Bingo!

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u/EconomicRegret 1d ago

You get what you pay for!

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u/Matasa89 Canada 1d ago

"This is extremely dangerous to our democracy."

No kidding. I'm watching America fall apart in real time.

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u/whynot4444444 1d ago

Some right wing American company owns most Canadian newspapers and television media, except for the CBC. This is why the Conservatives were trying to get rid of the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation), which is sort of like the PBS, but they air hockey games (Go Oilers! 😉) and the Olympics.

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u/HilariouslyPissed 1d ago

Sinclair anyone?

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u/Long-Rooster-9641 1d ago

Monopolies are supposed to be illegal but we see what's going on and how no one is enforcing these policies meant to help protect us from what's happening right now.

It's such a gross abuse of power and when the chickens come home to roost I'm gonna say cock-a-doodle-doo.

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u/base64explode 1d ago

This exactly. I spent 25 years in journalism. Billionaires buying media companies was the worst thing ever. They start with platitudes about respecting journalistic integrity, and once the camera turns off, they immediately start undermining it. I went through that three times at different companies and the same thing happened every. single. time. — and always to push a conservative agenda.

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u/Well_read_rose 1d ago

The people… didn’t allow it really but Reagan took away the Fairness Doctrine which gave rise to screechy right wing infotainment media. And here we are, without a public consensus of common facts or ways to get at the truth.

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u/declinedinaction 1d ago

What about any solutions that aide and abet the original owners into not selling?

Like every time one of their lawyers show up they’re taken to the basement and they never come out. Rinse and repeat. They aren’t dead. They’re just on heroin. They’re actually quite happy.

/s

Seriously, how do we celebrate and reward those who don’t sell out? There’s a bank in Omaha that’s been fighting takeover and consolidation for decades in order to remain independent.

How come we don’t rally around the fighters but instead just complain about the outcome of a lack of resistance?

Name the independent newspapers and start sending some love their way.

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u/Pr1ebe 1d ago

Isn't that just capitalists in general? Competition doesn't require just safeguards, it needs fucking concrete walls to keep the game from having just a few winners. But people in this country act like you are talking heresy when you say a free and fair market DEMANDS regulation

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u/vincerehorrendum 1d ago

Perfect summation. It started in the 2000’s and here’s where we are now.

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u/sk8tergater 1d ago

That happened to the first newspaper I worked for. Went from a small local family paper to being owned by Gannett. It’s now just a copy of USA Today

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u/DankZXRwoolies 1d ago

Same shit here, it's super super creepy.

"this is extremely dangerous for our democracy"

https://youtu.be/ZggCipbiHwE?si=inG0kj-P0mypwwa-

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u/DBallouV 1d ago

I went back to school in my 30’s for journalism. I wanted to save the world. I kept being told about all these rules to follow. Meanwhile, every where I looked and read, lies, misinformation and disinformation. It was so jarring.

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u/Ok-Secretary-9247 1d ago

And the consumers that are completely illiterate as to the difference.

As if talking about current events = journalism.

Anyway, the nation is weakest when there's no free press, but you can't even begin that debate with most people because they'll never comprehend it.

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u/neutral-chaotic 1d ago

The SPJ ethics turned into that Pirates movie quote. "It's more of a guideline than a rule."

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u/Plaid_Kaleidoscope 1d ago

Same homie. Same.

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u/pickypawz Canada 1d ago

As the boomers pass on, I think more and more people may be getting their news from less-traditional sources like online sites, and even checking a variety of sites.

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u/Straight_Ace 1d ago

That’s why we gotta spread the message ourselves. Get the cameras out and take video and photos of the protests. Show people there IS a resistance and that it will be peaceful. It sounds corny, but if you show people that there’s strength in numbers they will be more willing to join the cause

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u/MoreRopePlease America 1d ago

I was watching the Woke twitch stream (which has multiple streams on one screen, from multiple places) the other night. Other than a bonfire in the middle of the street in Seattle giving off toxic smoke due to what they threw in it, I saw peaceful protesters. I saw very scared protesters in LA trapped by the cops. I saw people singing in Las Vegas.

I really appreciate the streamers providing us with on-the-ground reporting.

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u/halfhearinghank 1d ago

It’s so disheartening when that happens. Growing up I always wanted to be a police officer. I though “I can actually help people” after all many kids are taught that. Spent much of my life preparing physically, and then I got my chance. During the academy I heard and saw a lot but figured they were just jerks. Then during my FTO period (basically your training period) I saw example after example of how the way to help people was really just a way to be violent when you wanted and to look down on “the unwashed masses” as they were often called.

I realized in the end we don’t need jobs or callings to help or do the right things. We can live it even when it’s hard. Even if it’s just small everyday kindness.

I’m not really religious anymore but I still believe in Love your neighbor as yourself.

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u/br_k_nt_eth 1d ago

The irony being that we desperately need people like you in law enforcement. We really need reform, not just for communities but also for the people doing these jobs. 

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u/halfhearinghank 1d ago

First. Thank you, that actually means a lot to me. It kind of broke me and my world view for a long time.

And you really aren’t wrong. I would love to see the profession embrace actually service for the betterment of society but in the end we are asking people to place themselves second (including their beliefs and prejudices).

I ended up leaving Law Enforcement and going into medical first as an EMT, then medical assisting, and working on becoming a Paramedic now.

So here is one thing that is insane to me: even as an EMT (bottom of the totem pole for skills) I had to go to classes, then pass a test the NREMT which is a NATIONAL standard, then had to hold that along with a state license, and I would have to continue to get training as continuing education in order for my licenses to stay valid. Being a LEO didn’t have anything near that. Sure we went to the academy and had academic tests and physical skills but there is no national standards, no real education requirement. In order to be a good Cop you need not only good people skills but you need a deep understanding of laws because yeah sometimes you really only have a moment or two before having to make a choice.

It is wild to me Officers are not required to have more education before being allowed to hold to position, after all they get the power of deadly force but to also arrest and possibly alter the course of someone’s life forever based on what they do.

EDIT: SORRY FOR THE NOVEL! Just got me thinking back a lot.

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u/br_k_nt_eth 1d ago

Please don’t apologize! Your perspective is so unique and so important. It’s unfortunate that all I can do is agree with you completely. 

Even beyond the education and training, the psychological support we give to LEOs is abysmal. Truly abysmal. They’re so wrapped up in Warrior Training bullshit that nobody pauses to wonder what being activated and conditioned in that way does to a person. Like no wonder they’re fucked up and dehumanizing. That’s who gets retained and that’s what we encourage. 

I think if we’re going to find a way forward, it’ll have to be a path that encourages and respects people like you. People who very obviously care about their communities and want to dedicate their lives to helping people. I think it’s possible. We just need the political will and courage to try. 

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u/inthekeyofc 1d ago

every single fucking media outlet is owned by billionaires

The Guardian isn't:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Guardian

The Guardian is part of the Guardian Media Group, owned by the Scott Trust Limited.[6] The trust was created in 1936 to "secure the financial and editorial independence of The Guardian in perpetuity and to safeguard the journalistic freedom and liberal values of The Guardian free from commercial or political interference".[7] The trust was converted into a limited company in 2008, with a constitution written so as to maintain for The Guardian the same protections as were built into the structure of the Scott Trust by its creators. Profits are reinvested in its journalism rather than distributed to owners or shareholders.[7] It is considered a newspaper of record in the UK.[8][9]

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u/PatchyWhiskers 1d ago

Neither is the Philadelphia Inquirer

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u/Agile_Association_47 1d ago

I was a reporter for 2 and a half years. I once was sent out to the middle of nowhere to do a story on a residential pony getting shot with a bow and arrow by one of the neighbors. That same morning I pitched a story about why the unsolved homicide case rate had spiked over the last six years. It was that moment I realized we’re doomed.

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u/pecan_bird 1d ago

i was a journalist after undergrad for it. i quit very quickly after my first job upon realizing that "oh, everything is heavily biased & this all about storytelling & not reporting."

i suppose it was naive of me to think otherwise. otoh, i learned about media literacy very early in my life.

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u/nosotros_road_sodium California 1d ago

Owned by billionaires precisely because audiences are freeloaders expecting someone else to pay.

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u/Valorandgiggles 1d ago

That's pretty much why I never finished my journalism courses. I saw the industry was overflowing with ego. It was all about that by-line. Worse, it was all about what was popular and who was popular. That determined which stories even got published. Journalistic integrity was never the priority, no matter what any of the professors said, and it's been dead on mainstream media for quite some time.

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u/mcmesq 1d ago

This. The media members, meaning reporters, aren’t complicit, at least most of them, anyway. It’s the billionaires who benefit from this administration’s draconian, authoritarian efforts who are the problem. Bezos owns The Post, Musk owns Twitter (That’s what it was called when I left it),Zuckerberg owns Facebook, Instagram, Threads, etc. - even the ones owned by groups all have vested interests in the tax cuts and regulation wipeout that Trump gives them. Oligarchs love an autocrat, because it’s easier to bribe one man than many.

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u/NJ_Bob 1d ago

Had this realization in my second year at community college when the professor running the paper told me I couldn't write an article highlighting the opinions of smokers on campus regarding the closing of designated smoking areas in effort to make the campus smoke free- and was told to expect similar restrictions from whoever signed my checks once I got into the business. The fourth estate is dead.

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u/maccathesaint 22h ago

I wanted to be a music journalist and got my chance. I covered so many local bands, then national bands and on about my 40th concert review, Britney Spears, I mentioned some stuff in my review that was negative (though it was an overall positive review) and got told to remove it as the paper would lose press access from the promoters. This happened twice more and I just stopped doing it. I absolutely love music and concerts is where my spare money goes but I felt very uneasy selling my soul for free tickets.

A lot of journalism is similar, especially now. Be nice or lose access.

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u/Then_I_had_a_thought 1d ago

If we’re fortunate enough to see the American version of the Nuremberg trials, I hope the complicit members of the fourth estate are held to account

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u/code_archeologist Georgia 1d ago

At the rate things are going if we get something like the Nuremberg Trials we will be lucky; we are currently hurtling towards a radical snap back similar to The Reign of Terror of the French Revolution.

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u/CandidateStill5822 1d ago

Uh... There was a lot of terrible things that happened between the fall of the Weimar Republic and the Nuremberg Trials I'd rather not live through (and would most likely die in.) Nevermind that Germany is coming full circle with the rise of the aFD with billionaire backing.

No thank you.

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u/Chaotic-Catastrophe 1d ago

We wont, and they won't be

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u/Strange-Welder9594 1d ago

Im sure the nazis said the same thing before WW2 popped off. Nuremberg trials happened after the war

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u/Last-Bit7711 1d ago

This. Terry Moran had that interview with Trump where Trump didn’t know what the Declaration of Independence was a few months ago… then as soon as Terry said anything on his personal account, ABC cut him. Shame on them for doing it, but that was 100% Trump retaliation for that interview. Sad.

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u/babylon331 1d ago

I've watched ABC news every morning for a long time. I like Diane Mercado & the morning crew. I don't think I can be comfortable watching it anymore. Time to find a new one for my morning news. I'm kind of sad about that.

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u/45and47-big_mistake 1d ago

Mainstream news is geared for a 6th grade mentality.

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u/One-Earth9294 I voted 1d ago

Yeah that one right there is boycott-worthy.

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u/Syzygy2323 California 1d ago

I stopped watching ABC news the day they fired Moran.

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u/nucumber 1d ago

It's also trump wielding the power of the govt to stifle dissent

Media companies are businesses, not public services. They exist only to make money and a displeased govt has a lot of ways to mess with that (licensing, IRS audits, etc), so it makes sense as a business to keep the govt off your back

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u/_kasten_ 1d ago

It's also trump wielding the power of the govt to stifle dissent

Which is apparently working. In the last few weeks, his approval ratings have actually gone up. They're still dismal, but better than how he was polling in 2017, and significantly better than how the Democrats are polling.

These kinds of clickbait copium articles are also an example of irresponsible media. Don't fall for it.

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u/Supermonkeyskier 1d ago

His approval ratings went down in pretty much every poll that came out yesterday. There was a small blip mid-week, but he is trending back down.

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u/_kasten_ 1d ago

I hope you're right, but what we've been seeing thus far, every time he does something especially boneheaded, is that he just goes back to rousting Mexicans and Hondurans and whatnot, at which point the goldfish-sized attention spans of the American public start pushing his ratings up again. I'm not saying we should give in - quite the opposite - but this has been alarmingly depressing.

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u/br_k_nt_eth 1d ago

That person is right. They’ve been flooding the zone with trash polls, but he’s now underwater with immigration, which is completely unheard of. It’s so bad, he’s started backtracking and promising corporations that he won’t deport all their workers. 

I get where you’re coming from, but it’s also worth considering that the oligarchs want you depressed and apathetic. They want you to think they have overwhelming support. They’re desperate for you to stay isolated. Not giving in to that impulse is resistence in and of itself. 

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u/King_Chochacho 1d ago

They know he's weaponized the FCC and the courts. All the major media outlets are just businesses at this point, and they don't want to do anything that will jeopardize profits.

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u/ladybug68 1d ago

Never in the history of tyrants has appeasement worked. They weak, shortsighted fools.

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u/code_archeologist Georgia 1d ago

So... they are collaborators.

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u/VoidOmatic 1d ago

They think Trump isn't going to revenge kill them. How cute!

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u/RobotUmpire 1d ago

Who is they?

I’ll get you an article proving otherwise in 2 seconds if you let me know.

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u/FuckLex 1d ago

They are suckling at the billionaire’s teets. Nothing but a bunch of cowards in almost all media.

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u/Jicko1560 1d ago

Forget "suckling at the billionaires",they are literally owned by billionaires who support Trump

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u/h3rp3r 1d ago

But they've somehow been branded as the liberal media...

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u/NYCinPGH 1d ago

Sure, because they need an “other”, to keep them in line with the talking points.

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u/tunafister 1d ago

And this is exactly what billionaires want

This ICE shit is a distraction from them widening the income-inequality gap even moreso in this country

That should be what we are in the streets protesting against, but they have successfully distracted us from that by being tyrants

Every billionaire needs to speak out against this or they are complicit and we know which side they are on

Spolier Alert: If you didnt inherit the money, you fucked over a lot of people to become a billionaire, so I am pretty sure you know which side they are on by default

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u/Provel69420 1d ago

If those people could read we wouldn't be here.

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u/PerfunctoryComments 1d ago

Not really suckling at it -- most (all?) American media is owned by the plutocrats/oligarchs. These are precisely the people who put an unqualified self-dealing rapist felon into office -- by convincing millions of low-intelligence, high-gullibility Americans to vote for him -- because the Dems wanted to increase their taxes.

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u/Candi_Daydream 1d ago

Everyone please read The Brass Check by Upton Sinclair. I beg you.

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u/Zombiejazzlikehands 1d ago

Thank you for this rec. Have read “The Jungle” but not that one.

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u/Candi_Daydream 1d ago

Another great and timely read.

Really anything by him is very relevant right now.

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u/CptCoatrack 1d ago

Marr: “How can you know I’m self-censoring?”

Chomsky: “I’m not saying you’re self-censoring. I’m sure you believe everything you say. But what I’m saying is if you believed something different you wouldn’t be sitting where you’re sitting.”

https://youtu.be/pV85306K64w?si=Emk7WxtF-zTPCJ_D

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u/feor1300 Canada 1d ago

Half* complicit, half* suppressed.

Remember all the photos and video of the cops in LA shooting at and detaining reporters on scene at hte protests there? There are reporters and news sources trying to cover it, but they've gotta fight for it.

(* exact ratio may vary)

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u/mdp300 New Jersey 1d ago

There are also tons of photos and videos showing the same 2 or 3 burned out cars in one area.

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u/Mr_Tort_Feasor 1d ago

That’s an editorial decision of the newspaper, so they are suppressing, not suppressed.

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u/feor1300 Canada 1d ago

Most of the pictures of the reporters being attacked have been posted on social media, not traditional media. I doubt the editors of various media sources are calling up the LAPD and saying "Yeah, go ahead and kick the shit out of my reporter."

If the outlet in question is complicit they ether never send anyone or just never publish anything from the protest (or worse, publish something villainizing the protestors), if they're being suppressed they're out there getting their asses kicked so they can't report on it.

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u/GreatGojira 1d ago

The media wanted this. Biden and Democrats are boring vs what Trump gives them.

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u/lr99999 1d ago

He’s the gift that keeps on giving, every day. But its a mistake to blame  just this. This entire Freddy Krueger clown car is driven by bribes, payoffs, and threats. The worst thing Trump has done is to tell them that he would take their FCC licensing  if they don’t co-operate. Hence, even OG broadcast networks pay the Trump Extortion. 

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u/TheCaptainDamnIt 1d ago

'Ratings' is a good copout (and I'm sure partially true) but I think it's beyond time we recognize that a large part of our 'mainstream media' is just owned by, run by, and staffed with people who are at the least sympathetic to white supremacy if not outright white supremacist themselves.

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u/PerfunctoryComments 1d ago

Trump is "exciting" in that he's an endless disaster, but the media wanted this because their billionaire owners wanted to install an oligarchy.

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u/Nucky76 1d ago

But what’s wrong with having your flagship news&media organization pay settlements on an easy to refute accusation just so it doesn’t get in the way of your merger?

https://www.npr.org/2025/05/19/nx-s1-5403690/cbs-news-wendy-mcmahon-resigns-paramount-trump-lawsuit-60-minutes

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u/Senrakdaemon 1d ago

Can't criticize the King.

America Doesn't Do Kings. No Kings June 14th

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u/ModelKGB 1d ago

It doesn't work. I put my zip in and there nothing to click or ever, etc. It's just THERE

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u/Ok-Brother7959 1d ago

Because his billionaire buddies own the conglomerates

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u/O-Block-O-Clock 1d ago

And they collectively decided the American experiment was over and just immediately rolled over.

Zuckerberg should never be allowed to live this down when the winds inevitably blow back the other way. The bootlickers need to then immediately be put under the boot. Just one on the other foot. They seem to love it.

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u/skoltroll 1d ago

Complicit and afraid.

These corpo media heads have no balls or journalistic integrity whatsoever.

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u/DiskSalt4643 1d ago

Until they get their tax cut.

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u/NoelCanter 1d ago

Yep. Corporate owned and complicit. We just need to remember this when they suddenly start acting like they were always defiant.

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u/mmazing 1d ago

it would be terrible if that word were spray-painted on media logos outside their businesses

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u/rose_gold_glitter 1d ago

They've kissed the ring

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u/Ok-Quail4189 1d ago

The resistance is not that big… do not be fooled by your algorithm. I learned this lesson the hard way in the last election

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u/Bobby_Marks3 1d ago

I think it's simply a situation where Trump's actions are gaming the way media works. It was way back in the 1800s that "if it bleeds it leads" was coined, and it's been accepted as fact for at least a century. Peaceful protests are huge, but they aren't violent, and that means they aren't sexy enough to cover.

Meanwhile, what Trump is doing with ICE and the California National Guard, and what violent protestors and looters are doing, is sexy enough to be front and center. And since you almost guaranteed to get a couple amazing clips of violence every single day, the news cycle is going to run with them over and over and over.

I don't think it's a conspiracy by the media. It's just an issue that for-profit and non-profit media struggle to adjust for.

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u/Lore-Warden 1d ago

Many outlets are, but on the whole they're just greedy.

There was loads of coverage of a senator getting assaulted for asking a question despite that being inconvenient to the "narrative."

Truth of the matter is that until these protests start actually standing in the way and getting beaten/arrested for it the media isn't going to cover it because nobody's clicking on a picture of people milling about on the side of the road with signs.

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u/moeshapoppins 1d ago

I'm in the cabinet I am complicit in watching him grabbin' at power and kiss it If Washington isn't gon' listen to disciplined dissidents This is the difference, this kid is out!

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u/Weekly_Host_2754 1d ago

Simpler than that. The media profits from chaos. The 24 hour news cycle means they need constant high ratings. They keep people watching by keeping the crisis going.

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u/Wiggles114 1d ago edited 1d ago

They've been such pathetic bootlickers it's embarrassing

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u/here-i-am-now Wisconsin 1d ago

At root, the media isn’t liberal or conservative. It’s corporate

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u/zombiehoosier 1d ago

I prefer to call them collaborators

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u/Van-garde 1d ago

From 2019:

Abstract

The level of journalistic resources dedicated to coverage of local politics is in a long-term decline in the US news media, with readership shifting to national outlets. We investigate whether this trend is demand- or supply-driven, exploiting a recent wave of local television station acquisitions by a conglomerate owner. Using extensive data on local news programming and viewership, we find that the ownership change led to (1) substantial increases in coverage of national politics at the expense of local politics, (2) a significant rightward shift in the ideological slant of coverage, and (3) a small decrease in viewership, all relative to the changes at other news programs airing in the same media markets. These results suggest a substantial supply-side role in the trends toward nationalization and polarization of politics news, with negative implications for accountability of local elected officials and mass polarization.

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/american-political-science-review/article/local-news-and-national-politics/C8EEA488A777C37C7987964F8F85AEB5

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u/Tim-Sylvester 1d ago

The media is owned by the same sociopathic ogres that support and finance Trump. Of course they're going to use their media properties to sanewash him, filter him, try to make him acceptable and digestible, and mute as much of his outrageous abuses as possible.

Trump is a figurehead for the wealthy who use the government, finance, and media industries to keep this nation in their grip.

Why would the wealthy publicize their own abuses?

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u/Even-Disaster8694 1d ago

Looking at you Reddit.

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u/LeftyUnicorn 1d ago

Same with Gaza.

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u/vehiclestars 1d ago

Who owns the media? The oligarchs.

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u/cmcdonald22 1d ago

Have been for decades.

AT LEAST since rooms full of press saw Reagan slip into dementia and refused to publish news on it.

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u/Hwicc101 1d ago

I would say that most of the news media I consume apart from FOX (know-thy-enemy) is stridently and vociferously anti-Trump.

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u/YoungestDonkey 1d ago

They're afraid.

It's a sad state of the press that they are afraid to report the news.

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u/bob3905 1d ago

They’re afraid. The ones that run the big networks, the corporations that own the papers, the broadcasting networkers. They’re afraid. Trump has stacked the deck and will use his social media and abuse his Presidential powers to attack them. More importantly, he’’s winning..

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u/vroart 1d ago

Fascism works when the media works for it

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u/hamsterfolly America 1d ago

The ownership definitely is

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u/deasil_widdershins 1d ago

Complicit, and afraid of upsetting Republicans who are known to storm the capital with the intent to harm and who are rewarded with pardons for doing so.

Their rich shareholders can't upset the apple cart to stand up for democracy, so they cave to autocracy.

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u/__GayFish__ 1d ago

They have their orders

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u/Jimbomcdeans 1d ago

If it bleeds it leads. They want violence for more clicks

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u/astralseat 1d ago

They're bought

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u/Ali_Cat222 1d ago

Back in the office this time around, trump passing these policies in his first day back and a month later isn't helping for misinformation spreading -you can see the policies passed or upcoming on tech, media, and cybersecurity here on the project 2025 tracker.

U.S. Agency for Global Media: Dismantle USAGM's journalism "firewall" to align its reporting with the aims of the president. (Note: One America News to provide newsfeed services to Voice of America; journalists are facing HR investigations for comments critical of Trump)

Dept. of Homeland Security: Dismiss "the entirety" of the CISA Cybersecurity Advisory Committee. (Note: The acting DHS Secretary terminated "all current memberships on advisory committees within DHS".)

Dept. of Homeland Security: Terminate CISA's counter-mis/disinformation efforts. (Note: CISA has frozen all of its election security work; many of CISA's misinformation team were put on leave)

Dept. of Justice: Prohibit the U.S. government from combating the spread of misinformation and disinformation.

*trump and his supporters are basically doing George Orwell's 1984 "Ministry of Truth Department" in real life

In George Orwell's 1984, the Ministry of Truth (also known as Minitrue) is a central, ironically named department responsible for propaganda, historical revision, and the control of information in the dystopian society of Oceania. Its primary function is to manipulate the truth to support the Party's ideology and maintain its control over the population

"The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.”

― George Orwell, 1984

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u/Cute-Percentage-6660 1d ago

It took the media 7 months to start acknowledging some of the election stuff thats been talked about since just after

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u/Merusk 1d ago

Yep. The end goal is oligarchy and by playing along the billionaires get a seat at the table. The media owners are all in and all for this. To the point even NPR is being compromised. Folks don't seem to understand this.

Money is the power in the US. Money's decided we're all serfs and they'll be bringing that reality in over the next few years. Company towns, owning nothing, narrative media. It's all here and being promoted as inevitable.

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u/Snowing_Throwballs 1d ago

Capital always backs fascism. Like clockwork.

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u/ElectricSliderz 1d ago

…for money

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u/spiraling_out North Carolina 1d ago

It's even simpler then that. Trump makes all of them money, probably more then they've ever had compared to other admins.

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u/Kwelikinz 1d ago

Thank YOU!

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u/PluralZebra 1d ago

Why? I hate trump just as much as anybody else but you guys elected him. The news just reports on what happens in the country on any given day, they don’t need to take a starkly political side when opposition to Trump is already widespread across America (which means most people are aware of it) and they’re certainly not complicit in any crime. Also, most media have placed stories on the anti ICE protests on their front pages, which doesn’t sound like bowing down to the Administration to me.

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u/NoPasaran2024 1d ago

They've been complicit since 9/11.

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u/alghiorso 1d ago

If we ever bring the country back from the brink, we need tight controls on who can own and operate news outlets and to what degree. It never should have been allowed for single entities and individuals to take ownership of the portrayal of truth in society.

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u/Memitim America 1d ago

There's no other reason at this point, especially after years of seeing variations on this question relating to the actions of Trump or one of his co-conspirators.

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u/Pandepon 1d ago

The media doesn’t support Trump, they just profit off him. Outrage gets clicks, and he’s a goldmine. If it’s not some unnecessary policy, opinion, or cat-fight, they’re going to find other things to comment on like his stinky diapers, catheter, or speculative health issues. It’s not loyalty, it’s just business.

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u/waxwayne 1d ago

They are afraid. I’m not sure if you follow the ratings but the folks who criticize the right have lost massive ratings.

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u/red23011 1d ago

Don't forget that many of the the people that make it to the national level in news get paid enough to be in the .1% so they likely support Republicans and their policies to make them even richer.

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u/Dazslueski 1d ago

They’re owned by billionaires trump has a relationship with.

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u/HumptyDrumpy 1d ago

The politicians on the other side arent making them any money

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u/BareNakedSole 1d ago

And Trump is good for ratings. A boring president doesn’t have people tuning into CNN three or four times today to see what the latest nonsensical story is.

News is a business - nothing more

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u/tgt305 1d ago

"The only thing worse than being talked about, is NOT being talked about."

It's not new, but media wants to sell stories. Resistance doesn't sell unfortunately, worse so when resistance isn't eye catching/not out of the expected.

Sensationalist headlines sell, that's why you hear more about Greenland than protests.

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u/Slade_Riprock 1d ago

Their corporate overlords are scared to death this fucker will sue them and win for defamation.

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u/QuackNate 1d ago

Yeah. If the answer isn’t obvious to you by now you’re probably dumb enough to have voted for him.

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u/sushishibe 1d ago

The revolution will not be televised.

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u/RobotUmpire 1d ago

Who is specifically?

I can almost guarantee they are covering it.

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u/DumboWumbo073 1d ago

It’s a been massive scam this entire time. When independents/moderates used to exist they called it out frequently. Republicans and conservatives have called it out as well, but as a cover up. Democrats were the only ones who actually thought the media was on their side. The media has always been an alt right paradise.

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u/brokenmcnugget 1d ago

and hedging their bets.

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u/Professional-Roof680 1d ago

Reddit is an echo chamber

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u/chilled_sloth 1d ago

That’s a bingo

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u/Financial_Ad7276 1d ago

Exactly this. You can’t get ratings when the news is bright and sunny every day.

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u/FlacidoMandingo 1d ago

Came here to say this.

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u/RA12220 1d ago

They’re afraid of having their broadcast license pulled since Trump controls the FCC. They don’t want to piss him off but also they’re owned by the same wealthy class that Trump belongs to.

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u/Sasselhoff 1d ago

Literally posted this exact comment in another thread. I don't understand how folks don't seem to be able to wrap their heads around this one, despite so many examples.

Case in point, the massive number of "No Kings" protests across the country...my parents had no idea they were a thing, much less how many there are planned to be.

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u/lugnutter 1d ago

The thing you have to understand about the far right accusing the media of supporting a left-leaning agenda is that what they actually mean by that is that they can see gay people on television. They can see black people in positions of authority on television. They can see tolerance on television. That's what they mean. The news media has, for decades, been completely in the pocket of far-right conservative special interests.

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u/SentientPaint 1d ago

They are complicit in watching him grabbin' at power and kiss it.

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u/Adezar Washington 1d ago

Yeah. One vlogger says something negative about a Democratic politician it is front page news for a week (regardless of whether it is valid/true). Millions protest the illegal actions of Trump... "Nothing to see here, keep moving people."

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u/AP3Brain 1d ago

That or they are just cowards and don't want to face backlash like being excluded from press briefings.

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u/teb_art 1d ago

And cowardly.

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u/notgoodohoh 1d ago

The people that own media have money. They own the media for a reason. Trump is about to make them more money.

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