Over the years, readers will recall I have maintained there is an appalling bias in the media. This would not be so appalling were it not presented in the guise of “news.” There is a place for opinion and commentary, which used to be in the editorial section. Now, virtually every news network has its own point of view and so do most of the Internet news outlets and newspapers. Perhaps the most appalling thing of all is once-respectable newspapers skewing the news to support a pet cause or candidate; unfortunately that has become commonplace and occurs daily in our society.
Don’t take just my word for it; journalist Glenn Greenwald gave an interview in Slate magazine and came right out and acknowledged the news media in our country has come together in an attempt to defeat Donald Trump. Greenwald was the journalist who first broke the Edward Snowden story about the extent of government surveillance in America. In the Slate interview, Greenwald was asked about Trump and news coverage of the businessman’s presidential campaign; Greenwald replied, “So, literally the lead story in the New York Times today suggests, and other people have similarly suggested it, that Trump was literally putting in a request to Putin for the Russians to cyberattack the FBI, the United States government, or get Hillary Clinton’s emails. That is such unmitigated (crap).”
Greenwald, who wrote for the Guardian newspaper in Great Britain, compared the attitude of many Americans with those of British citizens during the recent Brexit vote. Greenwald said in the Slate interview, “…I just want to submit to you that the mistake the U.K media and U. K. elites made with Brexit is the exact same one that the U. S. media and U. S. elites are making about Trump. U. K. elites were uniform, in their contempt for the Brexit case, other than the right-wing Murdochian tabloids. They all sat on Twitter all day long, from the left to the right, and all reinforced each other about how smart and how sophisticated they were in scorning and [being snide] about UKIP and Boris Johnson and all of the Brexit leaders, and they were convinced that they had made their case. Everyone they were talking to – – – which is themselves – – – agreed with them. It was constant reinforcement, and anyone who raised even a peep of dissent or questioned the claims they were making was instantly castigated as somebody who was endangering the future of the U. K. because they were endorsing – – – or at least impeding – – – the effort to stop Brexit. This is what’s happening now.”
Glenn Greenwald went on to say most people supporting Donald Trump don’t care what the mainstream media writes or reports on television. I suspect Mr. Greenwald is right. Certainly the last couple of election cycles have demonstrated voters are paying far less attention to local media. Candidates supported by what good ol’ Georgianna Vines calls “Knoxville’s business community leaders”, most all of whom had bulging campaign coffers, have gone down to disastrous defeat. Evidently more than a few folks are waking up to realizing the partnership between Knoxville business community leaders and the Knoxville News Sentinel. Never forget, the local television stations frequently take their cues from the News Sentinel, especially WBIR-TV.
The Sentinel has already editorialized the recent election is in the past and proceeded to tell the Board of Education what to look for in a new superintendent. Of course the Sentinel mildly tried to defend former Superintendent Jim McIntyre and did acknowledge the new seven-member majority on the Board had campaigned against McIntyre. Yet the Sentinel failed to mention, that they along with the Chamber of Commerce and Knoxville’s business community leaders, died in the trenches for McIntyre, down to the last man. Those folks supported everything and anything McIntyre wanted to do; none were friends of the taxpayers, teachers, or much of anybody save for McIntyre and his minions, who, apparently, could do no wrong.
At least Glenn Greenwald is honest and I have to respect him for that, just as I respect the people of Knox County who have refused to be commandeered by Knoxville’s elite. Folks don’t need the media to tell them what to do or what to think. If the news remains skewed, eventually folks are going to simply stop paying attention to it. My guess is we’re already half way there.
