The broadcast media has disgraced itself

Effie Deans ^ | Effie Deans

[sinsofsolarempirefan]

Broadcast media does not run the country, but it does set the parameters of what it is possible for Governments to do. It is at least in part responsible for some of the mistakes that have been made in the past few months.

The British economy shrank by just over 20% in the second quarter of this year. This is just a number to most of us. Because of furlough we haven’t really felt the economic shock. Lockdown has been one long holiday for many of us without any noticeable decline in our living standards. What’s not to like? But soon ordinary people will find themselves without a job and unable to get another perhaps forever. Many of them will blame the Government, but they should equally blame the broadcast media.

[sinsofsolarempirefan]

This is about the British broadcast media, but most of it could apply to the US media, and indeed, all English speaking media in general. The broadcast media wield enormous power without accountability and people have died and lives have been destroyed because of it.

[MAGAthon]

no FakeNewsMSM has cheered on LOCKDOWNS more than the taxpayer-funded ABC Australia mob. they are considered ESSENTIAL, of course.

their latest, deceptive drivel, based on a McKINSEY “study” - lol. keep in mind, at no point have our hospitals been under pressure:

21 Sept: ABC Analysis: Why harsh COVID-19 lockdowns are good for the economy
by Ian Verrender, business editor
The popular argument is that harsh measures such as lockdowns are overly expensive — that future generations will be forced to bear the costs.
But there are costs associated with taking no action or insufficient action, particularly if health systems are stretched beyond capacity.
When intensive care and emergency units are overloaded, people with medical conditions other than COVID-19 suffer and die, productivity plummets and confidence dives...

A recent study by McKinsey, the New York based global management consultant group, found that it’s not lockdowns that have caused a global recession — it’s the pandemic.(external link)...

Sweden, which had a lax approach during the first round of the virus, performed only mildly better than New Zealand’s economy, which pursued the toughest strategy of any nation...

When the first round of the virus was raging through Europe a few months ago, Germany’s central bank noted that uncertainty among consumers and businesses was the major driving factor behind the economic collapse.
Worried about their jobs, consumers stopped spending, which then fed into a rapidly rising jobless rate...

Killing the virus comes at enormous cost — doing nothing will cost more.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-21/why-harsh-covid-19-lockdowns-are-good-for-the-economy/12683486

[TexasFreeper2009]

I agree, it’s remarkable because the EXACT same thing could have been written about American media and the current state of affairs.

Apparently this is worldwide.

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

Here’s an oldie: Why Broadcast journalism is Unnecessary and Illegitimate

Full disclosure, that’s an FR vanity thread I posted in ‘01.

Basically the problem is that we have two competing perspectives. Either you think that

1. the Constitution is a blessing to be adhered to, and only adjusted after careful consideration, or you think that
2. ”things couldn’t be worse.”

The former belief is supported by the broad sweep of history, the latter belief too often (IMHO) prevails in the heat of the moment.

And " the heat of the moment” is precisely the business of journalism in general and broadcast journalism in particular.

“The republican principle demands that the deliberate sense of the community should govern the conduct of those to whom they intrust the management of their affairs; but it does not require an unqualified complaisance to every sudden breeze of passion or to every transient impulse which the people may receive from the arts of men, who flatter their prejudices to betray their interests.” ― Alexander Hamilton