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A Landslide Against the Media: News organizations tried to prop Biden and Harris up. How did that work out?
Wall Street Journal ^ | November 7, 2024 | Kimberley A. Strassel

Posted on 11/07/2024 9:36:22 PM PST by billorites

The recriminations are flying, as Barack Obama’s and Joe Biden’s forces go to war over who’s more to blame for Democrats’ humiliating defeat Tuesday. So long as the left is pointing fingers, let it direct a big, fat digit at the outfit that played the biggest role in losing it this election: the U.S. media.

That isn’t the conventional wisdom, which holds that the press’s naked shilling for Democratic candidates amounts to an in-kind campaign contribution. And no doubt the media’s ceaseless attacks on Donald Trump and Republicans did help round up some undecided voters. Yet the boosterism for Kamala Harris & Co. came at a far bigger cost: A narrative full of fantasy enabled Democrats to live in a world disconnected from the mood and worries of the country.

Among the most damaging of these fantasies was the four-year press assurance that Joe Biden was sharp as a tack. Even video evidence in June of a confused president wandering aimlessly at the Group of Seven was met with claims that the footage was “edited,” “lacking context,” “misleading.” Only when the Trump-Biden debate made Mr. Biden’s decline undeniable did the media drop the charade. Then it immediately turned to recast Ms. Harris—a presidential primary loser turned unpopular vice president—as a political genius and the obvious savior of the Democratic Party. How’d that work out?

In a world with a competent press, Mr. Biden’s failing constitution would have been front-page news in time for Democrats to confront the unpleasant (yet manageable) reality of needed change. A primary would have produced a tested nominee, likely one less encumbered by the Biden record. As Harris adviser (and Obama veteran) David Plouffe complains that Team Biden created a “hole” too “deep” for his sidekick to dig out of, don’t forget the industry whose job

(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...


TOPICS: Front Page News; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: gaslightmedia; kimberleyastrassel; thegaslightmedia
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1 posted on 11/07/2024 9:36:22 PM PST by billorites
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To: billorites

The media’s TDS helped Trump win. (Thank you Morning Joe)

Knowing that Trump was running, They covered up Biden’s dementia the past couple years

If they reported accurately Biden would not have run for a Second term from the beginning and the Democrats could of had a real primary and nominated a better candidate


2 posted on 11/07/2024 9:44:16 PM PST by janetjanet998 (Legacy media including youtube are the enemy of the people and must die)
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To: billorites

Not just the media in general but media political polling in particular took a credibility hit. After years of sneering at Rasmussen as “Republican polling” he was the only one even close to correct


3 posted on 11/07/2024 9:49:26 PM PST by MNJohnnie (Don't blame me, my congressman is MTG!)
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To: billorites

The MSM definitely is part of the problem.


4 posted on 11/07/2024 9:54:10 PM PST by vpintheak (Sometimes you’re the windshield, sometimes you’re the bug. )
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To: MNJohnnie
Media polling was dead in 2016. I'm no fan of Frank Luntz, but he said as much on Election Night in 2016.

It was understood that there was a tangible "anonymous Trump voter" trend back then that distorted the poll results. But what really triggered him was that the exit polls were wrong in 2016, which meant voters were lying to pollsters even after they had already voted. LMAO.

5 posted on 11/07/2024 9:54:23 PM PST by Alberta's Child ("Well, maybe I'm a little rough around the edges; inside a little hollow.” -- Tom Petty, “Rebels”)
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To: billorites

How does Kimberley stay employed at the WSJ, which is another mainstream, anti-Trump mouthpiece?


6 posted on 11/07/2024 9:55:17 PM PST by csn vinnie
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To: billorites

In a great sign of working together with the democrats, President Trump should add 4 to 6 justices to the Supreme Court! :)


7 posted on 11/07/2024 9:57:40 PM PST by Road Warrior ‘04 (BOYCOTT Anheuser Busch, the NFL, MLB, NBA, NASCAR & Faux Snooze! Molon Labe! Oathkeeper! )
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To: billorites
To me, this was the defining moment of Biden's presidency. It perfectly captures the entire facade of duplicitous fraud that surrounded the wretched old @sshole.

This image has it all: A fake president getting a fake vaccine in a fake White House.

Meanwhile, the media propagandists who were helping keep this charade going by reporting absolute bullsh!t are off to the side, dutifully reporting to their declining readership that "President Biden got his COVID booster at the White House today."

8 posted on 11/07/2024 9:58:51 PM PST by Alberta's Child ("Well, maybe I'm a little rough around the edges; inside a little hollow.” -- Tom Petty, “Rebels”)
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Bezos and a few others demonstrated critical thinking.

Without naming individuals, neither Viacom, Disney, nor Comcast gave any consideration to the consequences of perpetuating gratuitous BS.

The outdated terrestrial licenses should be auctioned off

The X information model should become the standard.


9 posted on 11/07/2024 10:17:12 PM PST by Gene Eric
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To: billorites

“How did that work out?”

I’d say incredibly well. How would the election have gone if the big media were actually objective? I imagine Trump would have gotten north of 80% of the vote.


10 posted on 11/07/2024 11:04:46 PM PST by rightwingcrazy (;-,)
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To: vpintheak

take them out of the equation

the whole house of cards crumbles

cut the cable tv

kill the basic bundle

force them to be more competitive


11 posted on 11/07/2024 11:09:33 PM PST by joshua c
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To: billorites
Well X is the world's town square and they are only going to get stronger and more powerful.
Plus huge ratings podcasts like Joe Rogan. Legacy media's power is rapidly waning.
12 posted on 11/07/2024 11:13:18 PM PST by SmokingJoe
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To: janetjanet998

They kept claiming Biden was “as sharp as a tack”.


13 posted on 11/07/2024 11:15:43 PM PST by SmokingJoe
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To: MNJohnnie
The polling was terrible, totally against Trump.
Same in 2016, Same in 2020.
14 posted on 11/07/2024 11:17:55 PM PST by SmokingJoe
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To: joshua c

That’s a good start!


15 posted on 11/07/2024 11:19:50 PM PST by vpintheak (Sometimes you’re the windshield, sometimes you’re the bug. )
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To: janetjanet998

They covered up Biden’s dementia since 2019.


16 posted on 11/07/2024 11:45:45 PM PST by Jeff Chandler (THE ISSUE IS NEVER THE ISSUE. THE REVOLUTION IS THE ISSUE.)
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To: janetjanet998

Reporting accurately? What’s that.


17 posted on 11/08/2024 12:04:48 AM PST by Eleutheria5 (Every Goliath has his David. Child in need of a CGM system. https://gofund.me/6452dbf1. )
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To: All

Sap-happy Democrats live in a fantasy world completely disconnected from the actual concerns of the citizenry. The most enduring fantasy was four-years of press assurances that Joe Biden was “sharp as a tack” until the debate made Biden’s decline undeniable.

The obeisant media quickly reinvented Harris (a presidential primary loser turned unpopular VP) into a “political genius” and the long-lost “savior of democracy,” a jerry-built fantasy that easily collapsed on election day.


18 posted on 11/08/2024 12:43:27 AM PST by Liz
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To: All

Did the media engage in unlicensed fundraising——raising money from ads to pay for reportorial activities? This can lead to serious consequences for media companies and individual reporters, including Civil and criminal penalties.

The federal or state government can bring action against media companies and their leaders engaged in Unlicensed fundraising.

Someone who is paid to help raise funds, is often unlicensed and using them can incur penalties.


19 posted on 11/08/2024 12:55:00 AM PST by Liz
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To: billorites

Sydney (Syd vicious) Blumenthal wrote the Great Right Wing Conspiracy memo for Hillary which described how an anti Clinton narrative started in a small media outlet and then was echoed repeatedly throughout a news cycle ending with late night comedy shows. That memo was the blue print for the Soros paid propaganda machine which failed so miserably in 2024. In this model communists were fed propaganda and non communists turned it off and went elsewhere for information. With no influence, the Soros paid propaganda machine will go bankrupt and die.


20 posted on 11/08/2024 1:55:07 AM PST by DeplorablePaul
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