Category Archives: media news

media news, national news, political news

‘Liberal media’ become target of the right

liberal_media_bumper_sticker

It’s always been this way.

The so-called “liberal media” do all they can to conspire to sway public decisions, policy and the actions of those in power … allegedly.

We’re hearing it again in social media circles: The “liberal media” want to elect Hillary Clinton!

I believe I shall call a time out for a moment or two.

The so-called “binary choice” features Clinton, the Democratic nominee, and Donald J. Trump, the Republican nominee. One of them will be elected president of the United States on Nov. 8.

The “liberal media,” according to those on the right, are giving Clinton a pass on all those hideous scandals that have rocked her political history. Isn’t that interesting? How do those on the right even know about the scandals/controversies/dust-ups? They read about them in the media.

Clinton’s past has been covered over and over again. She’s been scrutinized, examined, vetted and interrogated by more reporters than anyone in public life in the past 20-plus years. Congress has investigated her to the hilt and those investigations have been covered — also to the hilt — by the media.

As for the liberal media conspiring to elect her, I want to offer this brief rejoinder. The print media in particular don’t have the time, let alone the inclination, to concoct such conspiracies. I used to adhere to the truism while working as a full-time journalist that producing a newspaper every day was little short of a miracle, given all the things that can go wrong during a given production cycle.

One final point …

If the media were truly conspiring to elect either Trump or Clinton, I would put my bet on the media wanting Trump to win. Think of it: Whenever he shoots off his mouth, he draws a crowd; he attracts viewers to TV news shows and readers to print publications.

Those readers and viewers all mean the same thing to media moguls: money, lots of money.

Liberal media conspiracy?

Give me a break. There. I’m out.

local news, media news

Blogging produces revelations

blog.htm

Of all the responses I’ve gotten since I became a full-time blogger in the fall of 2012, two of them stand out for me.

One of them came from a friend and former colleague, who told me that the blog proves a theory he had about me when I was writing editorials for the Amarillo Globe-News. His theory was that “you didn’t believe most of what you wrote” while working for The Man.

The other response came just recently from someone I know less well, but someone with whom I had a professional relationship back in the day. This fellow, a lawyer and a former judge, told me that my “blog postings have revealed a side of you I never knew existed.”

I consider both responses to be compliments. They certainly are discerning.

Of course, High Plains Blogger has produced a lot of less-complimentary responses from critics. Some of them are actual friends; others are “friends” who read the blog on Facebook or Twitter and are individuals with whom I barely know — or not know at all.

What the blog has enabled me to do, of course, is speak for myself.

The Globe-News has a long-standing conservative editorial policy. When the former publisher interviewed me in late 1994 for the job of editorial page editor, our conversation turned to the paper’s conservative editorial outlook. My boss knew of my more progressive personal philosophy and I told him there were some boundaries I couldn’t cross.

He hired me anyway, but stipulated that I had to follow the paper’s conservative tradition. I agreed to do that. I was glad to do it, with one provision: that I be allowed to speak more independently with my own voice in a signed column. We came to a meeting of the minds.

But I always felt a bit hamstrung even with my column. I didn’t want to veer too far into the ditch on the left-hand side of the road. I managed over the course of nearly 18 years on the job to push forward a more moderate personal view while expressing the conservative view of the newspaper.

That tour of duty ended on Aug. 31, 2012.

I began blogging almost immediately.

Frankly, the blog has given me a sense of freedom that I’ve found invigorating. I’m able to speak my mind without worrying about the consequences of angering an employer. These days, the consequences come from angering some of my actual friends who might hold different points of view.

However, I am happy to be unfettered, unchained, unrestricted, unencumbered, unshackled and whatever “un” word you can come up with.

As for working for The Man and speaking anonymously for the institution that paid me a decent salary, I refer yet again to something another friend and former colleague once told me: If you take The Man’s money, then you play by The Man’s rules.

entertainment news, media news

Rio Olympics coming to a … fascinating end

2016-rio-olympics-opening-ceremony

This blog post has been updated.

I’ll admit a few things here about the Rio de Janeiro Olympics and acknowledge a surprise or two.

* I didn’t like the opening ceremony. Yes, it was colorful to the max, but I didn’t understand much of its significance. My Olympic opening ceremony gold standard was set in 1996 in Atlanta, when the organizers surprised the world as Muhammad Ali — the Greatest — stepped out of the shadows to light the cauldron. I cried like a baby sitting in front of my TV watching The Champ light the flame, as did all the spectators in the stadium that night.

What’s more, there was something oddly out of place when the Brazilians decided to inject the politics of climate change and global warming into the ceremony. While I generally agree that climate change is a profound international problem, was the Olympic opening ceremony the appropriate place to make that statement?

* I hadn’t planned on watching much of the competition, but then I did watch. A lot of it.

* Michael Phelps made me proud. The zillion-time gold medal winning swimmer came back for his fifth Olympics and at the age of 31 managed to dominate the men’s swimming competition. He overcame some serious personal demons to get himself into the best shape of his life and he didn’t disappoint. Five golds and a silver? Not bad … for an “old man.”

* Katie Ledecky was the actual star of the pool, though. The young American not only was winning her races, she was winning them by a lot.

* Simone Manuel was another swimming star who made me proud. The young Texan came out of nowhere to capture our hearts, particularly as she wept while listening to the National Anthem during the awards ceremony.

* The U.S. women’s gymnastics team. What more can I say about those youngsters? Holy moly, man!

* Gabby Douglas, one of the gymnasts, had nothing for which to apologize for not putting her hand over heart during the anthem. She stood there respectfully and showed class by riveting her eyes on the flag as it rose.

* Usain Bolt is the fastest human being in the world. The Jamaican sprinter served notice that it’s not how well you start a race that matters, it’s how you finish it. As ol’ Dizzy Dean used to say while calling a baseball game on TV, “That fella can pick ’em up and lay ‘e down.”

* Oh, and one more takeaway. The swimmer Ryan Lochte, who is 32 years of age, is about to lose a fortune in endorsement income because he messed up so royally by partying with his swim-team buddies and then making up the story about being robbed at a Rio gasoline service station. Good grief, dude! Get out of my face!

I don’t know how the International Olympic Committee chairman is going to characterize the Rio Games when he closes the event down Sunday night. Will it be “outstanding,” or “exceptional,” or simply some other less-glorious adjective? Observers often rate the success of an Olympics by the way the IOC boss hails the event at its conclusion.

I’ll rate the Games “outstanding.”

It was a fun ride in Rio.

media news, national news, political news

Clinton, Trump share mutual loathing of media

hillary media

Donald J. Trump gets the headlines with his ridiculous rants about the media.

The Republican presidential nominee keeps yapping about the “dishonest,” “corrupt” and “failing” media outlets that give him bad press. In truth, I believe he actually loves the media, which keep giving him the coverage he craves.

Hillary Rodham Clinton has another kind of relationship with the media. She doesn’t trust them. Interesting — yes? — given the Democratic nominee’s own trustworthiness issue with Americans whose votes she seeks as she campaigns for the presidency.

Let’s just say that both of these individuals have media relations issues.

Clinton’s is the more elusive to pin down and in many respects is more troublesome.

She rarely conducts full-blown news conferences, opening herself up to tough questioning from the media. Her answers are calculated and calibrated to produce certain reactions. They too often backfire, particularly when the media detect such elusiveness.

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/08/hillary-clinton-media-press-problem-226944

I am not going to accept the idea that the media have been kinder and gentler to Clinton than they have to Trump. This is not meant to excuse Clinton’s lack of accessibility. However, to suggest that the Democratic nominee has been somehow “shielded” by the media seeking to protect her from tough questions ignores an obvious fact — which is that the media themselves have sought to shed light on the many issues that keep dogging Clinton.

Meanwhile, Trump keeps alleging that the media are in cahoots with Clinton that the candidate and the Fourth Estate are conspiring to “rig” the election to produce a Trump defeat.

Pardon me, sir, but you’re doing a pretty nice job of blowing up your campaign all by yourself.

The media have a responsibility to be the public’s eyes and ears. That role shouldn’t be trifled with by candidates who, for differing reasons, keep suggesting the media somehow are out to “get” them.

Trump’s circus act, I believe, is mostly for show. Clinton’s reticence is more deliberate and strategic.

Trump’s antics are getting more play but they are giving Clinton’s team plenty of wiggle room to stiff-arm the media whenever it can.

media news, national news, political news, Uncategorized

Mean streak is showing itself

don trump

Nicholas Kristof and I have one thing in common.

We both hail from Oregon. He’s a self-proclaimed farm boy who was reared in the rainy western region of the state; I grew up in the big city of Portland.

He writes opinion pieces for the New York Times. I write for myself.

OK, we have one more thing in common: Neither of us wants Donald J. Trump to be elected president of the United States.

Kristof wrote a column today in which he states that Trump is appealing to the nation’s collective mean streak. It’s there, buried deep beneath the decency of the vast, overwhelming majority of Americans.

Here’s Kristof’s column. Take a few minutes to read it:

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/14/opinion/sunday/donald-trump-is-making-america-meaner.html?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur

Kristof’s column includes this passage, which I want to bring to your attention.

“I wrote a column recently exploring whether Trump is a racist, and a result was anti-Semitic vitriol from Trump followers, one of whom suggested I should be sent to the ovens for writing ‘a typical Jewish hit piece.’ In fact, I’m Armenian and Christian, not Jewish, but the responses underscored that the Trump campaign is enveloped by a cloud of racial, ethnic and religious animosity — much of it poorly informed.”

It is frightening, indeed, to believe that some folks who are backing a major-party presidential nominee would say such a thing to a member of the media — or to any human being, for that matter.

This, though, is part of the political environment with which we must deal as Election Day draws near.

This has become a sad, sorry campaign for the most powerful public office on Planet Earth.

media news, national news, political news

Trump finds an old nemesis: the media

doanld

Donald J. Trump is not known for his self-awareness or for an ability to look inward.

He likes to assess blame everywhere else, even where no reason exists to assess such blame.

The Republican presidential nominee has launched another tweet storm in which he blames — get ready for it — the media for his collapsing poll numbers.

There you go. Blame the media.

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/08/trump-on-nyt-their-reporting-is-fiction-226988

It’s a time-honored dodge that politicians use on occasion whenever they seek to divert attention from the real problem at hand — which usually happens to be the message they’re peddling.

He said the media are giving Democratic nominee Hillary Rodham Clinton political cover. Trump said the media don’t cover his rallies in an appropriate fashion. He said the media are distorting his message.

It’s the alleged Clinton-Mainstream Media alliance that I find most interesting.

I guess Trump hasn’t read much about the coverage the media have been giving to — in no particular order:

Benghazi, the e-mail controversy, the Clinton Foundation, the Clinton Global Initiative, her husband’s dalliance when he was president, the Whitewater real estate probe, her reluctance to meet with the press regularly, her own negative poll numbers, the public perception that Clinton isn’t “trustworthy.”

So now he’s suggesting the media are to blame because his own poll numbers are plummeting and that he cannot seem find a message — let alone stay on one?

The word “delusional” comes to mind.

media news, national news, political news

‘Patriot’ tosses out the ‘t-word’ to media

Original caption: Benedict Arnold. Treason of Arnold. He persuaded Andre to conceal the papers in his boot. --- Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS

I can think of few things worse to call someone than a “traitor.”

“Child molester” comes to mind. So does “murderer.”

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2016/08/12/trump_rally-goer_to_cnn_reporter_i_am_a_patriot_and_you_are_a_traitor.html

But the guy noted in this video link has decided that he is an “American patriot” and that a CNN news crew comprises “traitors.”

He uttered that epithet at the end of a Donald J. Trump campaign rally where, I am guessing, the Republican Party presidential nominee had some unkind things to say about the media.

The barbs Trump likely slung at the media got the requisite cheers from the crowd.

And then it produced this response from the self-described “American patriot,” who also felt the need to offer the middle-finger salute to the camera crew.

Nice …

Everyone’s entitled to their opinion.

media news, national news

‘Talk show’ becomes ‘scream show’

hardball-with-chris-matthews

Chris Matthews is a loud, sometimes-abrasive TV commentator who opines for MSNBC.

He often, though, has learned guests on his nightly cable TV talk show “Hardball,” in which individuals are invited to make their cases with knowledge and a healthy dose of respect for others’ points of view.

Matthews invited Donald Trump economic adviser Peter Navarro and Hillary Clinton economic guru Jared Bernstein to discuss Trump’s economic plan for the nation.

It didn’t go well.

I now will let the video speak — or scream — for itself.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2016/08/08/hardball_fireworks_jared_bernstein_vs_trump_economist_peter_navarro_on_trumps_tax_plan.html

 

media news, State news

‘Celebrating’ the Klan’s birthday?

Hooded and robed members of the Ku Klux Klan hold their hands apart as they rally around a 15 foot high burning cross in Ephrata, Pennsylvania Saturday, Oct. 3, 1987. (AP Photo/Bill Cramer)

Some things simply defy one’s ability to comprehend.

Such as whether you should in any way, shape or form honor the existence of a certifiable hate group.

An East Texas newspaper, the Longview News-Journal, did what I — and many others — consider to be the unthinkable when it published a front-page story commemorating the 150th year since the founding of the Ku Klux Klan.

http://www.dallasobserver.com/news/readers-revolt-over-longview-newspapers-coverage-of-the-klans-birthday-8573838

The paper had a big front-page picture of a cross-burning with hooded Klansmen standing around.

The outrage in the community has been profound. It also was expected. Residents in the town tucked in the Piney Woods of Deep East Texas are calling for a boycott of the paper.

Indeed, this is a remarkable thing to witness in the second decade of the 21st century.

The Klan deserves only to be condemned for the violence it has brought to Americans over the past century and a half.

I once lived and worked not too far from Longview. The southeast corner of Texas has a community or two perceived by many to be havens for Klan-type activity. You mention the name of the town Vidor to anyone near Beaumont — where I lived and worked for more than a decade — and you often get a sort of knowing glance and wince.

The town, about 10 miles east of Beaumont on Interstate 10, is full of fine folks. But they all live with the knowledge of what their town symbolizes to many people.

Indeed, East Texas has been scarred — as have many regions throughout the South — by the Klan.

As the Dallas Observer reported: “After the story — which was adapted from an Associated Press wire story — ran on Saturday, reader Hillary Sandlin laid out the case against the paper on Facebook. ‘This makes us look like a bunch of backwoods racists and only further reinforces incorrect stereotypes about most of the people in this area. These ‘chapters’ could be six guys who made a group, but the map makes it appear like it’s a thriving organization,’ she says.”

For the newspaper of record in Longview to single out a hate group has opened up some deep and festering wounds.

Simply unbelievable!

media news, national news, political news

Debates may portend the election result

trump-and-clinton-1062x598

Some new polls are out and they show Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton stretching her lead over Republican Donald J. Trump in the race for the White House.

Don’t take it to the bank.

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2016/08/trump-support-collapsing-nationwide

The link here is from Mother Jones, a liberal publication, which tells us that Trump’s support is collapsing across the board. Clinton is hammering Trump with virtually every demographic group imaginable and is holding her own with one group, white men, that Trump formerly dominated.

Don’t take that to the bank, either.

The biggest test of this contest for both of these candidates will occur when they square off in their joint appearances. As an aside, I dislike referring to these events as “debates,” given that they aren’t anything of the sort.

I intend to watch all of them, plus the vice-presidential contest between Democrat Tim Kaine and Republican Mike Pence.

What should we look for as Clinton and Trump stand — or sit — together on the stage?

I’m going to watch for body language.

It’ll be quite instructive to me to see how these two candidates greet each other when they are introduced, how they react to the nastiness they’re going to say about each other during the questioning and how they act when it’s time to say “good night.”

I don’t expect Clinton to change her message much. Trump, on the other hand, might decide to revamp his entire campaign theme. Heck, he might change it multiple times in the first half of the first joint appearance!

If form holds, Clinton will be fully prepped and briefed for anything Trump is going to say. As for Trump, it remains to be seen if he even has a debate prep team formed to coach him through what Clinton is going to lob at him.

There well could be a classic line that will live on once the lights go out. We might hear a “There you go again,” or “Are you better off?” zinger. We could get a “You’re no Jack Kennedy” rejoinder.

One of my favorites blasts was a self-inflicted shot fired in 1960 — at the first one of these televised events — in which Vice President Richard Nixon — husband of Pat Nixon — told us “Americans cannot stand pat.”

Hillary Clinton is up — today! The main event, though, is yet to come.