Dakota Beacon

The so-called mainstream media (MSM) is not what it used to be. It is failing. Once upon a time the American public relied exclusively on the MSM for its news. Then along came the alternative media.

To be sure, today it would be a mistake to think of ABC, CBS, NBC, NPR, CNN and the New York Times as competing with each other. They do not. If you miss the news on CBS, go to NBC. If you miss NBC, try ABC. If you miss ABC, listen to CNN or NPR. They all hold to the same narrative.

In simple terms, news reporting used to be a monopoly of sorts. Now, the MSM pines for the good old days when they controlled the news exclusively before the alternative media took its toll. As such, editorial boards would like to restore their lost monopoly by controlling the news. If a story doesn’t fit the MSM narrative, chances are it won’t see the light of day.

“Establishing the narrative” is something that legal defense attorneys practice in court when they don’t have a good case for their client. They try to portray events as an entirely different narrative pointing away from the defendant in order to favorably influence the jury. That is what the MSM are doing. By setting the narrative, MSM journalists effectively distract the public from the real issues.

Reconstituting the erstwhile monopoly remains an MSM objective as does the blatantly obvious support for liberal causes and candidates. Like doctors and lawyers, journalists maintain reporter-Democrat Party confidentiality.

Journalist Charlie Rose offers a typical example of the journalist-Democrat Party cabal. Here is Charlie Rose and Tom Brokaw on the PBS Charlie Rose Show in October 2008 discussing Senator Barack Obama just prior to the presidential election.

ROSE: I don’t know what Barack Obama’s worldview is.

BROKAW: No, I don’t, either.

ROSE: I don’t know how he really sees where China is.

BROKAW: We don’t know a lot about Barack Obama and the universe of his thinking about foreign policy.

ROSE: I don’t really know. And do we know anything about the people who are advising him?

BROKAW: Yeah, it’s an interesting question.

ROSE: He is principally known through his autobiography and through very aspirational (sic) speeches.

BROKAW: Two of them! I don’t know what books he’s read.

ROSE: What do we know about the heroes of Barack Obama?

BROKAW: There is a lot about him we don’t know.

They didn’t know who Obama was, but they were “convinced” he would make a better president than Senator John McCain.

Fast-forward to December 2, 2015. Charlie Rose was guest on Bloomberg Television’s “With All Due Respect” hosted by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin. They were talking about today’s presidential campaign.

HALPERIN: Having just spent 45 minutes with Hillary Clinton, knowing her as you do, what do you wonder about now, Charlie?

ROSE: Uhhh, I just – I think the thing I don’t know about her, uh, is, you know, she has moved to the left a little bit here, you know. I don’t – I’m not sure that I know – I think she is essentially and has been mostly a centrist politician most of her life, as has her husband. I don’t know where they differ. The thing I most wonder about is what his role would be as well.

HALPERIN: Do you think she now has a story to tell, a compelling story to tell, she knows what that story is?

ROSE: I don’t.

HALPERIN: You don’t?

ROSE: I don’t know what that narrative is. She may, but I don’t think I know yet.

These people are typical of the MSM journalists who are responsible for vetting presidential candidates. Fortunately for America, the MSM no longer holds a monopoly on the news as they once did. They no longer operate without competition. The alternative media sees to that. The alternative media does what real journalists use to do.

A very recent Gallup Poll dispels all doubts. Only seven percent of Americans state that they have a “great deal” of trust in the MSM. Only 55 percent of Democrats say they have a great deal or a fair amount of trust in the MSM. Among 18-to-49 year-olds the percent of trust is down to 36 percent. The people who said they have no trust in the MSM was 24 percent or one quarter of all respondents.

The mainstream media is failing, Americans know it and that is good for America.

Dennis M. Patrick can be contacted at P. O. Box 337, Stanley, ND 58784 or (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).