James Carville was a campaign strategist for Bill Clinton during the 1992 presidential election. Clinton was facing incumbent president George H.W. Bush. Carville is credited with coining the phrase “It’s the economy, stupid” using it as a focal point to which Clinton supporters rallied to unseat Bush who was embroiled in a national economic recession.
The phrase caught on in our pop culture and has become a widely used axiom to mnemonically point up something that is both obvious and substantiative to both our nationally collective and individually personal best interests.
Well, yeah, it is the economy. Who could argue against a good economy, or the precept of a good economy, juxtaposed to a bad economy? Good is always better than bad, right? Politically, then, with this axiom blazing the media trail into our subconscious mind, one could tag any number of “issues” with the same level of importance as being an outstanding and obvious concern by simply interjecting into the media the phrase ...“It’s the (your favorite issue here ..health care, immigration, race relations, etc.), Stupid!”
Actually, I think “It’s the MEDIA, Stupid” ...especially, the super-competitive, ratings-driven 24 hr. cable news media. Let’s face it, this is where most Americans get their news and from which most Americans draw their opinions. This is serious, obvious, and substantiative psychology ...emotional tectonics. In every sense of it “the media” controls our thinking to such a degree that we’ll buy, do and say what it tells us. Not all of us, thank God, but a substantial enough number of Americans that we, someone, should take a closer look at this and where we’re headed.
In my opinion, it’s gotten so far out of control that we collectively as a nation are starting to resemble ‘The Manchurian Candidate’, someone whose mind is controlled by someone else for advantageous inclinations ...
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=manturian+candidate+scenes+youtube
...Confused? Well, see the movie, it’s a classic. It’s about mind control. ‘The Manchurian Candidate’ was remade in 2004 with Denzel Washington and it’s just as good if not better than the original with Frank Sinatra.
Maybe not to the severe degree as in the film, but to a very significant degree our media controls our minds ...to a degree that I contest is out of control. Even to a degree that “the media” recognizes its own power and influence and has become jaded, or better, arrogant, to the fact that the professional communicator has a responsibility to serve up the news and not spice it up ...or even create or become the news. Editorializing should be left to the editorial page or broadcast segment and branded as such. What we have now is a cacophony of glitzy media stars, reality show hosts and advertisers appealing to our worst instincts to make important decisions that affect our personal and collective lives, and, profoundly, the course of history itself.
The media is so out of control, and so hellbent on outdoing one another in the ratings game that they push the envelope on truth and walk a thin line regarding reckless reporting of the news. Bias reporting is one thing but show biz spectacle crosses the line.
Case in point: Recently, CNN’s Chris Cuomo tried to over-the-top sensationalize a half-baked story about Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne’s outrageous claims that he was recruited by the FBI, CIA, and “Deep State” ...”Men in Black” ...to have a romantic affair with Russian spy Maria Butina to solicit information regarding the 2016 presidential election. All of which or some of which may have been true, but the reckless way Cuomo clamped on to the spectacle with little to no solid information and the shameless way Byrne clamored for television fame and face time immediately degraded the story to a foolish media farce and discredited CNN, Cuomo and Byrne in the mix.
MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell had to retract and apologize for a story he fronted about President Trump’s finances, tax returns and dealings with German financier Deutsche Bank saying that Trump borrowed millions of dollars from Deutsche Bank and the loans were co-signed by Russian oligarchs. The White House immediately called O’Donnell on this protesting the loans were not fronted by “Russian oligarchs” and requested an apology and retraction which O’Donnell embarrassingly offered on-air. O’Donnell got out too far ahead of himself and recklessly reported, editorialized in his favor, a disingenuous story based on the probability that it may have been true considering Trump’s atrocious reputation and performance. Many are already calling Trump 'President Goldfinger' on his own merit, but O'Donnell pushed too hard discrediting himself.
MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow reported that the U.S. Government has recently given immigrants seeking asylum who have at-risk children on a medically deferred action program 33 days to get out of the country or face deportation proceedings. These kids are in serious trouble with cancer, heart diseases and other life-threatening ailments, many on life support and some facing multiple operations. Rachel cried on air to make her point, and in an over-the-top, almost shameless appeal to her audience, and using these kids as bait, for ...what? ...ratings? ...she pinned it all on Donald Trump and his unconscionably reckless administration for the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing ...and even for darker reasons.
I think Rachel got out too far ahead of both the story and herself, emotionally, which played right into the hands of her viewing audience. I mean, who can resist a crying woman and dying children to strike an emotional chord in us and prime us for “buying” what she or MSNBC is selling for ratings.
I don’t think any doctor caring for these at-risk kids would permit any such policy to interfere with their professional, critical, life-saving care. Save the tears and emotions, Rachel, there is no academy award for you here. But thanks for the information.
Maybe all these reports are absolutely true. But the emotional hysteria, the corner-cutting and theatrics only tend to “cheapen” the journalistic credibility of the broadcast reporting. I guess that’s why they call it “television” ...entertainment news. Too bad print journalism is dead. Too bad America doesn’t read anymore. Many of these broadcast reports cite stories from publications like the New York Times, Washington Post and Wall Street Journal, etc., but then take creative license to embellish and exaggerate. Show biz, baby!
Am I shooting the messenger? Maybe. It’s a double edge sword, the media. They do a good job of digging and reporting, we need them. A free press is probably our most valuable right and asset as Americans, but it seems to have become a vicious marketing game of ‘gotcha‘ within the broadcast media. Are they reflecting our values, or are we a reflection of their cake and circus marketing and a pawn in the media’s ratings game?
Either way, it doesn’t speak well of any of us.
John Kushma is a communication consultant and lives in Logan, Utah
https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-george-kushma-379a5762
http://newsbout.com/a/John+Kushma
