The Disinformation Dynasty: The Elephant in the Newsroom

Ken Shimura arguably the funniest man in Japan died in March from the coronavirus Living in Tokyo in the 1970s I tried to catch him every week on the TV comedy hit HachiJi Da Yo amp8212translation quotIt39s Eight O39clockquotamp160 Even struggling with colloquial Japanese it was impossible not to get his hilarious shtick a stupid feudal lord who insulted everyone in sight and a lecherous old uncle somehow always surrounded by nubile beauties Shimura39s iconic characters will be missed Their American version about to leave the White House Not so muchComic material or not President Trump39s defeat has raised hope that his departure will change what passes for news these days Even if it eventually does of course his fabulists on air cable the web and in print won39t be out of a job anytime soon With Trump fulminating about election fraud and threatening to run in 2024 their meal ticket clearly is good for another few years But what about the longer run What happens to the propagandists and panderers who have taken his lies conspiracy theories and Il Ducestyle pronouncements to the bankFor anyone who expects a new day at Trump39s goto news outlets don39t hold your breath Long his media lodestar Fox News and Trump may have their upsanddowns but the network shows no sign of falling out of love with its favorite President or altering his adoring Kim Chong Unlike treatment on air Trump39s first postelection interview last week made that point loud and clear Fox39s Maria Bartiromo outdid the network39s usual obsequiousness lobbing softball questions while amp160fawning over Trump39s groundless election conspiracy theoriesThat Fox continues to see black ink flowing from pushing propaganda disguised as journalism sets an example that other media executives won39t ignore Despite Trump39s occasional ire and a postelection ratings slip Fox39s viewership still leads the pack And shorttimer or not Trump remains a cash cow In fact with 70 percent of Republicans believing the election was stolen his lies are metastasizing along with his appeal The message to Fox39s Csuite couldn39t be clearer like the Marlboro Man pundits peddling Trump39s political carcinogens will remain revenue machines whether he tweets from the first tee or the West WingCNN39s Brian Stelter and others have reported well on how Fox and Trump capitalize on each other What39s important for journalism about their symbiosis however has only been touched on if that Take Bartiromo39s interview A cynic would argue her cringe worthy toadying simply reflects a business model But proselytizing for a president who has authored an estimated 25000 lies hasn39t just fattened the Fox bottom line It is creating a market for disinformation that is redefining journalism The implications are profound for democracy as well as the newsConsider Newsmax and One America Network two cable competitors that are seeking to claim the real estate on Fox39s ideological right Three weeks ago Trump renewed earlier rants telling supporters to tune in the two outlets The slap at his Fox friends came after ostentatiously jilting the network for its factual accounting of election results Reporters covering the media have followed the tiff including investor interest in Trump39s new favorites albeit giving the upstarts slim chances of challenging the cable news leader Their analysis of the media market couldn39t be better But the rise of Newsmax and OAN whatever the statisticians39 buzz or Bronx cheers over their viewership reflects more important issues than ratings and cable turfNewsmax and OAN are only the latest examples of an emerging industry that is building out infrastructure to fabricate as well as disseminate the quotnewsquot Winning ratings today isn39t the issue Both socalled news outlets are unashamedly marrying themselves to their news subjects not just courting their audiences Think oldfashioned industrial cartels They lashed up mines railroads steel mills and salesmen to own the raw material move and manufacture it and market the product It39s the long game and the harbingers have been obvious for yearsFrom Sinclair Broadcasting39s Trumpfriendly quotmustrunquot news feeds that once filled airtime at its nearly 200 stations across the country to the half dozen companies that own and ensure conservative talk radio dominates in major cities as well as Mayberry RFD the relationship between ideology national reach and audience couldn39t be clearer Nor could the political views of the deep pockets who are bankrolling such news to ensure it turns out right That real news media aren39t digging into the story is troubling The evidence is hidden in plain sightKoch Industries hasn39t been shy about putting its money where conservative mouths are Content creators have been notable on the list According to Sludge which investigates money and politics tax records for 2017 show over 2 million donated to mostly conservative media operations including the Daily Caller Foundation the American Spectator and a production company owned by former Fox star Glenn Beck PRWatch reported Koch added Real Clear Politics in 2018 raising its total giving to conservative journalism to 35 millionThe Koch apparatus also donates elsewhere on the ideological spectrum but its political agenda isn39t a secret Nor is Koch39s generosity in backing right wing news outlets standalone As reported by Sludge in 2018 Republican megadonors own or underwrite the Washington Examiner the Washington Free Beacon the Daily Wire and Breitbart News to name a few While none may systematically produce as certifiably wacky content as OAN expect synergy among them as well as Newsmax especially when their stories put conspiracies in the airThe destruction Trump is currently wrecking on 230 years of Americans39 faith in their democracy with the help of Fox Newsmax OAN and their ilk is a case study It39s also a warning to professional journalists about the challenge to come Are they news competitors or as CNN39s Stelter put it the outsourced American version of state media The last century39s revolutionaries would have gotten the answer right awayquotNewspapers run by our partyquot one of their notables wrote quotshould be vivid clearcut and sharp and should never mutter and mumble That is the militant style proper to usamp8230 Since we want to teach the people to know the truth and arouse themamp8230we need this militant style A blunt knife draws no bloodquotLike Lenin Stalin and the rest Mao Zedong knew the importance of controlling the media and its message Actually he wrote the business planPhoto courtesy of Kent HarringtonClick the social buttons to share this story with colleagues and friendsThe opinions expressed here are the author39s views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNetamp160

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The Disinformation Dynasty: The Elephant in the Newsroom

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Kent M. Harrington

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