Excellent section on The Hill article. Thank you. By way of background, a Harvard-produced index of media ownership, political donations and more shows The Hill’s ownership (at #38 as of 2021, ranked by audience size) as follows:
“Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications Inc. The owner. Jimmy Finkelstein is the current CEO of New Communications described as a “Republican and longtime friend who served as a fundraiser for Giuliani’s failed 2008 presidential run.
CNN reports, "Finkelstein resides at the nexus of President Trump, Rudy Giuliani, and John Solomon, the now-former executive at The Hill and current Fox News contributor who pushed conspiracy theories about Ukraine into the public conversation.”
The Harvard index is a treasure trove of information about media ownership and I would encourage all reporters to include this transparency information in their reporting on stories. The vast majority of media is not “neutral.”
"Don’t believe everything you read on the internet—especially headlines. They are designed to mess with your mind and monetize your efforts to stay informed. The media is committed to a news formula that tries to incite panic and instill fear because they know it increases reader interest at the cost of accuracy. So, the next time you read a headline predicting catastrophe, approach with caution. Items in the mirror are not as sensational as they appear!"
I feel better knowing you & Jill are in world! Sane, caring, compassionate, involved is what we should all strive to be. My heros, my mentors! Thank you for all the hard work
Apr 13, 2022·edited Apr 13, 2022Liked by Robert B. Hubbell
“-if Democrats can summon the messaging discipline to make it.” The question for the last 40 years. The “go high” blather has been a loser, sadly. If you can’t call out the greedy bastards, then what good are you. The “free press” Might be free but they are on the take. Better hire Bloomberg to spread the word, I’m beyond sick of Rupert and clones leading our MSM to the “greed is good” trough. Or maybe we all have signed on to capitalism run amok.
I understand and agree with your thoughts on the article that was published in “The Hill” describing election losses this year of “biblical proportions.” It is most often the case that headlines are written not by the journalists who authored the article and specifically designed to “attract eyeballs and attention” by sensationalizing sound bites within the article rather than featuring its actual theme. News literacy is a particularly important skill in today’s social media dominated world where even previously reliable news sources compete for attention.
I highly recommend to all spending time with the news literacy lessons and tools offered by The News Literacy Project. You can explore these and learn more about them on their website here:
The News Literacy Project, a nonpartisan national education nonprofit, provides programs and resources for educators and the public to teach, learn and share the abilities needed to be smart, active consumers of news and information and equal and engaged participants in a democracy.
One of my daughters is an assistant director of a private K-12 school where I help sponsor the cost of a news literacy curriculum for their middle and high school age students using the News Literacy Project materials. The courses get high marks from both their students and parents. It is possible to teach news literacy skills without political bias and these skills are essential to the development to be smart, responsible consumers of news and information.
Todays Edition points to a very real tissue impacting the midterms which is most people are worn out and tired of the headlines, media attacks and a belief that the news is biased and one sided and have tuned it out and don’t react anymore. How many assaults to our freedoms and liberties can we take and when will be the outrage translate to action. The individual states are enacting regressive and prohibitive laws and statues which are not under federal jurisdictions and people are frustrated because the gerrymandering has created an imbalance in state legislatures which is becoming harder to overcome. Freedom is on the ballot in November along with “ how are the Republicans going to make America great again “ and what does that really mean to me.
Thanks for consistently keeping the key issues clearly in focus, Mr. Hubbell. The dominate corporate media that relentlessly aims to incite hate and division in order to "manufacture consent" for capitalist agendas that have nothing to do with truth and justice has lost all credibility, leaving forums like this the only option for citizens in need of the "free press" essential for democracy. Your humble newsletter built on the foundations of fact-based discourse and the rule of law is another valuable marker on the road to freedom mapped out in the Constitution, an alternative route bypassing the main highway of autocracy, greed and madness, one designed by the founding fathers to restore our imperiled Republic to sanity. The Democrats as a political force, also corrupted by power and money like the Republicans, have lost their way, but hopefully the guidance provided by the citizens who participate in these exchanges of viewpoints will help provide the necessary course-correcting signals. Power to the People!
Also on page A1—Putin's invasion and a man opening fire on morning commuters. So inflation/war/mass shooting. And, it looks like the Jared Kushner story is already over.
Calling the November elections a "biblical disaster" will only motivate Democrats more to get to the polls to vote in order to avoid such a "disaster". You think the 2020 elections had a great turnout. You ain't seen nothin' yet! 🤣
One thought about your title "this road leads madness". The madness is already here and has been for a very long time, long before we deified Justice Scalia for, among other things, his "brilliance" in reinterpreting the 2nd amendment. With 400,000,000 guns in circulation in our country and armed militias springing up everywhere, does anyone really think we have a chance to build a peaceful society? Current attempts to improve gun laws only nibble around the edges. It pains me to say that it is all too little too late.
You mentioned the PBS NewsHour survey on gun control. This was from September of 2019. Walmart stopped selling ammunition but I believe has returned to its previous policy. Is there any update on gun control polls? Thanks as usual for your Newsletter.
How do I love this newsletter? Let me count the ways. First, your call to action to go on the offensive yesterday seems to have resonated with not just us, but also with others in the public eye. For example, Eddie Glade talked about going on the offensive against the 63 Republicans who voted against supporting NATO. Next is the solid information on how to combat the false inflation narrative. Governor Greg Abbott has instituted 100% truck inspection at the Texas/Mexico border. The result has been delays in bringing product across the border, especially car parts used in manufacture at several factories. This has caused many companies to cancel orders. This has increased supply chain issues and increased inflation. Have you heard anything about this? I hadn’t until I saw it on Lawrence O Donnell’s show. This should be on the news everywhere not just in Texas.
As for whether the media is trying to "mess with our minds," I suspect there isn't that much thinking behind it. It's careless, rather than intentional. And in some ways careless is more insidious, because the careless don't know and don't care about the effect their words have. Specific media outlets may be intentional, like The Hill, but how much worse is the Times and other mainstream outlets who merely use headlines to sell newspapers?
Excellent section on The Hill article. Thank you. By way of background, a Harvard-produced index of media ownership, political donations and more shows The Hill’s ownership (at #38 as of 2021, ranked by audience size) as follows:
“Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications Inc. The owner. Jimmy Finkelstein is the current CEO of New Communications described as a “Republican and longtime friend who served as a fundraiser for Giuliani’s failed 2008 presidential run.
CNN reports, "Finkelstein resides at the nexus of President Trump, Rudy Giuliani, and John Solomon, the now-former executive at The Hill and current Fox News contributor who pushed conspiracy theories about Ukraine into the public conversation.”
The Harvard index is a treasure trove of information about media ownership and I would encourage all reporters to include this transparency information in their reporting on stories. The vast majority of media is not “neutral.”
https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/futureofmedia/index-us-mainstream-media-ownership
Exactly THIS!
"Don’t believe everything you read on the internet—especially headlines. They are designed to mess with your mind and monetize your efforts to stay informed. The media is committed to a news formula that tries to incite panic and instill fear because they know it increases reader interest at the cost of accuracy. So, the next time you read a headline predicting catastrophe, approach with caution. Items in the mirror are not as sensational as they appear!"
Thanks for continuing to be the voice of reason.
I feel better knowing you & Jill are in world! Sane, caring, compassionate, involved is what we should all strive to be. My heros, my mentors! Thank you for all the hard work
“-if Democrats can summon the messaging discipline to make it.” The question for the last 40 years. The “go high” blather has been a loser, sadly. If you can’t call out the greedy bastards, then what good are you. The “free press” Might be free but they are on the take. Better hire Bloomberg to spread the word, I’m beyond sick of Rupert and clones leading our MSM to the “greed is good” trough. Or maybe we all have signed on to capitalism run amok.
NYT's 4/12/22 DealBook: "Abortion is Becoming a Workplace Issue." I realize this is off topic for today but thought it worth forwarding on.
https://messaging-custom-newsletters.nytimes.com/template/oakv2?campaign_id=4&emc=edit_dk_20220412&instance_id=58253&nl=dealbook&productCode=DK®i_id=103820600&segment_id=88193&te=1&uri=nyt%3A%2F%2Fnewsletter%2F3f1fe562-2ab1-56a5-8f41-3d27a741a043&user_id=c2f4f50a36dc90a23a014672d0f1f5b5
I understand and agree with your thoughts on the article that was published in “The Hill” describing election losses this year of “biblical proportions.” It is most often the case that headlines are written not by the journalists who authored the article and specifically designed to “attract eyeballs and attention” by sensationalizing sound bites within the article rather than featuring its actual theme. News literacy is a particularly important skill in today’s social media dominated world where even previously reliable news sources compete for attention.
I highly recommend to all spending time with the news literacy lessons and tools offered by The News Literacy Project. You can explore these and learn more about them on their website here:
https://newslit.org/
The News Literacy Project, a nonpartisan national education nonprofit, provides programs and resources for educators and the public to teach, learn and share the abilities needed to be smart, active consumers of news and information and equal and engaged participants in a democracy.
One of my daughters is an assistant director of a private K-12 school where I help sponsor the cost of a news literacy curriculum for their middle and high school age students using the News Literacy Project materials. The courses get high marks from both their students and parents. It is possible to teach news literacy skills without political bias and these skills are essential to the development to be smart, responsible consumers of news and information.
Todays Edition points to a very real tissue impacting the midterms which is most people are worn out and tired of the headlines, media attacks and a belief that the news is biased and one sided and have tuned it out and don’t react anymore. How many assaults to our freedoms and liberties can we take and when will be the outrage translate to action. The individual states are enacting regressive and prohibitive laws and statues which are not under federal jurisdictions and people are frustrated because the gerrymandering has created an imbalance in state legislatures which is becoming harder to overcome. Freedom is on the ballot in November along with “ how are the Republicans going to make America great again “ and what does that really mean to me.
Thanks for consistently keeping the key issues clearly in focus, Mr. Hubbell. The dominate corporate media that relentlessly aims to incite hate and division in order to "manufacture consent" for capitalist agendas that have nothing to do with truth and justice has lost all credibility, leaving forums like this the only option for citizens in need of the "free press" essential for democracy. Your humble newsletter built on the foundations of fact-based discourse and the rule of law is another valuable marker on the road to freedom mapped out in the Constitution, an alternative route bypassing the main highway of autocracy, greed and madness, one designed by the founding fathers to restore our imperiled Republic to sanity. The Democrats as a political force, also corrupted by power and money like the Republicans, have lost their way, but hopefully the guidance provided by the citizens who participate in these exchanges of viewpoints will help provide the necessary course-correcting signals. Power to the People!
Grateful for your audio addition, always…. Hope to make it to the podcast tonight. Thank you.
May I add one more gun control organization in the mix, Moms Demand Action. https://momsdemandaction.org/
The NYT reports daily on "INFLATION!" as if it's new: "https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/12/business/economy/inflation-report-march.html."
Also on page A1—Putin's invasion and a man opening fire on morning commuters. So inflation/war/mass shooting. And, it looks like the Jared Kushner story is already over.
Calling the November elections a "biblical disaster" will only motivate Democrats more to get to the polls to vote in order to avoid such a "disaster". You think the 2020 elections had a great turnout. You ain't seen nothin' yet! 🤣
One thought about your title "this road leads madness". The madness is already here and has been for a very long time, long before we deified Justice Scalia for, among other things, his "brilliance" in reinterpreting the 2nd amendment. With 400,000,000 guns in circulation in our country and armed militias springing up everywhere, does anyone really think we have a chance to build a peaceful society? Current attempts to improve gun laws only nibble around the edges. It pains me to say that it is all too little too late.
Sam Callaway
You mentioned the PBS NewsHour survey on gun control. This was from September of 2019. Walmart stopped selling ammunition but I believe has returned to its previous policy. Is there any update on gun control polls? Thanks as usual for your Newsletter.
How do I love this newsletter? Let me count the ways. First, your call to action to go on the offensive yesterday seems to have resonated with not just us, but also with others in the public eye. For example, Eddie Glade talked about going on the offensive against the 63 Republicans who voted against supporting NATO. Next is the solid information on how to combat the false inflation narrative. Governor Greg Abbott has instituted 100% truck inspection at the Texas/Mexico border. The result has been delays in bringing product across the border, especially car parts used in manufacture at several factories. This has caused many companies to cancel orders. This has increased supply chain issues and increased inflation. Have you heard anything about this? I hadn’t until I saw it on Lawrence O Donnell’s show. This should be on the news everywhere not just in Texas.
Thank you for reading beyond the “disaster looms” headlines and reporting to us, I can’t bring myself to do it!
As for whether the media is trying to "mess with our minds," I suspect there isn't that much thinking behind it. It's careless, rather than intentional. And in some ways careless is more insidious, because the careless don't know and don't care about the effect their words have. Specific media outlets may be intentional, like The Hill, but how much worse is the Times and other mainstream outlets who merely use headlines to sell newspapers?