The Trump Assault on the Media
By James Donahue
Donald Trump’s new verbal assaults against CNN’s reports of comments he allegedly made concerning increasing the nation’s nuclear stockpile appears to have also triggered his growing anger created by a general onslaught against his policies by the conservative press.
He now suggested that news outlets that give “unfavorable coverage” of Trump and his administration should have their broadcasting licenses “challenged.”
Instead of learning from the growing number of unfavorable stories appearing in American media, Trump is taking a personal high road, refusing to think that his twisted and often conflicting commentary is in any way a reflection on his inability to stay focused and communicate with the American people.
In response, Seth Meyers, NBC’s Late Night host, called Trump a “lazy wannabe dictator.” Meyers suggested that Trump read the First Amendment to capture an understanding of the freedom’s guaranteed the press.
We may laugh at Trump’s wild comments, or attempt to dismiss them. But something is afoot in Washington these days that all Americans should be taking seriously. Trump and his newly appointed head of the Federal Communications Commission, Ajit Pai, appear to be up to some serious skullduggery.
The two appear compelled to do away with Net Neutrality, which would threaten to shut down privately operated news websites like this one. And this is where the real stories are being told now that most media companies are owned and controlled by big corporations.
Indeed, by a 2-1 vote in May, the FCC agreed to proceed with a move to “scale back” the net neutrality protections put in place by the Obama Administration. We are only just beginning to feel the impact since the motion will go through a long period of public feedback on the FCC website before a final decision is made later this year. If we feel concerned, everyone should get personally involved in this complex issue. You can contribute via The Hill website: http://thehill.com/contributor-application-form
Indeed, if Trump and his gang of “rethugians” can achieve disruption of Internet neutrality, they will have control of free speech and the era of the free press. Then Trump’s “fake news” can be fed to the nation via the corporate television networks without anyone daring to question it. Meyers’ warning of Trump’s “wannabe” dictatorship could well come to pass. If enough brain dead followers believe the lies pumped into their brains via their nightly televised news channels, he could conceivably control future elections, the military, and where our tax dollars are spent.
All Trump needs to accomplish this is a control of the media, the establishment of a strong conservative court system and a control of the nation’s election system.
If you think the existing U.S. media channels and newspapers are already pumping out government propaganda, you probably haven’t seen anything yet. FCC President Pai also is favoring a $4 billion deal by the Sinclair Broadcast Group to purchase Tribune Media. As head of the FCC, Pai also is reportedly dismantling consumer protections and regulations, and allowing Sinclair to consolidate media far beyond the limits long established by Congress.
The concept has always been designed to create competition among existing newspapers, television and radio stations so that news reports remain focused on acquiring the truth. When everything is owned and controlled by a single corporation, the reporters crank out what they are told to write or lose their jobs.
Craig Aaron, president and CEO of the organization known as Free Press, in a recent interview with investigative journalist Amy Goodman, said the Sinclair broadcasting group has ties to the Trump administration. He noted that he believes Sinclair is not worried about its plans for expansion because “it’s the FCC who is arranging for them to be able to pull off these megadeals.”
Thus the concern should be that Trump may soon be able to carry out his threats to throttle the press, and insist on the publishing of only favorable news stories. Any writer that dares to challenge this “president” could be threatened with arrest on charges of treason.
By James Donahue
Donald Trump’s new verbal assaults against CNN’s reports of comments he allegedly made concerning increasing the nation’s nuclear stockpile appears to have also triggered his growing anger created by a general onslaught against his policies by the conservative press.
He now suggested that news outlets that give “unfavorable coverage” of Trump and his administration should have their broadcasting licenses “challenged.”
Instead of learning from the growing number of unfavorable stories appearing in American media, Trump is taking a personal high road, refusing to think that his twisted and often conflicting commentary is in any way a reflection on his inability to stay focused and communicate with the American people.
In response, Seth Meyers, NBC’s Late Night host, called Trump a “lazy wannabe dictator.” Meyers suggested that Trump read the First Amendment to capture an understanding of the freedom’s guaranteed the press.
We may laugh at Trump’s wild comments, or attempt to dismiss them. But something is afoot in Washington these days that all Americans should be taking seriously. Trump and his newly appointed head of the Federal Communications Commission, Ajit Pai, appear to be up to some serious skullduggery.
The two appear compelled to do away with Net Neutrality, which would threaten to shut down privately operated news websites like this one. And this is where the real stories are being told now that most media companies are owned and controlled by big corporations.
Indeed, by a 2-1 vote in May, the FCC agreed to proceed with a move to “scale back” the net neutrality protections put in place by the Obama Administration. We are only just beginning to feel the impact since the motion will go through a long period of public feedback on the FCC website before a final decision is made later this year. If we feel concerned, everyone should get personally involved in this complex issue. You can contribute via The Hill website: http://thehill.com/contributor-application-form
Indeed, if Trump and his gang of “rethugians” can achieve disruption of Internet neutrality, they will have control of free speech and the era of the free press. Then Trump’s “fake news” can be fed to the nation via the corporate television networks without anyone daring to question it. Meyers’ warning of Trump’s “wannabe” dictatorship could well come to pass. If enough brain dead followers believe the lies pumped into their brains via their nightly televised news channels, he could conceivably control future elections, the military, and where our tax dollars are spent.
All Trump needs to accomplish this is a control of the media, the establishment of a strong conservative court system and a control of the nation’s election system.
If you think the existing U.S. media channels and newspapers are already pumping out government propaganda, you probably haven’t seen anything yet. FCC President Pai also is favoring a $4 billion deal by the Sinclair Broadcast Group to purchase Tribune Media. As head of the FCC, Pai also is reportedly dismantling consumer protections and regulations, and allowing Sinclair to consolidate media far beyond the limits long established by Congress.
The concept has always been designed to create competition among existing newspapers, television and radio stations so that news reports remain focused on acquiring the truth. When everything is owned and controlled by a single corporation, the reporters crank out what they are told to write or lose their jobs.
Craig Aaron, president and CEO of the organization known as Free Press, in a recent interview with investigative journalist Amy Goodman, said the Sinclair broadcasting group has ties to the Trump administration. He noted that he believes Sinclair is not worried about its plans for expansion because “it’s the FCC who is arranging for them to be able to pull off these megadeals.”
Thus the concern should be that Trump may soon be able to carry out his threats to throttle the press, and insist on the publishing of only favorable news stories. Any writer that dares to challenge this “president” could be threatened with arrest on charges of treason.