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Hi Tara,

The media dance that I have seen with my former colleagues is a complicated one. As you say, the corporate sponsors basically set the tune but the steps are:

1. If you work for New York Times, CNN, MSNBC, The Atlantic, and pretty much all non-American journalist outlets - never say anything good about Trump.

2. However, write about him often as that increases your ratings.

3. If you can write something original about how bad he is supposed to be - you get major kudos.

4. It does not matter if step 3 is completely false.

On another note, the Tech platforms are also abysmal. LinkedIn shadow banned this post as soon as the mention of President Biden resigning soon was shown.

Strength and courage.

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Declan. I don’t understand how the media outlets are working, but I do know that publicly, many have said that there is a certain view that major networks like to keep - and it is on the conservative side.

45 hasn’t been the President since his 2016 win, yet I’ve heard more about him since he lost than I’ve heard while he was in office.

Sure, he had 37(?) - I can’t keep up anymore- rape charges, stolen secret documents, etcetera, etcetera, but the media just continues to allow him to SUCK. ALL. OF. THE. OXYGEN. Out of the room.

I figure it’s because he’s super wealthy (allegedly), he’s entertaining (allegedly) but I realize he sells air-time. MSNBC is so full of pharmaceutical ads, it makes me think I have an illness every time I watch.

So I have taken to limiting my news time, watching only Sky, Scripps, Reuters and a huge amount of Columbo. That’s what it has come down to for me. Sad, but true.

Cry much? I ask myself. It really is all too much to bear.

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author

Completely agree. One of the next Letters from America is about the changes in the legislation around the media that allowed this to happen.

Also from a former journalist, the culture that promoted it.

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author

Thank you, dear Malissa. Hope my liking for your great, lovable but flawed country comes through!

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It does, and is written in the best tradition of "foreign" observers.

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Jul 18Liked by Declan Hill

Well of COURSE I read it ;). I appreciate the perspective. -MS

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It is a KNOWN FACT, that speaking about 45 for American journalists, is a reason to get fired. So they do. Speak and speak and speak about 45. I feel our MSM is corrupted because of the big name corporate sponsors…Eli Lilly, Ford, Cargill, etc.

This is why people need to do some critical thinking, get some common sense. But my Dad used to say: “ Common sense ain’t too common.”

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