"It is one thing to suggest that Biden is not energetic enough to effectively run for office in such a crucial moment, or that he has lost his fast ball and should step aside for a new generation of leadership."
~ Oliver Darcy
#Biden #Trump #media #FeedingFrenzy
/1
https://view.newsletters.cnn.com/messages/1720493609410a2dfae414f30/raw
"But some of the coverage has started to resemble Fox News-levels of hysteria, portraying Biden as a senile figure with debilitating dementia while largely letting his opponent off the hook for the bizarre and sleepy behavior he has recently exhibited."
Perhaps New York Times is showing us that, when push comes to shove, there never has been much essential difference between it and Fox News or New York Post.
"The fervor of the pundit class’s demands for the usurpation of Joe Biden—best president of my lifetime, holder of some $91 million in untransferable campaign money, and the freakin’ incumbent—is exceeded only by the preposterousness of its suggestions for how to do so."
~ Greg Olear
#Biden #Trump #media #FeedingFrenzy
/3
https://gregolear.substack.com/p/running-man-and-other-suggestions
"You know I have seen some things in my seven decades covering American politics. I have never seen anything quite like the wrangling, hand-wringing, and behind-the-scenes gamesmanship currently swirling around President Biden. These are compounded by the one-sided media coverage against Biden. And it isn’t over yet."
~ Dan Rather
Of course, Dan Rather is 92 years old, so who would imagine he's worth listening to, anyway?
"One thing is for certain: If Biden stays in the race, every step, every word, every gesture will be parsed, dissected, and magnified. This is the reality, at least for the Democrats. Trump? Not so much. Or really, very little. …
Why are the rules so different for these two men? Both should be held accountable for their deeds and words. But they aren’t. Trump gets pass after pass."
"Critics of recent media coverage of Biden are dead right about one thing: Many outlets have for years been employing a significant double standard in covering Biden and his opponent, Donald Trump."
"Ever since the disastrous June 27th Presidential debate, we’ve heard from a chorus of overwhelmingly white pundits and experts asking President Biden to drop out of the race. Meanwhile, it seems that most Black Democratic voters, the base of the Democratic Party, have yet to budge from the Biden/Harris ticket."
~ Wajahat Ali
#Biden #Trump #media #FeedingFrenzy #BlackVoters
/7
https://thelefthook.substack.com/p/should-americans-follow-black-voters
I talk to Dr. Jason Johnson, host, professor, and Blerd Extraordinaire, to get a sense of why Black Democratic voters are ignoring the punditocracy and still sticking with President Joe Biden.
"Historically, Black voters have been the moral compass of this flawed nation, and they also serve as its most strategic voters. They put the health and security of the country before their own 'economic anxiety,' because they understand the stakes and most acutely feel the costs."
We talk about "the media" as though it's self-evident who comprises the guru class. Look closely: it remains largely white and male.
"There really is no comparison in the amount or intensity of coverage. One journalist, Jennifer Schulze, counted New York Times stories related to Biden’s age in the week following the debate; she counted a staggering 192 news and opinion pieces, compared to 92 stories on Trump – and that was in a week when the US supreme court had ruled he has immunity for official acts."
~ Margaret Sullivan
#Biden #Trump #media #FeedingFrenzy
/9
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/jul/09/biden-media-attacks-trump-felon
"Nor is there much self-scrutiny or effort to course-correct. Only self-satisfaction and an apparent commitment to more of the same. ...
Where does that leave us?
All of these disturbing elements – the Democrats’ dilemma, the media’s failures, and the cult-like, unquestioning support of Trump – could add up to one likelihood in November.
A win for Trump, and a terrible loss for democracy."
"The desire to defend Biden appears to be so widespread among the [Congressional Black Caucus] members, three people aligned with the group said, it is possible the group formalizes its support for him in a statement over the next several days. The group’s influence could blunt the widespread concerns of other colleagues about Biden…."
~ Marianna Sotomayor and Leigh Ann Caldwell
With President Biden once again on the political ropes, some Black House members appear ready to rally behind the embattled chief executive, in an embrace that will significantly influence whether the Democratic president can stay in his reelection race, according to five people familiar with the conversations.
A point that needs to be made as "the media" mount a feeding frenzy to hound Biden out of the race, focusing exclusively on him and ignoring Trump — and significantly boosting Trump's chances to win, it has to be said:
Who do "the media" really care about? Specifically, who do they care about if Trump wins? Do "the media" care about the people who will be hurt first and foremost if Trump wins, the most vulnerable in our society?
One has to conclude that they do not — not really, not intently — care about those who will be hurt first and hardest if fascism sweeps into the White House, the most vulnerable members of our society.
Those members of our society do not constitute "the media," after all. Despite attempts to diversify, "the media" remain largely white and male. These are the people claiming the right to call the shots for all the rest of us as the anoint new kings.
The rest be damned.
Marci Wheeler annotates the front page of New York Times today, finding:
"An annotation of the front page of the NYT, pointing out that NYT calls Biden 'defiant' twice, two NATO stories claim they're about Biden when they're not, and NYT is spinning their own adoption of a conspiracy theory about Parkinson's. Not mentioned? The GOP's radical and deceitful platform."
@wdlindsy I canceled my NYT subscription yesterday, effective immediately (I.e. refund rest of subscription), stating "bad journalism" as reason.
Hopefully others do so as well.
William Lindsey 
Supergrobi