Betsy Reed, editor of The Guardian US, speaks out about the craven refusal of both Los Angeles Times and Washington Post to endorse Kamala Harris in the election — that is, to reject fascism:

"It has never been clearer that media ownership matters to democracy."

That's it in a nutshell. As long as fascism is good for business elites and rich men, bring it on…. That's what these beyond shameful media outlets are saying.

#Trump #fascism #WashingtonPost
/1

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100219607072

On the Washington Post and LA Times -- from The Guardian - Democratic Underground Forums

"This is cowardice, a moment of darkness that will leave democracy as a casualty."

~ Marty Baron, former executive editor of Washingon Post quoted by D. Earl Stephens

Stephens adds,

"When a newspaper with the logo 'Democracy Dies in Darkness' fails to endorse the candidate that stands up for that Democracy, they are not being accurate or credible.

They in fact are completely worthless.

Dead."

#Trump #fascism #WashingtonPost
/2

https://dearlstephens.substack.com/p/breaking-the-washington-post-has

BREAKING: The Washington Post Has Died

Its stunning refusal to endorse Kamala Harris is the end of the venerable newspaper ...

Enough Already

"The editor of the editorial page had already drafted the paper’s endorsement of Kamala Harris when publisher Will Lewis—who is a new hire, hailing from the Rupert Murdoch journalism tree—quashed it and then released a CYA statement about how the paper was 'returning to its roots' of not endorsing candidates. The Post itself reported that the decision was made by the paper’s owner, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos."

#Trump #fascism #WashingtonPost #JeffBezos #Murdoch
/3

https://www.thebulwark.com/p/bezos-kills-washington-post-endorsement-guardrails-falling

The Guardrails Are Already Crumpling

Jeff Bezos’s decision to pull a Washington Post endorsement of Harris is foreboding. But not necessarily for the reasons you think.

The Bulwark

"Our corporate media, run by billionaires, are abdicating their duty and fidelity to democracy by proactively bending the knee to Trump and his dictatorial ambitions. The people must resist."

~ Wajahat Ali

#Trump #fascism #WashingtonPost #JeffBezos #RupertMurdoch
/4

https://thelefthook.substack.com/p/democracy-dies-for-billionaires

Democracy Dies For Billionaires

Our corporate media, run by billionaires, are abdicating their duty and fidelity to democracy by proactively bending the knee to Trump and his dictatorial ambitions. The people must resist.

The Left Hook with Wajahat Ali

"Will Lewis should be ashamed, if shame is an emotion he is capable of feeling. What an empty shell of a leader. What an embarrassing decline for a once-venerated news organization.

This decision won’t impact the outcome of the election in eleven days. But it will have a lasting impact on how people think of the Washington Post."

~ Dave Karpf

#Trump #fascism #WashingtonPost #JeffBezos #RupertMurdoch #WillLewis
/5

https://davekarpf.substack.com/p/a-suggestion-for-the-washington-posts

A suggestion for the Washington Post's new motto: "Obey in Advance"

A study in willful incompetence

The Future, Now and Then

"As the 2024 election looms, media self-censorship in response to Trump’s potential return threatens the democratic role of journalism. …

In times like these, it's crucial for media organizations to remember their responsibility to the public. Anticipatory obedience may offer short-term safety, but it poses long-term risks to the very fabric of democracy."

~ Parker Molloy

#Trump #fascism #WashingtonPost #JeffBezos #RupertMurdoch #WillLewis
/6

https://www.readtpa.com/p/playing-it-safe-is-risking-democracy

Playing It Safe Is Risking Democracy: Media’s Silent Endorsement of Authoritarianism

As the 2024 election looms, media self-censorship in response to Trump’s potential return threatens the democratic role of journalism.

The Present Age

The aren't obeying in advance.

They want Trump to win.

#Trump #fascism #WashingtonPost #JeffBezos #RupertMurdoch #WillLewis #LosAngelesTimes #media
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@wdlindsy unfortunately journalism has always been about political affiliations of the publicatioms owners. We saw a brief period of reaction to the yellow journalism of the early 1900s with sensationalist capitalist journalism serving ultra wealthy and elite interestsnof its owners and friends.

Ever sinc3 cable news became a thing we largely returned to that sensationalist mentality. Papers have had to compete with that and unfortunately only billionaires seemed interested in keeping papers alive if anything for their own purposes.

It is no surprise and infact kind is laughable that anyone expected these papers to give 2 shits about such principles as democracy except to use them as empty platitudes for marketing.

@0ddj0bb It has been all of that, and at the same time, I've seen newspapers taker courageous stands that move against the interests of those with money and power. I saw this happen with my own state's statewide newspaper during the Civil Rights years, when the paper risked losing subscribers (and it did lose subscribers) to oppose racial segregation and support integration. It can be done.
@wdlindsy yeah thats really the time period im talking. 50s through the 70s.
@0ddj0bb I did see a number of newspapers in that period, including my state's statewide one, take courageous stands for what is right. That formative experience, since I was a child and then teen at the time, probably led me to think, naively, that journalism always did that. I learned to my dismay as an adult that this is not the case.