Monday, November 21, 2016

It's about time!


I'm delighted to see that President-elect Trump is not changing his tune when it comes to the press.  The New York Post reports:

Donald Trump scolded media big shots during an off-the-record Trump Tower sitdown on Monday, sources told The Post.

“It was like a f–ing firing squad,” one source said of the encounter.

“Trump started with [CNN chief] Jeff Zucker and said ‘I hate your network, everyone at CNN is a liar and you should be ashamed,’ ” the source said.

“The meeting was a total disaster. The TV execs and anchors went in there thinking they would be discussing the access they would get to the Trump administration, but instead they got a Trump-style dressing down,” the source added.

A second source confirmed the fireworks.

“The meeting took place in a big board room and there were about 30 or 40 people, including the big news anchors from all the networks,” the other source said.

“Trump kept saying, ‘We’re in a room of liars, the deceitful dishonest media who got it all wrong.’ He addressed everyone in the room calling the media dishonest, deceitful liars. He called out Jeff Zucker by name and said everyone at CNN was a liar, and CNN was [a] network of liars,” the source said.

. . .

Trump spokeswoman Kellyanne Conway told reporters the gathering went well.

“Excellent meetings with the top executives of the major networks,” she said during a gaggle in the lobby of Trump Tower. “Pretty unprecedented meeting we put together in two days.”

The meeting was off the record, meaning the participants agreed not to talk about the substance of the conversations.

There's more at the link.

This is long overdue.  The mainstream media appear to have developed the weird, yet unshakable idea that they are the arbiters of what is, or is not, news;  and that they can deliver commentary on the news, rather than a factual presentation of or about it, yet pretend that their opinions are actually the news itself.  That's beyond ridiculous - yet they're continuing with their anti-Trump crusade even after he was elected.  They seem unable to believe that people actually ignored their opinions and prognostications, and voted for him anyway.

If I were Mr. Trump, I'd refuse to allow any journalist who slandered, trash-talked or lied about him to attend any of his press conferences.  I'd insist on fair journalists and fair journalism.  If any outlet persisted in anti-Trump propaganda (such as those named in the article above), particularly between now and his inauguration, I'd bar them permanently from the White House press pool.

Time to clean the scum out of the news media pond, before it takes over every part of it - even the water.




Peter

16 comments:

DaddyBear said...

The days of journalists being dragged along every time the President goes to the john may be over, too. Never understood why they got to travel on Air Force One. Want to be there to record history? Then get a coach ticket to Dubai like the rest of us.

Anonymous said...

The shock from the media that anyone in a position of power not only didn't pander to them, but stood up and was willing to speak the truth that no one else even dared hint at has been interesting. Especially when they've done nothing but lie about him and try to make him look bad before and after the election. They really do inhabit their own special reality. The swamp can't be drained soon enough.

Rick T said...

With the Internet and Social Media why does President Trump even NEED the a press pool or to give Press Conferences?

His Youtube video covers exactly what a press conference would without the BS 'gotcha' questions from the pool.

Kirkster said...

Not sure if it is true or not... but man it would warm the cockles of my heart if it were...

Andrew said...

So, President Elect Trump calls in the media for an 'off-the-record' meeting and the first thing the media does is blab about it, including direct quotes?

Love that he singled out specific people for specific actions, but what happened to the concept of confidentiality?

Still, I am laughing, as this sounds like something that should have happened a long time ago.

doofus said...

This is a dream, isn't it? I've actually been involved in a near-fatal car crash and I am in a coma, hallucinating a better world than the one I left. Because I KNOW this sort of thing doesn't happen in real life.

David

Mauser said...

Off the record meeting, yet two sources spilled about the content of it. Shows how much you can trust the media to keep off the record off the record.

drjim said...

And I'm sure he knows exactly which two did it, and they should lose their press credentials over it.

Anonymous said...

The media told Trump "You have to give us access.".
Trump grinned and said "Oh yeah ?"

Keep On Trumpin'

- Charlie

Mark said...

Yep, imagine how great the country will be when all the press is razed to the ground. And our new emperor has no intent to use his power to freeze out information or make crony deals with his properties or business interests, like that harridan Clinton.

Oh wait....

emil said...

i'm with mark on this one...the media IS biased...for instance FOX news has a point of view just as CNN has another point of view.

I DO NOT want a President that suppresses news outlets - we have enough of a problem with propaganda coming from "news" outlets, we certainly do not need state controlled propaganda. What could possibly go wrong there?

Look, if an outlet comes out and says something like the guy eats children for breakfast, that's one thing but reporting one side or another in an event is another entirely.

This is a slippery slope that I surely don't trust politicians to navigate.

Anonymous said...

Emil and Mark- There is a difference between not feeding the trolls and banning them outright from message boards right? I see this in the same vein. They are free to write all of the "Trump is RAaaaaaa-cist" articles they like. Trump is free to find other ways to engage with the American People.

emil said...

Fair enough point

McChuck said...

Can I get tickets to the bulldozing of CNN headquarters? It would do really well on pay-per-view.

Mark said...

Hey Anonymous, the presidency isn't a blog. I'm tired of the hypocrites and tyrants on both sides.

Too bad it turns out the Republicans turned out not to have principles, just wanted a tyrant on their side.

Will said...

Mark:

What is your problem? Annoyed that he's not playing the traditional GOP "cozy-up-to-the-Dems" routine? THAT is why HE got elected, instead of any of those "traditional GOP" tools that ran in the primaries. BTW, NONE of them could have been elected president in his place.