Entertainment, Television & our Politics

I listened tonight to the Friday night political feature “This Week in Politics” on All Things Considered on NPR and the inevitable discussion of Donald Trump and his amazing success at generating media fascination as well as his Teflon-like imperviousness to criticism from the other candidates manifest in last night's debate. His outrageous behavior and shocking declarations continue to fortify his appeal to his followers while doing him no harm in the polls.

Reince Priebus, Party Head

One of the pundits proffered the explanation that the Republican Party leadership had essentially unleashed the nativist wing of its base by refusing in recent years to disapprove of or discredit the birthers, the bigots, and the many lies and distortions offered by its extremist and even not so extremist candidates. The Party has lost control of this dynamic and in doing so has permitted candidates like Donald Trump to gain ascendancy in this primary campaign.

I cannot disagree with this analisis and with the conclusion that the chickens are coming home to roost. Despite the best efforts of the Party leadership to counter his appeal, Donald Trump has only gotten stronger as the establishment candidates like Marco Rubio, John Kasich, and Jeb Bush fail gain traction against him as his popularity grows and his leadership in the polls continues unabated.

Donald Trump

There is another factor that has played a critical role in the political and polling dynamics during this campaign. This came to me listening to a sort of off-hand comment by the other pundit on NPR, that the wildly exaggerated and shocking statements of Donald Trump sound more interesting and carry more appeal to the television news audiences than explanations and truth-telling by the other candidates.

I have commented in previous posts about the demise of professional journalism, particularly television, in favor of entertainment. The networks are owned by media conglomerates who have eviserated their news departments and stripped them of their professionalism and their commitment to seeking the truth. To these networks, Donald Trump is a godsend and for that reason they have given him millions of dollars of free publicity and promotion by fomenting and delighting in Trump's outrageous declarations and behavior.

Ted Cruz

I understand of course that there are other factors at play in this dynamic, not the least of which is the wild, wild West of the Internet, which has no filters, no editorial control, and no control over content. Nevertheless, as one who grew up watching Walter Cronkite, John Chancellor, Chet Huntley and David Brinkley, I miss being able to rely on the networks for reliable and impartial news coverage. These reporters and many others from CBS, NBC, and ABC reported our news with so much greater commitment to professional journalistic standards and to the quest for the truth. Of course they failed at times, but the standard was there and they aspired to it.

I remember so clearly when CNN came into its own during the war in Iraq and developed into an exciting and very professional news organization under its founder Ted Turner. Now CNN is an entertainment division of Time Warner. The Fox Network is a propaganda outlet for the ultra-conservative right which places absolutely no value on reporting truthfully and impartially, much less professionally. This situation contributes greatly to the current political environment of polarization, extremism, intolerance and indifference to the truth.

So it's not surprising that megalomaniacs like Donald Trump can manipulate the press to his advantage and there is no counterweight to the sensationalism he offers. My only hope is that Republican voters in Iowa, New Hampshire, and the succeeding primary states are not unduly swayed by this hype and all the lies being told in this primary campaign. It is a true test of our democratic system and I am optimistic about the outcome but not insensitive to the dangerous possibilities that exist.

 

Posted with Blogsy