Wall Street Journal Killed Editorial on Trumps Mob Ties

[n2doc]

In a short period of time, five staffers have departed The Wall Street Journal editorial page. The general cause of their departures, willing and otherwise, is known: the Journal editorial line has increasingly conformed with the pro-Trump dictates of the rest of the Murdoch media empire. (Most recently, Journal editorials, which once presented Ken Starr as the last hope to preserve the rule of law, have fomented various right-wing conspiracy theories about Robert Mueller and called for his firing.)

Sam Tanenhaus, deep into his excellent story on the dwindling band of anti-Trump conservative intellectuals, reports more specifically on the circumstances surrounding their departure. As Trump’s chances of winning the nomination grew, the paper buried an editorial highlighting his underworld connections:

Those were heavy losses in pages whose content is managed by fewer than thirty people in total. And the reason, according to several defectors, was the Journal’s skidding reversal once Rupert Murdoch realized Trump could win. Several sources pointed to the editorials by one writer, James Freeman. “All-in for Ted Cruz” during the primaries, Freeman wrote a strong attack on Trump’s Mob dealings, and had a second ready to go. But as Trump got closer to clinching the nomination, Paul Gigot kept delaying publication, saying “it needed work.” Once Trump became the likely Republican nominee, Freeman executed a neat volte-face. “The facts suggest that Mrs. Clinton is more likely to abuse liberties than Mr. Trump,” he wrote. “America managed to survive Mr. Clinton’s two terms, so it can stand the far less vulgar Mr. Trump.”

(Trump’s Mafia connections are the sort of scandal that would have killed an ordinary candidacy but barely even register on the outsize scale of Trump scandals.)

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http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/12/wall-street-journal-killed-editorial-on-trumps-mob-ties.html

[Hortensis]

1. Integrity required these journalists to leave some time ago,

but no doubt that's relative these days too in that community. Getting out now will presumably allow them to retain enough reputation that they won't have to go to work for the NY Post or Washington's Daily News.

[Leghorn21]

2. Mob? What mob? No mob, no mob!!

[dalton99a]

4. Great chart.

[2naSalit]

8. Very interesting chart.

[njhoneybadger]

11. Nothing to see her folks, move on

Most trump voters like to keep their heads buried in the sand. They've never even heard of half of these people. Most don't even know who Wilbur Ross is.

[Irish_Dem]

3. This is probably one of the reasons he got away with everything in NYC?

Everyone knew that messing with Trump was messing with the mob.
People were afraid.

[spanone]

5. NOBODY reported on trumps mob ties....n o b o d y

[n2doc]

6. Her emails were much much much more important! n/t

[Raster]

7. Murdock and his hirelings have been a CANCER on our body politic...

...deriding and belittling our national identities and morality, all for profit.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

9. Damn do I hate that fucking wormy piece of shit! nt

[TheDebbieDee]

10. Everybody seems to forget WSJ owned by

Rupert Murdoch, the same guy that owns Fox News.

The Koch Bros bought Time Magazine so they will be pushing RW propaganda soon as well...

[LiberalLovinLug]

14. This is their Trojan Horse

They are fully prepared if they lose a majority, or even the Presidency in the next few years. Because even IF Democrats regain some semblance of power, Republicans are stocking up, expanding, enriching, and refining their propaganda machine all across the country. And so it will be non stop relentless partisan fake news stories, even more than now. And the frightening thing is how well it works.

I wonder if Bill Clinton ever sees the awful irony in that he put the final nail in the coffin for the fairness doctrine. As the monopoly of RW hate radio is probably the biggest, at least the most far-reaching, instrument in staining both their legacies.

And when Bill saw the error in his way and urged Obama to bring it back, Obama and the establishment Dems dismissed the idea. WTF?

http://swampland.time.com/2011/08/23/the-death-of-the-fairness-doctrine/

[TheDebbieDee]

15. In 1987 the FCC under Pres Reagan rescinded

The Fairness Doctrine.

However Pres Clinton and Pres Obama could have at anytime coerced the FCC to re-instate the policy or replaced the commissioners with new commissioners who would re-instate the Fairness Doctrine...

[burrowowl]

12. K&R

[Grins]

13. Damn that 'libural' media!!!! N/M

[FakeNoose]

16. Trump used to be Democrat during a lot of this time

He always donated to both parties just to cover the bases. He's had several elected officials in his pocket over the years, mostly New Yorkers. Trump just became a Republican only about 5 years ago, probably at the urging of - who else? - Vladimir Putin.