Eric Boehlert: A crack in the Noise Machine -- how Murdoch derailed Trump

[babylonsister]

https://pressrun.media/p/how-murdoch-derailed-trump

A crack in the Noise Machine — how Murdoch derailed Trump
Feedback loop fails him
Eric Boehlert
2 hr ago

snip//

For a right-wing media Noise Machine that is defined by its orthodoxy and its willingness to support Republican politicians at any cost, and especially Trump, the break at the Journal undercuts his effort to build a cohesive "fraud" messaging machine. And for that, Trump can blame Murdoch who in recent weeks emerged as Trump's most important and powerful media foe.

Using all three of his American properties, Fox News, the New York Post, and the Wall Street Journal, Murdoch clearly sent a top-down message that he did not support Trump’s move to denigrate free and fair elections. Without those unified voices on the right cheering his every move, Trump’s road to securing even a rhetorical victory became nearly impossible.

GOP propaganda works best, and has proven to be so effective over the years years, when there's a united media front pushing the same lies and distortions. It creates a powerful feedback loop, with outrage talking points being hit over and over. With Murdoch properties often refusing to play along since Election Day, that messaging war fell apart, just like Trump's legal debacle.

It’s clear that it was Murdoch who sent out the dictate and who for weeks has enforced the company line. None of this stuff happens by chance in the world of Murdoch media. There’s no way those media outlets simultaneously decided to oppose Trump in his moment of misinformation need. Murdoch properties don’t work when it comes to partisan politics — he decides. That’s why he massively overpaid to buy the Journal, and that’s why he keeps the money-losing Post in business, so he can use those outposts as personal megaphones. For the last three weeks he's been using them to send a message to Trump, 'Move on,’ especially the hard-right pages of the Journal:

snip//

I’m not congratulating Murdoch for any of this, or giving him credit. And I don't know why he chose this moment to oppose Trump. Murdoch remains an immoral man who has done incalculable damage to our democracy. Fox News itself is likely responsible for thousands of Covid-19 deaths in the U.S. this year, as the network has churned out dangerous and deliberate lies about a public health crisis.

The Biden administration should still boot Fox News from the White House briefing room next year, rather than grant them the legitimacy of coveted press credentials. But it’s important to note the role the media play in our politics and how small, rare rifts within the right-wing echo chamber can have long-term consequences.

[Turbineguy]

1. Murdock is smart enough to know

what a civil war would look like. Even if trump's rabid supporters are not.

[exboyfil]

2. You would almost think Murdoch wanted Trump gone

but he didn't want to anger the on air "talent" too much. I think Trump's big mistake on election night was appealing directly to Murdoch about the Arizona call. He should have left it to stating his case with a Fox reporter and letting them take that message back to the organization. He was right - it was a bad call and it handcuffed his despicable narrative of stop counting the votes, I won. It took Pennsylvania off the table.

I think the practice by news medias of calling individual states should end. I also think reporting on endless polls should end. We do live in a country with a 1st Amendment though, and they are free to continue to project the horserace.

[CentralMass]

3. Well f@#k Murdoch anyway.

[gulliver]

4. Murdoch fired Trump

Trump forgot his place.

[ananda]

5. So what are the actual chances that Biden and his admin..

will exclude Murdoch entities from their briefings and conferences?

[FoxNewsSucks]

6. This display of power is why

the giant media-industrial complex needs to be broken up.

For the continued existence of democracy

[crickets]

10. +1

[yonder]

7. Murdoch/Fox had to dump tRump. A business move.

They needed a Biden win, an "enemy" they can define as they like in order to maintain their viewership, IMO.

The right has to have their enemies or they have nothing.

[ananda]

8. This makes some sense.

And maybe Murdoch just doesn't like Trump.

Even a calculating, evil sob like Murdoch can
see how horrible and unattractive Trump is.

And you're right of course... ratings and $$$.

[NEOBuckeye]

9. Murdoch has too much power.

Election outcomes should not hinge upon the whims of one man.

Fox/News Corp needs to be broken up. Same for all media empires.

[agincourt]

11. Clash of titanic egos.

Trump wanted to dictate to Murdoch, Fox news content. Murdoch said, "your clown throwing shit truck runs on the right wing noise machine super highway that I built, show some respect". Kind of a catch-22, if Trump could show any respect, he wouldn't be Trump, Murdoch won't hand over media empire control to any big rat that crawls out of electoral sewer. We live in a world where the degenerate and evil collude together so nicely, but there are exceptions once in a while.