Whelp, just cancelled my NYT subscription

[PatrickforB]

42. The NYT is listed under that ticker symbol on the New York Stock Exchange.

I've said this before, but the ONLY fiduciary responsibility of its executives is to generate profits for shareholders.

This is because we operate under a legal doctrine that holds shareholder profits above all else - workers, consumers and the environment itself. This doctrine is called 'shareholder primacy' and was born with a MI Supreme Court ruling against Henry Ford and in favor of the Dodge brothers, who were shareholders in Ford Motor Company. Ford had raised the wages of his factory workers so they could afford to purchase the cars they built on the new assembly line.

The Dodge brothers sued Ford on the basis that paying excessive wages to his workers deprived them of profits to which they were entitled as shareholders. And they won.

If you want to find out more, the late Lynn Stout wrote a really good book called, 'The Myth of Shareholder Value.'

This is why the NYT reports news the way it does. They are generating clicks, and thus raising advertising revenue.

Ronald Reagan killed the old Fairness Doctrine back in 1987. Prior to that, every community had to have a locally owned station that reported the news - half an hour local and half an hour national. This had to be real news - who, what, where, when and how, and the news was held separate from the quest for profits. Oh, they had commercials, but the rules said that the news must be objective and that any editorial comments (what we call 'analysis' nowadays) had to present both sides of the issue.

The death of the Fairness Doctrine and the subsequent growth of AM right-wing talk radio, as well as cable 'news' networks like Fox, have created a 21st century media that systematically holds profits over truth.

Good alternates are the Guardian, which is funded in perpetuity by a foundation, and outlets like Al Jezeera.

Here's a nice blast from the past from Don Henley called Dirty Laundry:

I make my living off the evening news
Just give me something
Something I can use
People love it when you lose
They love dirty laundry

Well, I coulda been an actor
But I wound up here
I just have to look good
I don't have to be clear
Come and whisper in my ear
Give us dirty laundry

Kick 'em when they're up
Kick 'em when they're down
Kick 'em when they're up
Kick 'em when they're down

Kick 'em when they're up
Kick 'em when they're down
Kick 'em when they're up
Kick 'em all around

We got the bubble headed
Bleached blonde
Comes on at five
She can tell you 'bout the plane crash
With a gleam in her eye
It's interesting when people die
Give us dirty laundry

Can we film the operation
Is the head dead yet
You know the boys in the newsroom
Got a running bet
Get the widow on the set
We need dirty laundry

You don't really need to find out
What's going on
You don't really want to know
Just how far it's gone
Just leave well enough alone
Eat your dirty laundry

Kick 'em when they're up
Kick 'em when they're down
Kick 'em when they're up
Kick 'em when they're down

Kick 'em when they're up
Kick 'em when they're down
Kick 'em when they're stiff
Kick 'em all around

(Kick 'em when they're up)
(Kick 'em when they're down)
(Kick 'em when they're up)
(Kick 'em when they're down)

(Kick 'em when they're up)
(Kick 'em when they're down)
(Kick 'em when they're stiff)
(Kick 'em all around)

Dirty little secrets
Dirty little lies
We got our dirty little fingers
In everybody's pie
We love to cut you down to size
We love dirty laundry

We can do the innuendo
We can dance and sing
When it's said and done
We haven't told you a thing
We all know that crap is king
Give us dirty laundry