Why would the media want Bush to win?

[clydefrand]

What is in it for them? RW owned, is that why?

[punpirate]

1. There have been lots of analyses on this very subject...

... and, basically, the Repugs have been very good to communications corporations with regard to both mergers and deregulation. That's why, in a nutshell. If you get good deals from one side, you editorialize in their favor, in both subtle and obvious ways.

Cheers.

[LTR]

2. I think they want it close

They don't want to portray a Kerry blowout, but want the drama of a very close, unpredictable race. Remember 1996? That probably hurt the news media badly, since that was a total ass-kicking by Clinton.

Other theories:

- The post-9/11 factor: Still standing behind the president.

- The shut-out factor: Are afraid of being shut out of access to the president if they don't kiss his ass.

- The war factor: Don't want to badmouth Bush too much in time of war.

- The Bush implosion factor: If Bush is re-elected, the shit will hit the fan big time. He will have to answer to the Iraq lies, the deficit, etc. Bush better hope he loses. Otherwise I could actually see a resignation. Seriously.

- The corporate factor: Wanna know who owns the broadcast media? Huge corporations like GE, Disney, Time Warner, Clear Channel, Viacom, News Corp., etc.

- The FOX factor: Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery in that business.


Take your pick of any of the above.

[Trailrider1951]

10. I heard an interesting factoid this morning about GE

on the Wall Street Journal hour-long show broadcast on clear channel KTRH 740 am here in Houston. Seems that under *Shrubya's watch, they got out of paying $9 billion in taxes. You remember what Nixon said: "Money talks and bull$h!t walks." He was sure talking about clear channel (and faux news, too). Let's see if I can find a link.

Well, no link to the program on their website, they just list it as a broadcast show at 4 am weekdays.

[pacalo]

12. GE also gained over $134,200 million of revenue from defense contracts.

http://www.defensenews.com/content/features/2004chart4.html

[izzie]

3. I guess because they are big business and they get perks

-----

[jpgray]

4. Deregulation, media consolidation, tort reform, income tax abolition

Corporate-friendly supreme court, destruction of social security and Medicare, HMO and drug company pandering.

Do you want me to continue, or do you get the idea?

[K-W]

23. don't forget the return of the aristocracy as THE political force

in the nation.

[AIJ Alom]

5. Can you say....

money mon mon money....MONEY !!!!

[Lefty48197]

6. Because he makes them look competent in comparison

Of course, compared to ANYTHING else in this country, our current "journalists" look like the total imbeciles that they are.

[VOX]

7. Media owned by big business; Bush* = passes & gifts for big business

Deregulation, relaxation of environmental restrictions, tax breaks for mega-corporations, no corporate accountability, war profiteering, wealth driven upward (rich get even richer).

[TrustingDog]

11. 'war profiteering' I think is the Big Reason.

whip war frenzies up, then get the taxpayers to spend billions on missiles, etc. Couldn't get a sweeter deal than that for cashing in.

[MadHound]

8. Well, in addition to the monopolistic business practices

That the Bush administration allows the six major media outlets(which control 90% of the media) to get away with, there is also the fact that at least two of these media giants have large ties to the defense industry.

GE, which owns the NBC media conglomerate, is a large defense contractor, as is Westinghouse, a fellow company under the CBS/Viacom banner. To have these companies pushing the war, and the war president is simply insuring greater profits in upcoming years. It doesn't matter that these profits come from the blood of soldiers or Iraqi innocents, it is simply more money for them.

[coalition_unwilling]

9. Media is not a monolith

For example, I would imagine most journalists (junior writers and junior editors) want Bush to lose; the owners of media and media celebs may see Bush curently as a better protector of their 'class interests', i.e., money.

This is why the success of Michael Moore's F 9/11 has the potential to be a paradigm shifter, in that with a domestic gross of >$130 million it signals to the big money folks that there's a large population out there that hasn't bought the dominant media narrative.

I have noticed the mass media starting to air commercials with peace signs as well as mainstream programming (Law and Order last night) that is now showing 'both sides'.

[JSJ]

13. common financial/political interests nt

[question everything]

14. As expressed yesterday by Larry Gelbert on Bill Maher

Sumner Redstone - who owns CBS - said that he was going to vote for Bush; NBC is owned by GE and as others mentioned is on the top of corporations that did not pay taxes under this administration; ABC is run by Mickey and if FOX will lean any more to the right it will topple

[Cha]

20. Bummer! I thought CBS was owned by

Viacom and Viacom was run by Dems! That's why Dan Rather and CBS news was able to do what they do?:-(

[mitchum]

15. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

[Bandit]

16. Money plain and simple

Defense Industry builds bombs and bullets and war planes etc. GOP starts wars with people they previously trained and armed so all the bombs and bullets get used up. War is really good for ratings. Defense Industry gets to build more bombs and bullets and take part of their huge Profit and kick it back to GOP who spend that money on Media advertising for campaigns. It is all based on War Profiteering and the Media is right in there making huge Profits and they also kick back some to GOP. Big vicious circle based on War Profiteering. It is the Republican way and always has been. The US is the world's largest Arms Dealer. We fight against American made Armament most of the time.

[AntiFascist]

17. Also, look at all the oil company commercials....

people don't buy more oil products because of these commercials, but the companies want to paint a picture of how good they are for the nation. In fact, they just want a piece of the pie for the all the oil that will be going to China and India. Also, the pharmaceutical companies, in their commercials, are trying very hard to make you believe that the research that goes into the drugs being developed would not be possible without charging high prices.

[Zorbet55]

18. So they can get imbedded

in great made for television real life action wars in romantic places like Baghdad. It's great for the ratings and opens up many opportunities to reporters, young and old alike.

[K-W]

21. It really isnt good for the ratings, this isnt about the tv business,

it is about the media business. Being embedded doesnt improve ratings. Having the republican party win protects and expands massive corporate trusts that own the media.

[K-W]

19. Not RW owned, corporate cartel owned.

And corporate cartels rely on the government to enforce and strengthen thier monopolies at home and abroad and require politicians willing to sacrifice our economy and republic to do so.

[leesa]

22. They have purchased Bush for the control of the FCC

More profits for the corporations that own them. They have already purchased him and they are NOT going to see their investment wasted.

[The Flaming Red Head]

24. They're all soulless Muppets n/t

[HEIL PRESIDENT GOD]

25. Look at it this way.

How many times a day do you buy a newspaper, look at cable news or network news, or log into a news website?

Now think back to the stability of the Clinton years. Wasn''t the number significantly lower?

Stability and prosperity don't sell news. War and scandal do! Media interests will clean up in a 2nd Bush term.

[K-W]

27. I dont buy it for a second.

If the media loves war so much, why do they spend so much time covering tabloid issues instead of the war. Why does the war go ignored for long periods of time while other issues get massive coverage. Why do the CBS memos and swift boat vets steal the media's attention from the war.

And I seem to remember the media having a field day with the clinton administration.

This isnt about increasing circulationa and viewership. Networks and newspapers dont run as businesses, they run as the media arm of international cartels who are far more interested in shaping the nature of our society and government to expand and retain thier power.

It also ignores the huge right wing media establishment that makes absolutely no profit, run at losses bankrolled by wealthy elites, for the sole purpose of propagandizing.

The media business is not about short term profit, it is about control.

[HEIL PRESIDENT GOD]

29. Control of what? n/t

[K-W]

31. Information and thus, public perception.

There was a time when the media, especially the tv media were the bain of corporations and republicans. They attacked Nixon, they attacked vietnam, they reported favorably of the civil rights movement, they reported on corporate enviromental abuses, corporate labor abuses, and corporate consumer abuses.

Corporate america and the republicans despised the media. To them it was a liberal conspiricy to hurt them. So they changed the laws, bought the media and 'fixed it'

[Generator]

26. Everyone has good answers

I think about this a lot.

But I would sum it up as :Power worships power.

That's why even if our leader was obviously grossly incompetent and barely fit for the job they wouldn't dare say it. That would take courage. That would risk their job, their power.

And their absolute favorite belief is "there are two sides to every story." As if facts don't exist in the world at all.

Sometimes it is a duck and the anti-duck people are either:

lying, insane or pushing an agenda, but it doesn't MATTER because if you can't figure out it's a duck then your power is built on sand.

That's why us at DU are feeling crazy, we know it's a goddamn Duck.

[HEIL PRESIDENT GOD]

30. It's just a sine wave

They are telling us our collective story. There have to be ups and downs, ups and downs, to keep us interested, or so the screenwriting formula goes. A golden boy one day, a national disgrace the next! The job of journalists today is to convert history into a soap opera before it can happen on its own. They are mostly, in my experience, cynical fucks who experience a vague vicarious schadenfreude over hideous events but have no political leanings whatsoever.

It's a manufactured product. The paradigm is pro-wrestling.

[K-W]

28. Required reading: The Republican Noise Machine

by David Brock

It tracks the history of the media being shaped into a giant propaganda machine.