Don't Look Now, But the Media is "Transitioning" Us.....

[Starpass]

I’ve watched this media long enough to be able to smell their “phases” and “transitions” a mile down wind. Did you notice that we are now in a “transitional” phase and you can go to the bank on what we will be transitioning into.

The last phase lasted approximately Aug./Sept.---the time when (as Andy Card said) you don’t introduce a new line since no one is paying attention. That is when we, the liberals/Dems/those opposed to Bush et al, were given our steaming pile of scraps that made our mouths water. They were hitting Bush hard with Iraq, economy, CIA leak, etc. This is when his numbers looked dismal and we felt hope (amazing how people turn against this slime when they finally receive some informational news!). About a week ago started the “transition”.

The transition is like cleansing the pallet between courses of a meal. The transition is predictable: i.e., conjoined twins (we can always find a couple of those to separate), murder and rape trials---and this year we have “obesity” and “the re-intro of silicon breast implants” as a side course. Note that the national/international news has virtually disappeared. The CIA leak and Bush’s troubles are on “mute”. But very selectively and quietly on the side, pictures of the great leader going to stinking fund raising events and the canned (same rhetoric for 3 years) sound bites from the great speeches at those partisan events are played or on the “ticker”. We are transitioning to a period of Bush’s mug on tv 24/7 showing him being “presidential”. Twins and murder/rape will subside into all Bush all the time within the next 3 weeks.

After the transition and things like the World Series help completely cleanse our souls, we will be presented with “mighty Bush”--the warrior king who they will pound into our heads is, indeed, in charge!! They will work in more terrorists threats and “phenomenal progress in Iraq“ news. Dem candidates will disappear from view until they have to cover them at thefirst primaries. They will quickly dispense of them and after our selection, will begin the full out campaign to destroy our nominee.

The next transition will be about early June as they do puff pieces and ignore the Dem’s message and then they will swing into final phase to lift off---the following Bush around from his convention onward, hanging on to his every word and telling us what he said, what he meant, what we should think, how we should vote. That leads to election run up and the Frank Luntz type telling us America is swarming in support of their president. Then will come the post-election dissection fest of why the Dems just never, never connect with the American people. And the whores will get their raises, promotions. Our only hope is to drop bombs on this administration throughout---I hope we have the WMD’s just waiting in the closet because we right now are being “transitioned” away.

[RichM]

1. That's how I see it, too. To see it otherwise is just wishful thinking...

unfortunately.

[Name removed]

46. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[bluedeminredstate]

2. Yep.

And when the Scott Peterson trial starts followed by the Kobe Bryant case, forget about ANYTHING coming out of the WH press corps.

[AP]

13. One thing that killed Democrats in 2002 was the sniper coverage for the

month before the election. On the surface, it seemed like the gun issue was going to break in the democrats favor, thanks to the sniper. Not the case. It gave the news an excuse not to report on how screwed up america was thanks to Republicans and put everyone in fear mode, which is good for the right wing.

[SlavesandBulldozers]

3. excellent points

I think that time is on our side, though. He has to endure another year, as we all do, of reaping the results of his policies. For a good part of that year he is going to be subjected to a Democratic onslaught the likes of which the Republicans have never seen. He can't play the underdog with a projected 250 million dollar campaign.

[papau]

4. I agree - Dean like Full frontal assault is the only way possible to

break through the media plan. It is sad to see good folks at ABC - CBS - and even NBC - thrown scraps while the big picture of right wing control/spin continues.

If Clark or Kerry picks up the full frontal assault approach they will have a shot at Dean for the nomination - and a win in the General Election.

If they do not, Dean has a lock on the nomination, and a shot in the General.

I like Gep - but he has folded his tent on saying or doing anything that would break through the media blockade.

[AP]

16. On the contrary, I think the media is controlling the presentation of thes

candidates really effectively. Now that it seems that Clark has a built-in advantage over Bush, the media is ignoring him, and he gets the negative spin. He's being portrayed as a man in the sway of his campaign managers, which counters the perception of him as a General. The only two stories I've seen about him last week were about how he should't let his managers establish a DC campaign HQ.

The media's portrayal of Kerry is that he's unnerved by Dean and he attacks Dean.

It's not that these candidates need to find something the media will report as enthusiastically as they report on Dean. What they need to do is find a way to circumvent or undermine the characterizations of their campaigns which the media seems to have settled upon.

[Donna Zen]

Bingo!

And unfortunately, there are too many supposed "grassroots" people carrying water for them.

[cosmicdot]

26. the topic is media-related...can anything be discussed generically

without the interjection of obligatory candidate plugs, endorsements, denouncements?

[Jester_11218]

5. They are called distractions!

Transistions that you describe are really distractions.

Why do we know every detail of the Laci Peterson legal saga and nobody knows anything about the many Dick Cheney lawsuits?

Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!

Even with Clinton...the media focused on the Monica stuff and pain no attention to important issues like Nafta and the WTO.

Distractions! Don't fall for it.

[cosmicdot]

28. much less, where Dick is

:thumbsup:

[Skittles]

6. I like coverage of cojoined twins

The current story of the little Egypt boys joined at the head is RIVETING. It presents the BEST this world has to offer - 60 medical staff working for free to separate them - using a $150,000 state of the art table donated for free by people who took up the challenge; this, people, is GOOD STUFF and I LIKE HEARING IT. It's NOT in the same league as Kobe/Condit/shark stuff.

[Seneca]

49. it could be both

It is good for all the reasons you cited - humane people coming together to help two human beings overcome a terrible birth defect. Human interest, compassion, it's all there.

But, then there is that sensationalistic "freak show" aspect that make many tune in. They don't care about the compassion and scientific wonderment of medical breakthroughs. They have an attraction to the grotesque and strange, and the media feeds on that just as much as the other good aspect.

Why? Because there is profit in that coverage either way. Profit must be served, above all else.

If we could find a way to make anti-Bush coverage profitable for the media, we should award a Nobel Prize for anyone who devises it.

[lovedems]

7. I must be a wishful thinker

I think things are going to get ugly for the rethuglican party during the presidential race. The dems certainly have alot of ammo to use against this administration and if done correctly can be a huge problem for the misadministration. I think the transition is going in a way that it is o.k. to question this administration and not feel anti-american in doing so. I think the transition is Bushco. is blaming the media for "not telling the truth about Iraq" and I think the media is responding by saying "we will give you the truth...Things suck in Iraq". For the first time since 9/11 I see people/media questioning this administration and that is a positive transition for me. I don't think it will change with a presidential race due to heat up around March. Maybe I am a wishful thinker but I don't think some of these issues that are looking bad for the pres. are going away anytime soon.

[AP]

18. It makes no sense that the media which just got Arnold elected was

taking Bush down a notch this summer because they didn't want him elected. The media is almost definitely going to do for Bush in 2004 what they did for him in 2000, and what they did for Arnold in 2003.

[lovedems]

31. The LA Times didn't do their part to get Arnold elected

if they wanted him elected they would have ignored the groping stories. You can't blame the media for the stupidity of SOME of the voters. The Times provided legitimate information for people NOT to vote for Arnold, the voters ignored it.

[AP]

42. It didn't make a difference, and it served the purpose of dismissing these

events as campaign mud-slinging. If they came out during his term as governor it actually could have been more damaging.

The Democrats had nothing to do with these stories coming out, yet they must have known. I wonder if they did polling that showed it wouldn't have made a difference so they ignored it.

I don't know.

In any event, the media totally controlled the perception of even those stories, even if the LA Times was the ONE renegade (which I think is still an open question).

[lovedems]

50. I think it goes to the character of Davis

I don't live in Ca. but the news I was getting back here (midwest) pointed to Davis being known for dirty campaigning. The dems. might not have been responsible for the stories but it appears that the voters connected him anyway. I will be interested to see what kind of media coverage the groper gets. It looks as though he is going to be asked to explain his meeting with Lay, he is either going to have to raise taxes, cut programs or not repeal the car tax. He is going to have some explaining to do if he dismisses the energy lawsuit, especially if natural gas prices do what they are expected to and triple. Anyone of those will not be popular with thugs or dems (depending what strategy he takes) but I don't think for a minute (after the honeymoon phase) that the media will make it all roses and glory for the groper. That does remain to be seen and I could stand corrected but I am optimistic.

[CWebster]

35. maybe

Their wonderful tidings from Iraq PR blitz seems to have backfired, but when all our reps jump on board to vote(or in the case of Kucinich, who prides himself for never missing a vote, not vote) for how the Iraq invasion made the world safer for Iraq's neighbors, it will be mighty hard to effectively challenge the legitimacy of this Iraqi mess.

[LEW]

8. Lord, I hope your wrong

not as a slam to you, but in fear, that you may be right. And now that we have the UN vote today, we can expect all the spin to be how wonderful B*sh is. Excuse me while I go get sick.....

[Jacobin]

9. Also sequing into Syria

"Bad bad Syria"
"Sanctions on Syria" (to soften them up)
When will the invasion be announced? (must be where all the WMDs went)

It's too hard to watch sometimes

[Cocoa]

10. I remember how suddenly the war was over on TV

I remember Rove giving a speech somewhere, where he said something about wanting the TV to stop covering the war. His speech was on a Sunday, and by Wednesday ALL the cable networks suddenly stopped the "Operation Iraqi Freedom" crap and started in again with Laci Peterson.

It was so sudden it was amazing. All those graphics were gone, like the one with the map of Iraq in crosshairs, and it went back to normal. If you ever saw soldiers, it was them returning home.

[ewagner]

11. The tenor of CNN has changed dramatically

Which, I think, is proof of your hypothesis.

My suggestions to counter the transition and the pre-written script for the 2004 elections(and I do believe it has already been written) is to employ the same techniques the Right Wing used against Clinton. We need to employ the "shotgun" approach and blast the administration with a scandal a week in order to keep them on the defensive and load them down with so much bulk they won't be able to stay "on message".

The question is, who is going to implement a plan like that? There doesn't appear to be any leadership capable of doing it within either the DNC or, for that matter, the DLC. The only cohesive, effective media response group functioning now is within the Dean campaign. I'm not a supporter of Dean's but I have to admire his media team which concentrates on rapid response and appears to know the news cycles better than any other campaign out there. I don't say this to suggest that Dean is our only hope, but, rather to say that the media organization within that campaign is the type of organization that the Democratic party will need to handle the onslaught of the 2004 campaign.

on edit: I was busy typing when post #4 came up...

Joe Wilson is also doing a fine job of keeping the Traitorgate controversy alive. But he needs help. I think DUers are doing their part with letters to editors and blogs etc., but there needs to be support - make that ORGANIZED SUPPORT.

We need to emulate the right wing megaphones and get the message out.

[Atman]

14. We're all missing the point

There is NOTHING that can be done at this point.

The script is written. The big players are falling in line.

Has anyone thought for a minute just who is supposed to "investigate" Bush, or take action? The republican SCOTUS? The republican House or Senate? The republican media?

Face it friends...we're fvcked. This is going to get HUGE once people wake up, and realize every institution we've counted on for redress for the past 230 years in now a subsidiary of BushCo, and BushCo is not about to do one thing to upset its plans for world domination. Not one thing.

Nothing.

So, what are we going to do?

[ewagner]

19. Simple

or...maybe not so simple

Organize and fight back.

Remember what's at stake and fight for it.

[Starpass]

17. ewagner--I had said for months that

the Dems need to hit them all over the places with criticism and scandle---from Iraq/economy etc. to his personal drug/drunk past, etc. We need to give them too many fires to put out before another one starts or they will handle each and every fire and smother it. It's amazing all they have covered up and swept away in 2 and a half years. The people who can now get some coverage are our candidates but they have to say really in your face comments. They can't say "I'm so sorry he seems to have mislead this nation". They need to say "George is a goddamn liar and is not in charge of the White House". Let the press criticise--it's the only chance we have. I suddenly feel we have become quiet again. They have to realize that just the faithful are listening to these debates. They have to MAKE news and they have to MAKE it every second or third day.

[ewagner]

20. Sorry

I should have credited you with some of the same things I said.

[indigo11153]

51. Agree

What we need is a vast left wing conspiracy. Hit them everywhere all the time, HARD. Maybe organization is not that important now but we do need these candidates to get back on message and quit attacking each other.
We need to push back. Bush went past the "filter" to push his lies and we should protest the regional media that printed those lies. He has been pushing the media around and we should make them pay for giving him a free ride. They have blood on their hands for letting Bush have this war. The media is suppose to give us the truth. Will they abandon the truth or Bush because they can't have it both ways. We must not let them have it both ways. The truth is a winner. We get it out we win. We can not let the media get away with their usual that you have clearly pointed out. Many people with many efforts is what it takes. All fighting back all the time. We can do it. We have to.

[AP]

12. I said in August that the media was bringing Bush down only so that they

could bring him up later. Like the economy going from 100% to 20% and then bringing it up to 40% in 2004 will make it feel like bush made the economy twice as good, when he really brought it down by 60%, people are going to feel by next fall that Bush has improved so much and that Democrats were so wrong about him each time they tried to "attack" him.

[ewagner]

22. AP

That gives me an idea....

I'm going to post a GD thread and ask DUers to list Dubya's vulnerabilities....

the idea being to find things to exploit in the media, LTTEs, blogs etc.

good idea or no?

[TacticalPeek]

24. Gene Sperling made much the same point on a c-span bit yesterday.

The R's in '04 will cling to (projected) GDP growth, claiming credit for whatever the last thing they tried was, even if job-poor growth. The D's must tie them to the whole 4 year stinking record, and move well from critique to proposal.

I've observed Gene often gets it right.

:)

[cosmicdot]

29. yes, they do like that lowering expectation ploy

[gasperc]

44. notice how they are gloating about ONLY a $381billion deficit

instead of the projected $400billion+, hey wait two years there was a surplus and the tax cut was supposed to generate more revenue, create 340,000 jobs a month instead of the paltry 57,000 a month and the economy was supposed to be roaring at 3-4%, instead of dragging at 2-3%

the American people need a reality check

[jmcgowanjm]

15. “National Day of Atonement”-if Media floats this for USHoliday

http://www.tbrnews.org/Archives/a678.htm
BushLies are growing like fractal patterns in Chaos.
Astronomical Horizon Event w/ Iraq
Halliburton charging $1.70/gal for
importing gas into Iraq.
US is losing LatinAmerica
http://bigleftoutside.com/
Russia is pricing its oil in Euros
USConsumers are borrowing $3
for every $1 income. Eating their homes.

Transition requires stability.
The above may sound disjointed,
but each is a hole in the Dike
which must be plugged.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

21. Nope...with the CIA, FBI, and military flooding the press...

...with damaging info about the Bushies, and with the press suddenly free to report that info as fast as they get it, you can count on more body-slams leading up to the election.

[Starpass]

25. MediaLies---that is the ONE hope I've been having in the back

of my mind----if the CIA, FBI and military families/personnel, etc. keep pushing there is hope. If it's only the Dem party, they will silence us like snuffing out a flea.

[pansypoo53219]

23. might work

til there is a mass killing of troops in iWaq.

[Donna Zen]

30. Spin

They would just tell us the Osama-Saddam caused the death of massive numbers of US troops. You know, the usual: show the towers falling. They control the media and the language.

Starpass has this exactly right. Anything truth you are hearing now will be used as an illustration of how balanced the corp. media has been over the past year in terms of percentage. 50% critical vs 50% glowing. Although the bulk of the 50% glowing will start next June and be counter by a trashing of anything Dem.

Of course at the rate Dems trash Dems, maybe the media will have nothing left to do.

[TacticalPeek]

33. Unfortunately, I fear this is coming.

:-(

[MrPrax]

27. There is no 'transition'

in media other than their 'seasonal ad' adjustments...
a) we are coming into the holiday season!!
b) the networks have new shows to promote
c) ratings sweeps are coming up

The economy is not going to change and that is a big strike against Bush--his own GOP Congress is getting snippy--and now he may have antagonized/challenged the Media by calling them a 'filter' and somehow his Cabal is not getting their message out?

This guy is so stupid he might blow his wad with the Media over Iraq??

The Media might see Mr. Shrub as 'ungrateful'

When the Dems pick a leader, it will settle down...have faith

[TacticalPeek]

34. Correct. When there is a candidate, focus calculations change.

The dems can do it, with work and some breaks.

[sal]

32. A clever ploy to win over morons would be

for Rove to arrange a fake _________ attempt on the * while he is touring Hong Kong, Bali, Indonesia, Philipines, Thailand and Australia this weekend. Maybe Tel Aviv was a practice run gone wrong? Poppy knows (to his chagrin) that popularity increases after a failed __________ attempt. Plus, it creates the "presidential action figure" lie of courage and pluck under fire. He can wear his bomber jacket. The AWOL thing goes away. No more bad press on the leak thing.

[CWebster]

38. "Fly boy"

Speaking of poppy and bomber jackets...I just happened to catch part of some preview for a movie about Poppy's heroic wartime experiences advertised on one of the cable networks. Wonder if they are going to pitch it in the hopes that it will be transferred to the idiot son?

[Donna Zen]

45. My take exactly

That's how it looked to me. And why bother to run that horseshit about poppy? Yep_that's why; so America thinks this is such a fine military family that one of their offspring would never go AWOL. They are in the process of innoculating the bastard; just as the media is in the process of softening up the opposition.

Why, it is almost as if they have a psy-ops team. Huh? You think?

[SoCalDem]

52. Pages here about CNN-Psyops.. They DID use PSYops before

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=cnn+psyops

[SpaceCatMeetsMars]

47. I saw that commercial and thought the same

They showed a picture that looked just like Bush Jr. and what the announcer said seemed to be like they were deliberately confusing the two. I posted a thread about it.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=542347

[Dhalgren]

40. Jesus Christ!

That is possible! Despicable, but possible.

[info being]

36. I agree

Glad to see some realism here.

[prolesunited]

37. I agree with your assessment

Question is: How do we sidestep the media and get the message out — and that includes those who are not on the Internet?

[JohnOneillsMemory]

39. Wait. GOP convention in NYC will be hotter than Chicago '68. Ouch.

There will be millions on the street again and the media won't be able to discredit protests anymore and the petro-nazis won't be able to control the media spin they way they did for their first 2 years of plundering the national economy...just wait for it...Sheeple are pissed about being lied to and will flush the electoral toilet if black-box-voting doesn't reroute these turds back into power.

[AP]

43. And just like '68 riots made moderates scared enought to vote Republican

if there are riots in NYC in 04, it will help Republicans.

You got to have people in the streets. But you can't have them pull a '68-style protest.

During the anti-war protests, one of the most common stories was that peaceful protestors were being provoked by the police.

I believe that that was practice for '04. If nobody's acting violently, the police are going to try to encourage it.

[MuseRider]

41. Bush* comes right out

and tells the country that we need to have "happier" news, the news obliges. Would anyone that you know put up with this kind of stuff from their spouse, children, friends, boss? If this does not produce screaming from the unheard from masses we are screwed.

[Malva Zebrina]

48. Yup, I agree

The American people are being played like a fiddle-ever the more crazed, whirling dervishes dancing to the tune of an insane , idiot man. Where to go from here ? It is frustrating to feel hopeless--but each little tearing down of the slighest little bit of "hope" we may hang on with our fingernails, each night as we think about it before going off to sleep, such as the UN capitulating and giving the insane idiot the status he thinks he deserves as a "great diplomatic statesman and leader", accumulates. It will take nothing short of a great, overwhelming, catatrosphic event to get this country back to what is once was, imo, as it all looks somewhat hopeless today to me.

Get rid of this ersatz religion thing also. Bush is NOT wearing a golden halo like we see Jesus portrayed-and like he was recently shown in an AP photo. I cannot understand why those who are sincerely Christian spiritual people do NOT protest this scam on a daily basis--Bush is NOT your spiritual leader!-damn people, what is the matter with you? you, your parents and now yor children,have been kept in the dark on purpose--your schools are graduating ignoramusii--your children do not know how to think clearly or logically, or how to even read and write. They are however, being taught how to overeat and how to spend and consume ad nauseum. They are being taught how to put "me" first and how to bully those who are weaker. This is being done PURPOSEFULLY-Why? Well just take a look at how power is being used over you now and now you are helpless and hopeless to change it-- you get an idiot there who snatched the presidency out of the hands of the American voters, that is an idiot who cannot put a coherent thought together in a sentence because his intelligence will not allow it, and you think it is perfectly OK to be dumb, ignorant clam diggers without an education but with big pich up trucks done in red, because Bush is a "real man" pssst--he went AWOL and never fought for his country at all