SC - Although this error may not be worth reporting to the Ministry of Truth, the Orwell attribution “Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed; everything else is public relations.” cannot be verified. Earliest attributions of that quote 1918 & 1921:
In 1918 a matching expression was seen on a sign at a journalist’s desk. No precise attribution was given.
“Whatever a patron desires to get published is advertising; whatever he wants to keep out of the paper is news,” is the sentiment expressed in a little framed placard on the desk of L. E. Edwardson, day city editor of the Chicago Herald and Examiner.
Oregon Exchanges: For the Newspaperfolk of the State of Oregon (Volumes 4-5)
By George Stanley Turnbull University of Oregon
1921 Pg. 2:
“If the paper wants it worse than the person handing it in, it’s news.”
“If the person handing it in wants it published worse than the newspaper, it’s advertising.”
In 1979, I ended a 15 year job as a reporter and editor at Maine's largest circulation newspaper in Bangor.
I learned my trade from crusty old editors and reporters who were the type of people who knew how to to write "straight" stories without a hint of their own opinions.
But by the end of the 70s I saw the J schools starting to turn out young people who thought people would want to be exposed to the opinions of any young "journalist."
Since then, the legacy news business has turned into something that would make Goebbels proud.
Thank you for a whole lot of straight news in your essay.
Well put thank you! I made the mistake of following a headline earlier today, “People say new research proves masks don’t work. That’s bogus.” I don’t suggest anyone read it.
If I understand correctly, ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN and whatever else network says we should trust them because they have been around longer, done their jobs better, and are more knowledgeable about a specific topic because they have been around for a while. NOPE.
First of all print media is really floundering. Most magazines are closed, closing, on the edge of going under. The biggest change social media. The other part of it is that no one trusts reporters, newspapers, information mediums because they lie, misrepresent the truth, get it wrong, fail to do basic research on their topic, get contrary opinion and back up their supposition with facts. It is as if they are given a pre-scripted article and they just put in a few local anecdotes to make it appear representative of the reading masses. I see the old boy network at NYT and let’s impress Jeff at the Washington Post. They are so chained to the ideology that nothing anyone with proof, dissenting opinion, different viewpoint can even breathe. They are lying to everyone, have no clue who is in charge, will change a story to make the other person is view as mentally unstable. It’s just business as usual.
So our government, social media outlets, news outlets, Silicon Valley tech firms become a group that is against, diverse opinions, new ideas, ground breaking and heartbreaking news stories which would vindicates those other voices, free choice, first amendment, scaling back of rights, because it make them look bad? They question why we are leaving? Do they honestly think we are a bunch of rubes?
Readers like myself who wants to see the truth in all its colors now pays for SC, Matt Tabbi, free press, etc because we want what is real not made up. The legacy media is on hospice care and it is their own fault. I shed no tears for them and wish it would just hurry up and die.
In addition to maintaining the narrative, TV shows are vehicles for commercial advertising. Mostly pharma companies pushing not only their unnatural products but LGBTQ+ lifestyles at every opportunity. If you stayed home and only watched TV you would swear that 90% of all households were biracial, homosexual/lesbian led. It is interesting that non-normal behavior for our species is presented as dominant.
The influence that TV has on viewers, especially the less intelligent less aware among us, is frightening.
Mar 8, 2023·edited Mar 8, 2023Liked by SimulationCommander
Great post. Frankly I can't imagine watching a major network TV series. Haven't watched one in 5 years at least. They're devoid of any substance or entertainment value. As are nearly all the movies Hollywood produces. Like eating a bag of stale potato chips...not that enjoyable and you get nothing out of them.
Excellent post. Nearly all corporate serials are narrative framing in obvious ways. We used to enjoy the new Magnum show because its narrative framing was very minimal. Then it was cancelled and reborn due to public outcry but now on NBC instead of CBS. Well whaddyaknow, it sucks now and is riddled with narratives du jour including a solar energy company on the precipice of failure whose death knell is a murder plus the ubiquitous LGBTQ +++++ storyline.
Just sat down with my coffee and GMA was on when I turned on the TV. Man are they pulling their hair out over this today. Stephanopoulos looked very concerned and multiple times they called Tucker a "personality". They definitely don't want people to think he is a journalist.
It is a good series. My overwhelming sense is we as a culture have become accustomed to repetitive lies on so many levels that lying to ourselves became second nature. We ignored the signs of totalitarianism until it was already established.
There is, and never was, any functional difference between propaganda, commercials and journalism; the difference perceived is semantic, not real.
Selling cars or the narrative that person NN is Good/Bad or the news that event X eventuated, same thing. You tell the target what you think they should know so they jump in the desired direction.
And this isn't due to any nefarious plan or a modern phenomenon but an intrinsic feature of communication: your goal maybe to make people act a certain way in the short term or to change your perception of reality long-term.
I'm sure I don't need list examples.
And that's journalism. Or selling cars. Or convincing the US population that North Korea or Cuba are military threats. Or that surgery and drugs can change your sex. Or...
Reading the synopsis of "tough New Yorker goes to Alaska" makes me think of Northern Exposure, and discount the show. Also, the "resistance" bumper stickers that take on a very different quality after the last 3 years, and with a different president.
The answer to what would Fitzgerald do is easy to answer because her story is Hollywood fiction. Her response would be in whatever way the Democrat party would want b/c they currently are them ones in bed with corporate America.
"Don’t preach to me about the importance of real journalism when the best reporter on your network is fictional." Eloquently put.
My guess is that that story line is the price for keeping an otherwise semi-subversive show on the air. My sister got me a bit hooked on Evil. I binged the first two seasons while the other half spent a weekend out of town snowmobiling. I noticed a lot of propaganda, but . . . I noticed far more subversion than I'm used to seeing. For example, in one episode, the "heroine" makes some snarky comment about Native Americans losing their land and the person she's talking to comes back with the name of an organization she can donate her home to if she wants to return what she feels was wrongly stolen and she doesn't have a comeback line. And there are moments like that all through.
So judge ABC harshly (I know I do), but it sounds like this show is quite brave for the "squishy totalitarianism" we're living under.
Sadly a large number of younger people (ie millennials and younger) get a lot of what they believe to be historical fact from TV/Movies, works of fiction. This is subliminal conditioning; planting false ideas and beliefs about history while entertaining them. Yes the viewers know it's fiction but if it's anything set in the past and now of the future they assume things in teh background are true. For example many young people believe that during the periods we would call teh wild west, there were main street pistol fights daily.
It was at least 6 years back (before teh world went woke and lost it's mind b/c of Trumps win) a study was done about peoples take om zombies' and many young people genuinely believed it was feasible to believe that a virus could come about that would kill people, then bring them back life and make them want to eat other humans brains.
SC - Although this error may not be worth reporting to the Ministry of Truth, the Orwell attribution “Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed; everything else is public relations.” cannot be verified. Earliest attributions of that quote 1918 & 1921:
In 1918 a matching expression was seen on a sign at a journalist’s desk. No precise attribution was given.
“Whatever a patron desires to get published is advertising; whatever he wants to keep out of the paper is news,” is the sentiment expressed in a little framed placard on the desk of L. E. Edwardson, day city editor of the Chicago Herald and Examiner.
Oregon Exchanges: For the Newspaperfolk of the State of Oregon (Volumes 4-5)
By George Stanley Turnbull University of Oregon
1921 Pg. 2:
“If the paper wants it worse than the person handing it in, it’s news.”
“If the person handing it in wants it published worse than the newspaper, it’s advertising.”
In 1979, I ended a 15 year job as a reporter and editor at Maine's largest circulation newspaper in Bangor.
I learned my trade from crusty old editors and reporters who were the type of people who knew how to to write "straight" stories without a hint of their own opinions.
But by the end of the 70s I saw the J schools starting to turn out young people who thought people would want to be exposed to the opinions of any young "journalist."
Since then, the legacy news business has turned into something that would make Goebbels proud.
Thank you for a whole lot of straight news in your essay.
Well put thank you! I made the mistake of following a headline earlier today, “People say new research proves masks don’t work. That’s bogus.” I don’t suggest anyone read it.
If I understand correctly, ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN and whatever else network says we should trust them because they have been around longer, done their jobs better, and are more knowledgeable about a specific topic because they have been around for a while. NOPE.
First of all print media is really floundering. Most magazines are closed, closing, on the edge of going under. The biggest change social media. The other part of it is that no one trusts reporters, newspapers, information mediums because they lie, misrepresent the truth, get it wrong, fail to do basic research on their topic, get contrary opinion and back up their supposition with facts. It is as if they are given a pre-scripted article and they just put in a few local anecdotes to make it appear representative of the reading masses. I see the old boy network at NYT and let’s impress Jeff at the Washington Post. They are so chained to the ideology that nothing anyone with proof, dissenting opinion, different viewpoint can even breathe. They are lying to everyone, have no clue who is in charge, will change a story to make the other person is view as mentally unstable. It’s just business as usual.
So our government, social media outlets, news outlets, Silicon Valley tech firms become a group that is against, diverse opinions, new ideas, ground breaking and heartbreaking news stories which would vindicates those other voices, free choice, first amendment, scaling back of rights, because it make them look bad? They question why we are leaving? Do they honestly think we are a bunch of rubes?
Readers like myself who wants to see the truth in all its colors now pays for SC, Matt Tabbi, free press, etc because we want what is real not made up. The legacy media is on hospice care and it is their own fault. I shed no tears for them and wish it would just hurry up and die.
I need a beer, I don’t drink…
In addition to maintaining the narrative, TV shows are vehicles for commercial advertising. Mostly pharma companies pushing not only their unnatural products but LGBTQ+ lifestyles at every opportunity. If you stayed home and only watched TV you would swear that 90% of all households were biracial, homosexual/lesbian led. It is interesting that non-normal behavior for our species is presented as dominant.
The influence that TV has on viewers, especially the less intelligent less aware among us, is frightening.
Great post. Frankly I can't imagine watching a major network TV series. Haven't watched one in 5 years at least. They're devoid of any substance or entertainment value. As are nearly all the movies Hollywood produces. Like eating a bag of stale potato chips...not that enjoyable and you get nothing out of them.
Excellent post. Nearly all corporate serials are narrative framing in obvious ways. We used to enjoy the new Magnum show because its narrative framing was very minimal. Then it was cancelled and reborn due to public outcry but now on NBC instead of CBS. Well whaddyaknow, it sucks now and is riddled with narratives du jour including a solar energy company on the precipice of failure whose death knell is a murder plus the ubiquitous LGBTQ +++++ storyline.
Uhhhg.
Great article. I especially liked the part about them being fired and now writing on Substack. lol
Now we pay them to omit the truth. Aren't we setting up to pay every journalist something like $70k?
Just sat down with my coffee and GMA was on when I turned on the TV. Man are they pulling their hair out over this today. Stephanopoulos looked very concerned and multiple times they called Tucker a "personality". They definitely don't want people to think he is a journalist.
Well that was a good serving of crow. That last line will leave a mark, ..... maybe even a sweet little scar. Depending on perspective that is.
It is a good series. My overwhelming sense is we as a culture have become accustomed to repetitive lies on so many levels that lying to ourselves became second nature. We ignored the signs of totalitarianism until it was already established.
There is, and never was, any functional difference between propaganda, commercials and journalism; the difference perceived is semantic, not real.
Selling cars or the narrative that person NN is Good/Bad or the news that event X eventuated, same thing. You tell the target what you think they should know so they jump in the desired direction.
And this isn't due to any nefarious plan or a modern phenomenon but an intrinsic feature of communication: your goal maybe to make people act a certain way in the short term or to change your perception of reality long-term.
I'm sure I don't need list examples.
And that's journalism. Or selling cars. Or convincing the US population that North Korea or Cuba are military threats. Or that surgery and drugs can change your sex. Or...
Reading the synopsis of "tough New Yorker goes to Alaska" makes me think of Northern Exposure, and discount the show. Also, the "resistance" bumper stickers that take on a very different quality after the last 3 years, and with a different president.
The answer to what would Fitzgerald do is easy to answer because her story is Hollywood fiction. Her response would be in whatever way the Democrat party would want b/c they currently are them ones in bed with corporate America.
"Don’t preach to me about the importance of real journalism when the best reporter on your network is fictional." Eloquently put.
My guess is that that story line is the price for keeping an otherwise semi-subversive show on the air. My sister got me a bit hooked on Evil. I binged the first two seasons while the other half spent a weekend out of town snowmobiling. I noticed a lot of propaganda, but . . . I noticed far more subversion than I'm used to seeing. For example, in one episode, the "heroine" makes some snarky comment about Native Americans losing their land and the person she's talking to comes back with the name of an organization she can donate her home to if she wants to return what she feels was wrongly stolen and she doesn't have a comeback line. And there are moments like that all through.
So judge ABC harshly (I know I do), but it sounds like this show is quite brave for the "squishy totalitarianism" we're living under.
Sadly a large number of younger people (ie millennials and younger) get a lot of what they believe to be historical fact from TV/Movies, works of fiction. This is subliminal conditioning; planting false ideas and beliefs about history while entertaining them. Yes the viewers know it's fiction but if it's anything set in the past and now of the future they assume things in teh background are true. For example many young people believe that during the periods we would call teh wild west, there were main street pistol fights daily.
It was at least 6 years back (before teh world went woke and lost it's mind b/c of Trumps win) a study was done about peoples take om zombies' and many young people genuinely believed it was feasible to believe that a virus could come about that would kill people, then bring them back life and make them want to eat other humans brains.