I suppose it’s too late to bring back the Fairness Doctrine, which, if you’ll excuse the expression, was “canceled” in 1987 during the Reagan administration?
So true. The elimination of that, along with the establishment of the Clear Channel radio network nationally, with all the right wing talk radio, made the playing fields terribly lopsided in favor of the Repubs..
One of your best, Doug!! Thank You!! And thanks to the Iowa Writers Collaborative - local news and commentary for Iowa. Sure appreciate your part in it!!
The MSM failed us mightily in this last election. They are, in effect, did a lot of the right wing media’s work for them. They normalized and sane washed Trump.
If you’ve never checked out New York Times Pitchbot, a satirical take on the NYT, do so. Sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference between the two.
Democrats know we must revisit the tax code to restore sanity to our media landscape. Power wielded by the likes of Musk and Bezos must be scaled back if we are to survive as a country.
Doug, thank you for this. One of the most impactful articles I have read pre, and post, election 2024. Putting words to feelings…defining…and healing parts of me where shock had settled. The release was real.
I just can't agree with you, Doug. You are a good, honest journalist. Look at what is around you. Ignore everything and report black and white truth. I trust you as Doug Burns, the honest guy I met at Oka in oni to do that and do it succinctly.
I would like to edit the partial comment that I posted yesterday - had an interruption. I have decided not to engage in post election polemics. I do want to comment on train horns. Disparaging a train horn or railroad crossing stop is not something I do. Our grandfather worked for almost 50 years in SE South Dakota and NW Iowa in a variety of positions for the Milwaukee Railroad. A small but lively guy from Everly, Iowa made his way up to being a Dispatcher in the busy Sioux City rail yards. Trains are part of our family's history. Train horns and rail road crossings represent how my grandfather provided for his family, sent them to school for advanced education and provided a pension for my grandparents. Doug presents a valid case for local and responsive journalism. Let those horns continue!
young doug, what a great article but we already know about these problems, there are my close friends and relatives who have dove into the realm of misinformation and there is no logical way of breaking these out right lies and misconceptions...keep the faith and keep reporting the truth...
Sadly the local paper in my area, The Unionville Republican, doesn't publish local news. The editor told me by the time they print it, every already has heard it. But they publish all of the right wing candidates columns and the publisher himself, along with a big chunk of right wingers, pooled their funds to buy a nearly full page ad the week prior to the election, pushing against left leaning ballot initiatives. So ours is a full on tool of the right wing.
By skipping or canceling appearance after appearance, dancing on stage for 45 minutes and/or giving stage time to blatant racists? Yeah, no. He didn't run a better campaign.
If your definition of a good candidate is how much money they spent to win or lose, then maybe. But that's a very shallow way to determine the strength of a candidate.
Doug, you have written many great columns over the years. This one is the wake-up call of all wake-up calls. A must read.
I suppose it’s too late to bring back the Fairness Doctrine, which, if you’ll excuse the expression, was “canceled” in 1987 during the Reagan administration?
So true. The elimination of that, along with the establishment of the Clear Channel radio network nationally, with all the right wing talk radio, made the playing fields terribly lopsided in favor of the Repubs..
One of your best, Doug!! Thank You!! And thanks to the Iowa Writers Collaborative - local news and commentary for Iowa. Sure appreciate your part in it!!
Thank you, Doug.
The MSM failed us mightily in this last election. They are, in effect, did a lot of the right wing media’s work for them. They normalized and sane washed Trump.
If you’ve never checked out New York Times Pitchbot, a satirical take on the NYT, do so. Sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference between the two.
Democrats know we must revisit the tax code to restore sanity to our media landscape. Power wielded by the likes of Musk and Bezos must be scaled back if we are to survive as a country.
Doug, thank you for this. One of the most impactful articles I have read pre, and post, election 2024. Putting words to feelings…defining…and healing parts of me where shock had settled. The release was real.
I just can't agree with you, Doug. You are a good, honest journalist. Look at what is around you. Ignore everything and report black and white truth. I trust you as Doug Burns, the honest guy I met at Oka in oni to do that and do it succinctly.
I would like to edit the partial comment that I posted yesterday - had an interruption. I have decided not to engage in post election polemics. I do want to comment on train horns. Disparaging a train horn or railroad crossing stop is not something I do. Our grandfather worked for almost 50 years in SE South Dakota and NW Iowa in a variety of positions for the Milwaukee Railroad. A small but lively guy from Everly, Iowa made his way up to being a Dispatcher in the busy Sioux City rail yards. Trains are part of our family's history. Train horns and rail road crossings represent how my grandfather provided for his family, sent them to school for advanced education and provided a pension for my grandparents. Doug presents a valid case for local and responsive journalism. Let those horns continue!
young doug, what a great article but we already know about these problems, there are my close friends and relatives who have dove into the realm of misinformation and there is no logical way of breaking these out right lies and misconceptions...keep the faith and keep reporting the truth...
Sadly the local paper in my area, The Unionville Republican, doesn't publish local news. The editor told me by the time they print it, every already has heard it. But they publish all of the right wing candidates columns and the publisher himself, along with a big chunk of right wingers, pooled their funds to buy a nearly full page ad the week prior to the election, pushing against left leaning ballot initiatives. So ours is a full on tool of the right wing.
This: “Just a spoonful of a vanity to help the lies go down.“
That’s exactly why social media works. It plays into our vanity while misinforming us. Well put. Great column!
how my grandfather was able to provide for his family, send children to school and advanced education, and provide a pension for himself and his wife.
Trump won because he ran a better campaign than Harris.
By skipping or canceling appearance after appearance, dancing on stage for 45 minutes and/or giving stage time to blatant racists? Yeah, no. He didn't run a better campaign.
Harris blew through $1 billion and still lost. She's the very definition of a bad candidate.
Trump spent less than Harris and still won.
He is, by definition, a good candidate.
If your definition of a good candidate is how much money they spent to win or lose, then maybe. But that's a very shallow way to determine the strength of a candidate.