Pedro's Podium: Ink by the Barrel

Tuesday, July 24, 2018

Ink by the Barrel

A famous quote credited to both Mark Twain and publicist William I. Greener, Jr. is often repeated to silence people who are attacked by the press: ‘Never argue with a man who buys ink by the barrel’. For years, this has been the basic means of the press steamrolling over anyone who opposed their agenda. This ability was somewhat contained when the press was decentralized nature of ownership. This allowed for a more balanced delivery of the news.

Over the years, the delivery of the news has changed and the newspaper industry went through a consolidation of ownership as radio and television news took its toll on readership. Then with the growth of the Internet put pressure on both. However, even before the Internet, pressure from 24-hour cable news channels changed the dynamics of reporting news and greater competition to be first to the air. In addition, the major networks started the consolidation of their news into the entertainment divisions. This made them more profit conscious with less concern about integrity of the content as long as they produced viewers for it. Closely following this change in attitude concerning content was even more consolidation of ownership into fewer hands.

With the advent of the Internet and most of the major news providers still unable to find ways to make a profit from this technology, has weakened much of the old guard in the news business. This has emboldened more people to challenge this, once considered, invulnerable powerhouse news organizations. Do not get me wrong. The major broadcast news organizations still have many views. However, their numbers come from the older generations, which is not a growing market. So this does not bode well for their future.

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This week’s announcement oflayoffs at The New York Daily News only highlights the dire straits in which the print media finds itself. No longer does the old guard possess the power it once wielded with reckless abandonment. The once mighty daily newspapers that now look more like information pamphlets and are a pale shadow of themselves.

From this weakness and lack of integrity emerged Donald Trump. He has shown that the press no longer has those once feared barrels of ink. Polls show that over the years, trust in the media continues to fall among the American people. This is even highlighted more from the constant attacks coming from a news media that seems much more aligned with the government bureaucracies than the health and stability of the United States as a whole.

For far too long, many politicians who opposed the media's agenda, feared the press and their long arms. They feared that if they did not accept whatever the media said and did, that they face exclusion from the conversation or attacked to the point of destruction. Daily the president face these tactics. However, he has turned the tables constantly. He fearlessly not only fights back against their attacks, he turns the tables by excluding them and withholds their access to information by using Twitter to bypass their ability to control the narrative.

He has demonstrated that he is a master of media and a genius at communicating with his supporters and the American people. Now starved from direct access, the once proud masters of information delivery find themselves shrinking from the lack of the valuable info that feeds their Progressive machines. His overt media coup has help to expand the new American Political Information Age. This has tamped down the gradual century old Progressive/Socialist march to overturn much of the Constitution and the freedoms enjoyed by Americans. He has been so successful that the Democrat Socialist has had to unmask themselves in an attempt to rally their forces, as the media is no longer dependable to control the narrative.