XPost: alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, Oh.no.this.most.certainly.is.NOT.going.to.comp.os.linux.advocacy

On 8/3/2024 8:07 AM, John Smyth wrote:

I'm surprised it's that high.

'Is Old School Journalism Dead?'

<https://www.newsmax.com/laurahollis/journalism-media-bia/2024/08/02/id/1175022/>

'When I worked at the University of Illinois, I

TL;DR

Trust in the media is low because people are stupid and prefer to be entertained
rather than informed. Faux hosts and Joe Rogan and myriad other podcasters and "influencers" are not informing. They're spewing bullshit that people with no critical thinking ability find soothing and entertaining.

The traditional media do not lie in their reporting. I'm looking at a story in the WaPo right now:

"Trump administration is preparing to challenge budget law, U.S. officials say"

The Trump administration is preparing to test a 1974 budget law by refusing
to spend congressionally mandated funds, senior federal officials say — an
escalation that could change the balance of power between Congress and the
White House.

In both internal communications and interviews, more than two dozen current
and former employees across multiple agencies said the administration appears
to be readying to push the boundaries of the law meant to prevent the
president from unilaterally overturning spending decisions made by Congress.

Key White House aides have long argued that the law is an unconstitutional
limit on presidential power and suggested they will seek court rulings to
overturn it, which could allow the White House to determine which spending to
carry out.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/06/25/trump-budget-law-challenge/

Every word of that is factual.

* is the administration preparing to challenge the budget law? Yes.
* does the regime maintain the law is unconstitutional? Yes.
* did the reporters speak with more than two dozen officials who confirm this?
Yes.

Here's one from the New York Times aka The Gold Standard:

"Strike Set Back Iran’s Nuclear Program by Only a Few Months, U.S. Report Says"

A preliminary classified U.S. report says the American bombing of three
nuclear sites in Iran set back the country’s nuclear program by only a few
months, according to officials familiar with the findings.

The strikes sealed off the entrances to two of the facilities but did not
collapse their underground buildings, the officials said the early findings
concluded.

Before the attack, U.S. intelligence agencies had said that if Iran tried to
rush to making a bomb, it would take about three months. After the U.S.
bombing run and days of attacks by the Israeli Air Force, the report by the
Defense Intelligence Agency estimated that the program had been delayed, but
by less than six months.

The report also said that much of Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium was
moved before the strikes, which destroyed little of the nuclear material.
Iran may have moved some of that to secret locations.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/24/us/politics/iran-nuclear-sites.html

Every word of that is accurate.

* did the NYT learn of the classified report? Yes.
* does it conclude the setback to Iran's nuclear program is only a few months?
Yes.
* did the attack fail to destroy underground facilities? Yes.
* did Iran move its uranium around before the attack? Yes.


There is nothing wrong with the reporting of the traditional news media. The problem is in the people who say they don't trust the media. Those people are stupid and have no critical thinking ability whatsoever. They want to believe lies, and there are plenty of people — Hannity, Carlson, Watters, Rogan — who
are, for big money, telling them the lies they want to believe.

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