Media Malpractice
Malpractice: (noun) Failure of a professional person to render proper services through reprehensible ignorance or negligence or through criminal intent, especially when injury or loss follows; any improper, negligent practice; misconduct or misuse.
Random House Dictionary. Retrieved May 26, 2017 from Dictionary.com website. http://www.dictionary.com/browse/malpractice
Before the advent of cable news and the mass use of the internet in general and social media in particular, the power of the press rested in the hands of a few elitists with (typically) clouded viewpoints. While the Associated Press still writes the majority of agenda-driven news for mass consumption by media "professionals," the American consumer now has the ability to see multiple sides of any story.
In this section, we take a look at the more egregious and blatant misrepresentations of truth in the media, and give the reader some tools to use when assimilating the news. The key is to remember that what is written or produced is not necessarily correct or, at least, presented with full and unbiased honesty. False narratives—using just enough honesty to insert one's political deception without notice—are abundant within the pages of today's news and financial publications.
Always read and watch the news with a discerning and questioning eye. The nefarious deception is real.
Random House Dictionary. Retrieved May 26, 2017 from Dictionary.com website. http://www.dictionary.com/browse/malpractice
Before the advent of cable news and the mass use of the internet in general and social media in particular, the power of the press rested in the hands of a few elitists with (typically) clouded viewpoints. While the Associated Press still writes the majority of agenda-driven news for mass consumption by media "professionals," the American consumer now has the ability to see multiple sides of any story.
In this section, we take a look at the more egregious and blatant misrepresentations of truth in the media, and give the reader some tools to use when assimilating the news. The key is to remember that what is written or produced is not necessarily correct or, at least, presented with full and unbiased honesty. False narratives—using just enough honesty to insert one's political deception without notice—are abundant within the pages of today's news and financial publications.
Always read and watch the news with a discerning and questioning eye. The nefarious deception is real.
Aahh, the political season. The false narratives abound, which is why we decided to keep track of some our favorite headlines in the two months heading up to the elections...
"HARRIS LEADS TRUMP IN BATTLEGROUND STATES, SUN BELT NOW IN PLAY"
2024.08.30 chyron headline on Bloomberg; narrative: not only is Trump doing so bad in toss-up states, he is also losing his Sun Belt states
"HARRIS LEADS TRUMP IN BATTLEGROUND STATES, SUN BELT NOW IN PLAY"
2024.08.30 chyron headline on Bloomberg; narrative: not only is Trump doing so bad in toss-up states, he is also losing his Sun Belt states
Another election, another massive false narrative is blown to bits
(05 Nov 2020) I have the business networks—typically CNBC and Bloomberg—turned on in the office between six in the morning and six at night. I constantly scan the business news sites to keep abreast of what is going on, and have for too many years to count. I recall the MANTRA four years ago: "Trump win = massive stock market drop." It was drummed into viewers' heads like gospel. Trump won, and the markets exploded (in a good way). Fast forward four years and a new mantra emerged: "A blue wave would launch the markets higher, while a contested election and/or divided government would be disastrous for the markets." Lo and behold, we got the latter and the markets began hammering out their best period in a long time. Another false narrative blown to bits. At least Bloomberg had the guts to run the following headline the day after the election: "Doomsday Market Predictions Give Way to Never-Ending Rally." Meanwhile, CNBC ran the following headline on the chyron: :US Stocks, Bonds Rally as Blue Wave Fades." No mention of the fact that they told us blue wave would be the next great catalyst for the market. Journalism has a long and storied history of creating narratives that are anything but true and then packaging them as fact. Consumers of news need to accept that condition and figure out the best way to take advantage of the garbage the journalists are often peddling to their audience. There are some great and fair-minded journalists in the business; sadly, there are also many who just can't help tainting their stories based on personal prejudices. The key is to have a critical eye and discern the former from the latter.
(05 Nov 2020) I have the business networks—typically CNBC and Bloomberg—turned on in the office between six in the morning and six at night. I constantly scan the business news sites to keep abreast of what is going on, and have for too many years to count. I recall the MANTRA four years ago: "Trump win = massive stock market drop." It was drummed into viewers' heads like gospel. Trump won, and the markets exploded (in a good way). Fast forward four years and a new mantra emerged: "A blue wave would launch the markets higher, while a contested election and/or divided government would be disastrous for the markets." Lo and behold, we got the latter and the markets began hammering out their best period in a long time. Another false narrative blown to bits. At least Bloomberg had the guts to run the following headline the day after the election: "Doomsday Market Predictions Give Way to Never-Ending Rally." Meanwhile, CNBC ran the following headline on the chyron: :US Stocks, Bonds Rally as Blue Wave Fades." No mention of the fact that they told us blue wave would be the next great catalyst for the market. Journalism has a long and storied history of creating narratives that are anything but true and then packaging them as fact. Consumers of news need to accept that condition and figure out the best way to take advantage of the garbage the journalists are often peddling to their audience. There are some great and fair-minded journalists in the business; sadly, there are also many who just can't help tainting their stories based on personal prejudices. The key is to have a critical eye and discern the former from the latter.
CNBC's The Profit is a great example of how a false narrative can be foisted upon an unsuspecting public. (05 Nov 2019) When the CNBC reality TV show The Profit first appeared on the network, I loved it. Here was a wildly successful billionaire businessman (I assumed) helping struggling small business owners pull their enterprises out of certain death spirals. Raw emotions on display by people in financial trouble—that just had great TV ratings written all over it. I was so enthralled by host Marcus Lemonis that I decided to do a little research in hopes of gleaning some nuggets of entrepreneurial wisdom. In the process, I quickly found out that Lemonis's own company was publicly traded—Camping World Holdings (CWH). A $4 billion mid-cap just a few years ago, Camping World has now lost 78% of its value, making the company worth around $880 million. Lemonis controls Camping World through his super-voting shares of CWH; shares the rest of us couldn't touch (not that we would want to). Fitting for the man who has been sued by a number of the small business owners he purports to help. One ironic note on Camping World: his wife, whom he married last year, bought 99,094 shares of CWH in March of this year at $13.27 per share. In eight months, they have lost 25% of their value. But hey, as long as viewers are watching his show, isn't that all that matters? CNBC is currently running ads for the new season of The Profit. Let them serve as a reminder of how many false narratives are crammed down our throats on a daily basis, through the media, slick marketers, and other nefarious so-called professionals. If we aren't able to do our own research, we need to have a group of professionals we trust to give us the straight story—not entertaining pap that will end up costing us dearly.
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From the Editor/Penn Wealth Report, Vol. 6, Issue 02, 17 Jul 2018
The Mainstream Media’s Cause of Death: Self-Inflicted Wounds groupthink: (noun) A pattern of thought characterized by self-deception, forced manufacture of consent, and conformity to group values and ethics. —Merriam Webster There is no better example of mainstream media bias and conformity of thought—groupthink—than the 2016 US national elections...(Members can read the rest of the story by selecting the link to the right) |
Media busted, yet again, for fake news—this time by the Chinese government
(11 Jan 2018) When I was back in high school, the US and USSR were still heavily engaged in the Cold War. It always struck me as odd that a certain, albeit small, percentage of the American population seemed to always err on the side of the Soviets, almost as if they were KGB plants. They weren't plants, they were just useful idiots. These days, this same ilk seems enthralled with the false narrative that China has become the de facto economic leader of the world, despite the great disparity between the US economy and that of Communist China. I was struck today by a headline at www.cnbc.com which read: "China just reminded the United States that Beijing is its banker." A smarmy little piece that reminded me of the useful idiots during the Cold War. The CNBC headline did not stand alone; nearly every major mainstream outlet had a similar story, based on a Bloomberg report that China was going to curb its purchase of US Treasuries as "punishment" for Trump's tough trade talk. Within a day these headlines were met by a response from, of all groups, the Chinese State Administration of Foreign Exchange. The Chinese state agency said that its investment in Treasuries is based on market conditions and its needs. Furthermore, it called the report a classic example of "fake news." CNBC's David Faber was indignant at the accusation. Ahh, the simple pleasures in life.
(11 Jan 2018) When I was back in high school, the US and USSR were still heavily engaged in the Cold War. It always struck me as odd that a certain, albeit small, percentage of the American population seemed to always err on the side of the Soviets, almost as if they were KGB plants. They weren't plants, they were just useful idiots. These days, this same ilk seems enthralled with the false narrative that China has become the de facto economic leader of the world, despite the great disparity between the US economy and that of Communist China. I was struck today by a headline at www.cnbc.com which read: "China just reminded the United States that Beijing is its banker." A smarmy little piece that reminded me of the useful idiots during the Cold War. The CNBC headline did not stand alone; nearly every major mainstream outlet had a similar story, based on a Bloomberg report that China was going to curb its purchase of US Treasuries as "punishment" for Trump's tough trade talk. Within a day these headlines were met by a response from, of all groups, the Chinese State Administration of Foreign Exchange. The Chinese state agency said that its investment in Treasuries is based on market conditions and its needs. Furthermore, it called the report a classic example of "fake news." CNBC's David Faber was indignant at the accusation. Ahh, the simple pleasures in life.
How the mainstream media insidiously tries to shape public opinion
(22 Aug 2017) Now that the Charlottesville incident is slowly losing steam, the topic du jour among the business press is tax cuts. Never mind the irrefutable fact that the United States has the highest corporate tax rate in the industrial world, it is now the media’s job, in their warped collective mind, to stop tax reform dead in its tracks. With the US Congress slowly meandering back to D.C., it will have one major job to do before its next obscene vacation break: tax cuts. That means it’s time for the media to jump into action. There is virtually no chance, barring the passage of a flat tax (which would be GREAT!), that the home mortgage interest deduction goes away. So, what is the headline at the top of the CNBC home page? “Popular mortgage deduction could get a haircut in tax reform.” Here’s just one of the BS lines from the story: “The mortgage interest deduction, which only benefits about 20% of taxpayers….” What baloney! They are trying to do two things with this story. First, they are trying to upset the millions of Americans who take the mortgage deduction—maybe even enough to call their representatives and demand it remains. Second, they are trying to say that nobody but the “wealthy” (defined as CNBC as anyone making above $100k per year) really even benefits from the deduction. Well, CNBC, make up your mind! Are we supposed to be outraged that it’s on the chopping block, or outraged that only the wealthy can take advantage of it? More smarmy, sleazy reporting by the hacks trying to shape the news rather than report it.
(22 Aug 2017) Now that the Charlottesville incident is slowly losing steam, the topic du jour among the business press is tax cuts. Never mind the irrefutable fact that the United States has the highest corporate tax rate in the industrial world, it is now the media’s job, in their warped collective mind, to stop tax reform dead in its tracks. With the US Congress slowly meandering back to D.C., it will have one major job to do before its next obscene vacation break: tax cuts. That means it’s time for the media to jump into action. There is virtually no chance, barring the passage of a flat tax (which would be GREAT!), that the home mortgage interest deduction goes away. So, what is the headline at the top of the CNBC home page? “Popular mortgage deduction could get a haircut in tax reform.” Here’s just one of the BS lines from the story: “The mortgage interest deduction, which only benefits about 20% of taxpayers….” What baloney! They are trying to do two things with this story. First, they are trying to upset the millions of Americans who take the mortgage deduction—maybe even enough to call their representatives and demand it remains. Second, they are trying to say that nobody but the “wealthy” (defined as CNBC as anyone making above $100k per year) really even benefits from the deduction. Well, CNBC, make up your mind! Are we supposed to be outraged that it’s on the chopping block, or outraged that only the wealthy can take advantage of it? More smarmy, sleazy reporting by the hacks trying to shape the news rather than report it.
(21 Jul 2017) Why do the markets continue to go higher while journalists continue to tell us how lousy things are? Look at the metrics.
Journalists greatly overrate their own importance to markets, which is why they seem so confused when they glom onto a damning narrative for days, only to see the market go higher. If you want to know why the market has been up recently, you need only look at the actual metrics coming from the companies and ignore the pablum coming from the journalists. Of the 500 firms in the S&P benchmark index, 97 have reported quarterly results thus far. Of those 97, 74% have beaten Wall Street expectations and 9% have met. Those are impressive results. The press may be enraptured by the political environment, but American companies do the heavy lifting—and they appear to be doing just fine.
Journalists greatly overrate their own importance to markets, which is why they seem so confused when they glom onto a damning narrative for days, only to see the market go higher. If you want to know why the market has been up recently, you need only look at the actual metrics coming from the companies and ignore the pablum coming from the journalists. Of the 500 firms in the S&P benchmark index, 97 have reported quarterly results thus far. Of those 97, 74% have beaten Wall Street expectations and 9% have met. Those are impressive results. The press may be enraptured by the political environment, but American companies do the heavy lifting—and they appear to be doing just fine.
(20 Jun 2017) US fighter jet shoots down Iranian-made drone in Syria, WSJ comment is priceless. A US fighter jet (more than likely an F-15 Eagle) shot down an armed, Iranian-made drone over Syria on Tuesday as the vehicle flew toward US troops in the southern part of the country. More evidence that the US is taking a leadership role in the region, after an eight-year vacuum filled by Vlad the Impaler. How does the Wall Street Journal report on the successful US interception? WSJ: "It was the latest indication that American efforts to discourage Syrian President Assad and his Iranian allies from challenging the US have fallen short." A US airman obliterates an enemy craft and the WSJ reads that as a failure to deter. Imagine these weenie reporters trying to write from a fox hole in World War I or a Pacific Island in WWII. They belong in Romper Room, not behind a desk at the formerly-professional Wall Street Journal.
(20 Jun 2017) False narrative on tech stocks. The CNBC headline screamed "NASDAQ LOWER FOR FOURTH DAY OUT OF FIVE." Technically, this is true. But take a look at the accompanying five-day chart of the NASDAQ's performance and answer this question: does CNBC have a complete dolt writing this pablum, or are they trying to massage and manipulate the truth? The answer can only be one or the other—or a combination of the two.
(23 Mar 2017) The msm works itself, and its viewers, into a lather over healthcare bill—which will ultimately pass. It's excruciating to watch. Non-stop, both in the print media and on the TV news, financial "journalists" are frenetically tallying the House numbers to try and figure out if the much-maligned and hated GOP healthcare bill will pass. And let's just be frank about it, the vast majority of these journalists are hoping for failure. Here's what happens, despite the immature frenzy in the press: a healthcare bill will ultimately pass the House and, after much bloviating by the likes of Rand Paul, be approved in the Senate. After negotiations and changes, the final bill is sent to the president and becomes law. The market rallies with each of those three positive outcomes. The press moves on to its next false narrative to advance. How long will it take? Less time than the 18 months and one secretive night that it took the "designed disaster" that is Obamacare to become law.
(16 Mar 2017) Rachel Maddow's embarrassing "Trump tax returns" foray. It was a slow-motion train wreck. In a show that reminded us of Geraldo Rivera's humiliating Al Capone vault dig thirty-one years ago (yes, we watched it live, along with 30 million other Americans), Rachel Maddow enticed millions of viewers into watching the great "I have Donald Trump's taxes!" episode. As she milked, and milked, and milked viewers along to the great climax (sorry for that visual), the hole she was standing in kept getting deeper and deeper. In the end, here's what we found out: In 2005, Donald Trump earned about $150 million in income and paid a whopping $38 million in taxes. Some smoking gun. It was so bad that the "investigative reporter" who emailed Maddow the tax returns posited the notion that Trump, himself, may have sent in the returns just to make him look good. Wow. The more unhinged this faction becomes, the more they help Trump look good.
(27 Feb 2017) CNN president praises John McCain for "standing up to Trump." The false narratives written since the election in such mainstream business publications as The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg Businessweek have been absolutely laughable, and ad nauseam. Now, in the Bizarro World in which we live, the president of CNN, Jeff Zucker, is calling Congress "gutless" for not pushing back on President Trump's admonishment of fake news. Everyone in Congress with one notable exception, that is—John McCain. Zucker commended McCain's rambling comments about freedom of the press (nobody is taking away their right to talk, Johnny) which ended with the comically dire warning: "that's how dictators get started." The real irony of this brouhaha is that the actual damage to the press has been via self-inflicted wounds, with editors allowing the personal political opinions of the journalists to permeate their stories without the authors facing accountability.
(21 Feb 2017) Wall Street Journal covers Trump's condemnation of anti-Semitic violence...questions his own anti-Semitism! It would be bizarre, even for his detractors, to question President Trump's love of the Jewish people and the Jewish state. Nonetheless, along comes The Wall Street Journal's Rebecca Ballhaus (@rebeccaballhaus). She couldn't just write an article recounting President Trump's condemnation of the vile anti-Semitic acts which have taken place across the country as of late. Nope. She framed the false narrative hit piece with its title: "Trump denounces anti-Semitism AFTER criticism by Jewish groups, others." Disgusting.
Of course, the Jewish groups she cites were vehemently anti-Trump from the start. Here's a pull quote from the director of one such center: “The president’s sudden acknowledgment of anti-Semitism is a Band-Aid on the cancer of anti-Semitism that has infected his own administration.” To use these acts as a weapon to beat the president is beyond sickening. President Trump can handle this sort of garbage, but it is time to push back against the yellow journalists who foment division...and then squeal like stuck pigs when they are busted.
Of course, the Jewish groups she cites were vehemently anti-Trump from the start. Here's a pull quote from the director of one such center: “The president’s sudden acknowledgment of anti-Semitism is a Band-Aid on the cancer of anti-Semitism that has infected his own administration.” To use these acts as a weapon to beat the president is beyond sickening. President Trump can handle this sort of garbage, but it is time to push back against the yellow journalists who foment division...and then squeal like stuck pigs when they are busted.
(16 Feb 2017) CNBC's Sara Eisen's phony tweet. During President Trump's press conference, he mentioned that he "inherited an economic mess." True story. The average GDP over the previous eight years has been around 2% per year, and the "recovery" from the 2008 recession was the most anemic in modern times. After the president's remarks, however, Sara Eisen at CNBC (@SaraEisen) posted a graph showing the real dollar growth of GDP over Obama's years, not the rate of growth. Of course, the graph went straight up, just as it would if you had $1 in year one and $1.10 in year eight. Complete misrepresentation of the truth. She is too smart for this to have been an oversight.
(Left: The true state of Obama's economy looks like this, not Sara Eisen's false narrative)
(Left: The true state of Obama's economy looks like this, not Sara Eisen's false narrative)
(15 Feb 2017) WSJ reporters claim intel community keeping info from Trump, whom they do not trust. Carol E. Lee ([email protected]) is one of a handful of Wall Street Journal reporters who have become notorious for projecting their own thinly-disguised political beliefs onto readers. Through false narratives wrapped with just enough truth to make their claims believable, their articles have become little more than comical bilge. On today's front page, Ms. Lee and a fellow reporter make the bold claim that the intelligence community is keeping critical information from President Trump due to a deep mistrust. In actuality, entrenched holdovers from the Obama administration are trying to cause as much chaos and confusion as possible, relying on useful idiots such as Lee to carry their water. It is time for the intelligence agencies to be fumigated to eradicate the rats and vermin. As for the mainstream press, they have already done irreparable damage to their profession.
(Photo: WSJ writer Carol E. Lee fist-bumping her bud)
(Photo: WSJ writer Carol E. Lee fist-bumping her bud)
(14 Feb 2017) Contessa Brewer at CNBC claims Trump hurting veterans with federal hiring freeze. One of President Trump's most ardent support groups is, without a doubt, the US military. Perhaps that is why Contessa Brewer (@contessabrewer) at CNBC zeroed in on them with this headline: "Trump's hiring freeze hurts young veterans, who were already having trouble getting jobs." Really? Trump came into office running on a platform of creating more jobs, getting better healthcare for American vets, and shoring up our military, and this reporter creates the false narrative that Trump is against vets because he called for a government hiring freeze—except for the military. This is why you are not trusted, Ms. Brewer. (Brewer was formerly at MSNBC, and has a history of performing these kinds of stunts.) Let her, and CNBC, know what you think of political bias disguised as reporting. @contessabrewer @CNBC