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How can they seriously be considered of any value in the political arena anymore?

”Correspondents'” Dinner and the Value of Bought-and-Paid-For MSM Propagandists



Needing any occasion to appear pertinent, this year’s gathering of White House “correspondents” did make the effort to remain relevant and address this issue at the previously vaunted annual “Correspondents'” Dinner held in Washington, D.C. Unfortunately, elections have serious consequences, and the American people may have a different take on the relevance of the MSM. And despite how much MSM apologists would like to believe in their self-importance and value within American society at this time in our history, we the people are the ones who should have the final word on that. It is amazing to consider that the President of the Associated Press, Jeff Mason, attempted to legitimize a blatant bias in the MSM by defensively stating: “We are not fake news. We are not failing news organizations. And we are not the enemy of the American people.” If considered at face value, it is quite absurd to think that anyone’s enemy could dictate who can be viewed as an enemy, and who could not be. Looking in the mirror will not correct the error. The MSM used to be able to compete within a vacuum for advertising dollars and public attention - it is how the media moguls gained such incredible wealth. However, with the advent of the internet and alternative media outlets/sources, the public can no longer be held hostage to “all the news that’s fit to print,” as the New York Times proudly crows.
The mainstream media certainly are not the enemy of the people when they print the news about the invention of new medical devices, or life-saving medicines, or space exploration, or sports scores, or the score with regard to which Hollywood darling has been slotted as a couple, or dating whomever, and other non-political items. In this Jeff Mason can be viewed as being accurate, but when it comes to politics - even international politics - the MSM has demonstrated way too many times over several years an outrageous bias that emanates from their tarnished city citadels. Within the political arena, the contemporary representatives of the media who cover politics cannot remain unbiased. It is akin to supporting a favorite football team or a special basketball player, or like the attraction to a particular actor or actress. It is hard to remain free from bias or favoritism, and this translates into how the media interacts with, or reports on the specific team, or player, or actress. Contemporary representatives of the media possess political opinions, and those opinions lead to a political persuasion as shelled out to the public. This is not a problem in and of itself, but when only one side of an issue is covered, or the “other” side is always doing something “bad,” or some people are targeted by the media for character assassination, this translates into abuse of the media’s role in society. This concept of a proper role of the media in a civil society leads one back to the absurd statement by Jeff Mason. Though not appearing as a dictator, Mason and other media moguls like him seem to harbor the idea that only such elitists have the intelligence or “wisdom” to determine the news that is “fit to print” or disseminate to the masses. Yet, the true irony is that from their city citadels, they seem not to see what the people see. We the people see media bias, media callousness, media character assassinations, media cover-ups, media disingenuousness, media elitism, media favoritism, media hypocrisy, media infringement of privacy, media intolerance, media justification of corruption, media justification of racial and religious intolerance, media justification of violence, media lies, media manipulation of public perception and public sentiments, media political prejudice and promotion of politics from a singular point of view.

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The problem with journalists is that they look in the mirror when they should be looking out the window.'

Ironically, one key takeaway from the “Correspondents'” Dinner over this past weekend came from Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, the dynamic duo who essentially kept digging into the shadows of the Watergate activities to uncover the Watergate Scandal. These two appeared earnest and persistent, doggedly pursued the facts, and revealed the truth as they uncovered it. When Carl Bernstein spoke to fellow journalists, he proudly proclaimed: "Shortly after Richard Nixon resigned the presidency, Bob and I were asked a long question about reporting. We answered with a short phrase that we've used many times since to describe our reporting on Watergate and its purpose and methodology. We called it: 'The best obtainable version of the truth.'" However, when you use that template and apply it to reality today, the media does not permit, nor do biased individual seek to find the best obtainable version of the “truth.” Woodward was able to get a round of applause from the audience when he stated: Mr. President, the media is not fake news." However, he did admit that he and Bernstein agreed with Nixon about was a statement the former president made regarding the media, which incidentally still holds true today. President Nixon once said, 'The problem with journalists is that they look in the mirror when they should be looking out the window.' Unfortunately, this is the ultimate truth. Today, Woodward and Bernstein are looking into the mirror from their crystal citadels, unable to fathom how badly the media has abused the trust of the people. Woodward is still at the citadel known as the Washington Post where he is an associate editor. Bernstein, once a reporter who teamed with Woodward in a commendable endeavor, is currently a published author who ironically has written several books on the use and abuse of power - and cannot see the abuses of the power of the MSM.

Bought-and-paid-for press, viewed with contempt and distrust

Once the heroes of journalism students from NYU to USC, these two are now increasingly viewed, along with the whole bought-and-paid-for press, with contempt and distrust. The irony that makes the words of media moguls like Mason ring hollow is that right in front of them in Washington, D.C., is a story waiting to be revealed, and they fear to touch it. Even more astounding than a president who bugged the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate building, is the recent discovery of the previous Democratic administration, in a flagrant abuse of governmental power, initiating surveillance of the opposition party in a presidential election - to an even greater extent than Nixon could have dreamed. As respected as Woodward and Bernstein are, who are the ones in the media reporting on this modern day Watergate? Who today seeks 'the best obtainable version of the truth?'" There are so many other stories that journalists could tackle in a similar way that Woodward and Bernstein tackled Watergate, but it would embarrass their preferred political party, or their favorite president. When one attempts to use their template and apply it to reality today, the media moguls do not permit, nor do biased reporters seek to find the best obtainable version of the “truth.” The problem is they just might find it. Even if anyone with due diligence would stumble upon evidence on the Obama Administration spying on American people, media moguls in their citadels of power would suppress the truth. The bought-and-paid-for media are only paid to report the “news that is fit” by their standards to disseminate. How can they seriously be considered of any value in the political arena anymore?


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Dennis Jamison -- Bio and Archives

Dennis Jamison reinvented his life after working for a multi-billion dollar division of Johnson & Johnson for several years. Currently retired from West Valley College in California, where he taught for nearly 10 years, he now writes articles on history and American freedom for various online publications.

Formerly a contributor to the Communities at the Washington Times and Fairfax Free Citizen, his more current articles appear in Canada Free Press and Communities Digital News. During the 2016 presidential primaries, he was the leader of a network of writers, bloggers, and editors who promoted the candidacy of Dr. Ben Carson. Jamison founded “We the People” - Patriots, Pilgrims, Prophets Writers’ Network and the Citizen Sentinels Network. Both are volunteer groups for grassroots citizen-journalists and activists intent on promoting and preserving the inviolable God-given freedoms rooted in the founding documents. 

Jamison also co-founded RedAmericaConsulting to identify, counsel, and support citizen-candidates, who may not have much campaign money, but whose beliefs and deeds reflect the role of public servants rather than power-hungry politicians.  ​


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