WhatFinger

Even if it has absolutely nothing to do with the subject

Media now working Trump/Khan feud into pretty much every story

By Dan Calabrese ——--August 2, 2016

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Let me show you a little trick the media use to keep their favored narratives alive - and not just alive, but dominant in the news cycle. At the moment, the media are in love with the Trump/Kahn feud, because it allows them to make the case that Trump is a horrible beast who is being mean to the family of a fallen soldier. This whole thing was an ambush from the beginning, of course, but we discussed that earlier today. For now, let's just stipulate that the media love this story and can't get enough of it.
So how do they make sure you hear about it as often as possible? Well, this brings us to a little trick they like to use, which we'll call the "comes amid" trick. The "comes amid" trick gives them license to randomly mention anything they want in any story they're writing, even if their little aside has nothing whatsoever to do with the story at hand. Here's how I might do it:
Hillary Clinton today called for more funding for pre-school education. The move comes amid controversy over Clinton's lies and denials concerning her obvious criminal behavior in the handling of classified material. Clinton says that more money for preschoolers will mean more successful children across the nation.
 See what I did there? I did what the media do all the time. The second sentence is completely irrelevant to the story. But I don't like Hillary Clinton, and I want her to lose the election. So I took the opportunity to remind you about something that makes her look bad. By saying that the preschool thing "comes amid" the lying and the other thing, I drew just a plausible enough tie between the one and the other that I managed the flimsiest of rationales for bringing it up. But if it gets by my editors . . . yay me!
This trick is older than the hills. And here's how Bloomberg writer Kasia Klimasinska used it today to take a shot at Donald Trump:
Donald Trump on Tuesday said interest rates set by the Federal Reserve are inflating the stock market and recommended 401(k)-holders to get out of equities, just like he did. “I did invest and I got out, and it was actually very good timing,” the Republican presidential nominee said in a phone interview with Fox Business. “But I’ve never been a big investor in the stock market.” “Interest rates are artificially low,” Trump said. “The only reason the stock market is where it is is because you get free money.” Trump said the market would “go great” if he were elected. His comments come amid growing tension between him and Republicans concerned that his inflammatory rhetoric -- most recently about the parents of a slain American soldier -- are hurting the party’s chances against Democrats led by Hillary Clinton in the November elections. The Fed has kept the benchmark federal funds rate at 0.25 percent to 0.5 percent since a quarter-point increase in December that ended seven years of near-zero rates. Central bankers are taking stock of the economy’s progress in the wake of the U.K.’s vote in June to leave the European Union, as well as the large swing from May’s soft labor report to June’s rebound.

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What does that fifth paragraph (emphasis mine) have to do with Trump's statements about interest rates? Nothing. It's completely irrelevant to the story. So what is it doing there? It's there because the writer just wanted to mention it. The Khan story is the media's sensation of the moment, and as far as they're concerned, every story about Trump is a story about that. All you have to do is employ the "comes amid" trick and you can mention anything you want. The reason the media keep doing this is that it's working. They're driving up Hillary's poll numbers and driving down Trump's by obsessing over this story and turning the Khans into innocent victims of the big bad bully Trump. So they'll ride it as long as they can, and they'll mention it every chance they get, even if that means working it into stories that have nothing to do with it. Media bias isn't only editorializing when they should be telling you the facts. It's also telling you the things they want you to think about, over and over again, even when it makes no sense to bring it up. And Hillary is going to need this kind of help if she hopes to realize her dream of vindicating her entire sad, accomplish-free life with the presidency.
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Dan Calabrese——

Dan Calabrese’s column is distributed by HermanCain.com, which can be found at HermanCain

Follow all of Dan’s work, including his series of Christian spiritual warfare novels, by liking his page on Facebook.

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