Let me try and describe media politics in simple terms.
One thing political operatives--those making six and seven-digit salaries--always do is try to find that perfect propaganda line which can easily get spread, word-of-mouth, in ham and egg diners all across Main Street USA. Examples of such pat lines have been: When Jesse Jackson was running back in '84 and '88, it was "America's not ready yet for a Black president." Or when HRC ran in 2016, "she's the most experienced of all of 'em and best able to beat the Republicans." With Trump it was, "he'll drain the swamp."
Well, the 2020 election is beginning to take shape and they're at it again.
Interestingly, if there's any ham and egg diner pat line that should be spread about today's political world, it's the simple fact Bernie Sanders is not tied to the Big Money behind the Democratic Party, that he has functioned his political career as an Independent who always caucused with Democrats in Congress on issues. This makes Sanders unique. But main media will always try and hide this fact.
You see, America's corporate main media is monopolized. Five media conglomerates control 90% of all media in the US. This consolidation has caused investigative journalism budgets to become severely slashed (controlled) and the people watchdog-eye ombudsmen media critics have all been dismissed. What gets reported today comes from the top down and is usually driven by advertising dollars and social-economic-political advantage schemes. Today's news is controlled, not covered.
ABC, NBC and CBS always report the same news with essentially the same slant, and except for a special report rarely ever deviate. The network late-night comedians will always deliver and anchor the party line when needed. Cable news configurations supposedly present an image of FoxNews as right wing, CNN as the center and MSNBC as left wing. The Washington Post and New York Times are the top print media dogs and what they report gets syndicated downstream to the local outlets. Except for Fox and MSNBC, all pride themselves with objectivity. But, in reality, they're all filled with military industrial complex planted pundits and journalists. They are dedicated to maintaining a system whereby only a privileged few benefit. They could care less The American Dream has left America.
In 2014, The Princeton Study concluded America became an oligarchy, that decisions in Congress overwhelmingly favored needs of corporations over needs of the citizenry. Indeed, America's media now fronts for America's oligarchy when it comes to big defense, big banking, big oil, big health/pharma, big agri or deregulation/privatization schemes and certainly with perpetuating the drug war. So very often in the news we hear about Russian oligarchs, but never any mention of American oligarchs. Congress holds a favorability rating of 15-20% but a re-election rate of 95% all due to big money and media support.
Again, the ham and egg diner line should be: Bernie Sanders isn't like those other politicians!
Now comes social media commentator Jamarl Thomas who provides some defining examples how MSNBC, from the supposed left, is clearly attempting to diminish both the quality and potential for Bernie Sanders becoming the US president, the last thing Wall Street would ever want in America.
It needs to become understood that MSNBC should NEVER be considered a barometer for determining what is progressive thinking in today's politics. MSNBC essentially is a supportive force that backs Clinton-like inside-the-beltway power Democrats, i.e., money. The station participated in the media blackout against Sanders during the early phase of his 2016 campaign and this contributed towards multi-millionaire Clinton losing to billionaire Trump.
If anyone wants to understand what progressive thinking is all about, I strong recommend you often check the team of investigative reporters who write for consortiumnews.com. Consortium was founded by one of the best investigative journalists ever, the late-Robert Parry. The journal was 100% accurate in its coverage of the build-up to the War on Iraq, and provides a deeper school of thought on the important issues of the day.
Meanwhile, here is Jamarl's excellent critique of MSNBC:
