Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

“The defense has a certain level of trust in defendant that the government does not.”

The National Guard is not Batman.

Second rate reporter says what?

You cannot love your country only when you win.

If ‘weird’ was the finish line, they ran through the tape and kept running.

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

Take hopelessness and turn it into resilience.

Anyone who bans teaching American history has no right to shape America’s future.

The republican ‘Pastor’ of the House is an odious authoritarian little creep.

Reality always lies in wait for … Democrats.

Not all heroes wear capes.

No offense, but this thread hasn’t been about you for quite a while.

The line between political reporting and fan fiction continues to blur.

Democracy cannot function without a free press.

JFC, are there no editors left at that goddamn rag?

Prediction: the gop will rethink its strategy of boycotting future committees.

Someone should tell Republicans that violence is the last refuge of the incompetent, or possibly the first.

America is going up in flames. The NYTimes fawns over MAGA celebrities. No longer a real newspaper.

Not so fun when the rabbit gets the gun, is it?

The republican caucus is covering themselves with something, and it is not glory.

GOP baffled that ‘we don’t care if you die’ is not a winning slogan.

Oppose, oppose, oppose. do not congratulate. this is not business as usual.

Jack be nimble, jack be quick, hurry up and indict this prick.

The lights are all blinking red.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / It Really Isn’t That Hard…

It Really Isn’t That Hard…

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I don’t know why this image made me think of our blogfather…

 

It Really Isn't That Hard... 3but…

Slightly more seriously: someone linked to Jennifer Rubin’s column today about everything DC journalists keep missing about Biden. She is pretty clear on both the failure and its implications:

Journalists at mainstream media outlets are creatures of habit laced with cynicism. They rarely anticipate how swiftly events can change or how dramatically the future can depart from the past. How often do we hear reporters remark that something has never happened — just before it happens for the first time? In their deep cynicism about politicians, they routinely scorn those who do not conform to their low expectations. (Too optimistic! Too naive!) Those tendencies help explain why the mainstream media have consistently underestimated President Biden and falsely predicted the failure of his agenda.

Too many reporters, despite Biden’s success in delivering hundreds of millions of vaccines to Americans and passing a $2 trillion rescue plan, have maintained a default setting in their reporting in which Biden struggles to make good on his plansor underestimates his abilities to enact them. The administration, in this telling, is forever in some sort of “crisis,” and negotiations are always on the verge of failure. Whether this “Perils of Pauline” narrative is a deliberate effort to build drama into news or whether journalists fail to comprehend the complexity and dynamics of legislative negotiations, the result is coverage that leaves readers and viewers nearly certain Biden will fail.

What she doesn’t say explicitly, because she doesn’t have to, is that the elite political media isn’t very good at its job, and hasn’t been for a while. She may not use exactly those words, but her meaning is clear enough.

It Really Isn't That Hard... 1

And that’s the lead in to a discussion I hope we have on the blog which is what to do about the disastrous consequences of the gap now present in a lot of American institutions between “elite” and “excellent”…or for that matter, even (not merely!) competent.

That is: elite status is something conferred generally by institutions, and sometimes by simple celebrity (which often leads to institutional imprimateur…see Erik Erikson at CNN and so on).  Those institutions are self selecting and self renewing, which means that membership, once achieved is the measure of success.*

That’s true across all kinds of places of course: Hiring folks at Apple decides who gets to fiddle with the next iPhone and so on. What makes elite journalism distinctive (though definitely not unique) is that there is no direct measure of how good someone actually is. (Or rather, the measures that do exist, like clicks and such, are not in themselves reliable guides.)  Maggie Haberman is a great journalist because her editors and colleagues at the Gray Lady say she is, and position her to be seen as such. Ken Vogel ditto…and so on.

There is a whole machine in place to keep up the depiction of actually mediocre journalists as rivals to Ed Murrow or Bonnie Angelo.** The Sunday shows and the events and all that.  It’s a mostly closed circle in which systemic failures of coverage become consensus approaches to stories, and it’s the relative merits of fundamentally failed interpretations and framing that define the pecking order within the Village.

I’m guessing I’m preaching to a choir in the Jackals. We know this. I guess what I’m thinking about, provoked by Rubin’s clear-eyed (if slightly veiled) contempt for her fellow hacks, is ways to subvert the ways elite journalists construct the narrative of their excellence. Heckling on Twitter actually does have a tiny bit of impact, but it’s insufficient. I’m not sure where to go with this, but the framing  of “merit” is one that is used in journalism as across much of our elite (and even not-so-fancy) institutions as a way to freeze in place existing power. (And yeah, it serves whiteness and maleness as it does so.)

So that’s what I’m thinking about today. That and the need to go get something for tonight’s dinner. Might be a steak on the hibachi, as it’s too damn hot to cook in our kitchen.

ETA: Got a hanger steak for (in Whole Foods terms) pretty cheap. Marinating now in lemon juice, pimenton, sweet Indonesian soy sauce and garlic.  Will cook soon. What’s everyone else’s menu tonight? (Sides: baby artichokes and a throw-the-crisper-drawer-at-it salad.)

You? (Yeah: this is a wide-open thread.)

*Folks will note, fairly, this describes my circumstances: I’m tenured at an R1 university, a position which once achieved confers with it a share of the power (with one’s colleagues) to decide who else gets to enter the charmed circle. It’s a very tricky approach, though it (usually) beats alternatives like putting the preponderance of power in the hands of central administration. But certainly it’s an institutional setup that can go off the rails.

**Personal reference. Bonnie Angelo was my bureau chief in my third job right out of college–I walked into the Time-Life London bureau with an introduction from the guy who had been bureau chief for my internship at Time’s Tokyo office (long story) just in time for the Falklands War. Bonnie was short of bodies to cover that and all the other stuff (the Pope’s first visit to England since that unpleasantness w. Henry VIII and such like), and was especially lacking in folks under the age of 50, so I was given a desk in a corner of the clippings library and told to talk to folks around the MoD and whatever else I could do. She was absolutely great, a fine reporter herself who had broken a fair number of barriers, and had covered and stood up to folks like Sam Rayburn and then-Senate Majority Leader LBJ. And she loved to teach. So many of today’s crew aren’t fit to carry her notepad.

Image: Orest Kiprensky. Readers of the Newspaper in Naples. 1831

Reader Interactions

53Comments

  2. 2.

    Steeplejack

    @Tom Levenson:

    Your top TIFF is not being displayed. My browser is offering to download the file. No bueno.

  5. 5.

    David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch

    the media always tries to manufacture a false equivalency to the point of ridiculousness. Turning Obama’s tan suit into a scandal. Constantly attempting to label nothing burgers as Obama’s Katrina.

  6. 6.

    Martin

    What she doesn’t say explicitly, because she doesn’t have to, is that the elite political media isn’t very good at its job, and hasn’t been for a while. She may not use exactly those words, but her meaning is clear enough.

    It is good, though, in as much as it’s about politics, and not about government, or governing or lawmaking or anything of the sort. The problem is that politics has so crowded out the acts of governance that they aren’t even worth reporting on. This is why I support and favor pubs like Pro Publica because they consistently center their reporting on impact, not process, and certainly not politics. Turns out if you start with impact and work backward, you run out of column inches long before you can get to politics. And if you start with politics the reverse happens, you never get to impacts.

  7. 7.

    khead

    I guess what I’m thinking about, provoked by Rubin’s clear-eyed (if slightly veiled) contempt for her fellow hacks, is ways to subvert the ways elite journalists construct the narrative of their excellence.

    If the FTNYFT is serious about unity, they should hire the NYT Pitchbot.

  8. 8.

    WaterGirl

    Tom, let me know if you want me to check on that image.  It shows up for me in Safari, but as a link in Chrome.

    Tom, I see that you are off foraging for food, so I fixed the image.

  10. 10.

    Spanky

    What she doesn’t say explicitly, because she doesn’t have to, is that the elite political media isn’t very good at its job, and hasn’t been for a while.

    You – and perhaps she – fail to understand their real job, which is to drive the right wing narrative. This has been a consistent theme with them for too long to simply be a failure to understand left/center politics.

  16. 16.

    Citizen Alan

    Every time I see Ken Vogel’s name, I shudder. If that SOB had had his way, the “Hunter Biden scandal” would have dominated the news for the entire general election season and probably tipped the election to Shitgibbon. And the only reason it didn’t was because a whistleblower risked everything to expose the truth before the story hit. I bet the fucking pig is still mad about losing his “scoop” and the sweet, sweet “I’m gonna write a book in five years” money he lost out on.

  17. 17.

    Danielx

    Political reporters- okay, let’s just say Villagers –

    “But – but – my ACCESS! My PRECIOUS! If I actually do my job, nobody will talk to me, and I won’t get invited to parties, and I will never have an opportunity to to take six months off to write a book! “

  18. 18.

    Ken

    @WaterGirl: Tom, I see that you are off foraging for food,

    !?

    Site admins have a lot more power than they used to. Or do you two live across the alley (valley?) from one another?

  19. 19.

    SiubhanDuinne

     

    @hueyplong:

    I’m troubled by how good I now think J Rubin is.

    I read her column this morning and had the same thought. I seriously started wondering which of us had changed.

  22. 22.

    Tom Levenson

    @WaterGirl: Oh! Should read the whole comment thread before doing my thing.

    I’ve re-upped it again as a JPG. I hope I haven’t broken your repair.

  24. 24.

    Sure Lurkalot

    In today’s Denver Post, there’s an opinion piece titled “We’re not just divided on vaccines, we’re in different realities”, where the brunt of the article discusses the vaccine hesitancy and anti-science positions promoted by the Republican Party. It underscores how this harms our economy and our ability to get COVID under control. For some reason, the writer just had to include this gem:

    “The unvarnished truth is that America is made up of warring tribes that are both manipulating facts and worshiping at the altar of their own curated set of truths, and it is killing the greatest political system ever created: democracy.”

    The altar of both sides is littered with illness and death.

  25. 25.

    Roger Moore

    Or rather, the measures that do exist, like clicks and such, are not in themselves reliable guides.

    The way you measure success defines the kind of results you will get. When you define success in terms of breaking big stories and winning prizes, you get big stories and Pulizers. When you define success in terms of eyeballs attracted, you get news that focuses on attracting eyeballs. When you define success in terms of attracting equal criticism from each political party, you get coverage that knuckles under to bad-faith criticism.

  26. 26.

    CaseyL

    The image didn’t show until I clicked on the post (i.e., not on front page mode). Maybe WaterGirl fixed it at that instant, or maybe some of us still have to open the post before the image appears.

    I’ve thought for a very long time that, because all the political journos care about is ACCESS!, they tend to build up a stable of relationships over the years, and then keep going to those sources regardless of whether the sources are truthful, accurate or useful in any objective way. The same thing happens on panel talk shows: a long-established Rolodex of people they’re used to having, regardless of merit, that are never updated or switched out. (How the fuck else is it possible Rick Santorum still gets interviewed, ffs?)

    It saves them having to work on building new relationships, which is a lot of work. But they’re making great googobs of money and should damned well do some hard work for their alleged craft!

    OTOH, I think it may be better for them to consistently underestimate Joe and the Democrats. The echo chamber works both ways, and if journos aren’t following how well and cohesively the Democratic Party is operating, then maybe their GQP buddies aren’t, either.

  28. 28.

    khead

    @khead

    “At this West Virginia slaw dog stand, the only Hanks that ever mattered were Jr. and Sr.  Then along came Chet.”

    You know, DougJ is so good he really makes it look too easy.

  35. 35.

    schrodingers_cat

    Its not just the elite political media. Left wing blogosphere  is not much better. One reason  is because it is not representative. It skews wealthy white and male compared to both the Democratic party and the country at large.

    So they focus on stories that center white grievance and elevate those who cater to that grievance.

    The last 4 years saw an unrelenting war on immigrants by the Republican president how many stories did you see in the MSM or in social media or left wing blogs from the immigrant POV. And not just the few tear jerkers about asylum seekers at the border. But long time immigrants who had their Green Cards or were citizens. How did they feel about the target that the Republican President had put on their collective backs

    This is just one example, the media mainly caters to the key Republican demographic to which they themselves belong to, everyone else is chopped liver.

  37. 37.

    dp

    @hueyplong:

    Likewise. But the thing about her is that she began with a certain outlook, but paid attention to facts around her, and adjusted her opinions to coincide with the actual real world. You have to respect that intellectual honesty, at least

    Oh, and as a Louisianian, great nym!

  38. 38.

    Roger Moore

    @hueyplong: ​
     

    I’m troubled by how good I now think J Rubin is.

    I think Rubin has always been good at what she does. You’re just happy now that she mostly agrees with you. Or, to be extra nice, it’s just easier now that she’s arguing for stuff that’s obviously true instead of BS.

  39. 39.

    VeniceRiley

    My idea is “Are they an editor or writer or hirer responsible for one or more stories about how concerning Hillary’s emails were?”” They are fired. Eric Bohlert and Maddow get to hire all the replacements.

  40. 40.

    BellyCat

    It’s a very tricky approach, though it (usually) beats alternatives like putting the preponderance of power in the hands of central administration.

    Never thought of you as naive, Tom. Drinking and posting?

  41. 41.

    piratedan

    This has long been my issue is that we have seen journalism devolve into a cool kids club rather than being real journalism imho… yeah there are some instances of the real thing in play but most of what we get is some myopic we are above it all and we will let you know when you should be concerned vibe to everything.

    The framing is everywhere,. All Biden plans are in danger… yet they’ve all been passed. Stimulus wont work… yet jobs report says otherwise Gop sure to outperform in midterms yet everywhere they’re putting kids in danger, saying and doing stupid shit and we haven’t even started prosecution of all of the jan 6th events.. do i wish it was faster…. yes but undaunted this shit will float to the surface and i think a whole bunch of rich and stupid people are gonna pay.

  42. 42.

    namekarB

    Certainly a worthwhile topic to rant about. The talking head news show is rarely about news and mostly about characters and opinions of characters and what this action means or intends. I want facts. I don’t give shit about someone’s opinion about what happened. Just tell me what happened.

    I don’t think any other country gives so much air time to members of the government. If it is a press conference of some import, by all means report it. But who cares what Ted Cruz or Lindsey Graham said and whatever action means for whatever politician or party. Just stop feeding the trolls and giving ogres air time just clouds the facts.

    That is one reason I like TRMS. Professor Maddow reports a fact, gives an in depth background that illuminates what happened. No BS. Just facts.

  44. 44.

    oldster

    The WaPo editorial board is talking nonsense today, claiming that the coming debacle in Afghanistan is Biden’s fault.

    20 years of American money and lives, 20 years of training the Afghan army, and they fold like a cheap suit. So, WaPo’s idea is to keep it up for 20 more.

    I hate the Taliban. I mourn the coming oppression of liberal values, free press, women’s rights, everything I care about. But the resilience of the Taliban, and the fragility of the Kabul government, are evidence of deep political problems, not military ones. The good guys never gained legitimacy in the eyes of the people, and the bad guys never lost popular support in the majority of the country. That’s a tragedy, but it’s a political tragedy that has no military solution — especially not a solution to be provided by a foreign military.

    Biden is absolutely doing the right thing here. And the fault for the carnage to come lies entirely with Bush and Cheney. The WaPo’s blindness to this is an indictment of the DC establishment they represent.

  46. 46.

    HinTN

    Burned grass fed strip steak hard on the outside, leaving it cold in the middle. Yep, that’s how I roll. Cheers.

  47. 47.

    HinTN

    @oldster:

    The good guys never gained legitimacy in the eyes of the people

    Nobody tried to make that happen.  Sorry, we suck at nation building. There it is.

    ETA Also too, Fuck the WaPo editorial page.

  48. 48.

    Geminid

    @oldster:  A lot of the people trashing Joe Biden over Afghanistan were not talking so loud when trump was selling out the Afghans last winter. trump put Biden in an invidious position with his fraudulent “peace” deal.

  49. 49.

    Grover Gardner

    Hanger steak is the best!  One of our local indy grocery stores carries it regularly and every coiuple of weeks I grab what they have and freeze it.

  50. 50.

    RaflW

    @Spanky: It sure does seem like Dean Baquet’s job at the NYT is to move the needle towards the rich and unaccountable, and their flying monkey squads on the “R” side of the ledger.
    Maybe because the owners of the NYT are rich and wish to remain unaccountable. (Same can be said of most of print and much of broadcast news-dom. Hubbard Broadcasting, anyone? Bullet #4 in particular.

    eta: We had one of our favorite quick/cheat meals tonight: TJ’s chicken shawarma thighs, zucchini (sautéed in the shawarma oil & spices) and brown rice. Mmmm.

  52. 52.

    Chris Sherbak

    I have no expertise in the history of (well anything really, I’m a Math Guy, but esp.) journalism. So was journalism “good” when it was single guys trying to get their pamphlets out the largest number? Or when fat cat, albeit hands off, benefactors let “journalists be journalists”? Or scrappy small town papers, endlessly juggling their ads and their communities and the ‘police blotter’ and ‘school lunch menus.’?  (I’ll admit to hearing the siren’s call of journalism from a now-unable-to-find book revelling in ‘small town journo’ and the trials and tribulations there.)

    I’m hearing people saying “journo now is bad” but I have to think this line of thinking has be well trod and discussed in various A and B list J schools, eh? Maybe an interview/solicited (or linked to) blog post would help set the context? I mean, Rubin can’t be the only one thinking this, eh?

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