Mainstream media's version of your excellent observations:
"At the DNC convention, speakers tried to play to all sides of their oversized tent, but many experts say Harris's attempt to unite a split party is doomed from the start."
I think at this point corporate media is our biggest enemy, even more so than Trump, who wouldn't even be a thing at all if it wasn't for the media's incessant pandering and unwillingness to treat him like the common (demented) criminal he is.
Sadly, corporate media including so-called 'trustworthy sources' like NYT and WP have always feared Trump. The irony is, if he becomes president, they will likely be shut down unless they only report what he tells them to. Be careful what you wish for, corporate media!
Then there was NPR, who had its own talking heads speaking extensively last night during major speeches - including while not broadcasting the entire remarks of Hillary Clinton, Fain, and others. Its news coverage of many subjects these days is a far cry from the high standard it used to set. I no longer depend on NPR for objective and accurate reporting.
I started getting disenchanted with NPR & PBS when they completely ignored Bernie & his huge rallies. With them dwelling & harping on Biden and his age these past 4 years, while giving tfg a pass on everything, I have been convinced that they sadly have drunk that corporate influenced kool aide, too.
NPR lost me early in 2017 when they interviewed fascist Sebastian Gorka for All Things Considered as if he were some kind of serious policy wonk. I had to rely on their livestream of the J6 hearings because I don't have a TV service that has CSPAN, but the mute button got a workout when the talking heads came on.
I have always considered their education reporting subpar, and that is a field that I really care about. It shows how when all the journalists live these insular lives of privilege, they use a lens that does not get at the heart of the matter, and they ask the officials, but not necessarily the experts what are the questions they should be asking and investigating. Put them in the projects for a year and the coverage would change. I would like that to happen for economic reporters particularly. The economy is not just the stock market and wall street, but how well people are living their lives.
That's exactly when I stopped listening to NPR too. I used to listen for hours a day, but at that moment switched to audiobooks, and have not switched back.
This is why I've been watching the convention and the Harris/Walz rallies only on the campaign's own livestream. (The DNC has a livestream of the convention as well that I'm sure is fine.) Last night MSM figures were whining on social media that the convention was going on far too long and that the organizers should be fired, They seemed to believe the whole thing should be designed as a TV variety show for THEIR convenience--which would of course undermine its true purpose of consolidating and firing up the Democratic base for the election, as Jay has so astutely analyzed here. I'm done with the lot of them.
This exactly. If these people's outlets had foreign bureaus (I know, dream on) perhaps a six-month assignment in someplace like South Sudan might cure them of their insufferable sense of entitlement.
I found a live stream on USA Today, no commercials either, but every time they played music it was muted with a sign stating no music due to copyright issues. What a strong group of speakers last night, I kept thinking nothing could top each one, and then another great speech would follow. I must say I absolutely loved Secretary Clinton’s speech, smart and eloquent. I have not read or watched the MSM takes on what I saw, I don’t really care what they think, and I’m done with giving them clicks or advertising dollars.
I watched on PBS. What I saw (the entire evening) was DNC. No commentary, no reporters or pundits. I missed having chyrons highlighting speaker’s name if I missed it, but small/minor loss. It was exhilarating.
CSPAN has the chyrons identifying the speaker. And, of course, they have no commentary until after, when they do call in, which I'm sure is brutal to listen to.
We watched the CBS stream on Roku. We saw most of the convention, missing only a couple of Lieutenant Governors, and Nora and company did a pretty good job. While we do give to our local public broadcasting stations, we are not fans of the PBS coverage of these things.
They'll be the first to get shut down. Remember what Peter Thiel did to Gawker for running the Hulk Hogan story? Imagine the full force of a Trump government doing that kind of stuff on the regular. They're blind.
I've been saying it everywhere, as often as possible. Dems not only have to beat Trump, MAGA, GOP, Musk, Russians, etc., but also beat the mainstream media. And so far, we are...
Not only them but watch out for the former Repugnants acting like friends when they were silent when all the Gingrich and Limbaugh poison was out there. When William Cristol is now on Bulwark, my stomach turns.
So on MSNBC Chris Jansing show the ersatz pundits discussing how Harris is failing to define herself and how it is problematic she has not sat down for press conferences. Bullshit. Why talk with reporters asking stupid questions?
They're desperate to get back to disunity and fighting because it attracts eyeballs, and their jobs are on the line if they don't return to "profitability" for the intergalactic widgetmakers who own them.
I flooded my Substack account with Notes about this, especially the "fact-checkers," who are either certifiably insane, blindly incompetent, or in someone's pocket.
The USA Today streaming channel we saw had zero commentary or fact check. There was actually a header across the top of the screen that said that the live broadcast would not have fact check. That was just fine with us!
WTF? I knew they were fluff, but that is an out and out lie, it was written for him, by some of his worst cabinet members, as well as the worst of the worst people.
What I don't get is why mainstream media journalists continue to pander to their corporate bosses and ignore the obvious. If I had a boss who wanted me to compromise my professional ethics I'd be out of there pronto. Is there really so little integrity left in America?
That's what I mean.... Is the Almighty dollar more important than being able to live with yourself? If Trump wins and we descend into fascism, those journalists will have no one to blame but themselves. You think they'll be happy to live with that when they all lose their jobs anyway unless they report only flattering things about the orange blowhard? And watch their friends and neighbors get 'deported'?
Depending on where you are on the food chain, working in journalism really doesn't pay that well. I was a newspaper copy editor for 30+ years in medium-size markets, and, while we were paid much better than minimum wage, many people would think what we got wasn't adequate. And if they quit in protest, it wouldn't change anything. Jobs are hard to find, whether in journalism or not. I hope y'all will think of the "little people" who actually produce the daily newspapers and local TV news more kindly. Principles can take a back seat when you've got children to feed.
I don't think those folks are the problem or the target of our wrath. It's the highly paid talking heads sitting at the big, long desks at the cable news networks, and the editorial folks at places like the NY Times who make things hard for the good reporters they do have (and there are good ones there, of course).
If the "little people" had a little more control, which they do sometimes have in smaller markets, there'd be many fewer issues. And if you're a copy editor for a larger market, what can you do? Like you say, you've got mouths to feed. Leaving in a huff if you see something you don't like won't change anything.
I once was asked by my boss to get signatures on a petition I disagreed with in principle. I told her I couldn’t, in good conscience, do that. She said she was glad I said that because she agreed with me, but the directive came from the home office. Both of us put our jobs on the line and replied to the home office why we wouldn’t do it. They dropped the whole thing, and said that they wouldn’t do that type of thing again.
The so-called "main stream media" is, for the most part, controlled by corporate interests with CEO's that are Trump supporters.
This is why Jay, and I, maintain accounts on Twitter - it is one of the few places where independent journalists can be amalgamated into your feed. As long as you carefully curate it to block known bad actors and bots, it is actually quite useful.
These are the death throes of MSM. We don't need them. We have youtube and other streaming services and we have substacks we trust to get commentary after the fact.
It took me a while to realize that none of the news channels I have access to live were covering the actual speakers. It was all a way for some opinion people to keep giving their opinions. I quickly switched to the live stream on YouTube for a better experience. I agree with this article that they multiple focuses, but generally the response from the crowd was that they were on board with the range.
I thought maybe I was just tuning in on the early side & maybe media didn't consider the speakers high value enough, but to hear they continued to talk over speakers like Hillary is very disappointing. I feel bad for anyone who was trying to watch the convention that way. It's hard to feel bad for struggling media companies when their content is such garbage.
For the record, I watched live on MSNBC. They slipped a little commentary in between speakers, but they were careful to promptly cut away and shut up during speeches.
Happy to hear they did better! I do tend to still like stuff from them. I don't have many live TV channels that come with the TV, but somehow still manage to have multiple versions of fox news
Updating my own comment. On cue, this afternoon's "Politico Playbook" (Politico, it should be noted, is owned by a German conservative newspaper conglomerate): "Harris tries to build a big tent"
Charles, I agree with you. The MSM is working for clicks and likes, and outrage and attention. While an independent press is an important part of democracy our MSM is not a part of this needed component to our democracy. Therefore We the People, need to be seeking other sources of information. I am deeply grateful to all of the independent media like ProPublica, and Substack writers like Jay Kuo, to keep us informed and create community around sharing information and thinking. I really think that Warnock put it well when he said what he needs. That is what we all need, and the MSM is not a part of that.
I truly believe the MSM is in its death throes. They are of course behaving in a way to hurry things along. Well, we won’t miss them, and we will see what is able to rise from the ashes.
We saw this with our own eyes. We heard this with our own ears. We read smart analysts like Jay. The mainstream media are dinosaurs. Redundant. Irrelevant. Worthless.
We have found our own sources, and we have become our own newspapers. Welcome to the new News world.
Let's face the facts, Charles. Corporate Media is far more interested in profits and higher ratings than they are in free and fair elections. Giving Trump a free ride instead of calling him out on his false and outrageous claims sells more papers. Sowing divisiveness translates into higher ratings and higher fees for ad times. They are duplicating what the aldorithms do on Social Media. Most have abdicated their responsibilities as watch dogs. The pursuit of the Almighty Dollar and keeping the shareholders happy takes precedence over concepts like honesty, integrity, and fairness.. 'The love of money is the root of all evil.'
I was so encouraged by what I saw of the convention last night (and this morning- I'm old and need my rest). Everything was perfect. AOC, and others, are going to be great leaders in the Democratic Party; but AOC stands out.
I have attended his church 3 weeks before the pandemic. Being a preacher in a large African American church, he knows oration. And, yes, I am a white person.
That's how his kind of preacher rolls - "🎶 Starts out soft and low - like a small earthquake; and when he lets go - half the valley shakes 🎶" - Neil Diamond
Lawrence O'Donnell said last night that when he saw Obama's speech at the 2004 convention, he told himself he'd just seen the first black president, whenever it happened.
That's the feeling I had watching AOC last night: the first Latina president, whenever it happens.
She is amazing. So bright and able to grasp complex relationship between economics and social facts and bring them together in balance. She loves a challenge.
Possibly. Giving an effective speech is a different skill set than actually doing good governance. Dictators are usually very good at making effective speeches.
Thank you for a great synopsis of the first night of the Democratic Convention.
I was proud and very impressed by what I saw. Hillary Clinton was warm, relaxed and humorous. I still can't help thinking of what might have been, if the first woman to head the Democratic Ticket, who WON the popular vote, had also won the Electoral College votes too.
It's good to see Democrats actually come together and control all the nitpicky infighting. I was Ridin' with Biden and now I'm overjoyed to be Walzin' with Harris! I'm looking forward to the Obamas' speeches, as well as Tim Walz's speech and of course, Kamala's on Thursday. WE WON'T GO BACK!
Got goosebumps all over again reading your summary 💙 I watched the whooooole thing and even wrote a couple dozen postcards. Eagerly awaiting tonight's adventure.
P.S. Aren't you s'posed to be getting ready to be a dad?
I think his Facebook post said if it doesn't happen this weekend, they're inducing next week. Or was it last weekend and they're inducing this week...? I can't remember for sure but I imagine he'll set us straight. He's been posting cute pics of 'rehearsing' with a pram and diaper training.
Great summary of last night's events, which I will enjoy watching the recordings of later today (have never been good at staying up past 10).
One of the themes that no one has brought up, and that I think is needed is that YOUR VOTE IS YOUR SECRET. That Republican guy came close, but I think you can convince MAGAts on the fence that they can talk the "support talk" but vote their conscience. And 45 will not be able to find out that they voted against you. There has been such a campaign of terror by the DonOLD outing anyone who speaks out against him, that i think people forget that they don't have to" come out of the republican pro-trump closet" in order to vote to support Harris/Walz and our democracy. No one will know.
I love Walz' example of community. In Montana, he said, after a blizzard, you shovel your walk and then see who else of your neighbors needs help - you don't ask them their party identification. That's what it means to be a neighbor in Montana. Hope he puts that in his speech. The message that Democrats want to be good neighbors is a very powerful one.
The exchange between you and Kai Kinzer here had me pulling out the US map. I realized that most of the northern border has states with names starting with angular letters. 13 states starting with only 6 letters, 2 of which (M&N) are used 3-4 times: WIMNMWMOPNVNM.
I have to admit that, as a V between two N's, I struggle to remember the order of the MWM section. Not to mention "MNOP" is a section of the alphabet most of us tend to mush together because of the song!
Doesn't really help that VT and NH are basically the same shape. We even tend to refer to ourselves as the Twin States, particularly along the border! If it helps, *V*ermont is wider at the top than the bottom. Additionally, we tend to pronounce our "r" in Vermont. New Hampshah doesn't always, particularly in the seacoast area, just like their r-less neighbors Massachusetts and Maine.
I see a hidden powerhouse person who remains mostly in the background. I can see on her face her compassion for others and her strength to show on her face the feelings within her. Watch for Grace, empathy and care coming from Gwen Walz.
It was, it is, simply spectacular. We are as a consequence, those of us who align ourselves within this moment together, are forever changed by it and one another.
Each of the speakers were very moving last night. President Biden is a true hero in my book. He’s done a good job and put country over self to step down and endorse Harris. He will go down as one of our greatest presidents. Onward and upward. The torch has been passed to a new generation!
Second half of that is still true; the first, not so much. Now The GQP loves only The Convict and HIS version of America - which is decidedly not the version I grew up loving..
She did! Oh, wait, the pig's plane just landed, all of MSM has to turn its lens to watch him waddle down the stairs - sorry Hillary. Now about those emails. So much more important than boinking porn stars and taking bribes from dictators.
Republicans don’t believe in community. Or rather they believe in community the way they believe in religion—as a signifier to make themselves more comfortable, important and powerful than you. Other than that, they subscribe to Margaret Thatcher’s quote that there is no such thing as society. If Reagan had said it (which I’m sure he wished he had), it’d be on the dollar bill by now.
I’m not a believer, but I’ve read enough of the Bible to know what’s in it. Republicans treat the Bible like a software licensing agreement—you don’t read it: you scroll to the bottom and click I Agree.
“Republicans don’t believe in community …(except) as a signifier to make themselves more comfortable … “
While this statement may be overly broad in its insinuation, narrowly applied, it’s right on.
The American Dream is about self- betterment and equal opportunity to succeed. This should be apolitical; this should apply to all Americans, but the way forward is a lot harder, and this should teach humility not arrogance.
When we become selfish in our pursuit and self-congratulation of achievements- which are rarely achieved without the help of others- it becomes self- indulgent permission to be critical of those who don’t. Or, can’t, for many reasons.
I worry that many in the current generation lack appreciation for the sacrifices of the generations before them that focused on “for the good of all people in society“and lack social awareness and humility.
This is the challenge for both parties and all thinking people.
It took the Orange Oaf to teach Democrats that we need to embrace our differences. I thought the speeches last night were remarkable! The young women telling about their encounters with forced birth was deeply disturbing. I think the Blue Tsunami is building.
I saw a cover from the New Yorker magazine that had a roller coaster with Kamala and Tim in a car going straight up, and Donald and JD going down. I loved it!
Yes, I watched it last night as I had since I was 8 years old. (now 70) I skipped a couple of years because of Summer School and such. But last night I seen the whole Demotic party united like I never seen before. No infighting this year a bit four years ago. It was calm and well thought out. I cried when President Biden walked on stage. But then I had to remind myself We are sometimes called on the world stage when needed and Joe was needed so badly. Sorry to see him go but I do understand it is best to have Kamala to take his place. I also watched the Republican National Convention this year, had to shut it down on day two, as it was too silly for my taste. they did not talk about the future, nor did they say anything about their plans for the American People. On the last night I turned into the Republicans again I fell asleep was waken up by ah Hulk Hogan? I thought it was an ad for the WWE then I realize he had a TRUMP shirt on could not believe they had asked HULK HOGAN as a speaker. I do hope that our Party does not have a Weido like HULK talking. I feel blessed to have Joe these last three and a half years leading us out of that nightmare Hope Kamala can pick up the torch and lead us farther from it.
Mainstream media's version of your excellent observations:
"At the DNC convention, speakers tried to play to all sides of their oversized tent, but many experts say Harris's attempt to unite a split party is doomed from the start."
I think at this point corporate media is our biggest enemy, even more so than Trump, who wouldn't even be a thing at all if it wasn't for the media's incessant pandering and unwillingness to treat him like the common (demented) criminal he is.
Sadly, corporate media including so-called 'trustworthy sources' like NYT and WP have always feared Trump. The irony is, if he becomes president, they will likely be shut down unless they only report what he tells them to. Be careful what you wish for, corporate media!
Then there was NPR, who had its own talking heads speaking extensively last night during major speeches - including while not broadcasting the entire remarks of Hillary Clinton, Fain, and others. Its news coverage of many subjects these days is a far cry from the high standard it used to set. I no longer depend on NPR for objective and accurate reporting.
It really sucks that NPR is playing the same stupid MSM game.
I agree. People depending on NPR for full coverage of the DNC lost big last night. I was glad I could stream.
I watched it on MSNBC, which I thought was actually quite good, & no breaks for advertising. 👍
I started getting disenchanted with NPR & PBS when they completely ignored Bernie & his huge rallies. With them dwelling & harping on Biden and his age these past 4 years, while giving tfg a pass on everything, I have been convinced that they sadly have drunk that corporate influenced kool aide, too.
NPR lost me early in 2017 when they interviewed fascist Sebastian Gorka for All Things Considered as if he were some kind of serious policy wonk. I had to rely on their livestream of the J6 hearings because I don't have a TV service that has CSPAN, but the mute button got a workout when the talking heads came on.
I have always considered their education reporting subpar, and that is a field that I really care about. It shows how when all the journalists live these insular lives of privilege, they use a lens that does not get at the heart of the matter, and they ask the officials, but not necessarily the experts what are the questions they should be asking and investigating. Put them in the projects for a year and the coverage would change. I would like that to happen for economic reporters particularly. The economy is not just the stock market and wall street, but how well people are living their lives.
That's exactly when I stopped listening to NPR too. I used to listen for hours a day, but at that moment switched to audiobooks, and have not switched back.
I watched on CSPAN.
What is MSM?
Main stream media. corporate repubklican owned outfits like the NYT, WaPo (which used to be great) and CNN to name a few.
Thank you!
This is why I've been watching the convention and the Harris/Walz rallies only on the campaign's own livestream. (The DNC has a livestream of the convention as well that I'm sure is fine.) Last night MSM figures were whining on social media that the convention was going on far too long and that the organizers should be fired, They seemed to believe the whole thing should be designed as a TV variety show for THEIR convenience--which would of course undermine its true purpose of consolidating and firing up the Democratic base for the election, as Jay has so astutely analyzed here. I'm done with the lot of them.
If these so-called pundits can watch an overly long Oscars show, they can handle this. Crybabies. :-)
This exactly. If these people's outlets had foreign bureaus (I know, dream on) perhaps a six-month assignment in someplace like South Sudan might cure them of their insufferable sense of entitlement.
That is brilliant! Unfortunately most are merely boblehead type commenters, news presenters rather than actual journos.
I found a live stream on USA Today, no commercials either, but every time they played music it was muted with a sign stating no music due to copyright issues. What a strong group of speakers last night, I kept thinking nothing could top each one, and then another great speech would follow. I must say I absolutely loved Secretary Clinton’s speech, smart and eloquent. I have not read or watched the MSM takes on what I saw, I don’t really care what they think, and I’m done with giving them clicks or advertising dollars.
I watched on PBS. What I saw (the entire evening) was DNC. No commentary, no reporters or pundits. I missed having chyrons highlighting speaker’s name if I missed it, but small/minor loss. It was exhilarating.
CSPAN has the chyrons identifying the speaker. And, of course, they have no commentary until after, when they do call in, which I'm sure is brutal to listen to.
PBS was no better than NPR! It's very disheartening!
They are all "through the Looking Glass".
Stopped listening to NPR around 2007 when they began both siding everything. So disappointing.
That seems to be a very catchy disease.
No longer getting my money or my listenership. This election has made me view my media much more critically than before.
I watched on MSNBC. No talking, no commercials, just the convention from start to finish.
They saved all of their commentary for when it was over. Which I appreciated.
I gave up on the NYT, WaPo, NPR and while ago. Now it’s Midas Touch, The Bulwark, the BBC and Heather Cox Richardson.
We watched the CBS stream on Roku. We saw most of the convention, missing only a couple of Lieutenant Governors, and Nora and company did a pretty good job. While we do give to our local public broadcasting stations, we are not fans of the PBS coverage of these things.
Yes, I too, was extremely disappointed in PBS talking over so many of the speakers.
There is a reason they are referred to as "nice polite republicans. Too much republican donor money after they got some of their funding cut.
I was so upset that the commentators on PBS talked the whole time Rep Jasmine Crockett was speaking. I had to watch her speech on YouTube.
CSPAN for the win.
😢😢😢
They'll be the first to get shut down. Remember what Peter Thiel did to Gawker for running the Hulk Hogan story? Imagine the full force of a Trump government doing that kind of stuff on the regular. They're blind.
Aren’t they in a way already reporting what he “tells them”.
How to fight rampant misinformation, skewed information and outright falsehoods? Hopefully the DNC has some ideas.
I've been saying it everywhere, as often as possible. Dems not only have to beat Trump, MAGA, GOP, Musk, Russians, etc., but also beat the mainstream media. And so far, we are...
Not only them but watch out for the former Repugnants acting like friends when they were silent when all the Gingrich and Limbaugh poison was out there. When William Cristol is now on Bulwark, my stomach turns.
So on MSNBC Chris Jansing show the ersatz pundits discussing how Harris is failing to define herself and how it is problematic she has not sat down for press conferences. Bullshit. Why talk with reporters asking stupid questions?
🎯🎯🎯
They're desperate to get back to disunity and fighting because it attracts eyeballs, and their jobs are on the line if they don't return to "profitability" for the intergalactic widgetmakers who own them.
Bingo! And intergalactic widgetmakers is absolutely brilliant!
This BS take of the Dems at every corner is infuriating.
I flooded my Substack account with Notes about this, especially the "fact-checkers," who are either certifiably insane, blindly incompetent, or in someone's pocket.
Yup, USA Today had "fact check" where they said trump has nothing to do with Project 2025.
Grrrrrrrrrrrr
The USA Today streaming channel we saw had zero commentary or fact check. There was actually a header across the top of the screen that said that the live broadcast would not have fact check. That was just fine with us!
WTF? I knew they were fluff, but that is an out and out lie, it was written for him, by some of his worst cabinet members, as well as the worst of the worst people.
🙄🤔
Or, all of the above.
What I don't get is why mainstream media journalists continue to pander to their corporate bosses and ignore the obvious. If I had a boss who wanted me to compromise my professional ethics I'd be out of there pronto. Is there really so little integrity left in America?
Because it pays to.
That's what I mean.... Is the Almighty dollar more important than being able to live with yourself? If Trump wins and we descend into fascism, those journalists will have no one to blame but themselves. You think they'll be happy to live with that when they all lose their jobs anyway unless they report only flattering things about the orange blowhard? And watch their friends and neighbors get 'deported'?
Depending on where you are on the food chain, working in journalism really doesn't pay that well. I was a newspaper copy editor for 30+ years in medium-size markets, and, while we were paid much better than minimum wage, many people would think what we got wasn't adequate. And if they quit in protest, it wouldn't change anything. Jobs are hard to find, whether in journalism or not. I hope y'all will think of the "little people" who actually produce the daily newspapers and local TV news more kindly. Principles can take a back seat when you've got children to feed.
I don't think those folks are the problem or the target of our wrath. It's the highly paid talking heads sitting at the big, long desks at the cable news networks, and the editorial folks at places like the NY Times who make things hard for the good reporters they do have (and there are good ones there, of course).
If the "little people" had a little more control, which they do sometimes have in smaller markets, there'd be many fewer issues. And if you're a copy editor for a larger market, what can you do? Like you say, you've got mouths to feed. Leaving in a huff if you see something you don't like won't change anything.
I once was asked by my boss to get signatures on a petition I disagreed with in principle. I told her I couldn’t, in good conscience, do that. She said she was glad I said that because she agreed with me, but the directive came from the home office. Both of us put our jobs on the line and replied to the home office why we wouldn’t do it. They dropped the whole thing, and said that they wouldn’t do that type of thing again.
Good for you and your boss. Unfortunately your names may have been added to some Project 2025 list as a resister.
Prestige beats integrity for many people
Because it's easier than starting a Substack? :-)
The so-called "main stream media" is, for the most part, controlled by corporate interests with CEO's that are Trump supporters.
This is why Jay, and I, maintain accounts on Twitter - it is one of the few places where independent journalists can be amalgamated into your feed. As long as you carefully curate it to block known bad actors and bots, it is actually quite useful.
And money from having those accounts profits Elon.
These are the death throes of MSM. We don't need them. We have youtube and other streaming services and we have substacks we trust to get commentary after the fact.
It took me a while to realize that none of the news channels I have access to live were covering the actual speakers. It was all a way for some opinion people to keep giving their opinions. I quickly switched to the live stream on YouTube for a better experience. I agree with this article that they multiple focuses, but generally the response from the crowd was that they were on board with the range.
I thought maybe I was just tuning in on the early side & maybe media didn't consider the speakers high value enough, but to hear they continued to talk over speakers like Hillary is very disappointing. I feel bad for anyone who was trying to watch the convention that way. It's hard to feel bad for struggling media companies when their content is such garbage.
For the record, I watched live on MSNBC. They slipped a little commentary in between speakers, but they were careful to promptly cut away and shut up during speeches.
Happy to hear they did better! I do tend to still like stuff from them. I don't have many live TV channels that come with the TV, but somehow still manage to have multiple versions of fox news
Updating my own comment. On cue, this afternoon's "Politico Playbook" (Politico, it should be noted, is owned by a German conservative newspaper conglomerate): "Harris tries to build a big tent"
I didn't bother reading.
I wanna slap the mainstream media upside the head.
Better yet, both sides.
ISWYDT!
Lol!
Charles, I agree with you. The MSM is working for clicks and likes, and outrage and attention. While an independent press is an important part of democracy our MSM is not a part of this needed component to our democracy. Therefore We the People, need to be seeking other sources of information. I am deeply grateful to all of the independent media like ProPublica, and Substack writers like Jay Kuo, to keep us informed and create community around sharing information and thinking. I really think that Warnock put it well when he said what he needs. That is what we all need, and the MSM is not a part of that.
I truly believe the MSM is in its death throes. They are of course behaving in a way to hurry things along. Well, we won’t miss them, and we will see what is able to rise from the ashes.
We saw this with our own eyes. We heard this with our own ears. We read smart analysts like Jay. The mainstream media are dinosaurs. Redundant. Irrelevant. Worthless.
We have found our own sources, and we have become our own newspapers. Welcome to the new News world.
ALL LAME-STREAM MEDIA IS CORRUPT.
Let's face the facts, Charles. Corporate Media is far more interested in profits and higher ratings than they are in free and fair elections. Giving Trump a free ride instead of calling him out on his false and outrageous claims sells more papers. Sowing divisiveness translates into higher ratings and higher fees for ad times. They are duplicating what the aldorithms do on Social Media. Most have abdicated their responsibilities as watch dogs. The pursuit of the Almighty Dollar and keeping the shareholders happy takes precedence over concepts like honesty, integrity, and fairness.. 'The love of money is the root of all evil.'
I agree - it seems impossible to get a factual report.
I was so encouraged by what I saw of the convention last night (and this morning- I'm old and need my rest). Everything was perfect. AOC, and others, are going to be great leaders in the Democratic Party; but AOC stands out.
AOC was great. A whole bunch of them were, but my fave was definitely Warnock, especially his close.
I met him last year in person. He is so warm and real.
I have attended his church 3 weeks before the pandemic. Being a preacher in a large African American church, he knows oration. And, yes, I am a white person.
(edit: not to be confused with "his clothes," about which I'm completely agnostic.)
I'll have to view Warnock, I missed much.
😁
I haven't seen his speech yet, I will this afternoon.
'I need my neighbor's children to be okay so that my children will be okay,' he said. https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/august-19-2024?utm_source=
The last few minutes are the best. Got off to a somewhat slow start and just went on fire after that.
That's how his kind of preacher rolls - "🎶 Starts out soft and low - like a small earthquake; and when he lets go - half the valley shakes 🎶" - Neil Diamond
And preach he did.
Yeah. He took us to church.
Lawrence O'Donnell said last night that when he saw Obama's speech at the 2004 convention, he told himself he'd just seen the first black president, whenever it happened.
That's the feeling I had watching AOC last night: the first Latina president, whenever it happens.
She is amazing. So bright and able to grasp complex relationship between economics and social facts and bring them together in balance. She loves a challenge.
I agree. I also love Katie Porter and Stacie Abrams. I think those 2 could fix the country in about a week!
Responding to TCinLA and AOC.
❤️
Possibly. Giving an effective speech is a different skill set than actually doing good governance. Dictators are usually very good at making effective speeches.
Yes. AOC and Jasmine Crockett are both warriors that I really like.
When she started speaking I said to my husband, "She's going to be president some day."
She really is fabulous, intelligent, and has such empathy and passion for making life better for everyone.
Warnock, too. He's so inspiring!
My favorite was the Boston Globe, which repeatedly noted that certain statements "needed context". SMH.
Sounds like they went downhill after Marty Baron left, as well.
Thank you for a great synopsis of the first night of the Democratic Convention.
I was proud and very impressed by what I saw. Hillary Clinton was warm, relaxed and humorous. I still can't help thinking of what might have been, if the first woman to head the Democratic Ticket, who WON the popular vote, had also won the Electoral College votes too.
Let the Blue Tsunami begin!!!
She lost because of the FBI announcement a week before the election that there were "more emails". An act that violated the FBI's own policies.
and Cambridge Analytica.
And gerrymandering.
Me too. I think H. Clinton would have made an amazing president.
It's good to see Democrats actually come together and control all the nitpicky infighting. I was Ridin' with Biden and now I'm overjoyed to be Walzin' with Harris! I'm looking forward to the Obamas' speeches, as well as Tim Walz's speech and of course, Kamala's on Thursday. WE WON'T GO BACK!
I love Walzin with Harris! Great campaign slogan.
Got goosebumps all over again reading your summary 💙 I watched the whooooole thing and even wrote a couple dozen postcards. Eagerly awaiting tonight's adventure.
P.S. Aren't you s'posed to be getting ready to be a dad?
I keep expecting the big announcement, too, lol.
I think his Facebook post said if it doesn't happen this weekend, they're inducing next week. Or was it last weekend and they're inducing this week...? I can't remember for sure but I imagine he'll set us straight. He's been posting cute pics of 'rehearsing' with a pram and diaper training.
where is his facebook page? Can't find it.
https://www.facebook.com/nycjayjay
Great summary of last night's events, which I will enjoy watching the recordings of later today (have never been good at staying up past 10).
One of the themes that no one has brought up, and that I think is needed is that YOUR VOTE IS YOUR SECRET. That Republican guy came close, but I think you can convince MAGAts on the fence that they can talk the "support talk" but vote their conscience. And 45 will not be able to find out that they voted against you. There has been such a campaign of terror by the DonOLD outing anyone who speaks out against him, that i think people forget that they don't have to" come out of the republican pro-trump closet" in order to vote to support Harris/Walz and our democracy. No one will know.
especially wives.
I love Walz' example of community. In Montana, he said, after a blizzard, you shovel your walk and then see who else of your neighbors needs help - you don't ask them their party identification. That's what it means to be a neighbor in Montana. Hope he puts that in his speech. The message that Democrats want to be good neighbors is a very powerful one.
Did you mean Minnesota? Heck, maybe it's true in Montana, too!
Yipes, yes!!! such is the perspective of a myopic New Yorker. Sorry! (and thanks for the help :)
The exchange between you and Kai Kinzer here had me pulling out the US map. I realized that most of the northern border has states with names starting with angular letters. 13 states starting with only 6 letters, 2 of which (M&N) are used 3-4 times: WIMNMWMOPNVNM.
I have to admit that, as a V between two N's, I struggle to remember the order of the MWM section. Not to mention "MNOP" is a section of the alphabet most of us tend to mush together because of the song!
I always mix up Vermont and New Hampshire. Now that I know V is between 2 Ns, I think I can remember the order. I like how you remember things!
Google. That's how I remember things!
Doesn't really help that VT and NH are basically the same shape. We even tend to refer to ourselves as the Twin States, particularly along the border! If it helps, *V*ermont is wider at the top than the bottom. Additionally, we tend to pronounce our "r" in Vermont. New Hampshah doesn't always, particularly in the seacoast area, just like their r-less neighbors Massachusetts and Maine.
Well, from NY, they're all out west somewhere ...😁
Happens in NJ too
I see a hidden powerhouse person who remains mostly in the background. I can see on her face her compassion for others and her strength to show on her face the feelings within her. Watch for Grace, empathy and care coming from Gwen Walz.
It was, it is, simply spectacular. We are as a consequence, those of us who align ourselves within this moment together, are forever changed by it and one another.
Each of the speakers were very moving last night. President Biden is a true hero in my book. He’s done a good job and put country over self to step down and endorse Harris. He will go down as one of our greatest presidents. Onward and upward. The torch has been passed to a new generation!
In my 40 years of being an active voter, I have never got the warm fuzzies from a convention...until now.
Brought me several throat lumps and stand up to cheer moments
I am reminded of something I heard years ago... "Republicans love America, Democrats love Americans".
Second half of that is still true; the first, not so much. Now The GQP loves only The Convict and HIS version of America - which is decidedly not the version I grew up loving..
To paraphrase Pogo, " We have met the enemy and they is main stream media."
Pogo was my favorite comic strip, but I hadn’t thought about it in years. It would be so on-point right now.
Walt Kelly was an astute observer...
We saw the leaders of the rest of our political lives last night.
If Hillary had given one speech like that one, back in 2016, she'd be completing the end of her second term in office.
She did! Oh, wait, the pig's plane just landed, all of MSM has to turn its lens to watch him waddle down the stairs - sorry Hillary. Now about those emails. So much more important than boinking porn stars and taking bribes from dictators.
Republicans don’t believe in community. Or rather they believe in community the way they believe in religion—as a signifier to make themselves more comfortable, important and powerful than you. Other than that, they subscribe to Margaret Thatcher’s quote that there is no such thing as society. If Reagan had said it (which I’m sure he wished he had), it’d be on the dollar bill by now.
Senator Warnock showed them how to invoke God, if you must invoke God, into a political speech.
I’m not a believer, but I’ve read enough of the Bible to know what’s in it. Republicans treat the Bible like a software licensing agreement—you don’t read it: you scroll to the bottom and click I Agree.
Same with the Constitution, come to think of it.
I am, with your permission, stealing the software licensing agreement comparison. It's brilliant!
Don’t credit me; I didn’t come up with it and sadly I can’t remember who did.
I took a screenshot of your excellent comment. I need to remember that.
Don’t credit me; I didn’t come up with it and sadly I can’t remember who did.
“Republicans don’t believe in community …(except) as a signifier to make themselves more comfortable … “
While this statement may be overly broad in its insinuation, narrowly applied, it’s right on.
The American Dream is about self- betterment and equal opportunity to succeed. This should be apolitical; this should apply to all Americans, but the way forward is a lot harder, and this should teach humility not arrogance.
When we become selfish in our pursuit and self-congratulation of achievements- which are rarely achieved without the help of others- it becomes self- indulgent permission to be critical of those who don’t. Or, can’t, for many reasons.
I worry that many in the current generation lack appreciation for the sacrifices of the generations before them that focused on “for the good of all people in society“and lack social awareness and humility.
This is the challenge for both parties and all thinking people.
Like the SNL Church Lady, Republicans use religion so they can do "the superior dance".
It took the Orange Oaf to teach Democrats that we need to embrace our differences. I thought the speeches last night were remarkable! The young women telling about their encounters with forced birth was deeply disturbing. I think the Blue Tsunami is building.
I saw a cover from the New Yorker magazine that had a roller coaster with Kamala and Tim in a car going straight up, and Donald and JD going down. I loved it!
Yes, I watched it last night as I had since I was 8 years old. (now 70) I skipped a couple of years because of Summer School and such. But last night I seen the whole Demotic party united like I never seen before. No infighting this year a bit four years ago. It was calm and well thought out. I cried when President Biden walked on stage. But then I had to remind myself We are sometimes called on the world stage when needed and Joe was needed so badly. Sorry to see him go but I do understand it is best to have Kamala to take his place. I also watched the Republican National Convention this year, had to shut it down on day two, as it was too silly for my taste. they did not talk about the future, nor did they say anything about their plans for the American People. On the last night I turned into the Republicans again I fell asleep was waken up by ah Hulk Hogan? I thought it was an ad for the WWE then I realize he had a TRUMP shirt on could not believe they had asked HULK HOGAN as a speaker. I do hope that our Party does not have a Weido like HULK talking. I feel blessed to have Joe these last three and a half years leading us out of that nightmare Hope Kamala can pick up the torch and lead us farther from it.