THE SECRET OF THE NEWS MEDIA

 BRYCE ON POLITICS

- Intrigue = Money

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Regardless of your party affiliation, everyone seems to be on edge regarding the upcoming November elections. When you add on top of this the concern over the COVID-19 virus, and the violence and looting in our cities, the country is getting worn out, depressed, and frankly, very angry. This is all by design as the news media knows how to pull the strings of the people.

Let me preface my remarks by describing my participation in the 2016 election when I followed the press corps to several Trump Rallies in my state. One of the first things I learned was how immoral these people were and how they gladly sacrificed honest reporting for the almighty dollar.

Ever since the United States went to a 24/7 news cycle in 1980, the reporting of news media has been manipulated by executives for competitive purposes, and this goes for ALL media outlets, be it television, newspaper, radio, magazine, etc. Fewer and fewer reporters are allowed to produce honest copy, most must follow the guidelines as prescribed by their bosses. To illustrate, before all of the Trump Rallies I attended, those members of the press who produced written copy had finished their work PRIOR to Mr. Trump taking the podium. The next day, I would read their copy, and realized it had nothing whatsoever to do with what was actually said during the rally, making the reporting completely fallacious and nonsensical. It was just plain wrong.

It was at this time I learned the news media was in the business of making money, big money. Naively, I had believed reporters tried to report fairly and accurately, but this is simply not so. To make money, they have to create an audience following, and there is nothing better than to create intrigue a la "sensationalism." Let me give you an example, if the press reported an incumbent will likely win re-election and the challenger will be easily defeated, there would be no intrigue, and consequently, no audience interest and no income. However, if it is reported the underdog will likely upset the incumbent, than the press creates intrigue, resulting in a bigger audience and makes more money on advertising, regardless if it is true or not. Not surprising, all of the news media is in on this, be it CNN, MSNBC, FOX, NBC, ABC, CBS, PBS, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and just about everyone else. Creating intrigue results in big bucks. It is therefore in their best interest to do so, and to Hell with honesty and accuracy, it just gets in the way. Hence, the proliferation of "Fake News."

Closely related to this are the polls, which are also geared to creating intrigue. Again, they will have little to sell if the incumbent is winning. Not surprising, no two polls follow precisely the same criteria and input gathering techniques (people to be selected to be interviewed). As such, they produce different results which is why I refer to them as mixing apples with oranges. Let us also not forget, Secretary Hillary Clinton possessed a double-digit lead going into the election. The same phenomenon is happening again. This explains why the political parties and campaigns do their own polling. In other words, they recognize the major polls are flawed and useless, which is why they rely on their own polling people. The point is, anyone who has complete faith in the political polls is a sucker and should avoid Aqueduct.

So, who should John Q. Public trust for news and polling? Nobody but themselves. I would suggest you watch current events, speeches, and other live events on television (Thank God for C-SPAN), and leave the spin behind you. You may also want to lookup voting results through your local board of elections (which is what I do).

Just remember, the news media's business is not honest journalism, it is about making a buck, and to do so, they have to play the public as sheep. Sorry, but it is true.

So, for you Nervous Nellies out there, take a chill pill and relax. If you are really concerned with the outcome of the November elections, report for campaign duty. Otherwise, just turn off the network news and do your own homework.

Therefore, the lesson today is simple, "Do not believe half of what you read or hear." Then again, you might want to make it 75%.

Keep the Faith!

P.S. - Also, I have a NEW book, "Before You Vote: Know How Your Government Works", What American youth should know about government, available in Printed, PDF and eBook form. This is the perfect gift for youth!

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Tim Bryce is an author, freelance writer and the Managing Director of M&JB Investment Company (M&JB) of Palm Harbor, Florida and has over 40 years of experience in the management consulting field. He can be reached at timb1557@gmail.com

For Tim's columns, see:   timbryce.com

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