November 6, 2024 11:30 am - I can’t believe all the cartoonish gibberish flooding social media. “Resist,” they say. As if street protests will save what was (sort of) a democracy. They won’t, not in this day and age. And the sooner we acknowledge that reality, the sooner we can work toward a better future.
This isn’t Hollywood, Bollywood, or Gotham City. No superheroes will save the day. Valiant rebel leaders and hypnotic dance scenes won’t help. Put the damned Bat Signal away!
I, for one, also reject the circular firing squad we’re about to see chronicled in the mass media. It will be an unpleasant diversion and will operate on the premise that things will go back to “normal” in the next election cycle.
Normal, with today’s temporarily embarrassed politicians in charge, will mean becoming a “loyal” opposition.
The first step in moving past this disastrous election needs to be an honest assessment of our environment. Not aimed at finding blame, but aimed at understanding the things needed to win in the future. (I'm not ready to talk about what winning would look like, yet.)
Vice President Kamala Harris was not a flawed candidate. She was near spotless. And she was objectively more popular than Trump.
Democrats did what they thought they needed to do.
And it was still not enough. All the money in the world, all the door-knocking in the world—none of that could overcome the reality that more people were convinced that Trump was the better choice.
Arguing about the choices made is like pissing into the wind. We’re here. Now. The bad guys won. Racism won. Misogyny won. The issue of abortion won some battles but failed to turn the tide.
So today’s topic will be addressing something I know best: the media. I’ve been inside and out of conventional outlets, and always strived for something more than what I encountered.
I missed the importance of what was happening in 2016. I saw and wrote about corporate squishing of content not suitable for conventional mass media. Facebook and Twitter algorithms suppressed unconventional media. It was just the beginning.
Now Google is finishing off what’s left, having reserved all the necessary keywords in search for client interests. (Read about the end of unique culture publisher Giant Freakin Robot for details.)
Here’s what we should take away from the 2024 election: the mass media are not friends worth relying on for building community and communicating desires. Sure, there are nice and sincere people working in media, telling stories we like to hear on occasion. But the underlying infrastructure used to transmit those stories has a conservative bias.
Trust me when I say that restructuring the way news is framed is already well underway. A huge majority of US newspapers decided to sit out this election as a matter of survival.
Across the admittedly Trumpian media, the big story today isn’t the Trump victory; it’s about the corporate/legacy/media industrial complex being defeated.
Via Brian Seltzer at Reliable Sources:
The Daily Wire's Matt Walsh wrote overnight. "Their ability to set the narrative has been destroyed. Trump declared war on the media in 2016. Tonight he vanquished them completely. They will never be relevant again."
Our next President has an enemies list that includes many in the media. He’s not very particular about the actual political leanings of those to be persecuted; it’s personal. Politico, which bent over backwards to always tell Trump’s side of any story, is on the list.
We can expect various federal agencies to do the dirty work in addition to the Justice Department and the courts. Looking at how independent media has fared in other Western autocracies should be instructive.
Some of it will be sold off to personal friends of Trump, others will face tax audits. And still others will be gutted by lawsuits alleging libel or slander that would have been thought to be ridiculous not long ago.
I don’t think we’ll get to the “falling out of a third story window” treatment in the near future. My point is, that as bad as they have been, what we regard as news sources are about to get remade. It won’t be instant, but I’m willing to bet by 2028 the process is in full swing.
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There are a thousand cuts a tyrant can make to suppress critical media. While suppression of criticism is certainly a motivation, it’s important to acknowledge that authoritarian states survive with rampant corruption at the core of the economy. Protecting those sources of cash flow (some of which are paid as tribute) is also a priority.
When it comes to social media, the big name players are already tamed. People who think that TikTock is freer haven’t seen the Chinese version or been overwhelmed by bots with a firehose of irrelevancy.
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The problem with legacy and social media is its need for a mass audience. What appears to be its strength can be key to beating the system. A set of communication tools limited in scope but connected to other groupings has potential. Smarter people than myself should take up the challenge.
In the short run, the subscription based newsletter format can be useful. If I had to point my finger at a legacy-created outlet capable of surviving, I’d say ProPublica is a good bet.
All of the Substack-style organizations have apps that allow users to search by interest and they have the advantage of providing some support to independent authors.
Some invitation-only chat-type groups that practice affiliation based on the practices of others will have to serve as a bridge to the future. The principle of bottom-up knowledge sharing with adequate filtering is key to the future.
Cory Doctorow’s self-made news network built around his blog (RSS/Subscriber modes) also has potential. The man knows technology and has envisioned many futures. We should be listening to him.
For now, it’s also important to know two other things that are not immediate concerns.
Our devices are potential weapons. Look to Israel for the worst possibilities.
We have more supporters on our side, than even AI can surveil with a few best practices. At least for now.
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Today’s post is the first of a series addressing the question of what is to be done, starting with reassessments of the social, economic, and political battlefield we find ourselves in. I’m sure to return to the topic of media as new ideas and information reveal themselves.
Next up: The one simple thing many people can do right away that will make a difference. (Friday)
Going forward my writing will be focused on a winning future, what does winning mean, and what progressives can do to protect the afflicted (including our own mental health), and envision a better world.
A lot of bad things are going to happen. But not tomorrow.