Remember when the exuberant yelling of Gov. Howard Dean was enough for corporate media to declare him unfit for the presidency (Extra!, 3–4/04)?
Remember January 2004, when Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean yelled in a pep talk to supporters after the Iowa caucus, and elite media declared that his “growling and defiant” “emotional outburst” was patent evidence of unacceptability? Having already declared Dean too excitable—“Yelling and hollering is not an endearing quality in the leader of the free world,” said the Washington Post (8/2/03)—media found verification in the “Dean scream,” which was played on TV news some 700 times, enough to finish off his candidacy (Extra!, 3–4/04). As Pat Buchanan on the McLaughlin Group (1/23/04) scoffed: “Is this the guy who ought to be in control of our nuclear arsenal?”
Fast forward to the present day, when Donald Trump states, “For purposes of National Security and Freedom throughout the World the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity.”
And today’s journalistic response looks like a CBS News explainer (1/8/25), headed “Why Would Trump Want Greenland and the Panama Canal? Here’s What’s Behind US interest.” It’s simple, you see, and not at all weird. “Greenland has oil, natural gas and highly sought after mineral resources.” And you know what? “Western powers have already voiced concern about Russia and China using it to boost their presence in the North Atlantic.”
In an effort to make Trump’s proposal seem rational, CBS (1/8/25) offered a map that made Greenland look like a chokepoint on the all-important Dalian/Rotterdam sea route. In fact, Greenland is more than 1,500 miles from Eurasia—greater than the distance between Boston and New Orleans.
CBS tells us Trump is “falsely alleging” that the Panama Canal is being “operated by China,” but then adds in their own, awkward, words, “China has also denied trying to claim any control over the canal.” Takeaway: who knows, really? Believe what you want. PS—you’re Americun, right?
The New York Times (1/2/25) assured us that,” Trump’s Falsehoods Aside, China’s Influence Over Global Ports Raises Concerns.” The story made it obvious that Chinese companies in charge of shipping ports is inherently scary—what might they do?—in a way that the US having 750 military bases around the world never is.
The message isn’t that no one country should have that much power; it’s that no country except the US should have that much power. That assumption suffuses corporate news reporting; and China threatens it. So whatever China does or doesn’t do, look for that lens to color any news you get.
Featured image: MSNBC (12/23/24)
Thanks for this reminder of the hostile intent in undermining of the Dean campaign.
Media who themselves are best equipped to understand microphones, their characteristics and their use, suppressed the reality that I think FAIR explained at the time: in a noisy environment, Howard dean shouted to be heard, and the close up sound captured by the mic diminished the ambient noise heard by those in the room, and audio editors characterized Dean as a demented screamer. I remember NPR programs opening with the “scream.” This hmade me realize what NPR had become.
Having become part of the Capitalism Borg, the legacy media corporations (including CPB) are pooping their pants over the antagonism of the President Elect and are willingly rushing to eviscerate any actual journalism in hopes of currying favor. He will continue to raise the stakes of their humiliation.
This article is rambling and makes no sense, nor did it have anything to do with Howard Dean. The first comment blubbers about Dean, the second comment mumbles something about poop and pants. What has happened to FAIR and its readers? Trump is agitating for rank imperialism, maybe talk about that? Or offer a substantial critique of the media’s coverage? This is just goofy.