What is with the corporate media meme today defending BP?

[branders seine]

GE (M$NBC), Time Warner (CNN), and Westinghouse (CBS) all informed me over and over again that it was inappropriate for Obama to criticize BP and might potentially damage US-UK relations; they hammered on the message that BP is 40% owned by Americans and employs over 30,000 Americans; they conflated criticism of BP with hatred of everything British; they repeated the message that BP is spending plenty on cleanup and has already paid a steep price in the stock market; they conflated temporary receivership proposals with "nationalizing" and repeated the unsubstantiated claim that such an approach would be a disaster; they made the claim that BP are the real experts at cleaning up the spill and that the government taking over the cleanup would be a disaster.

In about an hour total from 7AM until 8AM, I heard the above message at least ten times on TV and radio.


Why is BP's PR so clear and consistent, while any progressive message (on health care, the economy, civil liberties, or the BP rape of the Gulf) is immediately obfuscated, diluted, and confused, if indeed it is covered at all?

[asjr]

1. When the media are owned by Republicans

they will follow the script written by them.

[dorkulon]

11. The media is owned by corporations. So are Republicans-- and Democrats.

That's why.

[branders seine]

2. I suppose, my OP is a rhetorical question...

Is it just me, or is anyone else utterly, thoroughly 100% disgusted with the status quo?

I've been about 95% disgusted for about 30 years now, but recently the last shreds of "hope" have been rubbed out.

[BelgianMadCow]

22. Even better - you answer the question within your question

"corporate media meme"

enough said

[Enrique]

3. why do you hate the British?

;-)

[branders seine]

5. Cuz they don' t know how to talk good English.

We oughtta learn them limeys a thing or two once and for all.

[Robeson]

4. I've noticed this message has been coming out lately....

...and has been done in concert by the "news" organizations.

[Angry Dragon]

6. I noticed one sentence in the OP

"they made the claim that BP are the real experts at cleaning up the spill and that the government taking over the cleanup would be a disaster."

When did they ever do a successful clean-up??
Maybe they should be called on this statement

The time to clean-up is before it hits the beaches.

[lurky]

7. Well, BP kicked off that $200 million PR blitz.

Most of that money is being handed directly to our corporate media outlets in the form of advertising buys. I suspect that kind of cash also buys favorable coverage in those media outlets, whether they admit it or not.

[blindpig]

8. That's capitalism for ya...

They got investments to protect and the money to do it with.

Kill Capitalism

[femrap]

17. I believe we're

a Fascist Capitalistic society now. But the seeds of destruction are starting to show those green shoots!

[Catherina]

9. Money. Just money. They're coming to their *pragmatic* senses n/t

[Uncle Joe]

10. They're using reverse nationalism to defend their corporate client's interests.

It's perfectly fine for any President; as the ultimate political leader of the American People to criticize any corporation for their malfeasance, to do otherwise betrays the President's oath to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States.

As for the corporate media, if their corporate clients; whether foreign or domestic are beyond the scope of Presidential criticism especially after such an egregious offense of damaging "the general welfare," they shouldn't be allowed to do business in the United States.

Make no mistake about it, if President Obama didn't criticize BP; for their conduct, come election time, the corporate supremacist Republican Party and their corporate media mouthpieces would use that against him as evidence of his disengagement.

Thanks for the thread, branders seine.

[mitchum]

12. Advertising $$$$$$

[Greyhound]

13. Follow the money.

It answers just about any question you might have.

[City Lights]

14. Corporations defending other corporations seems par for the course.

We are a nation of, by, and for the corporations. The people have become irrelevant.

[branders seine]

16. +1

[TexasObserver]

15. You'll see the same messages repeated here ad nauseam, too.

[laughingliberal]

21. Sadly true. nt

[conscious evolution]

18. BP bought a lot of ad time.

Would you be critical of someone giving you millions of dollars?

[RandomThoughts]

19. A better question is.

Why would someone listen to someone on TV?

Pick any PR person, or even journalist, and ask yourself what characteristics got them to that position. Why would you assume that truth is the first motive? Sure some are mostly good, but they have other allegiances.

And many follow narratives.

[Laelth]

20. Oh, and don't forget the poor pensioners! n/t

:sarcasm:

:dem:

-Laelth