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Global Journalism Watchdog Honors Trump for 'Overall Achievement in Undermining Global Press Freedom'
In first annual "Press Oppressor" awards, Committee to Protect Journalists recognizes Trump's negative impact around the world

As promised on social media last Friday, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) announced the winners of their Press Oppressor awards on Monday evening—planned just after President Donald Trump shared his decision to give out awards for the "Most Dishonest and Corrupt Media Awards," capping off a year during which he waged frequent attacks on media outlets and individual journalists.

The president had the dubious honor of being recognized for his "Overall Achievement in Undermining Global Press Freedom," both for his own vitriolic anti-press rhetoric and the impact his attitude toward journalism has had in other countries.

"The awards are our response to Trump's announcement," Courtney Radsch, advocacy director for CPJ, told Common Dreams. "This idea of denigrating and pillorying the press has real consequences around the world, and we've seen that as we've just had the worst year on record in terms of journalists being imprisoned for doing their work."

As CPJ reported last month, 262 reporters were imprisoned in 2017, up from the previous year's historical high of 259. The worst jailers of journalists were Turkey, China, and Egypt.

Nine journalists were arrested in connection with the Disrupt J20 protests on Trump's Inauguration Day in Washington, D.C., stoking fears of a potential crackdown on the U.S. media under the new president. But CPJ's main concern with the president's anti-press stance is his rhetoric in speeches, TV appearances, and on social media:

In response to media coverage critical of him, Trump has threatened to 'open-up' U.S. libel laws, sue news outlets, and subject their broadcast licenses to review. He regularly attacks outlets and individual journalists on Twitter and in speeches, calling them "sad," "failing," or "garbage." Since declaring his presidential candidacy in 2015, Trump has posted about 1,000 tweets critical of the press. CPJ research shows that when public figures and political leaders lob insults at the media, they encourage self-censorship and expose journalists to unnecessary risk.

[snip]

"It's getting more difficult for the U.S. to advocate for free speech on the world stage," she said. "When Trump denigrates the news media and threatens libel suits against journalists, it sends the message to other leaders that it's acceptable to attack the press. We're seeing that in Turkey, the Philippines, Cambodia, Venezuela, and Myanmar, that leaders in those countries are starting to use Trump's rhetoric of "fake news"—this is not a situation where the U.S. is in a strong position to be lecturing anyone about free speech rights."

[snip][end]

I like this awards show a lot more than this "Fakies" nonsense he's going to do next week.

_________________
-- Tis an ill wind that blows no minds.
Malaclypse the Younger

So tonight is supposed to be Trump's "Fakies" where he gives out his so-called "Fake News Awards". He already postponed his nonsense "awards ceremony" to today.

How's he going to do this? So-called Trump TV? A press conference? Are the media really going to want to give even this nonsense where he directly attacks them, airtime?

Stephen Colbert and Trevor Noah have already asked Trump for an award, they want one. As a badge of honor.





Anyway, while this nonsense supposedly will or won't happen today, Jeff Flake compared Trump to Stalin based on his attacks on the media.

WATCH: Sen. Flake calls Trump’s attacks on media ‘shameful,’ recall Stalin rhetoric
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/g ... n-rhetoric

_________________
-- Tis an ill wind that blows no minds.
Malaclypse the Younger

Here they are: https://gop.com/the-highly-anticipated- ... ws-awards/

1. The New York Times’ Paul Krugman claimed on the day of President Trump’s historic, landslide victory that the economy would never recover.





Which is pretty funny when one reads number 2, and looks at that stock market graph:



2. ABC News' Brian Ross CHOKES and sends markets in a downward spiral with false report.

As usual, this show was a flop.

Trump gives out his 'Fake News Awards' to CNN, N.Y. Times, Wash Post, others
The president highlighted negative coverage he said showed bias.
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/01/ ... rds-345482

President Donald Trump tweeted out the winners of his “Fake News Awards” on Wednesday night, proclaiming, “And the FAKE NEWS winners are...”, with a link to the Republican National Committee website.

There, an unsigned entry opened by saying, “2017 was a year of unrelenting bias, unfair news coverage, and even downright fake news.”

Rather than specific awards, per se, the site listed 10 news stories from a range of mainstream outlets, including CNN, the New York Times, Washington Post that the Trump viewed as false.

The entries focused on stories where the media outlets had admitted errors and issued corrections, like those by ABC News’ Brian Ross, who was suspended and then reassigned for an erroneous report on Trump and former national security adviser Michael Flynn.

Other entries included Time’s mistaken report about Martin Luther King Jr.’s bust being removed from the oval office and CNN’s incorrect reporting on when Donald Trump, Jr. had access to hacked Wikileaks documents. (*)

[snip]

When Trump initially sent his tweet, the link to GOP.org did not load for more than an hour. Instead, it displayed an error message reading, “The site is temporarily offline, we are working to bring it back up. Please try back later.” (**)

White House Correspondents Association president Margaret Talev issued a statement in response to the awards, saying, “Reporters will continue to work every day to inform Americans what their government is doing in their name and with their money.”

At an event on press freedom co-hosted by the Newseum and the Committee to Protect Journalists Wednesday night, the affair came to a screeching halt when an audience member mentioned Trump released the awards mid-event.

[snip]

“The number of consequential things on the agenda right now that should be occupying the president’s attention is extraordinarily high, the government shutdown among them,” she added. “One might ask the question, ‘Aren’t there better uses of your time?’” (***)

Longtime Republican strategist Stuart Stevens, believes said the awards could help Trump with his supporters, since it “reinforces what his base wants to believe about news media.”

But he added, “What I am more struck by is just the lack of respect for the Constitution. It is an attack on the First Amendment."

The awards were been given out on the same day that Sen. John McCain wrote a column in The Washington Post decrying Trump’s war on the press while fellow Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake compared Trump’s attacks on the media to those made by Joseph Stalin.

[snip][end]

(*) We have seen this same story mentioned here. 'nuff said, excelsior.
(**)
(***) Golfing, I suppose.

_________________
-- Tis an ill wind that blows no minds.
Malaclypse the Younger

_________________
-- Tis an ill wind that blows no minds.
Malaclypse the Younger

Best Achievement in Fake News

The nominees are:

Hillary's child trafficking ring beneath the pizza joint,
The Bowling Green Massacre,
Hillary's huge uranium scandal,
The biggest inauguration crowd ever,
and
Obamacare reduced number of people with insurance.

The Envelope Please...

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We used to hang our traitors. Now we elect them to lead us.

This article reminds us of the part that the reader/audience plays in what becomes of news.

Journalism holds power accountable


more at link

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dA3APlQeIAU

I always like Pitts' stuff. One of my favorite Herald columnists.

I totally agree. Journalists must pursue truth, but they have an additional mission. Comfort the afflicted, and afflict the comfortable.

What bugs me about Breitbart is not just being loose with truth, but that they seem to feel they need to comfort the comfortable, and afflict the afflicted.

That flips journalism on its head.

_________________
-- Tis an ill wind that blows no minds.
Malaclypse the Younger