Our reader, who signs in as Joel, has frequently noted the bias in the media towards negativity and “worst case scenario.” How many stories were published predicting a Red Wave, lamenting the dozens of seats that Democrats would lose, predicting doom and gloom. There is also its problem of “both-sides-ism,” as though the scientist who says the sun rises in the west is as equal in credibility as the one who says it rises in the East. I leave his own sentence structure unchanged.
I asked Joel to describe himself. He wrote:
I am a retired Trade Union activist who sees the attacks on America’s teachers as an attack on the most visible and the largest of Americas unions.
It is no accident that whether the Billionaire oligarchs / plutocrats / politicians who attack public schools and their teachers consider themselves socially progressive or are religio fascist , they abhor Unions.
He writes:
So for two years now I have been pointing out crime statistics on Diane’s blog and on Union Facebook page’s. Knowing that the American Public is always a sucker for the big bad Black man coming to get you; or simply the Willie Horton story . Which actually predates Willie Horton going back to Goldwater and his Nation of Moral decay and Nixon’s war on drugs. Which targeted minorities disproportionately.
Both on crime and inflation the supposed “Liberal Media” did its best to prove Trump correct in his charges against them. Whether it was intentional or not, the hype was far greater than the reality. For a group of people who profess to despise Trump and his merry band of seditious Neo Nazi White Christian Nationalists, they did their best to bring them back to power. Crime sells advertising .
They say, Inflation is the worst it has ever been— except at its peak, it was half the rate of the 1980s and accompanied by 3.5% unemployment now, not 8%. Endless stories of the terrible economy.
Last Fall when they started blasting away, it was under 5% . With gas lower than it had been from 2011-14 . Wage inflation was already moderating. Tough to have a wage price spiral without the wage component. The media frenzy did allow Corporations with virtual monopoly power to take the Public’s expectation of inflation and deliver it to them, tacking on record profits far above increased costs.
But Crime is the issue that may have cost Democrats 4-5 seats in NY and with it the House. All in Down State districts formally represented by Democrats . Far more harm done to Democrats on MSNBC , CNN, WaPo and the NY Times than on Fox News, the NY Post and the Wall Street Journal”’…. No one who follows the Murdoch rags is voting Democratic to begin with.
On top of a redistricting enabled by Cuomo appointed Judges as part of bone thrown to Republicans when they controlled the State Senate with the help of Cuomo’s turncoat IDC caucus. On top of Adams and Suozzi running around like they were Curtis Sliwa and the Guardian Angels, there were 800 stories a month in 2022 about crime in the NYC Media Market vs 130 a month in deBlasio’s last term ending in 2021. Talk about manufactured consent.
What was the reality. Last year there were fewer murders than 2011 a year Bloomberg was running around calling NYC the safest big City in the Nation . This year with a 13% reduction there will be fewer murders than 2012 the next to last year he was in office when he was taking bows for how safe the City was .
But not only lower than 2012; significantly lower than every year between 2012 all the way till when America was GREAT in 1960.
Your odds of being injured on a 2 mile ride in your car are greater than being injured in a violent crime in the NYC Subway. The murder rate in NYC truly does make it one of the safest cities in America with bail reform having little or no impact on recidivism.
Of course that is not the narrative from CNN, MSNBC, nor the local mass media. The Press made it sound that murders were like the terrible 60s when there were 1000 murders a year by mid decade . The 70s when there 1500 , the 80s when there were 1800 to 2000 and the early 90s when there were 2400 murders . There were 468 in 2021 and 379 as of last week in 2022 with only 6 weeks to go.
So here is the thing . Excluding the Garbage dump in the Harbor (Staten Island) that should be turned over to NJ. 82 % of Manhattan residents voted for Democrats. Ah but they are just woke liberals . 79% of Bronx Residents voted for Democrats not so woke , 73% of Brooklyn and 67% of Queens residents. So where all this supposed crime was happening it was not a concern enough to sway voters .
Yet in the NYC suburbs (all six counties) where all the seats were lost. Crime was lower in almost every major category recorded. 2021 Lower than not just 2020 but most years back to 2017 the last year listed in the state crime registry. The 100 million dollar Republican Willie Horton Campaign supplement by the ” Liberal Media ” and their 800 stories a month.
Heck of a Job Joe Scarborough, mission accomplished. And I know he is a Conservative Republican but he also claims to be a never Trump-er. Perhaps they will give him an extra hour to cover Hunter Biden’s Laptop.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
“….the Willie Horton story. Which actually predates Willie Horton going back to Goldwater and his Nation of Moral decay and Nixon’s war on drugs. Which targeted minorities disproportionately.”
Willie Hortonism was the philosophy of Southern Rascists and their fellow travellers, the Social Darwinists. All across the South, journalists painted people like Ida Wells and Al Manly as the enemy turned on good white people, and “academics” of the day debated topics like whether the races evolved from different hominids. I am sure Joel would agree that this race-baiting attitude is the underlayment of the carpet of hatred that has for so long ruined mankind. It has allowed us to see others as not deserving of what we have, to the end that the avaricious among us are given license to do what they want.
Agreed !
Nicely observed, Roy!
MSM (both sides) exists on sensationalism. It’s all about manipulation of the public. They take a grain of truth and turn it into a circus. Dems say the Repubs are fascists and Repubs call Dems Communists…..what’s it gonna be folks? Communism or Fascism? Those are the only 2 choices! Gone are the days of nuance, discussion, critical thinking and actual reporting/journalism. I finally had enough and “turned off” and I am a much happier and productive person because of it. I’m tired of being mentally manipulated by a bunch of pretty faced $howboats looking to make even more money for the Bully class.
Me too, Lisa, especially TV. I stopped watching MSM yrs ago. I don’t like PBS either, except for Christine Amanpour for world news. CSPAN’s a.m. show hits the daily high spots from a wide variety of sources, augmenting with interviews. [The call-in comments provide entertainment value 😉]
Amanpour is brilliant, wonderful.
The Frontline documentaries are also outstanding.
Once networks put the news division in the entertainment division, unbiased news reporting suffered. When networks realized they could make a lot of money from sensationalizing the news, objectivity took a backseat to gaslighting. Networks thrive on crises and doubt, particularly since most of them are owned by conservative learning companies.
Great example on CNN as I write this. The talking heads praise Sen. Lummis for her “courageous” statement and vote on same-sex/interracial marriage bill. As I watched it, she made a point of how difficult making the decision for her was. That’s courageous? The easiest decision any thinking human being can make. Waiting for future courageous statements from republicans on controversial issues like the importance of public education, privacy, and fairness.
Lady G voted against it. Because, hypocrisy.
Totally with you. Her response (echoed by other Repugnicans) was sickening. And a typical attempt to make up to the bigots in her base. “Well, I really struggled with whether I would vote against genocide, what with the Biblical teaching about the slaughter of the Midianites. But I suppose that when the Lord says we need a good genocide, we can make an exception. ”
Kinda like that.
Well the UFT is spearheading an attempt to diminish retiree and active member health benefits. As a retired teacher and a UFT member I have no love for the UFT. The health benefits were enacted into law in 1967 with Administrative Code 12-126 that requires NYC to pay for health insurance premiums of all workers, retirees, and their family members up to about $900 p/month. For retirees the cost is much lower because of Medicare yet the UFT is trying to force retirees into Medicare Advantage to avoid a 1 billion dollar debt it owes the city. The city has agreed to replenish the 1 billion+ money taken from the “stabilization” fund, a fund set up to help pay health insurance, if the UFT and other unions could produce savings in health costs. NYC/unions lost in two court cases, Supreme Court and the Appeals Court.
Michael Mulgrew, President of the UFT is trying an end run around the court decisions by asking active members to call the City Council members and request that 12-126 be amended or eliminated to “protect” their healthcare when in fact just the opposite would happen. (Gaslighting)
Beginning with the execrable Randi Weingarten and now Michael Mulgrew The UFT is nothing more than a self serving organization doing the bidding for the Mayors of NYC.
The UFT has NEVER conducted a fair election for president. When every past president was set to retire they retired about a year before their term ended and appointed an “interim acting” to serve out the final year before the next elections. This effectively made the interim an incumbent which is virtually impossible to defeat, hence the stranglehold on power and the disregard for well being of members.
Mike I would point out that most workers would love to have the Union Medical plans that we have. And some members of my Union who work for the City find themselves in the same situation.
I can understand your anger however think all the way back to the 2020 primary election when Sanders, Warren and most Democrats were pushing for Medicare for All till Tim Ryan stood up asking what about those great Union Healthcare plans. Well what about them Tim ? They are great if you can keep them is what went through my mind.Great if you can keep your Union Job . Only 10.3 % of the Labor Force is Unionized only 6% of the Private sector and I assure most of their Plans were not equal to the UFT or my Unions .
But it goes even deeper. In 2019 after Democrats took Control of the NY State Senate with a veto proof majority they proposed an M4All plan for NY . It was killed by pressure from the Union movement. These things have a way of coming back to bite workers . Until Unions once again truly take the lead in pushing for broad based economic change that goes beyond the needs of our own members the pain will continue.
Joel, in 2007 the UFT actually warned members against Medicare Advantage. Our Medical Benefits are not union provided. Mayor Lindsay pushed the City Council to make health insurance coverage paid for by the city resulting in Administrative Code 12-126 that does just that. Incredibly the UFT & DC 37, mainly, are “gaslighting” (word of the year by Mirriam-Webster) their members by telling them that if the code is not amended or eliminated they will lose healthcare protection by eliminating the union’s bargaining power. The last thing I want is bargaining power for my healthcare. 12-126 is cut and dry. The city pays, period.
Until the major teachers’ unions take it to the streets to end the federal standardized testing mandate, they are complicit in child abuse. Until they come out against the Common Coring of American curricula and pedagogy, they are complicit in the desiccation and dumbing down of what we teach.
“A seat at the table” has been the biggest punchline offered as a solution to the now decades-long education reform nightmare. It has resulted in nothing more than a front row viewing of all that has unfolded.
Yours, Bob, is the only solution.
” A seat at the table”
Union head: We need a seat at the table
To really get a deal
Teachers: *We’ve always been at the table
Because we are the meal”
This would be incredibly funny, SomeDAM, if it weren’t so true. Well done!
We shall continue to donate for the legal team. Mulgrew and Co weren’t expecting that.
Good one, Joel. I am forever correcting commenters at news-article platforms who list NYC together with Detroit and Baltimore as crime-ridden danger spots [?!] And one can go beyond murder counts. NYC does not appear on any of the “100 Most Dangerous Cities” for violent crime, period. And I’m looking at 2019 lists, before the FBI implemented its new reporting system: many cities [including NYC] have not yet contributed stats to FBI since the change. But NYPD lists stats for each type of crime monthly, with a comparison to the previous year for that month as well as seasonal trend.
p.s.– not for nothing but we don’t want SI.
The issues that were supposed to tank the Democrats’ chances in the midterms according the media were not as important to voters as mainstream media claimed. While the economy remains a concern, crime and the “crisis at the border, ” both right wing talking points, did not deter people from voting for Democrats. People are already shopping like gangbusters for the holidays, but that will likely make the Fed to look for another so-called correction soon.
Issues don’t and have never mattered to republicans. Nor has consistency. Only owning the libs does. Just look at the “issues” they ran on and the agendas they will govern on. Neither has anything to do with the other. Once Democrats figure out the for the short- to medium-term (and maybe the long-term) that issues don’t matter, perhaps they will be masculated, so to speak.
NYC has a population of about 8 million. In a city with this many people, there are bound to be crimes every day somewhere. Looking at stats is necessary.
For what it’s worth, I walk my dog late at night (10 pm to midnight) and have never had a problem. In my many decades in the city, I have never been the victim of a crime.
That’s only because you’re so tough and intimidating. Scares ’em off to try it on easier marks.
Greg,
It might be because my 100 lb dog is intimidating.
But my previous dog was 25 lbs and I had no trouble then either.
Plus there’s the obvious answer: you live in a safe neighborhood.
Diane,
After reading your blog, they know not to mess with you.
Or your junkyard poet.
dianeravitch
The Times actually ran a piece that did a halfway decent job on the issue (after I posted the comment).
For those without a subscription I like these two excerpts.
“New York and its suburbs may remain among the safest large communities in the country. Yet amid a torrent of doomsday-style advertising and constant media headlines about rising crime and deteriorating public safety, suburban swing voters like Ms. Frankel helped drive a Republican rout that played a decisive role in tipping control of the House.”
“Many New York City residents are baffled by what they view as the irrational fear of those in communities that are objectively far safer.”
“Meet the Voters Who Fueled New York’s Seismic Tilt Toward the G.O.P. ” NYT
Ms. Frankel probably has never experienced crime and knows no one who has. Homeless in Pen Station or Grand Central are more likely to be the victims of crime than the criminals, yet are the image conjured up in their minds.
What most do not appreciate is the role the NYC PBA played since the George Floyd protests in fueling the fear mongering. It is no accident that suburban Commack LI was the scene of phony right wing protests over CRT that was never taught. Protests largely driven by the regions PBA’s . .
In Sean Maloney’s CD your dog pooping on a neighbors lawn is an officer Obie moment with “Twenty seven eight-by-ten color glossy pictures with circles and arrows
And a paragraph on the back of each one ”
bethree5
They are actually are released weekly as well even before the monthly summary. But to put things in perspective on the same page that has links to the weekly crimes, there is a link to Historical Crime 7 major felonies yearly between 2000- 2021. To make a real comparison one would have to take the YTD number and compare to the historical trends . .
Take murders dead men don’t lie . There are no hidden catacombs with bodies under city hall . Any other stat can be “splained” away one way or another . So if in this week this year there were 4 murders yet in 2021 there were 2, The media will take the weekly (or monthly) number which mainly compares to that week the previous year and run with the headline murders increase 100% . The fact that on a yearly basis or current year to date, 204 (52×4) murders would be the lowest number of murders in NYC since gun powder was invented will never be mentioned. Or in the case of” the more respectable media ” that mention will be down past the point that most readers stopped reading .
As for SI can we negotiate .
https://www.nyc.gov/site/nypd/stats/crime-statistics/citywide-crime-stats.page
In addition to the issue of misrepresentation with percentages, there is the issue of noise imposed on every signal.
Basically, what this means is that even if there is a downward trend in some particular crime (say murders in a given month), their is some amount of random variation on top of that, which really is not significant over the long term.
So the fact that murders went up in a particular month over last year may not mean anything at all in terms of a trend.
That’s also precisely why focussing on single months is not a good idea and it is better to use trends over several years. (One particular month might have been much hotter or folder then another, which affected people’s behavior making murder more likely for some reason. The weather example actually had relevance to climate change as well in that temperature “noise” due to weather is why it’s not meaningful to look at temperature changes from one year to the next to get an idea of what is going on with climate. You have to look at multiyear trends (, over a decade ir more.
Some people misrepresent things unknowingly but others do it purposefully There are all sorts of “games” that can be — and ARE– played with statistics, which is where the “lies, damned lies and statistics” phrase comes from.
.
Another common misrepresentation is giving a number with no attached “error estimate /uncertainty.
People have done this incessantly with forbid “positivity” rates. Often the number sthey gave for the positivity rates (eg, in schools) were far below the uncertainty associated with the forbid tests used to compile the positivity rate, meaning that the positivity alone might be grossly misrepresentative of actual pinfecgions.
Another example where giving a single number without uncertainty is polls. Journalists and even professional pollsters often say one candidate is up by 2 or 2 points over another when in fact, the difference means absolutely nothing because it it less than the uncertainty associated with the estimate.
SomeDAM Poet
Pretty much spot on. Economist Dean Baker likes to point out that “big numbers ” also are use to sway opinions . Out of context those numbers mean little. A 2 billion dollar program is frightening , over 5 years less frightening . Viewed as part of an economy that will generate 120 trillion in those 5 years, not at all concerning. So as Diane pointed out in a City with 8.5 million people there will always be a headline generating crime. When all factors are taken into account (like auto accidents ) you are safer in NYC than in small town America.
I would further note that even trend lines can be gamed, by Cherry picking the starting point of the trend.
So, for example, let’s assume that the number of murders in a certain year was quite a bit lower than another year for some essentially random reason (one that had nothing to do with increased Po!icing, for example)
By choosing that year as the beginning of z trend line, one automatically biases the trend in the upward direction making it appear that the murder trend is up.
Climate change deniers play this game all the time, but so as to make it appear there is no upward trend or even a downward one.
They choose a start year that had a strong el Niño which biases the global mean temperature upward, which makes the trend over the years afterward (with no el Niño) appear to be flat or even downward.
Many people played this game for a decade after the strong el Niño of 1998, claiming there had been a “pause” or hiatus in global warming.
The game is dishonest, of course because these folks know exactly what they are doing.
Anyone else feeling as abysmal as I am about the coming prospects of Speaker McCarthy and Minority Leader Jeffries? Still feeling good about fate of public education in our collective futures?
IKR?
Joel’s analysis is spot on, in my opinion. Thanks, Joel.
Also, on CNN, does anyone time how long “BREAKING NEWS” appears above their headline at the bottom of the screen? Same with FOX. It’s all the same thing: the Outrage Machine, Angertainment.
Breaking Ad”
A series about how journalism sells out and goes to the monetary side..
About “media cooks” who make and sell pure unadulterated mediamphetamine
There is also its problem of “both-sides-ism,” as though the scientist who says the sun rises in the west is as equal in credibility as the one who says it rises in the East.”
Both sides-ism”
For some it’s dawn
For others done
And east is west
And work is rest
On spinning earth
For what it’s worth
It’s day and night
And dark and light
Haaaa! Great!!!!
And Diane’s junkyard poet. I freaking love that.
Freaking beautifully said, Joel! Thank you!!!!
And I freaking love your writing style. I feel like I’m listening to Joe Hill here.
The first Joel
The first Joel the angel did say
was to certain Bob Shepherd Joe Hill here he say
Joe Hill here, he say, while herding his sheep
on a cold winter’s night that was so deep.
Joel Joel Joel
Bob is the King as all can tell
I figure it’s after Thanksgiving do I can singe Christmas arrols
Sing them too
You correctly identify that the first Noel was to certain poor Shepherds. Now, bow down and show the proper reverence!
Shhhh. What’s that? Do you hear what I hear? someDAM noise.
But you have your characters confused, sameDAM. This post is by Jo-EL, brother of superman’s father, Jor-EL.
Jo-EL, known on planet Earth as Union Man.
Unsurprisingly my College instructors did not appreciate my writing style back in the 70s . I was fortunate enough to be handed back papers with good grades and grammatical corrections. So I have needed the edit button for quite some time .
Fortunately labor activist today do not currently face the fate of Joe Hill . Of course as we move toward Fascism that may change.
I enjoy your writing style, Joel, and always learn from your insightful, informed, intelligent commentary.
I should correct this reply ; Labor activists in the USA are not executed . Obviously in much of the world that is not the case . Many of the imprisonments and executions serve US corporate interests .
Environmental activists are executed just as — if not more — often than labor activists.by and for corporate interests
Our morning briefing from WaPo more good news is bad news for Biden.
“3)Gas prices could drop below $3 a gallon by Christmas.
What to know: Filling up now is as cheap as it was in February, just before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Why is this happening? It’s not necessarily a good sign. Demand for gas is falling as countries prepare for an economic downturn, among other factors.
What else? The U.S. central bank may slow its interest rate hikes, starting this month, because of signs that inflation is slowing down.”
Not to mentioned GDP growth in the 3rd quarter was a healthy 2.9% increasing the likelihood that the mass layoff of workers is not yet written in stone. While inflation is heading down . Bad very bad !!!
Filling up is nowhere near as cheap where I live as it was before the invasion of Ukraine.
And I recently paid 5.39 a gallon for fuel oil for our furnace, which is more than I paid ALL last winter.
The price per barrel of oil came down but the price at the pump did not. Come down nearly as much as it should have.
Which, of course, is because the oil companies have kept the price high to take in record profits.
Yes, the oil companies made record profits this year. Billions.
Filling up now is as cheap as it was in February, just before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.” Is one of those false claims that you cautioned about us!
Or if it’s not false, it is at least cherry picked for certain
regions.
I stopped reading the Washington Post quite some time ago. On many subjects, they are little better than Fox News
I have a name for them: Bezos’ Hos
Because jeff Bezos “dicktates” what they print.
That was particularly obvious when Sanders was running and Bezos Hos were printing smear pieces almost daily.
Bezos absolutely despises Sanders, particularly after he shamed Bezos to raise his workers hourly pay.
I will not argue that corporate America and the Oil industry in particular are not gouging the consumer . And I hate defending WaPo but the statistic they cite is the National price of Gasoline from AAA . Of course there are regional differences some of which is seasonal like oil being being diverted from gasoline to heating oil. Actually back in late September I was able to get Reg for $3.20 than it spiked to $3.79 before falling again . What can be said is the statistic is uniform collected by the AAA for decades using the same methodology and reported daily.
What is left out of the story is that gas is historically cheap even well above $3.50 . It was over$4 in 2008 and spent 4 whole years between$3.60 and $3.90 from 2011 through 2014. The American worker is making more money and millage has increase since then. Of course that does not mean that oil companies are not gouging. They were able to make a very healthy profit when gas was under $3 in 17,18 and 19 . They are making a killing today .
Averages are another one of those stats that can be gamed.
When Bill Gates walks into a store, the average income of the people in there immediately goes through the roof.
Does it mean anything for all the rest of the folks in the store?
Of course not.
But quite a part from that.
Ask yourself what the purpose of that article in the Post was.
I’d bet it was to counter the claims that the oil companies are price gouging.
And should I feel great that oil prices are historically low when I know for a fact that the oil companies have been posting record profits for the past year?
Was that latter fact in the Post article too?
I was having a discussion about these massive profits with somebody the other day. His take was that the oil industry is making up for the “losses“ it incurred during the pandemic. Give it time and things will get back to “normal”.
While I can understand this rationale, it upsets me all the same. The pandemic gave the world a unique opportunity to see just how “manufactured” (rigged) our economic system really is. Everything was literally stopped and, yet, the world continued to spin around as it always does. People in India could see the Himalayas from a distance for the first time in decades. The importance of “essential” (aka: underplayed) workers had been recognized in a very big way. This was an opportunity to reassess and revamp the economic status quo.
But it looks like the big fellas didn’t get the message. Or they just threw it in the trash.
The “they are just making up for losses during the pandemic” is simply a bizarre excuse.
Must be nice to simply decide as an industry that “we are going to keep the price of gas up even though the cost of a barrel of oil has dropped because we lost money during the pandemic” (as did virtually everyone else except Amazon).
Excellent. As a native New Yorker; I have to say that this essay is spot on.
And, yes: we should’ve let NJ “win” Staten Island. But consider how much the toll would cost…if…uh…ohhhh…
“The Mainstream Media” is owned and operated by the super wealthy. Liberal, Conservative, MAGA, and everything in between. I don’t think they’re stupid. They will print what they deem to best serve their needs.
I totally agree
I get the Media obsession with violence. If it bleeds, it leads. But, the clearly partisan nature of that media narrative is inexcusable.