Unthreaded
This isn't a choice between Trump and CNN. Neither is necessarily great.
Certainly some people (including some of those here) like Trump or at least like what he's doing. But not all do. And not liking Trump doesn't mean liking CNN.
CNN and Sky News report all science very badly. So does the BBC and I actually have to pay for that, which is annoying.
However, there is no need to be blind to any failing in anybody.
The President of the USA does not automatically deserve respect. He's not divine (like our Monarch) or even semi-divine (like Prince Charles presumably is).
Many great figures in history weer mocked. And they bore the mockery with equanimity until they earnt respect. Look at rag-clad Gandhi or the milk-snatcher. They didn't petulantly blame the press.
M Courtney
ST / M Courtney
I don't particularly like the way that DJT dealt with Acosta and I've watched the *whole* thing - it's quite uncomfortable viewing - but the idea that is doing the rounds in some circles that it was DJT's fault / doing doesn't hold up imho. The debacle doesn't reflect well on either man.
Press accreditation at most "big" press conferences is consequent on adherence certain expected procedural norms - Acosta clearly crossed the line. You simply don't get to hog the mic like Acosta did - you might not like the answers but the protocol is that you suck it up - them's the rules.
Have either of you had to watch CNN for more than say 10 minutes? disappointed grown-up ? - since both of you are ostensibly here as skeptics - have you seen the sort of coverage that CNN routinely gives to matters pertaining to CAGW? Let's remember that CNN fed the questions in a candidate TV debate in advance to Mrs. Clinton.
The unspeakable in pursuit of the inedible....
Michael Hart +1 - if I never find CNN pre-programmed (at turn-on) onto my hotel TV ever again it'll be bliss / one less irritation in life. CNN's contempt for actual reportage is epic - something that I've seen in practice.
tomo
I also think that CNN deserves everything they get from Trump. CNN, and other members of the press, go on about him being unstatesmanlike after they had first denied him both common courtesy as a candidate and then the respect his office commands. His job does not demand that he merely suck it up as they make it clear their only aim is to destroy him. IMO, they are also demonstrating contempt for the voters.
Complaints about him muzzling the press are also groundless. Privileges now denied to CNN are simply given to other organisations such as Breitbart and newer less established agencies or individuals. CNN have made their bed and I, for one, sometimes quite enjoy watching them having to lie in it.
There is more.
CNN ratings have actually benefited from Trump. There is certainly a market for unbridled vitriolic contempt for Trump and they have tapped into it, helping to stem their decline by jettisoning their last attempts to appear as serious journalists in the political arena. Their ratings and finances would certainly be right around the U-bend otherwise, so when Trump does leave office there is going to be yet more entertainment to be had because they are probably just postponing the inevitable. It reminds me of those appalling TV talent shows where any one of the judges can press the button ordering the hapless, talentless, individual to shut up and vacate the stage for the next contestant. It was cringe-inducing, but watching the desperation of some of the performers made it akin to a bloodsport.
CNN won't be mourned. The only shame is that Brooke Baldwin still looks hot, though I suspect that is probably just makeup.
michael hart
Mailman. All good news reports contain opinions. The reporters are there, it's their responses that we seek. If you don't like the opinions offered, buy a different paper, watch a different channel.
Supertroll
Supertroll,
I think the real issue here is that during the 8 year reign of error that was the Obama crisis the media sat like lapdogs and actively worked with Democrats in the news they were reporting.
Now that someone is in power, who they despise with their entire being, and they want us to take them seriously? As if they are doing a public service?
These idiots are nothing more than well paid Democrat activists. F98k them. If they want to be respected by the President then they HAVE to respect the President. They may not like the guy BUT respect is a two way street. You want some, you show some. All I think people ask is that the media actually reports the news instead of reporting their opinions dressed up as the news.
Mailman
I have seen pneumatic tyres on sack trucks and trolleys perish in under 6 months
Nov 8, 2018 at 11:00 AM tomo
Without wishing to prolong the analogy for too long .......
Tyres for sack trucks and trolleys do not have to comply with UK/EU Regulations, though certain manufacturers and users may have their own minimum standards or specifications.
One of the "great benefits" of the EU, was supposed to be that common standards for products to be sold within the EU could be set and compliance tested. We know what a farce EU Diesel Emissions Tests and Compliance became, what if construction materials testing has been skewered too? Has the EU investigated how its Diesel Emissions Testing and Compliance could have been skewered so easily and for so long despite "everybody knowing something was wrong"?
golf charlie
What the hell are you talking about M Courtney???
Acosta had already asked his "but what about me" question and he didn't get the answer he wanted. So while he continues to hog the microphone it means other journalists DONT get to ask questions.
What the whole incident shows is a total lack of respect from the press to the President. They can whinge and moan like old grannies about how Trump labels them the enemy of the people BUT these idiots need to realise that they are the sole reason they are labeled this way. Instead of actually reporting the news, morons like Acosta report their opinions (and they wouldn't be out of place working for the BBC).
Mailman
One thing about Trump running scared of questioning, sending in the bother boys to try and wrestle microphones away is that it disproves the idea that he is a Strong Man leader.
He looked like a frightened, little boy throwing a tantrum when being interviewed by a disappointed grown-up
M Courtney
Forget Trump, forget the Democrats and CNN, don't you smell something wrong when a President can dictate to the Fourth Estate (and their readers/viewers). Past presidents have been treated abysmally by the press but still acted with dignity and decorum. The Press Conference where Trump bullied CNN was hardly edifying.
Supertroll
They didn't petulantly blame the press.
Nov 8, 2018 at 1:04 PM M Courtney
The Press were not accusing Gandhi of being pissed on by prostitutes.
The Press were not accusing Clinton of being pissed all over the USA
If CNN want to go into a White House and piss off Trump every time they are invited in, what do they expect to be told?
Trump has announced to the World that he expects civilised behaviour at Press Conferences.
All we have to do now is wait and see how Democrats deal with pissentent questioning at press conferences.