Note: This post was originally published in 2018 as I watched a decline in the quality of political news on TV. I suggested that a show I loved – Morning Joe – had power to interrupt Trump’s insatiable power grab. Trump wins nearly all contests for the media’s attention, and that has made him extremely powerful in our consumerist culture run by advertisers.
Since the only way for any David to fight an institutional Goliath, is to know who the overarching sponsors are and act independently of them. I suggest Morning Joe shut down for a day as a statement against the dangers of a Trump presidency. I still feel this is a winning strategy. More details of why and how below.
Originally Published Feb 8, 2018
I’ve been watching a morning news show for years. Morning Joe has gained the attention of Capitol Hill from the start, yet the importance of what they are saying seems now getting watered down in a tone of disbelief, mockery, and repetitive political commentary.
And, maybe this is why:
Joe and Mika are partially responsible for giving Donald Trump legitimate political standing. He made great ratings during the primaries and campaign, and he was a friend of theirs. He’d call in, they’d air him.
They were always kind of winking at the audience, like he was their silly cousin Biff, but still, they gave him airtime. And political operatives began listening and Joe and Mika literally birthed this person into political life. Now, we are all dealing with the baby they brought on board. No one thought he would, or could, burn the joint down.
Joe and Mika seem genuinely horrified by Trump’s continual attacks on democratic institutions. I hope this is because they are concerned about the effects this will have on every day Americans. Yes, Trump’s hypocrisy, dangerous rhetoric, and the ethical abyss at the top of his team, still prevail. He is a media master like no other. And he’s also a darling of alt-right opportunists.
Someone needs to turn the tables on this dynamic, and fast. Who better than his political mom and dad?
So, Joe and Mika, I suggest you to open a regular show as usual. I encourage you to speak to your audience directly, briefly, and firmly about the danger that is before us. America is rapidly becoming a kleptocracy, where a man who lies controls the message, and his personal allies support his radical, right wing propaganda and self-aggrandizing activities, at the expense of the collective.
Rational adults are in danger of losing our rights to control our destiny. Literally, democracy is at stake.
As consumers of media, we’ve grown too complacent, often seeking the biggest thrill and forgetting that the content is sponsored by advertisers and our own consumerism. This (I’ll say it, BAD) man controls the nuclear codes, our democratic process, and the emotions of many of his followers, and maybe even the institution called “The Media.¹”
So, at the top of the show you speak for a few minutes…and then, your show goes black for the rest of the hour. On purpose.
Of course, you’d have to figure out how to appease your advertisers, there will be a price to pay. Pay it. It will be worth it. It’s the only way you can make a statement outside of the consumer-based machine, of which Trump is a greatest darling of all. You can’t win, unless you break the game.
Haters will say all kinds of stuff. Who cares? Few have the position like you do to make a change. If you do something unpredictable, outside of the institution you are beholden to (the media), you can seize back the message and wake up Washington. Few have a power that rivals 45, but you are his political “mom and dad” and you can (maybe) send this kid back to his playpen.
- This is a great book to read, even though it does not give you a massage (lol): The Media is the Massage.
