# MSNBC: it’s the media’s job to “control exactly what people think.” **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 23, 2017, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/msnbc-it-s-the-media-s-job-to-control-exactly-what-people-think/780561 "2017-02-23T15:30:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2017, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/msnbc-it-s-the-media-s-job-to-control-exactly-what-people-think/780561/21 "2017-02-23T20:04:54Z")
> [@Blinkyandpinky](#): > > The left wing, anti-American MSM has already lost whatever little credibility they had during the election cycle. > > President Trump is absolutely correct when he calls them the enemy of the American people. They most certainly are. > > They are all throwing hissy fits now, because their entire world has come crashing down, and good for them! I am very glad. They should be destroyed completely, and we will see to that. “we”? You’re really a disgusting little Nazi troll. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2017, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/msnbc-it-s-the-media-s-job-to-control-exactly-what-people-think/780561/22 "2017-02-23T20:24:39Z")
> [@naita](#): > > Do you genuinely believe this woman intended to say that the media’s job is to control what people think? Or the big Cheeto intended to say that Ivanka is terrible? ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2017, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/msnbc-it-s-the-media-s-job-to-control-exactly-what-people-think/780561/23 "2017-02-23T22:15:44Z")
There’s always one thing you can count on when a story appears only in the fake news and opinion pieces of right-wing media and nowhere else, and that is that the story is bullshit. The context of the comment is perfectly clear. Trump has on several occasions made the astounding pronouncement that people should not listen to the media, that the media provides only fakes news, and that if people want the facts they should only listen to Trump. This from a congenital serial liar whose entire campaign and most of the presidency so far has been based on a series of fabrications. It was a shocking thing to say reminiscent of Orwellian thought control, and people who in fact only listen to Trump end up living in an alternate reality. It’s the media’s job to inform and to be a trusted source of information. Democracy depends on it. And Trump is trying to usurp that role and control what people know and believe. Anybody who thinks the comment actually meant something different is an idiot who spends far too much time reading conspiratorial right-wing drivel. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2017, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/msnbc-it-s-the-media-s-job-to-control-exactly-what-people-think/780561/24 "2017-02-23T22:37:03Z")
**Quartz** , I hear there’s an opening for a White House Communications Director. You should really send in your resume. It would really class up that place to hear the bullshit sprinkled with a Scottish accent. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2017, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/msnbc-it-s-the-media-s-job-to-control-exactly-what-people-think/780561/25 "2017-02-23T23:21:50Z")
Brzezinski unapologetically and forthrightly admitted that the media’s job is to control thought? Or she spoke unclearly. If the first interpretation is correct, why do you suppose she chose this moment to drop the charade of impartiality and admit the media’s plan for total control? It seems an odd time to confess a view that she must have known would not be well-received. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2017, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/msnbc-it-s-the-media-s-job-to-control-exactly-what-people-think/780561/26 "2017-02-23T23:39:15Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Brzezinski unapologetically and forthrightly admitted that the media’s job is to control thought? > > Or she spoke unclearly. > > If the first interpretation is correct, why do you suppose she chose this moment to drop the charade of impartiality and admit the media’s plan for total control? It seems an odd time to confess a view that she must have known would not be well-received. It wasn’t a slip, it was code to let us liberals know about the upcoming media coup, Quartz is one of the few smart enough on the right to have caught on. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2017, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/msnbc-it-s-the-media-s-job-to-control-exactly-what-people-think/780561/27 "2017-02-24T00:17:57Z")
It’s for this sort of interpretive flight of fancy that the word “disingenuous” was invented. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2017, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/msnbc-it-s-the-media-s-job-to-control-exactly-what-people-think/780561/28 "2017-02-24T00:36:40Z")
Am I the only one who noticed that the OP blatantly contradicts himself? He says that MSNBC said something, and then he said that it’s not on any of the non-right-wing media outlets. But, um, isn’t the whole point that it was on MSNBC? ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2017, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/msnbc-it-s-the-media-s-job-to-control-exactly-what-people-think/780561/29 "2017-02-24T00:37:35Z")
Take her seriously but not literally. OK next topic. Let’s make it interesting. ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2017, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/msnbc-it-s-the-media-s-job-to-control-exactly-what-people-think/780561/30 "2017-02-24T01:14:02Z")
The most shocking thing about that quote is that Joe let Mika finish a sentence. He must have been off his game that day. But really, it’s the media’s job to make a profit. Manufacturing consent is a bonus. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2017, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/msnbc-it-s-the-media-s-job-to-control-exactly-what-people-think/780561/31 "2017-02-24T01:56:24Z")
There’s got to be an adjective joke in here somewhere. [http://www.mediaite.com/tv/it-was-an-adjective-spicer-on-trump-calling-deportation-push-a-military-operation/](http://www.mediaite.com/tv/it-was-an-adjective-spicer-on-trump-calling-deportation-push-a-military-operation/) ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2017, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/msnbc-it-s-the-media-s-job-to-control-exactly-what-people-think/780561/32 "2017-02-24T02:44:55Z")
> [@marshmallow](#): > > The most shocking thing about that quote is that Joe let Mika finish a sentence. He must have been off his game that day. But really, it’s the media’s job to make a profit. Manufacturing consent is a bonus. Suffers from Matthew’s Syndrome. His mentor Tip O’Neil said, “Jesus, Joseph, and Mary, Chris, shut the fuck up!” ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2017, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/msnbc-it-s-the-media-s-job-to-control-exactly-what-people-think/780561/33 "2017-02-24T02:56:06Z")
> [@naita](#): > > Are you really that dumb? Are you entirely unfamiliar with the OP? Yes, he really is that dumb. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2017, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/msnbc-it-s-the-media-s-job-to-control-exactly-what-people-think/780561/34 "2017-02-24T03:46:50Z")
> [@Blinkyandpinky](#): > > The left wing, anti-American MSM has already lost whatever little credibility they had during the election cycle. > > President Trump is absolutely correct when he calls them the enemy of the American people. They most certainly are. > > They are all throwing hissy fits now, because their entire world has come crashing down, and good for them! I am very glad. They should be destroyed completely, and we will see to that. > [@Bridget\_Burke](#): > > “we”? You’re really a disgusting little Nazi troll. You’ll note the conservatives who say this never come up with examples that they have to defend and somehow never include Fox News in this. It is all assertions from them. Trump is the same. Assert something then ignore any conversation that runs counter to their beliefs. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2017, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/msnbc-it-s-the-media-s-job-to-control-exactly-what-people-think/780561/35 "2017-02-24T10:18:53Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Are you entirely unfamiliar with the OP? Yes, he really is that dumb. Weak sauce. ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a8b319/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_wuzzy)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2017, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/msnbc-it-s-the-media-s-job-to-control-exactly-what-people-think/780561/36 "2017-02-24T10:40:00Z")
I have little doubt it was a slip of the tongue. I also have little doubt that MB, and many of the folks in the MSM, do believe they themselves should control the narrative. ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2017, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/msnbc-it-s-the-media-s-job-to-control-exactly-what-people-think/780561/37 "2017-02-24T10:48:42Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Naturally, it seems to be entirely absent from left-wing sites. Yes. Because typically, left-wing news sites have a little more integrity than to pretend that an awkwardly-worded slip of the tongue is some major revelation. This does not reflect well on them. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2017, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/msnbc-it-s-the-media-s-job-to-control-exactly-what-people-think/780561/38 "2017-02-24T12:35:00Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Are you entirely unfamiliar with the OP? Yes, he really is that dumb. No, you just can’t cope with someone daring to question the One True Democrat Way. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2017, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/msnbc-it-s-the-media-s-job-to-control-exactly-what-people-think/780561/39 "2017-02-24T12:43:00Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > the One True Democrat Way. If you’re going to keep repeating this phrase as if it constitutes an actual argument, perhaps you should copyright it. Might get some royalties. Meanwhile, the “you’re all sheeple for pointing out how ludicrous my posts are” argument continues to be a popular one amongst the less-coherent interneterati. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2017, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/msnbc-it-s-the-media-s-job-to-control-exactly-what-people-think/780561/40 "2017-02-24T12:52:38Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > No, you just can’t cope with someone daring to question the One True Democrat Way. It took you two hours to come up with that? Can’t wait for you to actually reply to _my_ post. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/msnbc-it-s-the-media-s-job-to-control-exactly-what-people-think/780561.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/msnbc-it-s-the-media-s-job-to-control-exactly-what-people-think/780561.md?page=3)