The left is so far behind on this that it can seen impossible to catch up, but we have to try.
It shocked me, when conducting research for another piece, that the MSNBC audience might lean left but is just as old as the Fox News audience. Key demos that were once reliably Democratic don’t watch Rachel Maddow and certainly not Morning Joe.
I don't mean to dismiss these concerns, I'm just grasping for whatever thin reed of hope I can cling to, but why doesn't five times as many followers on YouTube translate into winning more elections? It says something about the repugnance of their ideas and candidates that all this media dominance translates into 49.5% of the vote (and yes, that was enough to put Trump in the White House.) You can turn up the volume on the lies and repeat them ad nauseum, but maybe lots of people correctly perceive that they are lies?
This is an interesting point. I gotta think that at least part of it is that a lot of folks recognize the deleterious effect of trump/GOP's policies on their lives, jobs, economic interests, etc.
It's especially frustrating because the right have so poisoned online thinking that I think the barrier for progressive messages to be accepted is going to be pretty high.
Not insurmountable, but it's going to take persistence and lots of repetition to catch on. And I think that's doable!
But I used to work for one of those outlets that was progressive funded and the patience to give messages time to spread was not one of their qualities. Your point about the strings that get attached to progressive projects is spot-on.
I agree that those strings need to be removed and the funders should go with a broad approach rather than investing absolutely everything into a handful of buckets.
The part that perplexes me most is that many of these influencers are celebrated as comedians, but they are demonstrably unfunny. Their 'humor' relies on mocking vulnerable groups or simply being shocking rather than clever.
What concerns me is that this approach seems to resonate with audiences today. It offers viewers an easy way to feel superior to others. I believe this explains why genuinely funnier and more talented influencers often receive less attention - content that gives people permission to express contempt generates better metrics than actual comedy.
A lot of the right-wing messaging is intended to whip up outrage and/or fear -- which works on their audiences but left-wing audiences don't react the same way: we want to be informed (and sometimes entertained) but we don't want outrage and/or fear. And we don't need to have online content constantly validate our opinions/positions.
Even if there were left-wing equivalents to most of the big names on the right, I think it's just not a format (content-wise) that would appeal to as many on the left...
The legacy for White people in the US it seems to me, makes it difficult to mature out of the childhood stages of simplistic, expedient thinking, and into critical thinking.
This legacy lies in centuries of Whites accruing wealth by being silent about the free labor from sadistic enslavement of millions. Additionally, White people helped themselves to a continent of free land by demonizing and massacring most of the inhabitants.
(This history has lately been roughly replicated by Israel, with massive, endless support by Whites in the US.)
If people tend to do what they are supported to do, White people are supported to 1. forget, and 2. watch sports.
So how might any commentator make a living, trying to move White folks to lead in demanding the long overdue reparations, humility and maturity when those qualities have never been sufficiently supported before?
It’s also about the homogeneity of the G.O.P. as a party. The Democrats are far more diverse in terms of ethnicities, income levels, and political views. That makes it difficult to craft coherent, unifying messages . . . and . . . it makes it more difficult to raise money on a par with the G.O.P. We need to unify and seek common cause with one another. We’re not always going to agree on everything, but we have this one central issue we need to unify around now. The other issues can be dealt with after we save the Country.
Used to be a loyal MSNBC watcher, but and boycotting the station since their betrayal of Joy Reid. The triad taking over for her are totally unacceptable hosts.
Sadly that means giving up on some that are very capable like Rachel, Chris, Lawrence, Stephanie and Nicole.
Billionaire interests will never align with progressive/leftist/working class interests. Hence, billionaires will continue to avoid funding leftist-aligned media.
The left is so far behind on this that it can seen impossible to catch up, but we have to try.
It shocked me, when conducting research for another piece, that the MSNBC audience might lean left but is just as old as the Fox News audience. Key demos that were once reliably Democratic don’t watch Rachel Maddow and certainly not Morning Joe.
I'm still trying to figure out who the audience for Morning Joe is. Mika's dad?
I don't mean to dismiss these concerns, I'm just grasping for whatever thin reed of hope I can cling to, but why doesn't five times as many followers on YouTube translate into winning more elections? It says something about the repugnance of their ideas and candidates that all this media dominance translates into 49.5% of the vote (and yes, that was enough to put Trump in the White House.) You can turn up the volume on the lies and repeat them ad nauseum, but maybe lots of people correctly perceive that they are lies?
This is an interesting point. I gotta think that at least part of it is that a lot of folks recognize the deleterious effect of trump/GOP's policies on their lives, jobs, economic interests, etc.
Or at least I hope so...
It's especially frustrating because the right have so poisoned online thinking that I think the barrier for progressive messages to be accepted is going to be pretty high.
Not insurmountable, but it's going to take persistence and lots of repetition to catch on. And I think that's doable!
But I used to work for one of those outlets that was progressive funded and the patience to give messages time to spread was not one of their qualities. Your point about the strings that get attached to progressive projects is spot-on.
I agree that those strings need to be removed and the funders should go with a broad approach rather than investing absolutely everything into a handful of buckets.
The part that perplexes me most is that many of these influencers are celebrated as comedians, but they are demonstrably unfunny. Their 'humor' relies on mocking vulnerable groups or simply being shocking rather than clever.
What concerns me is that this approach seems to resonate with audiences today. It offers viewers an easy way to feel superior to others. I believe this explains why genuinely funnier and more talented influencers often receive less attention - content that gives people permission to express contempt generates better metrics than actual comedy.
I was going to comment along similar lines.
A lot of the right-wing messaging is intended to whip up outrage and/or fear -- which works on their audiences but left-wing audiences don't react the same way: we want to be informed (and sometimes entertained) but we don't want outrage and/or fear. And we don't need to have online content constantly validate our opinions/positions.
Even if there were left-wing equivalents to most of the big names on the right, I think it's just not a format (content-wise) that would appeal to as many on the left...
Nicely put!
The legacy for White people in the US it seems to me, makes it difficult to mature out of the childhood stages of simplistic, expedient thinking, and into critical thinking.
This legacy lies in centuries of Whites accruing wealth by being silent about the free labor from sadistic enslavement of millions. Additionally, White people helped themselves to a continent of free land by demonizing and massacring most of the inhabitants.
(This history has lately been roughly replicated by Israel, with massive, endless support by Whites in the US.)
If people tend to do what they are supported to do, White people are supported to 1. forget, and 2. watch sports.
So how might any commentator make a living, trying to move White folks to lead in demanding the long overdue reparations, humility and maturity when those qualities have never been sufficiently supported before?
Sorry to run on. Great point you raised!
It’s also about the homogeneity of the G.O.P. as a party. The Democrats are far more diverse in terms of ethnicities, income levels, and political views. That makes it difficult to craft coherent, unifying messages . . . and . . . it makes it more difficult to raise money on a par with the G.O.P. We need to unify and seek common cause with one another. We’re not always going to agree on everything, but we have this one central issue we need to unify around now. The other issues can be dealt with after we save the Country.
Used to be a loyal MSNBC watcher, but and boycotting the station since their betrayal of Joy Reid. The triad taking over for her are totally unacceptable hosts.
Sadly that means giving up on some that are very capable like Rachel, Chris, Lawrence, Stephanie and Nicole.
Billionaire interests will never align with progressive/leftist/working class interests. Hence, billionaires will continue to avoid funding leftist-aligned media.