>>BERNIE SANDERS AT THE END OF LAST WEEK WAS ON RACHEL MADDOW'S
PROGRAM ON MSNBC AND HE BROUGHT UP THE TOPIC OF THE CORPORATE
MEDIA.
HE BROUGHT THAT UP ON THE YOUNG TURKS FIRST AND SAID WHO
OWNS THE MEDIA?
IT IS RELEVANT TO HOW THEY MIGHT BE COVERING
THE RACE.
NOW I HAVE SEEN HIM MENTION THAT SEVERAL TIMES, AND
I LOVE THAT HE BROUGHT IT UP ON MSNBC.
LET'S WATCH.
>>WE HAVE GOT TO DEMAND OF CORPORATE MEDIA, AND THAT WILL
BE HARD, BECAUSE THIS IS AGAINST THEIR OWN BEST INTEREST -- MSNBC
IS OWNED BY WHO?
>>COMCAST, OUR OVERLORDS.
>>COMCAST IS NOT ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR CORPORATIONS IN AMERICA.
ETC., ETC.
I THINK THE AMERICAN PEOPLE WILL HAVE TO SAY TO NBC
AND ABC AND CBS, FORGET THE POLITICAL GOSSIP.
POLITICS IS
NOT A SOAP OPERA.
TALK ABOUT THE REAL ISSUES FACING THIS COUNTRY.
>>HE DIDN'T EVEN MENTION, HE WAS TOO POLITE TO MENTION, THAT
COMCAST AND TIME WARNER WHICH OWN CNN ARE AMONG THE TOP 10
DONORS TO HILLARY CLINTON'S CAMPAIGNS OVER THE COURSE OF HER
LIFETIME.
WHICH SIDE THEY ARE ON IS NOT A MYSTERY.
FOLLOW THE
MONEY, YOU HAVE YOUR ANSWER VERY CLEARLY.
SUFFICE TO SAY THAT NOT
A LOT OF COMCAST AND TIME WARNER LOBBYISTS HAVE GIVEN MONEY TO
BERNIE SANDERS.
GEE, I WONDER IF THAT AFFECTED THEIR COVERAGE AS
THEY ASK ONE LEADING, NEGATIVE QUESTION AFTER ANOTHER TO BERNIE
SANDERS, AND I THINK TREATED HILLARY CLINTON WITH KID GLOVES.
AND I'M NOT JUST SAYING THAT, WE HAVE PROVED THAT OVER AND OVER
WITH VIDEO IN THIS CAMPAIGN.
EVEN THE HUFFINGTON POST FRAMES
IT THIS WAY IN EXPLAINING WHAT WENT DOWN THAT NIGHT.
THEY SAY
--
>>I DON'T THINK THAT IS AN OF COURSE AT ALL.
FIRST OF ALL,
A LOT OF PROGRESSIVES HAVE BEEN REMOVED FROM MSNBC, I DON'T KNOW
IF THEY MISSED THAT TREND.
SECOND OF ALL, THEY'VE GOT A
THREE HOUR BLOCK THAT I THINK GOT EXTENDED TO FOUR HOURS IN
THE MORNING THAT IS NOTHING BUT REPUBLICAN TALKING POINTS, ONE
AFTER ANOTHER, ON MORNING JOE.
JOE SCARBOROUGH IS A FORMER
REPUBLICAN CONGRESSMAN.
ANYONE WHO THINKS THAT JOE SCARBOROUGH
IS NOT A TOTAL RIGHT-WINGER LIVES IN THE WASHINGTON BUBBLE
WHERE YOU ASSUME THAT ALL THOSE RIGHT-WING POSITIONS ARE THE
CENTRIST POSITIONS, OR MODERATE OR MAINSTREAM POSITIONS.
THEY
ARE NOT, THEY ARE WAY RIGHT-WING.
NOW THEY CONTINUE
WITH THESE ASSUMPTIONS.
AGAIN, THE HUFFINGTON POST LEANS
PROGRESSIVE AND HAS GREAT WRITERS, BUT LOOK AT THEIR
ASSUMPTIONS.
THEY SAY --
>>-- YES, I WOULD BE AMONG THOSE OBSERVERS --
>>HERE THE HUFFINGTON POST DOES A
GOOD JOB OF NOTING, LISTEN, IT
LOOKS LIKE IF YOU DON'T HAVE THE APPROVED POSITION OF COMCAST
THAT DOESN'T MAKE IT ONTO AIR AT MSNBC TOO MUCH.
BUT YOU ARE JUST
TOUCHING THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG.
THE FACT IS, GOOD LUCK FINDING
AN MSNBC HOST WHO WANTS TO TALK ABOUT THE TIME WARNER/COMCAST
MERGER.
ANYONE TALKING NEGATIVELY ABOUT THAT MERGER
ON
MSNBC?
I CHALLENGE YOU TO FIND IT, YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO.
AND
THEN YOU HAVE NET NEUTRALITY.
COMCAST WAS AGAINST NET
NEUTRALITY, THEY WANTED TO BE ABLE TO CONTROL THE INTERNET
BECAUSE THEY ARE ONE OF THE INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS.
THAT
IS A VERY CONSERVATIVE POSITION.
ALL THOSE PROGRESSIVE HOSTS ON
MSNBC, DID THEY COME OUT ROARING FOR NET NEUTRALITY?
YOU MIGHT
FIND ONE OR TWO INSTANCES OF ONE OR TWO HOSTS TOUCHING ON THE
MATTER, I DID NOT SEE THE ROAR.
NO, WHEN YOU WORK FOR COMCAST,
YOU WORK FOR COMCAST.
AND IF THEY DON'T WANT NET NEUTRALITY,
YOU ARE NOT GOING TO TALK A LOT ABOUT HOW THEIR POSITION IS DEAD
WRONG ON THAT ISSUE.
SO THE IDEA THAT EVEN MSNBC IS PROGRESSIVE
-- WELL, OTHER THAN THE HALF-DOZEN HOSTS WHO HAVE JUST
BEEN FIRED WHO WERE ALL PROGRESSIVE, OR MOVED OFF THE
AIR IN ONE WAY OR THE OTHER, THAT WOULD BE ONE INDICATION.
OTHER THAN BRINGING MORE STANDARD, NEUTRAL, IN OTHER
WORDS PRO-ESTABLISHMENT ANCHORS ON, AND THEY HAVE A GIANT BLOCK
OF REPUBLICAN PROGRAMMING IN THE MORNING, YOU ALSO HAVE THE FACT
THAT THEIR INTERESTS ARE CONSERVATIVE, PRO-CORPORATE.
SO OF COURSE IF YOU GET MILLION-DOLLAR PAYCHECKS FROM
THOSE GUYS, YOU WILL NOT ROCK THAT BOAT, THAT IS SO OBVIOUS.
LET ALONE THE INTERESTS OF TIME WARNER, FOX NEWS -- SO I LOVE
THAT IT IS A CONTROVERSIAL POSITION THAT PERHAPS THE
CORPORATE MEDIA WOULD BE IN FAVOR OF CORPORATE INTERESTS.
OF COURSE THEY ARE.
AND CORPORATE INTERESTS, I CAN ASSURE YOU,
ARE NOT LIBERAL INTERESTS.
BERNIE SANDERS DID HAVE A SUGGESTION FOR THIS,
I DISAGREE WITH IT A LITTLE.
LET'S HEAR FROM HIM.
>>WHAT IS THE SOLUTION TO CORPORATE MEDIA?
>>I THINK WE HAVE TO THINK ABOUT WAYS THAT THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY
FOR A START STARTS FUNDING THE EQUIVALENT OF FOX TELEVISION.
NUMBER TWO I THINK THE PRESSURE HAS TO BE PUT ON MEDIA TO SAY
YOU KNOW WHAT?
MAYBE AS A NATION THE AMERICAN PEOPLE ARE ENTITLED
TO HEAR REAL DISCUSSIONS ON REAL ISSUES.
>>I DISAGREE.
I DON'T WANT THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY FUNDING
ANYTHING.
YOUíD GET A CHANNEL THAT WORKS FOR THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY,
NOT PROGRESSIVES, NOT LIBERALS, NOT THE AMERICAN PEOPLE.
FOR THE
ESTABLISHMENT OF THE PARTY.
I WOULD ARGUE THAT CHANNEL WAS
MSNBC, NOW THEY HAVE EVEN ABANDONED THAT.
AT THE TIME
I WORKED THERE, I THINK THEY PRETTY MUCH DID WORK FOR THE
DEMOCRATIC PARTY.
AGAIN NOT BECAUSE THEY WERE LIBERALS,
BECAUSE THEY HAD A DEMOCRATIC ESTABLISHMENT THAT COULD DECIDE
WHETHER THEIR MERGERS WOULD BE APPROVED, WHETHER THEY WOULD WIN
ON NEUTRALITY OR NOT.
THE ENORMOUS ISSUES.
WHETHER MSNBC
MAKE A PROFIT OR NOT IS A SMALL ISSUE TO COMCAST.
THOSE OTHER
ISSUES ARE BILLION-DOLLAR ISSUES, MULTIBILLION-DOLLAR
ISSUES, FOR COMCAST.
SO OF COURSE THAT AFFECTS THEM.
I DON'T WANT ANY PARTISAN CHANNEL THAT IS PRO-DEMOCRATIC
PARTY OR PRO-REPUBLICAN PARTY.
BUT IF YOU WANT TO SAY HERE IS
MY PERSPECTIVE, THAT IS ANOTHER MATTER.
WE ARE PROGRESSIVES, WE
DON'T HIDE IT.
WE DON'T DO LIKE FOX NEWS AND SAY FAIR AND BALANCED.
I DON'T WANT ANOTHER VERSION OF FOX NEWS, THEY LIE ON THE TIME,
THEY BASICALLY WORK FOR THE REPUBLICAN PARTY, THEY HAVE A
HILARIOUS SLOGAN OF FAIR AND BALANCED.
IíD RATHER HAVE
SOMETHING THAT IS HONEST WITH THE AUDIENCE.
IF YOU'RE GOING TO
DO THAT, IT CAN'T BE FUNDED BY THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY OR THE
PEOPLE THAT FUND ALL OF THE OTHER POLITICIANS.
SO YOU WOULD
HAVE TO HAVE IT COME FROM THE GRASSROOTS.
HMM -- I WONDER IF
THERE IS A SHOW IN THE MEDIA SOMEWHERE THAT CAME FROM THE
GRASSROOTS, HAS BEEN GROWING FOR 10 YEARS, AND IS REALLY LARGE,
AND IS NOT BEHOLDEN TO ANY PARTY?
AND THAT IS ALREADY
BEATING CNN, MSNBC, AND FOX NEWS ONLINE?
HMM.
HEY, SENATOR
SANDERS, DON'T WORRY.
THE CAVALRY HAS ALREADY ARRIVED.