Oct 31, 2018
Jake
Tapper’s career trajectory is an object lesson in how to succeed in
corporate media. The formula generally goes like this: go after the
fringes of the left and the right––but mostly the left. Never
offend any traditional centers of power. Mug. Constantly mug for
the camera. Hitch your brand to “The Troops” And-always,
always––attack from the neoconservative right.
As previously discussed in our John
McCain News Brief, the issue with John McCain was less so about the
man himself but what he represented: posturing National Security
state jingoism at the heart of America’s civic religion; a phony
notion of self-importance that animates US militarism. Just the
same, this week’s episode is less about Tapper and more about what
he represents: the dead center of American corporate media; hollow,
faux-adversarialism marked by military worship; less interested in
original reporting than serving as a bouncer for Club Acceptable
Opinion.
We
are joined on this week's episode by journalist Natasha
Lennard.