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Mainstream vs. Independent American News

Updated on October 19, 2017
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I have a B.A. in English with a minor in Gender and Sexuality Studies. I've been a Goth since age fourteen, and a Pagan since age fifteen.

Nina Turner was on CNN in May. As usual, the hosts wanted to discuss Russia. She tried to redirect their attention to important issues, such as healthcare, clean resources, and employment. After all, those are the worries of Americans. The hosts ignored her, and went right back to talking about Russia.

Fake news spans all mainstream programs, whether it’s Fox News or MSNBC; however, for the past several months, all pseudo-liberal stations have little more to talk about other than Russia.

Americans are smarter. Most know what's going on, and they're tired of it.

If there is any remaining doubt that the Russia stories are propaganda, CNN supervising producer John Bonifield was secretly filmed admitting a few things that were already expected. One, there is no proof that it’s real. Two, they know that it’s to distract from Hillary Clinton’s disaster of a campaign that cost her the election. Three, whenever they begin talking about something else, they only stay on it for a little bit because talking about Russia is what sells. It’s dramatic entertainment, not real journalism.

So, where can Americans find legitimate news programs that talk about the issues that concern them?

YouTube is the new provider of informative news.

Source

The Young Turks has hosts Cenk Uygur and Ana Kasparian. It is the most well-known online independent news outlet. They provide a variety of panel during news topics to weigh in. Before the DNC primaries, they supported Bernie. They had Jill Stein on for an in-depth interview; however, before the general election, Cenk urged viewers to vote for Clinton.

I used to watch TYT all of the time. After Cenk said that we “have to vote for Hillary” to avoid Trump, I lost respect for him. I watched the show less and less. The last that I checked, they focus more on Trump issues rather than both sides; however, I would not say that they are as bad as mainstream media.

Comedian Jimmy Dore launched The Jimmy Dore Show in 2009. It delivers the real news with a humorous edge. Of course, today, the YouTube show is unique because it discusses authentic American news topics in replace of pseudo-news to distract from the legitimate problems of unemployment, a low minimum wage, mediocre healthcare, endless war that keeps growing, and a democratic party that refuses to take any responsibility.

I watch Jimmy more often than any other independent news outlet. He’s genuinely an independent. He spends a lot of time talking about what’s wrong with the DNC, which TYT hadn’t seemed to want to do, originally. They were more interested in talking about what’s wrong with the RNC, which is too easy. We know what’s wrong with Republicans. We can turn on any mainstream news channel to find that out. Jimmy talks about the entire system, and how both sides work together against Americans.

Source

The Humanist Report with Mike Figueredo is another example of news on progressive issues. Mike’s political background is the same as many, after the 2016 DNC primaries; a longtime democrat who voted for Bernie, but became an independent. Like many betrayed by the DNC, Mike voted for Jill in the general; although it’s easy to criticize such choices, he has a bachelor’s and master’s degree in political science. He knows what he’s doing.

Recently, he has said that he doesn’t believe that the Green Party will gain enough power to become all that it could, even though he loves and supports it. He believes that the best thing would be for Bernie to start his own party because of his following. He makes interesting, intelligent points without being cruel. A lot of hosts become too full of themselves, but Mike remains humble.

Secular Talk’s Kyle Kulinski has a bachelor’s degree in political science, and hosts his own political show on the issues that aren’t being discussed in mainstream media. He brings an atheist point of view into the mix, as well. He is committed to revamping the democratic party, so that it only has members like Bernie Sanders, who aren’t bought by corporate donors. This mission is known as Justice Democrats.

While I agree with the majority of things that Kyle says, he did urge people to vote for Hillary in the general, which was disappointing. These days, he speaks up for those of us who voted third party, or didn’t vote at all, because he knows that neither side of the two party system has a message for the country. Furthermore, on the negative end, he seems to believe that the only cure for this is Justice Democrats, which seems like a flawed solution. Bernie was clearly going to win, had the DNC not rigged it against him, yet we’re supposed to believe that we can remake that same party entirely out of Bernie-like politicians simply by donating and fighting like we did for Bernie?

Sane Progressive’s Debbie Lusignan doesn’t make videos for quick comprehension, or entertainment. When something is going on in society, she will start recording. She’s raw. Viewers have to take it or leave it. Her videos will range from 40 minutes to over an hour, but they’re informative. Man, are they heart-felt! Debbie supported Bernie during the primaries. After the DNC fraud happened, she was not only angry at the DNC but with Bernie for not speaking out against what was done to him, and those of us who supported him in commitment and in donations.

When I first heard about Justice Democrats, I wasn’t confident. I had my doubt. Debbie explained it best. The idea sounds great. If we had the DNC without the politicians being bought by donors, everything would be solved; however, every time we vote for someone who isn’t bought, like Bernie, the leaders with more power—because they are bought and therefore have more money—take over. So, how would Justice Democrats work, if they won’t even allow us to vote?

Since 2009, independent and democrat registration has been competing. By 2010, independents began to take over by at least ten percent. Over the years, the number of independents has only risen. Today, there are seventeen percent more independents than democrats, and twenty percent more independents than republicans. Republicans have remained around twenty-five to thirty-percent, democrats at twenty-eight to thirty percent, and independents at forty percent, sometimes higher. [Gallup]

So, of course, viewers would prefer to see independent news, instead of the bias kind that spins the truth in one way or another—such as focusing on Russia, rather than on clean water, and better jobs, or what really happened during the 2016 DNC primaries.

© 2017 social thoughts

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