Lincoln and today's politics

[Rogerm]

People accuse "the media" as though it is some monolithic giant. If you don't like what you read in the New York Times or the Washington Post, you can look up the online editions of other newspapers from across the country on the internet. It is probably wise to have several sources of information; and not just limit yourself to one that always agrees with your point of view. Didn't Lincoln usually try to see both sides of an issue or a case that he might have been researching either as a lawyer or as President?

[L Verge]

Good advice, Roger, and thanks to the electronic age, we can avail ourselves of numerous sources online, on air, via social media, etc. I feel that it is critical in this era to do just that to avoid "brainwashing" on a variety of topics - not just politics. Personally, the antics of the so-called, late-night "comedians" are some of the worst examples and are detrimental to the fabric of our society. Of course, they are laughing all the way to the bank...

Frankly, Mr. Lincoln was lucky not to be subjected to the public spotlight in the manner in which it is handled today. He certainly had enough negative press as it was. I would recommend reading Larry Tagg's book, The Unpopular Mr. Lincoln: The Story of America's Most Reviled President, to understand that media sources have been brutal in the past. Did Mr. Lincoln ever comment on how he was being portrayed in the press of the day?

[RJNorton]

(03-07-2017 01:03 PM)L Verge Wrote:  Did Mr. Lincoln ever comment on how he was being portrayed in the press of the day?

There are lots of details regarding Lincoln and the press here.

[Eva Elisabeth]

Well said, Rogerm. Laurie, sadly there are lots of people who want to see the hallow stuff. And even belive. The king is the customer, not the media. If such weren't in demand the media wouldn't survive this way.

One pretty revealing quote is missing (as far I could skim) in the (brilliant) article - this one from Carpenter's "Six Months":
   

[David Lockmiller]

(03-07-2017 01:18 PM)RJNorton Wrote:  

(03-07-2017 01:03 PM)L Verge Wrote:  Did Mr. Lincoln ever comment on how he was being portrayed in the press of the day?

There are lots of details regarding Lincoln and the press here.

As usual, Roger, you are able to access specific and extensive knowledge regarding Lincoln on any subject.

However, I should like to make this addition to one of the examples contained therein:

"But the stories the reporters wrote out of Washington were not always passed over so lightly by the Chief Executive. One day he entered the office of L. E. Chittenden, Treasurer of the United States, visibly angry and waving a newspaper clipping. A New York newspaper, making a personal attack on him, said he took his pay in gold while Union soldiers were paid in greenbacks worth only fifty cents on the dollar. As a further insult to Lincoln, the story said Jefferson Davis drew his twenty-five thousand dollars per year in Confederate money, then worth about one-fourth its face value. The story was a lie from start to finish. Lincoln told Chittenden he hoped the scoundrel who wrote the story would ‘boil hereafter.'” 30
-- Robert S. Harper, Lincoln and the Press, p.133.

The same Chittenden story in Hertz’s book “Lincoln Talks, A Biography in Anecdote” at page 276, ends with a much more expansive and better quote by Lincoln: “See to what depths of infamy a Northern Copperhead can descend! If the scoundrel who wrote that don’t boil hereafter, it will be because the devil hasn’t got iron enough to make gridirons.”

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(03-07-2017 03:55 PM)Eva Elisabeth Wrote:  Well said, Rogerm. Laurie, sadly there are lots of people who want to see the hallow stuff. And even belive. The king is the customer, not the media. If such weren't in demand the media wouldn't survive this way.

One pretty revealing quote is missing (as far I could skim) in the (brilliant) article - this one from Carpenter's "Six Months":

The missing revealing quote from Carpenter's "Six Months" about being "reliable" is referred to as "doubling down on a false accusation" in the Trump era.