Lawrence O’Donnell's critical warning to legacy media

The media keeps giving Trump free air time to spread his lies [Courier]( Friend, We are fewer than 90 days from election day, and the mainstream media still has no idea how to cover Donald Trump’s campaign for president. Earlier this month, Trump held a 64 minute news conference that aired live and unedited on every major cable news network in the U.S. He used the free air time to tell more than 162 lies – that’s more than two every minute. MSNBC host Lawrence O’Donnell used his opening monologue that same night to criticize and warn the media (including his own bosses at MSNBC): “It’s 2016 all over again. The same mistakes are being made. I have never seen an industry slower at learning from its own stupid mistakes than the American news business.” [We’ll get into why the media is struggling to cover Trump’s campaign fairly in a second, but if you support COURIER’s mission to hold the mainstream media accountable for their biased Trump coverage, can you chip in $20 now?]( Trump and his team are floundering, friend. Harris has received widespread support, including a massive increase in both fundraising and poll numbers. So Trump turned to his standard campaign strategy: sharing countless lies in an attempt to get media attention. The worst part? It worked. Every major cable news channel, including MSNBC, aired his hour-long press conference in full, with no live fact-checking or editing. He had a free platform to spread endless lies to anyone who tuned in. As Lawrence O’Donnell pointed out, these networks had the capacity and ability to provide live fact-checking. But they didn’t. These networks also had the capacity and ability to air Kamala Harris’ speech the same day. But they didn’t. They made no attempt to even appear balanced. The truth is, Donald Trump drives an insane amount of views and clicks for these media companies, and those drive profits. Balance, fact-checking, and truth-telling aren’t the priority for the mainstream media – money is. The future of democracy be damned. These are the exact same mistakes the media made in 2016. We can’t let them keep getting away with it. Here’s the good news: COURIER was founded for this moment. We saw what happened in 2016, and we want to make sure it never happens again. Our reporters work around the clock to hold the mainstream media accountable for platforming Trump and his lies. And we publish our own factual reporting on the issues that matter most, including fact-checking the former president. [We have less than three months until election day. If you can, can you chip in $20 to support our crucial work?]( Express Donate: If you've stored your info with ActBlue Express, we'll process your contribution instantly: [$5]( [$15]( [$25]( [$50]( Thank you, The COURIER Team --------------------------------------------------------------- Email us: info@couriernewsroom.com [Become a member!]( This message was sent to: {EMAIL}. Email is a critical way we communicate with grassroots supporters like you. However, if you would like to change your subscription preferences, here are some options: [Receive Fewer Emails]( [Update Your Information]( [unsubscribe]( To give by check: Courier Newsroom Box 509 New York, NY 10032