Either we are all being duped on a regular basis by a vast conspiracy...
Or maybe your belief that we are all being lied to is more than a bit delusional?
Originally Posted by txdot-guy
Or maybe the truth is in between?
On Iran, Is Only Bad News Fit to Print?
Media partisanship has been worse than ever in this war.
By Mark Penn and Andrew Stein
March 16, 2026 11:39 am ET
President Trump’s complaints about the news coverage of the Iran war are predictable - and entirely justified. “We are totally destroying the terrorist regime of Iran, militarily, economically, and otherwise, yet, if you read the Failing New York Times, you would incorrectly think that we are not winning,” he wrote Friday morning on Truth Social. Pick up Sunday’s Times, and it’s as if the editors took that as a command rather than a criticism.
“War Sends More Tremors Through a Shaken World Economy,” reads a headline across the top of the front page, with the speculative subheadline “Fallout From Prolonged Conflict With Iran Could Bring ‘Catastrophic Consequences.’ ” Among the catastrophes the article cites: “In Kenya, tea growers and traders worried their exports to Iran would rot on the dock.” The other story above the front-page fold is a critique of the defense secretary: “Hegseth’s Vengeful Rhetoric Grew From Experience in Iraq.”
Inside the paper are six more pages of war headlines, almost all relentlessly negative. There are disdainful pieces about the secretary of state (“For Trump and Rubio, It’s Destroy and Deal”) and about the central U.S. ally in the effort (“U.S. War Alliance with Israel Is Reshaping Mideast, but Carries Risk” and “Netanyahu Has War He Always Wanted, but on Trump’s Terms”). There’s more economic gloom (“Seized Oil Tankers Are Costing U.S. Tens of Millions” and “Oil Price Surge Rattles Weak Pakistan Economy”).
The biggest development since Saturday’s paper was the U.S. strike on Kharg Island, Iran’s main oil-export hub. The president said that the raid “totally obliterated” military facilities on the island and that he had decided to spare oil infrastructure “for reasons of decency.” Clearly the U.S. could strike them and do much more damage. The Times headline depicted the raid as ineffective: “Iran Firm on Strait Blockade Despite U.S. Attack at Oil Hub.” The only positive headline about the war effort: “To Fight Iran’s Drones, U.S. Taps Knowledge Hard-Won in Ukraine.”
Like the Times,
much of the news media seems determined to advance a narrative that Mr. Trump is wrong about everything and that the U.S. is getting its clock cleaned by a powerful Iranian war machine that has successfully made the transition to new leadership.
Journalists have a right and a duty to report bad news and to question Pollyannaish reports from the U.S. government. But
many seem to be going beyond that and rooting for America to lose - against an enemy that is the world’s biggest state sponsor of terror, that has killed thousands of unarmed protesters, and that stockpiled thousands of ballistic missiles while seeking nuclear weapons, which its rulers promised to use against the U.S. and Israel.
Largely absent are even the most basic stories analyzing Iran’s losses and the fate of their supposed leadership. Why? What seems to be
driving the coverage is reportorial partisanship and the Democrats’ determination to oppose this president no matter what he does. We’ll see, again, how that works out for them.
Mr. Penn was a pollster and adviser to Bill and Hillary Clinton, 1995-2008. He is chairman of the Harris Poll and CEO of Stagwell Inc. Mr. Stein served as New York City Council president, 1986-93.
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/on-iran-...rint-1ac66649?