The feature can be found over at Rolling Stone's website and accompanies a story about how Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes created the most profitable propaganda machine in history.
Ailes runs the most profitable – and therefore least accountable – head of the News Corp. hydra. Fox News reaped an estimated profit of $816 million last year – nearly a fifth of Murdoch’s global haul. The cable channel’s earnings rivaled those of News Corp.’s entire film division, which includes 20th Century Fox, and helped offset a slump at Murdoch’s beloved newspapers unit, which took a $3 billion write-down after acquiring The Wall Street Journal. With its bare-bones news gathering operation – Fox News has one-third the staff and 30 fewer bureaus than CNN – Ailes generates profit margins above 50 percent. Nearly half comes from advertising, and the rest is dues from cable companies. Fox News now reaches 100 million households, attracting more viewers than all other cable-news outlets combined, and Ailes aims for his network to “throw off a billion in profits.”
20 comments:
It is always fascinating to see how childhood traumas and resentments flourish in adulthood and then onto the pages of history. Roger Ailes' resentment of "college boys" due to his blue collar roots, his outsider status due to his sickly constitution- all these things are seen over and over in history's great monsters. Certainly this was true of Hitler and many of his colleagues, Osama Bin Laden was called "the slave" in his own family -the list goes on.
I doubt many people who watch Fox News know Ailes' history as a dirty trickster in the Nixon era, nor do they care. Seems we have more than a few of these Roger Ailes wannabees locally wouldn't you say?
Hmmm... "Distort, attack, repeat..."
Is that what this blog emulates?
I say that because it sure seems like those posting here are slanting the hell out of the truth - and then they attack those who want to correct the record...
Anyone who watches Fox news can see the bias just as Msnbc is biased towards liberal views. The difference is most progressives recognize the slant where as Fox viewers believe all that Fox reports is fair and balanced.
It seems anon 6:03 is a little thin skinned with what this blog is reporting unless the poster can be more specific.
Can I be more specific?
How about playing up (like the robocalls, coincidentally) the $72 million dollars in bonds and notes the town has, first of all making it seem like the current TC put all of that in place, but failing to report that this amount is way below what the law allows, and that the town is even paying off debt ahead of time?
You mean things like that?
Wanna bet that the 8:17 p.m. poster is one of the financially reckless republicans serving in this township ?
They can't tell the truth and they can't stand the criticism. Sounds much like the former mayor whose self promotion was a disgusting diatribe almost every time he opened his mouth.
Anon, 6/2, 8:37:
Re the $72 million figure, it’s accurate. The town debt has ballooned over the last decade under a republican-dominated committee, and current committeeman Scharfenberger was on the committee for much of that time. He was one of two republican committee persons who pushed for the building of the Arts Center, now a drain of taxpayers because no business plan was considered to generate sufficient revenue for its upkeep. Costs for that project also significantly exceeded projections because of pollution problems at the site, an issue that should have given the town reason to pause rather than proceed with the project.
As to the $72 million debt being less than what the law allows. Correct. So what? If we can legally bond for 3 times that but can’t afford the payments, there’s no point in continuing to harp on it.
As to the town paying off debt ahead of time, what are you referring to? Debt gets paid off in line with debt payment schedules, which often backload principle re-payment.
Paying debt off ahead of time means we are issuing notes and bonds to pay off other bonds and notes. If this is done annually then the bonds and notes are bring paid off sooner than expected. The trouble with this is that only the interest is being paid to the bond holders and none, or very little, of the principal is being paid.
And projects like the proposed "sports complex" on West Front Street just waste the money that was bonded for for such projects ,e.g. the fees for engineering to a firm that was going bankrupt, that the residents in this community did not want on West Front Street but wanted the ball fields restored at Trezza Field and at Croyden Hall. Just more nonsense by the ever incompetent,financially reckless republicans of these last years....
Believe, the bond money for the fields was repaid when the public clamored loudly about the mismanagement of those funds by Sharfenberger and compadres. That man appears to be enemy uno when it comes to fiscal respsonsibility in this town and has never accepted the blame for any of his mistakes.
Sad part is they never seem to learn.....seem deaf,dumb and blind about most everything !!!
Paying off old bonds with notes
does not save us money, it just prolongs the debt.
It's like refinancing a mortgage.
You might get a lower rate to lower the payment but the debt is still there.
The only time you save money is when you pay off the principle earlier.
I don't see the TC doing that, but then again, no one has a clue to what really is going on.
"(B)ut then again, no one has a clue to what really is going on."
Especially those posting here.
LOL
I would suggest educating yourself about municipal finance before drawing false conclusions. Take the CFO out to lunch (he looks like he could use a good meal) and ask him about the processes.
But, of course, the town debt is not the topic, is it?
This blog's emulation of Fox News IS...
OK, we are getting off the topic of Fox News, but:
When the town refinances a bond, the new bond has the same number of remaining payments, so the debt is not getting paid off sooner. (Nor does it take longer. I used to think the term was extended -- sorry, my mistake.)
BTW, per Trasente, a bond can only be refinanced by issuing another bond, not notes.
While refinancing at lower yields saves money, the best way to save money is to pay less to begin with. As was stated earlier, a good way to do that is to front load principle re-payment for the original bond -- i.e., pay off more at the lower yields for shorter term bonds in the series. The town doesn't do that. Rather, typically big chunks of principle are repaid in the middle or end years, at higher yields. That has the effect of encouraging refis. Then the town committee gets to claim they saved you money, and the bond counsel gets rich.
And a tip about notes: Notes are short term, one year or less. Unlike bonds, they don't have a repayment schedule. If the ordinance doesn't mention how the note debt will be repaid, then repayment is in line with regulation, which allows NO principle to be repaid until the third note re-issue (renewal) and then small amounts thereafter. (Per Trasente, and without getting into specifics.) The town committee likes to tell you about the great note rates they got for you. But of course they don't tell you when they are paying interest only...
Re the suggestion to take the CFO out to lunch, I'd love to if I could get him to answer questions for an hour. I doubt he'd accept.
With one exception, I find all the prior posters exceptionally well informed.
I'm sure you don't have a problem with Fox News when your "patron" Chris Christie is blowing smoke on it, so coming from you, I think Mike should take your comment as a backhanded compliment.
Here's another "specific."
This blog published a rumor by "someone who is always around town hall" telling us that Township Administrator Mercantante was being put out to pasture by the TC because they were unhappy with his administration - going to some state job in Trenton.
We were told that this so-called "source" said this would happen by mid-May.
Now it's June 4.
No retraction from this blogger. No apology to the Administrator.
No renunciation of the "source," if one ever existed.
Distort (Lie), attack, repeat.
Oh, and the pot calling the kettle black...
Middletown's administration has more than it's share of "wing nuts" and aptitude for fiscal responsibility is not and never has been one of any of this bunch's strong points.
The fact this township was without a CFO for such a long period of time and the arrogance of the TC and the failure to appoint a qualified CFO in such difficult economic times is classic for these bumbling fools !
The propaganda this TC has tried to feed the public for the last ten years (and really outrageous in the last seven years) is the very reason that Mike's blog is a service to the people of Middletown. He keeps the people informed and that's the reason people like anonymous 8:17 find fault.
IF YOU CAN"T STAND THE HEAT IN THE KITCHEN, GET OUT !!!
Better yet, try doing what's honest and forthright for a change because the people in this town haven't seen that in over six years.
Good job on being informed Linda - you're in the minority!
By the way, it's kind of hard to "keep people informed" when you publish outright falsehoods, no matter how you receive them, and then don't correct the record.
Kind of throws doubt on anything you publish, no?
(Like Fox News)
The TC is 100% Republican controlled with Middletown Matters and all the local rags at its disposal to keep the public "informed". The mere fact that it sends out a crony to twist herself into a pretzel everytime there is an opposing view tells you alot about the type of people governing the township.
You should really rest up today - no doubt we'll be hearing from you Wednesday morning with your "dead horse beaters" rant. If nothing else there is a certain predictability to public apathy and local governmental arrogance.
Thought the "pretzel" was busy on the tax board not cheer leading. Some things never change when it comes to being "bitchy" because the whole world doesn't agree with you !
News Flash.....there is a lot of the rest of the world outside the sick politics in Middletown who DO NOT agree with the "republican pretzels in this town"!!!
Pretty weak "comebacks..."
Kind of hurts to be hoist on your own petard(look it up), doesn't it?
This blog is Fox News Lite - or at least it wants to be!
Anonymous 6:53 is just another "petard" in a gale of wind ....as usual !!
Not only is this an excellent political blog, but a good barometer of just how slow the real estate market is right now. On the bright side, some of our citizens are increasing their vocabulary along with their political awareness.
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