In 2016 Donald Trump was the most popular candidate in the Republican Primary while spending nearly the least amount of any candidate. At the same time, Jeb Bush was spending the most of any candidate and was among the least popular candidates. News pundits explained the disparity between Trump’s brash behavior and celebrity status. I believed there was more to the story and why it is important today.
Donald Trump was a celebrity and understood how to get earned media (news coverage vs. paid advertising). As a casino owner, he understood the importance of data mining, obtaining as much information on individuals as possible and tailoring a message to them. The message can be delivered by direct marketing (letters and postcards), and casino upgrades, but the most important is social media outreach.
According to Politico, Hillary Clinton and her allies raised $1.2 Billion verse Donald Trump and his allies raised $600 million. Clinton outspent Trump in every category except digital and online advertising. In that one category, Trump outspent Clinton by almost five to one. Add earned Big Media to the mix, and Trump won the election.
Imagine the dismay of Big Tech and Big Media in the days after the 2016 election when they realized their industry inadvertently assisted in the election of Donald Trump. Donald Trump made a fool of the lot. They would not be played the fool the second time, and they weren’t.
We have read many of the same national headlines for the past year regarding High-Tech supporting democrats and liberals. They are… “Google Pushes Conservative News Sites Far Down Search List”, The multiple ways Twitter censored conservatives, Here’s Your Proof That Facebook Discriminates Against Conservatives.
High-Tech is not alone in the treatment of conservatives; the National Media ignored Biden’s failings while embellishing Trump’s. Insisting that the Hunter Biden Laptop is fake is a trap. So is insisting that it is real, Hunter Biden story is Russian disinfo, dozens of former intel officials say, Study shows media reported 150 times more negative news about Trump over Biden
Despite New Mexico’s media declaring themselves independent and moderate (The Albuquerque Journal editor stated, “as a moderate,” it is hard to choose between Vasquez and Herrell), they are anything but moderate. The reporting or lack of reporting of Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual abuse of young women and the blackmailing of powerful people is an example of New Mexico’s newspapers protecting Powerful Santa Fe Democrats.
New York media conducted in-depth investigations of Jeffrey Epstein (he had a residence in New York). One NY Times Headline read, The Day Jeffrey Epstein Told Me He Had Dirt on Powerful People. While New Mexico’s newspapers are silent (Epstein had a residence in New Mexico similar to Pedifile Island in the Caribbean) despite NM Governor Richardson being named in court proceedings in New York. Albuquerque Journal did not even report that a Jeffrey Epstein “statue” was installed in front of Albuquerque’s City Hall in the middle of the night. Santa Fe Democrats in high office with New Mexico’s newspapers kept Jeffry Epstein’s sexual abuse of young New Mexican women and the blackmail of his “Powerful People” hidden from the people of New Mexico.
Elon Musk has uncovered the censorship of conservatives and the government’s manipulation to silence opposing viewpoints on Twitter. New Mexico’s Independent voices are covering the news that is not reported here in New Mexico. Whether it is Dinah Vargas of Off the Cuff, John Block of the Piñon Post, and D. Dowd Muska with No Dowd About It. Mary Alice Murphy was one of the first in New Mexico to publish an online newspaper. Her Grant County Beat publication now rivals the printed newspaper in Southwest New Mexico.
Being an Independent Voice in New Mexico, where the Santa Fe Democrats have the power to punish dissenting views, is risky. Each of them, including myself, can share stories where the Santa Fe Democrats have taken or attempted to take a pound of flesh for an unfavorable news story. Support these Independent Voices with a donation, a subscription, or becoming an advertiser. We need more New Mexicans to hear the truth.
Thank you John Block for your courageous reporting. You definitely give us a different perspective from the mainstream’s fake news.
Would love to see “Pinon Post” cover the border crisis.
You are correct.
Paul: I agree; few are willing to report the news honestly, and by doing so, he risks a great deal. Mick Rich
Our local media – all TV stations – and their radio associates…are lapdogs to their network affiliates. There has been No COVERAGE of the NEW Twitter expose of the FBI/DHS/CIA/DNI conspiracy not only on the Hunter Biden story, but also the entire former Twitter censorship of Americans. This continues even today with Facebook. The TWITTER FILES are currently exposing all this, but local and national FAKENEWS media ignores is…because they were all in on it…the VIOLATION OF OUR FIRST AMENDMENT CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS. Will there ever be justice?
There is good news. People like John are standing up to honestly report the news and doing so on online media. A few years ago New Mexico’s first solely online newspaper Grant County Beat started up. In 2022 the Espanola newspaper was bought by an individual committed to honestly reporting the news and more changes are comming. Abraham Lincoln was right, Can’t lie to all the people all the time.