MJS Admits Too Many Lies in The News To Prop Up Walker With Editorials

Journal Communications, consistently a pro-Scott Walker promotional arm, (more HERE) is no longer going to publish daily editorials in its Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the largest newspaper in Wisconsin.  Perhaps that is not such a bad thing, these editorials are largely used to undermine news content MJS publishs elsewhere.  For example, despite the fact that Gov. Scott Walker earns few "true" and "mostly true" ratings for his proclamations (only 11 out of 59) and MJS news division rates more than 60% of Walker's statements false to varying degrees, MJS editorial board has steadily endorsed a politician that their own newspaper regularly finds to be Wisconsin's "deceiver in chief".

Journal Communication's flagship high-powered radio station, WTMJ-AM, ran Scott Walker marathons 24/7 leading up to the June 5th recall election -- so much one-sided and deceptive programing, that a citizens watchdog group is not only in the process of taking the FCC to court to enforce broadcast rules and laws, it has also filed a petition to deny renewal of WTMJ-AM and WISN-AM's broadcast licenses to operate on the public airwaves (more HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE).

Being shameless Scott Walker promoter has been very VERY good to Journal Communications -- profits rose 24% during his recall 2012 election cycle.


In announcing that they will drop daily editorials, which traditionally newspapers used to highlight news content and provide context, MJS misleadingly states that their decision is based on a "new" look and "new" features.  In fact, what you will see is the same-ol' same ol'.  Remarkably, Journal Communications, which used to publish 2 papers daily, wants us to believe that more than one editorial cartoon is somehow "new".

And from VOICES "You Can't Make This Crap Up" department, MJS wants to make it sound special by trumpeting:

We'll publish two cartoons each day -- one by a conservative cartoonist and one by a liberal.

Ah, the lie of objective journalism.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's editorial page has been a bad joke for years now -- there's no need for 2 poorly-written cartoons to do so.

Journal Communications must think we're stoooopid -- in their mock up of the new page, they illustrate 2 HUGE cartoons, telling the "fair and balanced" lie and that this justifies shoving their daily editorials that are becoming and embarrassment and albatross around-their-neck.  MJS uses 1/4th of a page for this mockery.

There is no reason to publish editorial cartoons this large -- most newspapers don't waste space this way -- but they need to cover up the real reason it is no longer feasible to publish daily editorials that increasingly diverge from reality.  Oh, and MJS wants to blame the Internet and social media instead of just admitting that they can no longer regularly highlight the extreme biases in their newspaper with daily editorials editorials -- facts they report are starting to get in the way.

That is what this is actually all about -- propping up Scott Walker is becoming challenging, especially when at least one criminal probe is closing in on him -- remember, Scott Walker is MJS/Journal Communication's guy!

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's circulation is in free-fall and has been for many years.  Don't believe the malarkey that this is because of online competition -- the fact is that MJS/Journal Communications, like the rest of our mainstream news media, has no credibility (more HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE).  Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's bread-and-butter is attacking its hometown and the people that live there.

The disjoint between Journal Communication's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's editorials and news is unsustainable.  It is not possible to continue to prop up Scott Walker and report anything resembling news.  It will get harder when the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office gets its 2013 funding on January 1st.  Expect more indictments from the the John Doe probe.  Milwaukee Journal Sentinel regularly described Scott Walker as an "eagle scout" and "son of a baptist minister".

The ongoing John Doe criminal probe isn't over and the DA's office has indicated that Walker, Brett Davis, and his highest-level associates are in at the center of investigations.  Despite what Journal Communications and Milwaukee Journal Sentinel have misleadingly pronounced, the criminal investigation into the crimes behind Scott Walker's ascent to power continues to move forward.

Perhaps most disturbing of all, because of potentially serious legal consequences, Scott Walker will need to continue his divisive politics.   Walker needs distractions, crisis, insincere calls for unity, and cries of "moving forward" if he is going to continue to hide the fact that his regime appears illegitimate -- Walker's "rock star" status was manufactured by the media and is based on criminality.

And no one has done more to prop Walker's "divide and conquer" up than Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's parent company Journal Communications.

Wisconsin's economy is in the toilet -- among the most sluggish in the nation even though it lead the Nation in corporate welfare -- workers and small businesses pay the price. 

Republican talking points that the Badger State is "open for business" have no basis in reality and are propped up by propaganda.  Walker's campaign promise to create 250,000 jobs his first term is empty talk that Walker continues to lie about.

Wisconsin's prospect for economic growth, as outlined by a conservative pro-business journal, Forbes, is among the worst in America.  Wisconsin is projected to have the second-lowest job growth in the nation until at least 2016.

Walker's fiscal management is incompetent-at-best, perhaps dishonest, perhaps corrupt and based on pay-for-play.  Walker has irresponsibly managed the state's fiscal affairs from the beginning of his term.  His flagship quasi-private economic development agency, Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, is a disaster.

So no one should be surprised that Journal Communications and their largest newspaper, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, have been forced to acknowledge that they cannot credibly report anything that even resembles "news" while regularly publishing editorials that prop up Scott Walker. 

So what do they do about this in congruence?  They kill daily editorials!  There were other choices, for example, perhaps changing their editorial positions to acknowledge facts in, but this would not be consistent with the way the rest of Journal Communication's media assets work.

Most recently, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's "Politifact" (part of its news division) found that Scott Walker is blatantly lying about job growth (and Politifact greatly UNDERSTATES the case).  PMJS "news" called Walker out for pants on fire lies! 

You would think this would get the editorial's board attention. And it did -- They decided to quite writing editorials!

The editors at MJS could have chosen to re-evaluate their perspectives and positions and write editorials based-on facts.  Instead, it appears they choose to write no meaningful editorials at all.

Shame on Journal Communications and Scott Walker's allies at Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.  Why does anyone purchase this ragsheet?