From Newsgroup: alt.politics.media

On 7/1/25 5:34 PM, Leroy N. Soetoro wrote:

https://pjmedia.com/scott-pinsker/2025/07/01/america-first-versus-america- worst-in-gallup-shock-poll-dems-have-quit-on-america-n4941336

Reporters, columnists, and journalists write articles, but someone else writes the headlines. For decades, this was the traditional approach at
(most of) the mainstream media outlets. It sometimes led to friction,
because the columnist/journalist might prefer one headline rCo but a higher- up may disagree. (And since far more people would read the headline than
the story, headlines had an outsized significance.)

But that was during the Halcyon Days of media, when outlets had big
budgets, oodles of staff, and ridiculously extravagant holiday parties. (Sigh.)

When I began PR some 20-odd years ago, we were rCLtrainedrCY to pitch news directors, because they were the ones who assigned stories. It's not that
way anymore: News directors are still around (at least, in title), but at most places, the bureaucratic layer has been so eviscerated by job cuts
that journalists have gotta find stories on their own. ItrCOs changed both journalism and the PR game: Older practitioners would be appalled, but rCLbest practicerCY for PR today is to bypass the news director and pitch the journalist directly. If the reporter believes in your story and wants to
do it badly enough, nine times out of 10, itrCOll get done.

Yessir, thererCOs been a Pritzker-sized tsunami of media changes. Been so many changes, in fact, the superhero tropes of the Golden Age of Comics no longer work: Peter Parker, the teenage, part-time photographer, makes
enough money from the Daily Bugle newspaper, he could afford a Manhattan apartment (with no roommates)? Lois Lane and Clark Kent have giant offices
in a downtown Metropolis high-rise (and seven-figure expense accounts) as globetrotting Daily Planet newspaper employees? Even in a medium with
magic powers, space villains, and reality-warping technology, that
wouldnrCOt be believable anymore.

ClarkrCOs biggest problem today wouldnrCOt be a lack of telephone booths. ItrCOd
be a lack of jobs.

But one thing thatrCOs stayed the same is the oversized importance of headlines. If anything, theyrCOre even MORE important today, because not
only do more people see the headline than read the article, but the profit model of journalism has evolved to pay-per-click. For a host of reasons, including ad impressions, the rCLtrafficrCY a headline generates is rCo very often rCo the single most important metric of an articlerCOs success.

ThatrCOs why itrCOs so fascinating to explore the headlines our friends in the
(rapidly-fading) mainstream media used to describe the results from yesterdayrCOs Gallup poll on American pride. LetrCOs begin with Gallup itself:
rCLAmerican Pride Slips to New Low.rCY

Aw, man! That sucks.

And then a whole gaggle of media outlets seized this rCLeditorial batonrCY and
ran with it:

The Daily Beast: Americans Have Never Been Less Proud of Their Country

The Daily Beast (Part II): National Pride in America Takes Dramatic
Nosedive Under Trump

Huffington Post: National Pride Is Dramatically Declining in America,
Finds Stark New Poll

Newsweek: Gen Z Drives Sharp Decline in American Pride

The Independent: American Pride is declining new Gallup poll shows

Axios: U.S. patriotism fades as American pride close to record lows

UPI: Gallup: American pride falls to record low

The Hill: National pride slips among Americans: Gallup

New American Journal: American Pride Slips to New Low As USA Celebrates Independence Day and 250th Anniversary

Alternet: American pride plunges to new low under TrumprCoagain

Daily Kos: American pride hits new low under TrumprCojust in time for July Fourth

NJ.com: How many adults are rCyproudrCO to be an American under Trump? New poll showsrCa

The Economic Times: As national pride plunges, TrumprCOs America looks less rCygreatrCO than ever, Gallup poll data reveals

The New Republic: Americans Have Never Hated Being American More, New Poll Finds

Even Fox News followed suit: AmericansrCO pride in their country is declining, new Gallup poll shows. (And lest you think thatrCOs a fluke, on LiveNOW from Fox chose the header: Americans with extreme national pride stays near record low, Gallup poll finds.)

If you only saw those headlines, yourCOd think this was a story about Donald Trump dividing Americans: rCLThat Orange Monster has done it again! We TOLD YOU he was rCyliterally Hitler.rCO And now, finally, the rest of the country is so disgusted with his fascist MAGA garbage, theyrCOve rCo *sniff* rCo lost their pride in America! This is TERRIBLE!rCY

ThatrCOs the power of headlines. When it comes to propaganda, rCLfake news,rCY
and misinformation, headlines are still one of the top tools in the propagandistsrCO toolkit.

Because, when we take a peek under the hood of GalluprCOs poll, an entirely different story emerges: This isnrCOt a tale about Trump dividing America! Nor is it a story about rCLeveryday AmericansrCY forsaking the hopes and dreams of Lee Greenwood.

Instead, itrCOs a story about Democrats giving up on America.

According to GalluprCOs own numbers, in 2001, 90% of Republicans were rCLextremelyrCY or rCLveryrCY proud of being an American. Almost an identical number of Democrats rCo 87% rCo felt the exact same way.

About eight years later, during the first year of the Obama
administration, Republican numbers were pretty much unchanged: 92%.

Yet the Democratic numbers fell to 78%.

And eight years after that (2017), Republican numbers stayed remarkably constant: 92%.

The Democratic number dropped again, to 67%.

Just six years later (2023), the Democrats were back in control of Washington, DC. Joe Biden (and his top aide, Mr. Autopen) were back in the White House. Remember, this was the era of open borders, pro-Hamas
protests, and anti-American activism run amuck. Yet once again, Republican pride in America stayed incredibly consistent: 85%.

Meanwhile, the Democratic number dropped to 55%.

So here we are today, in the summer of 2025. Two more years have passed. Gallup just released its latest numbers on American pride, and for the umpteenth time, the Republican numbers are almost entirely unchanged: 92%.

This means that Republicans were just as proud of being an American under
the first year of TrumprCOs second term as they were during the first year
of ObamarCOs first term!

ThatrCOs because, for Republicans, American pride isnrCOt tethered to a politicianrCOs career. We donrCOt stop loving our country just because we donrCOt win on Election Day. Instead, it motivates us: Because we love our country, we fight even harder in the following cycle!

Not so with the Democrats: According to Gallup, their pride in America has now plummeted to justrCa 36%!

ThatrCOs the real story, when you look beyond the headlines: The Democratic Party has given up on America.

Problem, the disheartened Dems ... a potentially
dangerous percentage are now switching to lefto-
militant mindsets.
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