{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"Episode 55: Jake Tapper and the Art of Faux-Adversarialism ","description":" Jake Tapper\u2019s career trajectory is an object lesson in how to succeed in corporate media. The formula generally goes like this: go after the fringes of the left and the right\u2013\u2013but mostly the left. Never offend any traditional centers of power. Mug. Constantly mug for the camera. Hitch your brand to \u201cThe Troops\u201d And-always, always\u2013\u2013attack from the neoconservative right.   As previously discussed in our John McCain News Brief, the issue with John McCain was less so about the man himself but what he represented: posturing National Security state jingoism at the heart of America\u2019s civic religion; a phony notion of self-importance that animates US militarism. Just the same, this week\u2019s episode is less about Tapper and more about what he represents: the dead center of American corporate media; hollow, faux-adversarialism marked by military worship; less interested in original reporting than serving as a bouncer for Club Acceptable Opinion.   We are joined on this week's episode by journalist Natasha Lennard. ","author_name":"Citations Needed","author_url":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/citationsneeded\/","html":"