Corporate Media: misinformation, propaganda, and ignorant talking heads

This morning we learned from NBC that inflation is actually good for us. Now CNN tells us that children will have to wear masks for two more years, doctor’s orders.

In a CNN interview on Tuesday with Ana Cabrera, Dr. Jorge Rodriguez — billed as as board certified internal medicine specialist and viral researcher — offered his expert opinion on how long American kids should be forced to mask up as part of combatting the Wuhan coronavirus.

"Some schools are getting rid of mask requirements," noted host Ana Cabrera. "Is the country in a place where it's ok to take this step and if not — not now — when will it be?" she asked Dr. Rodriguez.

"I think it's too early to stop requiring children to wear masks," he answered calling decisions to relax mask mandates "one of the biggest pitfalls we've fallen on." 

“ … I think it's too soon to lift mandates for masks, especially in children at this point," concluded Dr. Rodriguez. "When will it be safe?" he asked rhetorically before answering: "Your guess is as good as mine, but I would say in, hopefully, a year — maybe two."

It seems that, to Dr. Rodriguez, everyone should be masked all the time until there are no longer any COVID cases... anywhere in the world?

"This is not just the United States doing better," he explained, "the whole world needs to do better."

"We've opened up travel effective yesterday, and Europe is seeing its highest COVID percentages that it's seen almost in a year," Dr. Rodriguez said, and apparently cases in Europe means kids in American schools can't take off their masks. "There's a storm on the horizon and it's coming over," he claimed. 

I don’t watch CNN, let alone seek medical advice on it, but I was curious: who is “Dr. Jorge”, and what qualifies him to give his opinion on anything? It turns out, according to his website, he’s a specialist in intestinal problems and offering soundbites on any and all topics.

The “About Me”section on his site offers no cv, but does address the important things any potential patient or viewer would want to know before entrusting their health care to him:

About Jorge E. Rodriguez, MD

JORGE E. RODRIGUEZ, M.D. is a specialist in internal medicine and gastroenterology. He has practiced preventive medicine for more than two decades and appears frequently as a medical expert and guest on television news and talk shows, including The Doctors, The View, The Today Show, Good Morning America, Anderson Cooper 360, and Dr. Phil. He lives and practices in Southern California.

Everyone’s got a hustle, so I don’t fault this guy for pushing his, but he’s a perfect example of the laziness of news producers, who keep a limited Rolodex of “experts” and put them on the air as “authorities” on whatever is the hot topic of the day. He’s also the perfect example of why I won’t rely on corporate media for information on anything of importance: Faux Princess Meghan’s view on parental leave, sure, AOC’s views on economic, of curse, but otherwise, I don’t even trust them with providing accurate tide tables.