Taylor Swift 's treatin' her fans like livestock, one prominent journalist says ... 'cause she says the pop star's milking the Swifties like they're a bunch of cows!

Ashley Bornancin -- a TV journo who hosts the popular show "Behind the Headlines" -- joined us on "TMZ Live" Wednesday ... and, she said this album is not the show-stopping hit that she and many other fans were expecting. store.taylorswift.com

Take a listen for yourself ... Ashley says the album feels rushed -- and, she jokes it's almost like T-Swift spent more time promoting the album than actually working on the tracks.

She says the business of Taylor Swift -- between multiple CDs at Target featuring different acoustic songs the star revealed using a conspicuous countdown clock, to merchandise she's selling in her s

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