Get access to Brad Slager's "Riffed From the Headlines," a daily VIP feature where he looks to bring accountability to the mainstream media. Use promo code FAKENEWS to get 50% off your VIP membership.
Presentation Paradox – MSNBC
The place is a hellscape, she says from the hellscape.
After Joe Biden paid a visit to Florida, where Nikki Fried continues to struggle to get Democrats anything approaching traction in the state, MSNBC’s morning maven, Mika Brzezinski commented on the state of things in the state, regarding how it treats females.
MSNBC’s @morningmika: “In Florida, you know, between Donald Trump & Ron DeSantis, you’ve got a team there that really made a landscape for women that’s downright dangerous.” pic.twitter.com/TRIiHB0s61
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) April 24, 2024
I suppose we can call Mika an expert on the matter, considering she has a front row seat on what goes on in the Sunshine State.
Meanwhile, Mika has a home in Florida… https://t.co/U3msdMOoLg pic.twitter.com/p1drjvj8bQ
— Brad Slager - Scrubbing Down In a Bloodbath (@MartiniShark) April 24, 2024
Artisanally-Crafted Narratives – THE NATIONAL INQUIRER
Recommended
This will damage the reputation of the outlet that never had one to begin with.
In the Trump trial, there has been the allegedly explosive testimony of David Pecker, from the National Enquirer, regarding the way they crafted stories in the paper to benefit Trump, and to hurt Hillary Clinton’s prospects. Of note has been the “catch-and-kill” aspect, where Michael Cohen is said to have been involved in the scheme with Pecker where potentially damaging stories for Trump would be chased down and individuals paid off for the rights to their story, which would ultimately remain unpublished.
It is a severe lack of journalism ethics and standards, but it would probably be alarming if it were a serious media outlet, and not the grocery store weekly tabloid involved.
What David Pecker testified he did for Trump at the National Inquirer in the 2016 cycle turned the tabloid’s motivation structure on its head.
— David Folkenflik (@davidfolkenflik) April 24, 2024
My chat w @NicolleDWallace https://t.co/PCL5IermPJ
Both Kinds of Standards – CNN
Will any other outlets come under this scrutiny Ollie? Ollie…???
Looking at these revelations with an audible GASP was CNN’s media guru Oliver Darcy. He covers this information in his “Reliable Sources” newsletter, how the former owner of The Enquirer worked on behalf of Trump and delivered one of his patented rebukes that can only be written while wearing blinders:
While the days of the Enquirer boosting Trump while publishing false and sleazy stories about his opponents are over, the habit remains prevalent in right-wing media. Far more powerful outlets, such as Rupert Murdoch's Fox News, continue to debase themselves in service of Trump, acting as his propaganda vehicles.
Coverage has been scant and/or bent in favor of Trump in right-wing media. Fox News on Tuesday barely covered the explosive revelations from Pecker. And when the outlet did offer its audience coverage of the trial, it was through an unmistakable pro-Trump lens. Meanwhile, Fox News and other right-wing outlets continue to launch ugly — and often dishonest — attacks on Biden.
Such outrage from the guy who launches persistent attacks on Trump, and Fox News. As for pushing sleazy stories, or running protection for a candidate/president, we only need to point to years of Russian collusion fables and the burial of the Hunter Biden laptop story to see the exact same behavior going unpunished to see the scam in all of this.
Pathological Media Amnesia – MSNBC
Of all the shows to register this complaint...
We all remember how much Donald Trump was granted publicity from the media in the run-up to the 2016 election. He was on so many shows that it was estimated he was granted the equivalent of BILLIONS of dollars in free airtime before the GOP convention.
We also remember he was on the “Morning Joe” broadcast so often that year it was half expected his name would become included in the title. We say all of this, because the show itself is pretending to forget about its involvement, as it complains about the Enquirer revelations.
"What David Pecker said was truly shocking... A media outlet was in cahoots with one political candidate. That is what happens in Russia, that is not what's supposed to happen here."
— Morning Joe (@Morning_Joe) April 24, 2024
— @AWeissmann_ on David Pecker's testimony in Trump's Manhattan case pic.twitter.com/Yz2ED19khR
Matching Media Memorandum – VARIOUS OUTLETS
Such an eerie coincidence how they have all jumped on this story within a matter of hours.
Curtis Houck at Newsbusters gives us a decent rundown on the number of outlets who all, coincidentally, have decided to run the reports that there is a call to investigate Ted Cruz for operating his podcast, “Verdict With Ted Cruz”. The first thing to note is he is not actually being investigated for campaign violations (allegedly because he is said to be profiting from the show for his campaign). It is an accusation coming from biased left-wing groups, with George Soros backing, running to the FEC to carp about the Cruz show, which has been on for years.
It has also been in investigated in the past, with nothing in the form of any rebuke coming from the commission, or any other authorities regarding campaign finance violations.
That did not stop a list of outlets from running stories about the non-violating podcast:
All of this coverage while nothing in the way of charges has been brought, no violations have been found, and previous investigations into the show details have cleared Cruz of any wrongdoing.
The leftist media and a Soros-funded group are attacking Sen. @tedcruz for ... hosting a podcast. https://t.co/WVwmalwtGp
— MRC NewsBusters (@newsbusters) April 23, 2024