This is our daily VIP feature where we will focus coverage on the practice of journalism in the nation. We'll look to bring accountability to the mishaps, misdeeds, manipulations, malpractice, and manufactured narratives in the mainstream media. This is a daily post with updates added throughout each day, so check back to see the latest efforts as we delve into the realm of ethical contortions found in the press.
05.20.21 (Update)
The DNC PR Firm – CNN/Chris Cuomo
- Taking nepotism to an all-new level. It’s a low level, for the record.
The Washington Post issued a report where they found that CNN primetime host Chris Cuomo has been involved in meetings involving his brother, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, in dealing with the various accusations and problems he has been facing. During these meetings, the CNN newsman was advising on how his brother should address the problems that have erupted.
To say this is a severe breach of journalistic ethics is obvious, as is the case that this has been an ongoing issue the network shows little interest in addressing. Chris Como has hosted his brother numerous times on his show during the pandemic, burnishing his image despite the numerous stories of policies Gov. Cuomo enacted that led to problems in his state. Then came the story that the governor had arranged for VIP testing in the early months for friends and family members, which included Chris. Now, he know he was serving as an advisor to his brother in how to handle the PR of his scandals.
For this amazing detail, CNN appears to be doing little to address the issue.
- “Chris has not been involved in CNN’s extensive coverage of the allegations against Governor Cuomo — on air or behind the scenes. However, it was inappropriate to engage in conversations that included members of the Governor’s staff, which Chris acknowledges. He will not participate in such conversations going forward.”
He also will not incur any punishment, as a result, says the network.
The Tiger Beat – THE ATLANTIC
In the early months of the new administration, the actions and activities of Vice President Kamala Harris have been rather mysterious, as often her details and accessibility are not fully offered. To use the industry euphemism, she is being managed. Based on a lengthy profile in The Atlantic, she and her office take a resentful stance toward reporters in general, and they compile a list of those journalists who may come across as less than fawning.
The vice president and her team tend to dismiss reporters. Trying to get her to take a few questions after events is treated as an act of impish aggression. And Harris herself tracks political players and reporters whom she thinks don’t fully understand her or appreciate her life experience.
Both Kinds Of Standards – CNN/"New Day"
Look, we get it – if you work at CNN you automatically dispute anything seen at Fox News by rote. But that still should not preclude at least a dose of analysis. On the floundering morning show "New Day," host John Berman was interviewing Chicago journalist Lynn Sweet of The Sun-Times, to discuss the recent announcement by Mayor Lori Lightfoot that she would only be accepting interview requests from reporters who were people of color.
In the disdain-laden interview, Berman acidly referred to Fox getting the story allegedly incorrect because that network dared suggest she would not be interviewed by white reporters. Only one problem with his approach – his scorn was undercut by the fact that his own chyron proved Fox News correct.
Utter hilarity on CNN.@JohnBerman with scorn for FoxNews for suggesting Chicago Mayor Lightfoot was only seeing reporters who were POC.
— Brad Slager - Social Toper and Media Antagonist (@MartiniShark) May 20, 2021
''Some people are playing it as ‘No whites allowed’, that’s how it’s being portrayed on another cable network.''
Meanwhile, his own chyron... pic.twitter.com/Zur2t1SXxj
News Avoidance Syndrome – VARIOUS OUTLETS
Recall how after the Atlanta spa shootings we were flooded with reports that this was the result of a wave of violence targeting Asian Americans? The shooter told a different story of motivation, there was no past history of racial bias with the individual, and there was no connection found between the words of Donald Trump and the shooting. Yet that complete lack of evidence did not stop the press from pushing that narrative.
Now, this week we have definitive proof in the form of reports from the ground and video evidence that Palestinian supporters are going through Los Angeles seeking out Jewish people to terrorize, a result of the Middle East conflict flaring up. Note the distinct lack of energetic coverage and perpetual pontificating about the rising problem we are seeing as a result.
Pulitzer Prize Nominee – NPR
I mean, we understand that these creatures emerge only every 17 years, so there will be some interest in their arrival this year. But do we really need to get the particulars of their elevated sex drive, and subsequent involuntary castration, all due to a fungus?! I’m going to just go forward and say "NO," we do not really need to know this.
05.20.21 (Original)
Artisanal-Crafted Narratives – POLITICO/CNN
As the emotional debate wore on over the vote for an inquiry into the riot that took place in the Capitol in January, a dramatic letter began circulating through the offices and in the press. It was from the US Capitol Police, and it was deeply critical of the Republicans who sought to "downplay the events" and oppose the forming of the inquiry committee. The letter, originating from the office of Democratic Representative Jamie Raskin, was circulated by Olivia Beavers of Politico. It quickly went viral, spread around by many in the press, before some thought to look into the attribution.
It soon turned out to not be an official statement by the USCP, and then it began to look like it could have possibly been crafted in Raskin's office. The problem? The undated letter on the USCP letterhead did not come from their offices.
Clarification: This came from members of the USCP who used official letterhead, but it is NOT a formal statement from the USCP as a whole.
— Olivia Beavers (@Olivia_Beavers) May 19, 2021
The story began changing, and by nighttime, it appears that this was written by a lone USCP officer – maybe. That person, who remains anonymous, despite allegedly speaking on behalf of dozens of officers, has no way of being vetted. For the best illustration of this fiasco, look at this thread from CNN's Zachary Cohen, one of SIX writers who was behind the report, all of them getting it wrong. We see the story evolving after the initial outrage.
The statement circulating on Twitter from “Members of the United States Capitol Police” was not released by the department, a US Capitol Police spokesman tells me.
— Zachary Cohen (@ZcohenCNN) May 19, 2021
The USCP spokesman made clear they did not know where the letter came from.
After the organization disavowed the letter around 5:00 pm, it was then declared to have come from the membership, then it was said to be written by 40-50 members, then was written by an officer representing the others, then – after 8:00 pm, it became just a lone anonymous cop expressing his opinion.
Despite this debacle of a report, where everything presented has been a complete joke, Cohen has the stones to actually say, "It’s also important that this officer’s view be taken seriously." Just to cap off this fiasco, Sean Davis looked into the data of the document and there is a strong possibility of this being created entirely in Raskin's office.
Unreal fabrication of this entire episode.
Body Checking The Fact Checkers – POLITIFACT
- How exactly does a source of truth detection go back and correct a story that they declared to be 'debunked'?
When you consider their avowed mission is to get to the bottom of the facts, it seems more than a little sketchy when they are able to go back and issue a completely different conclusion after reassessing the story. Like many others in the media, the past couple of weeks has been tough on the topic of the possibility of the Covid virus deriving from the Wuhan virology lab. This turnaround by a supposed serious fact outlet is not just a credibility hit, but note that they were full of scorn and ridicule toward those forwarding the possibility.
I never want to hear about Politifact. Ever. Never. Ever. I’m going to use these two screencaps if anyone ever cites that source. pic.twitter.com/5EPgpxEgiW
— Sohrab Ahmari (@SohrabAhmari) May 19, 2021
Blue-Anon – MSNBC
On his show, Mehdi Hasan was speaking with a pair of scholars about the possibility of a Republican-controlled Congress contesting a future presidential election result. He asked his guests, Ruth Ben-Ghiat and Norm Ornstein, if they believed a GOP Congress in 2024 would "allow" a Democrat elected as president to take office. As they both answered in the negative, we are supposed to swoon over this melodrama. Bypassing the amusement that the host is assuming the GOP will be rising to power, these supposed academics are not only ignoring the constitutionality of this nightmare scenario, they also ignore the fact that they are spinning a conspiracy and sounding just like the QAnon nutters they all love to point out as unhinged and dangerous.
Blue-Anon – THE BULWARK
Over at the leaky ship known as The Bulwark, the commander of the conserving forces, Charlie Sykes, also sees into the future in order to become outraged. Using the current vote verification taking place in Arizona as his launching pad, Chaz speculates that this is little more than a dry run for the next general election. "The next time round the GOP base will not just tolerate a Trumpian attempt to overturn an election — they will DEMAND it."
News Avoidance Syndrome – MEDIA COMPLEX
On Tuesday, we detailed how the Sunday news programs were uniquely focused on the Liz Cheney ouster as opposed to the bigger events in the news the prior week. Over at Newsbusters, they proved this trend is taking place on a broader scale, as they measured the coverage on the networks and found Liz was far more the focus than other prevailing issues. It leads one to wonder that after the Cheney story-that-never-was fades quickly, what will the next distraction become?
.@ABC, @CBS, and @NBCNews gave Liz Cheney 6 times more coverage than these record-breaking failures from @JoeBiden:
— NewsBusters (@newsbusters) May 19, 2021
? worst inflation since 2008
? government checks hurting job growth
? April border numbers at all-time high https://t.co/EEpnDuYDXG
Gilded Reframe – ABC / Jimmy Kimmel
This week the television networks are holding their Upfronts, the annual presentation of their programming schedules planned for the coming year. For its presentation Disney – which owns a number of networks including ABC, ESPN, and Hulu – had host Jimmy Kimmel presenting, and he was remarkably candid in his self-deprecating roast of a monologue. There were a number of pull quotes from Kimmel which were surprisingly insightful.
- "More people contracted blood clots from the Johnson & Johnson vaccine than are currently watching network TV."
- "Things are so desperate, we've had to resort to doing the right thing: inclusion. We want ABC, Disney, FX, Hulu, Freeform, ESPN and Nat Geo to be a safe space where anyone, no matter what their racial or ethnic background, their gender or sexual orientation, … can bring their stories to die."
- "Here at ABC we have two kinds of shows: canceled, and 'I didn't know that was still on.' The good news is we have some very funny new shows. The bad news is they're all dramas."
- "Being the 'most-watched network' is like being the best-selling fax machine."
- "Somehow, with everyone stuck in their house and nothing to do but watch TV for the past 14 months, we still managed to lose ratings!"
- "At Disney+, we are making something truly special, something that has not been made here in a very long time: money. Let's call ABC what it really is: Disney Minus."
Sure, Kimmel sounds a bit acerbic and sour. Could probably be due to the fact that he has come to realize that he is trailing in the ratings to Greg Gutfeld on Fox News each night.
