Townhall's daily VIP feature with coverage on the deeply flawed aspects of journalism in the nation. We'll look to bring accountability to the mishaps, malaprops, misdeeds, manipulations, malpractice, and manufactured narratives in mainstream media.
07.27.21 (Update)
Both Kinds Of Standards -- CNN
Brian Stelter bemoaned Fox News being non-committal about covering today’s start of Nancy Pelosi’s Capitol riot investigation.
- “A network spokesperson would not confirm any plans for wall-to-wall coverage of the hearings. Nor did the channel signal any plans for a "special report." OAN did not respond to my inquiry on Monday night. As for Newsmax, a spokesman said the channel is planning "significant live coverage," adding, "we are awaiting the committee's full witness and expert list before committing to the time allotted." Alas, the four key witnesses have already been named”
The tut-tut-ing from Stelter is expected, but what is going to be lost on him is that when there was a hearing years back of equal significance, his own network boldly stated they would avoid the matter. Tim Graham reached back and found CNN’s leader Jeff Zucker making rather different comments about the Benghazi hearing.
First day of House Select Committee on Benghazi hearings, 9/17/2014: CNN didn't offer live coverage. https://t.co/U9J0z1k6oX https://t.co/0ZNXLhs4SF
— Tim Graham (@TimJGraham) July 27, 2021
CNN boss Jeff Zucker on covering House Select Benghazi committee in 2014: "We're not going to be shamed into it by others who have political beliefs that want to try to have temper tantrums to shame other news organizations into covering something."https://t.co/6SbM59C8uO https://t.co/0ZNXLhs4SF
— Tim Graham (@TimJGraham) July 27, 2021
DNC PR Firm -- NEW YORK TIMES
Who needs to wait for the findings from the committee?!
The New York Times reporter on the Justice Department, Katie Benner, is covering the Capitol riot committee. What Katie is not doing is waiting around for them to come up with solid evidence of -- anything. Today she elects to move right on ahead and declare the entirety of the Republican party as guilty.
This thread proves out that Nancy Pelosi’s kangaroo commission will get the complete and thorough tongue-bath coverage from the nation’s leading newspaper.
Today's #January6thSelectCommittee underscores the America's current, essential natsec dilemma: Work to combat legitimate national security threats now entails calling a politician’s supporters enemies of the state. 1/
— Katie Benner (@ktbenner) July 27, 2021
Presentation Paradox -- NBC NEWS
At The Verge they conducted a lengthy interview with Chuck Todd about the media landscape and all manner of political topics. Todd, as he is rather known for, bristled once again at the inference that there is a media bias. He then managed to immediately follow up his statement by justifying his media bias.
- “We should have fought back better in the mainstream media. We shouldn’t [have] accepted the premise that there was liberal bias. We should have defended. I hear the attacks on fact checkers where they “fact-check Republicans six times more than they fact-check Democrats.” Yeah. Perhaps the Republicans are being factually incorrect more often than the Democrats.”
The lesson: Don’t you dare suggest that Chuck Todd might carry a bias, no matter how much he may agree with you on the subject.
Chuck Todd on why Meet the Press can’t survive on just one platform https://t.co/5wB4HqUmyH pic.twitter.com/bgqITiG1mL
— The Verge (@verge) July 27, 2021
Prose & Contradiction -- NEW YORK TIMES
An author should know definitions are not limited to individuals.
Noted fabulist Michael Wolff is still out stumping for his latest book release on Donald Trump. Yes, another one. He gave an interview with the New York Times and he provides a most curious quote from the Lack of Self-Awareness Department.
In Opinion
— The New York Times (@nytimes) July 25, 2021
"To write three books in four years about Donald Trump has been an immersion into his obsessions and fixations. This is why I know the obvious: Donald Trump will run for president again," Michael Wolff writes. https://t.co/Bwg2ytbuq9
Oh Michael. You just admitted to writing THREE books on the same man over a four year span. That right there is the very definition of “obsessions and fixations”.
Stealth Story Evolution -- CNN
So...no comment on the complete 180 the President just pulled off...?!
Credit at least for covering it, we suppose. Kevin Liptack, white House reporter for CNN displays a rather glaring contradiction from the President regarding the whole vaccine/mask confusion the administration has on display. Not much in the way of critical analysis and noting the mixed messaging from the top, but it is a start.
The White House said Friday it was not their role to "place blame" on unvaccinated people for the current surge. Biden, however, is explicitly blaming them for the situation: "We have a pandemic because of the unvaccinated. And they’re sowing enormous confusion."
— Kevin Liptak (@Kevinliptakcnn) July 27, 2021
07.27.21 (Original)
Pre-Written Field Reports -- CNN
Last night Chris Cuomo had on Florida Representative Byron Donalds to battle over Covid Vaccine residency, and the host was clearly flustered and amped up for the bout. Donalds was calm and on point. In other words, yes - the wheels came off on this meetup.
Cuomo frequently interrupted Donalds, telling him he doesn’t get to cut him off on his show -- only Cuomo can interrupt. Then the host puts words in his mouth, telling Donalds he said he was not getting vaccinated to spite President Biden. The politician explained that the reason he was not is because he has already had Covid and possesses the antibodies, and answered that Biden was invoked by a reporter’s question. Then he went ahead and ruined things, by suggesting others get their shot.
-“If you are concerned, please go get vaccinated. I will never tell you not to get vaccinated.” He then reiterated this point. “If you want to get protected...go get the vaccine. I fully promote you doing that.”
Cuomo clearly had his attack plan in place and continued to hammer Donalds over not getting vaccinated, ignoring his having the antibodies already and ignoring his twice telling people to vaccinate.
Republican Rep. Byron Donalds tells @ChrisCuomo he has made the decision not to get vaccinated “as a free person.”
— Cuomo Prime Time (@CuomoPrimeTime) July 27, 2021
“That doesn’t just make a you free person,” replied Cuomo. “...Its about doing the right thing, the best thing.” pic.twitter.com/wvQ2TqXjh6
Gilded Reframe -- MSNBC
When Nancy Pelosi blocked select Republicans from her committee looking into the Capitol riot she opened the door for every criticism that this would be more of a kangaroo commission than a legitimate exploration of the facts.
The press has had to scramble to explain this, and we see the evolution now as Tiffany Cross sat in for Joy Reid last night. Cross suggests that the concept of an equal assessment of things by two sides, saying to her panel, “Why exactly does this committee have to be so bipartisan?”
She next took things not only to an extreme, but a deeply odd extreme.
-“It’s like if you were prosecuting Dave Koresh, you’re not thinking we should get the Branch Davidians on the committee, too, to get their perspective."
Oh...kay then. Of course, we need to gloss over the fact that this is supposed to be an investigation, not a trial. But to extend her thought, prosecutions still see the accused meeting before their peers, not 12 cherry-picked zealots who have already made their decision before the trial begins.
Legalized Press-titution -- BLOOMBERG
At Bloomberg, columnist Jonathan Bernstein is dismayed at how the media on the right are beholden to Trump, as he -- a media member of the left -- is once again talking about Trump.
-Without Fox News, conservative talk radio, conservative links through social media, and the rest of Republican-aligned media, it’s unlikely that Republican voters would even know about Trump’s various whims — let alone think of them as quasi-official Republican positions.
Sooo...the simplest way to silence Trump is...get rid of every single media outlet on the right?! But even were that to take place, it is relatively certain that the Republican base would still be fully apprised of Trump’s activities. Like Bernstein, the entire leftist media complex cannot stop covering the man who is no longer President.
Trump's influence with Republicans remains the big factor in congressional nominations https://t.co/KjqvtobeXS
— Bloomberg Opinion (@bopinion) July 26, 2021
Blue-Anon -- NBC NEWS
Much like the reporters who dedicate their days climbing through Qanon message boards for the most extreme theories, NBC is undertaking a similar spy mission. The always hysterical reporter Brandy Zadrozny has been digging through some of the clandestine meet-ups among the anti-vaccine crowd and she has mined them for new terminology.
- “Some anti-vaccination groups on Facebook are changing their names to euphemisms...and using code words to fit those themes in order to skirt bans from Facebook, as the company attempts to crack down on misinformation about Covid-19 vaccines.”
So what are some of these nefarious dog-whistles the militant Moderna Mouseketeers are using these days?
Dinner Party = Group of anti-vax warriors
Swimmers = Vaccinated people
Drank Beer = Got vaccinated
Pizza = Pfizer
Also, according to Zadrozny’s intrepid reporting, if you ‘’spend time with dancers’’ you refer to being with vaccinated people, even though we called those people “swimmers”, and when you said “dancers” you referred to anti-vax members. So these people do not make much sense. For that matter, neither do the anti-vax people.
Both Kinds Of Standards -- VARIOUS OUTLETS
At sister site Twitchy they highlighted a beautiful thread, made by the account Libs Of Tik Tok, that shows the duality found in the media concerning events that are deemed superspreaders. For much of last year the press love declaring that certain gatherings were going to become viral hotspots, yet currently they are faced with a definitive example -- the Texas Democrats flee-ibuster -- and the journalists are suddenly loath to trot out their favored description.
In this thread they display a wide array of outlets that declared the Capitol riot to be a superspreader event while they had previously excused away the numerous BLM gatherings last year.
— Libs of Tik Tok (@libsoftiktok) July 26, 2021
— Libs of Tik Tok (@libsoftiktok) July 26, 2021
— Libs of Tik Tok (@libsoftiktok) July 26, 2021
— Libs of Tik Tok (@libsoftiktok) July 26, 2021
Body Checking The Fact Checkers -- POLITIFACT
With the press in full blown outrage mode over any vaccine opposition it has become a thorny sticking point when comments made last year by those on the left opposing the vaccine arrival are exposed. Many in the press were voicing their distaste over the impending rollout (looking at you, members of the MSNBC braintrust) but there is a bigger issue -- our leaders who did the same.
Last year both Joe Biden and Kamala Harris had words of resistance regarding the announcement of a vaccine, and they are on tape doing so. Never fear however, because Politifact is on the case to tell us not to believe our lying eyes and ears.
-“Their full statements show they were raising doubts about Trump’s trustworthiness, his ability to roll out the vaccines safely and the risk of political influence over vaccine development. We rate the video False.”
So even though they actually said these things, they do not count, because of Trump. Except, of course, Trump did not create the vaccines -- those derived from the pharmaceuticals, and they have been tested and vetted, and they are very same vaccines are being hoisted by these same minds today.
