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.
08.02.21 (Update)
DNC PR Firm – CNN
- The arbiters of truth explain why Muriel Bowser is not a hypocrite on her mask order.
CNN's "New Day" spent a couple of segments on the mayor of Washington, D.C., shown to have been violating her own mask mandate on Saturday when she officiated a wedding. Photos from the Washington Examiner showed the mayor maskless at the public gathering, a clear violation of her own new mask mandate.
After initially admitting this was a case of bad optics for the mayor, hostess Brianna Keilar turned defensive, noting the Bowser comms office said the mayor was only maskless while eating and drinking and then stating, "It seems like it could be during the toast, right? Everyone's heads are pointed in a certain direction. It seems like maybe they are listening to someone is what it appears to me."
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Co-host John Berman weighed in with his deflector shield, "Here is the thing, right, she wasn't actually as far as we know violating the new rules, correct?"
Then, during another segment, they had CNN reporter Margaret Talev on to find the real problem – those darned conservatives who dared notice the mask violations.
- "Look, I think that particularly public officials who are in Democratic politics, but all public officials in America right now, are going to be seen as examples and they are going to be targets by critics who, you know, want to try to show a false equivalency. The reality is in events where everybody has been – where people have been vaccinated and where distancing is observed, these events are, you know, less dangerous in terms of spread."
DNC PR Firm (Pt. 2) – CNN
When the photos of Bowser initially came out, there were hilariously impotent defenses tossed up. The Washingtonian gave testimony that the writer of the Washington Examiner piece, Tiana Lowe, was not an invited guest to the wedding. How this somehow exonerates the mayor from violating her own mask mandate was not explained.
In response to the photo, CNN White House reporter Kate Bennett posted a photo of Bowser officiating the wedding, giving notice that the event was outside, serving as an excuse. Except, the photos shown of Bowser maskless were when she was seated indoors. The exonerating post has since been removed from the Instagram account of Bennett, who it needs to be noted was an invited guest.
It appears @KateBennett_DC took down this excusatory post, once it was shown Mayor Bowser had been shown indoors while violating her own mask mandate on Saturday. pic.twitter.com/HESSNxmiF9
— Brad Slager - In Trouble More Than Pres. Biden (@MartiniShark) August 2, 2021
Pulitzer Prize Nomination – WALL STREET JOURNAL
Are chicken nuggets the most popular food going these days? You bet Jurassic is! The Wall Street Journal is diligently on the case of all the developments of fun-shaped mechanically-extruded deep-fried chicken paste delectables!
The dino nugget craze has spawned new shapes. But first, makers had to perfect Baby Yoda's ears. https://t.co/yq1D62nmKh
— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) July 30, 2021
Artisanal-Crafted Narratives – FOX 31 NEWS, Colorado
With the federal government set to lift the ban on evictions for those who could not pay rent during a pandemic, news agencies are primed to look for sympathy stories. This local affiliate should have continued looking.
- "They took a video of a camping trip with friends recently from land they're buying near Fairplay. 'This is not camping for us, this is going to be a way of life,' Martinez said. That same land could be where they're going to live if they're evicted."
The station should realize vacationers with investment properties do not make for the most sympathetic test cases for these stories.
Last October, Samantha Pate and Andrew Martinez took a photo to mark the day they got their new apartment. On Saturday, one day before the nationwide eviction moratorium ends, their family of four, could be giving those keys back and out in the elements. https://t.co/Hd4eOCE5rF
— FOX31 Denver KDVR (@KDVR) August 1, 2021
Body Checking The Fact Checkers – LEAD STORIES
The news could have been rather upsetting to millions, but let us assure you, based on the crack news team at "Lead Stories," that the actor Tom Hanks has not been executed by a military tribunal. If you are leery about this detail, the reporting squad at this outlet reached out to the Pentagon and a duty official therein asserted that this did not in fact take place.
Of course, there were a number of other indicators that could have satisfied this quest for the truth.
You could have noted the lack of news stories about a trial ahead of this execution, or maybe that the site that posted this story, "has a disclaimer on its website to alert readers that it is not a real news source." There is also the detail that Tom Hanks is not a member of any of the armed services, so that would be a sticking point concerning a military trial. But nonetheless, great work gang!
Fact Check: The Military Did NOT Execute Tom Hanks https://t.co/GqknplEoD0
— Lead Stories (@LeadStoriesCom) August 2, 2021
08.02.21 (Original)
Artisanal-Crafted Narratives – CNN
The new party’s mascot could be a sheep.
Brian Stelter referenced something that CNN deep thinker Chris Cuomo mentioned on his radio broadcast this week. The lesser-Cuomo posits that people who have been vaccinated will become a new political force in the country.
There's a "new political block" forming in the USA, a new force that politicians will have to reckon with: "The vaccinated," @ChrisCuomo says on his radio show. "The vaccinated are going to be a bold block in this next set of midterms"
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) July 28, 2021
I'm sure he felt this was a trenchant comment in light of the current hysteria, but the fact that he is referencing a single-issue contingent undercuts the impact of the statement. Try imagining a congressman weighing the options on an issue, such as the infrastructure bill, only to be warned off of his position by a staffer. "That's a bad idea, sir – you could lose The Vaccinated vote!"
So Stelter and @ChrisCuomo are basically starting a new political party.
— Brad Slager - In Trouble More Than Pres. Biden (@MartiniShark) August 1, 2021
Instead of a Donkey or Elephant, they can use this as the party mascot. https://t.co/XiAzhg8IQe pic.twitter.com/4kn1X4SeUr
News Avoidance Syndrome – DAILY BEAST
Criticizing Fox because you hate the accuracy of their stats.
The press has been in 100-percent support of the administration's position on the pandemic surge response – no matter which conflicting position they trot out daily. Justin Baragona had a caustic read on a graphic that Fox News posted to place the current Covid hype in perspective.
How Fox News is covering the pandemic today. pic.twitter.com/ZMw2SiTXPO
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) July 30, 2021
Lost on Justin – or more likely ignored – is that D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has implemented a new strict mask policy for her city, all while she had been rolling back funding on the police force in her town. Misplaced priorities seem to be shared by the politicians and the press.
Both Kinds Of Standards – VARIOUS OUTLETS
Recall how any mention from the prior president about journalists not being accurate and news organizations giving false and misleading reports would lead to a fainting couch-level of outrage and histrionics? Mediaite details that the Biden administration has been in contact with a number of major media outlets, complaining about the coverage and framing of the breakout case rates for vaccinated citizens.
The article dutifully details the complaints from the White House and lays out the numerous errors they cite in the reporting. Not found: appeals of oppression from the members of the news landscape.
Biden Team Reaches Out to News Outlets Over 'Irresponsible' Delta Coverage Being Done for Ratings — And Hurting Vaccine Effort https://t.co/M1qlGcERkf
— Mediaite (@Mediaite) July 31, 2021
Anti-Social Media – NBC NEWS LOS ANGELES
Behold the death of comedy. It was a murder.
At NBC 4 LA, they found a very disturbing sight worth canceling. Michael Che, the comedian from the comedy show Saturday Night Live, sent comedic posts on his comedy-based Instagram account. The jokes were surrounding U.S. gymnast Simone Biles, so already there would be guaranteed trouble. The press did their job, shaming Che into taking down the tweet.
He followed with a caustically sarcastic message about being hacked, but then he took that posting down as well. Then the press kept at the cancel-culture drive, trying to get comments from Che's manager, publicist, as well as representatives from SNL and NBC.
"Saturday Night Live" "Weekend Update" anchor Michael Che is under fire after posting jokes about Olympian Simone Biles. https://t.co/9y8KjyydLO
— NBC Los Angeles (@NBCLA) July 31, 2021
