"Riffed from the Headlines" is 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.
09.20.21
News Avoidance Syndrome – CNN
- Jim Sciutto gets noticeably upset over the lack of activity at Saturday's rally.
On Saturday, the touted Justice for Jan 6 Rally was staged in Washington, DC...sort of. It was held, but few actually showed up. In fact, this gathering was such a dud that, once again, we saw the media overhyping an allegedly disturbing and dangerous crowd and then seeing the press outnumbering the participants.
When Ari Fleischer pointed out the heavily imbalanced coverage of this non-event and balanced it with how the media would prefer to ignore the real story at our southern border, CNN's Jim Sciutto became perturbed.
Fact is, over the last several days, we covered both the rally and the border extensively. As I often say, watch the broadcast. As for turnout today, high security may have reduced it, which I can’t imagine you lamenting for, say, a thwarted terror attack https://t.co/Vg2lAQDYdM
— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) September 18, 2021
Funny, because the only time we saw Jim getting really incensed about the immigrant conditions and the dissolving security at the border was back in 2019, under a different administration. Today, with a different president and a vastly larger influx creating dangerous conditions, we see no CAP ONLY messages on the matter.
Exhibit - T pic.twitter.com/M3dbZ36SrF
— Brad Slager - Focused On Lasers (@MartiniShark) September 20, 2021
Stealth Story Evolution – VARIOUS MEDIA
- After the no-show nature of Saturday's rally, the narrative becomes something else entirely.
It is always fun to see an event cause a wholesale alteration in a media narrative or even a tectonic-sized one. Saturday's fizzled Justice For Jan 6 Rally defied all the promises the press made about the rally.
CNN - Fears of political violence grip Capitol Hill ahead of right-wing rally
NEW YORK TIMES - Officials have warned lawmakers and their aides to avoid the area on Saturday
YAHOO NEWS - DC Braces for rally
NPR - The Capital faces its biggest security test
WASHINGTON POST - Police said they have gleaned intelligence on possible violence
NEWSWEEK - The "Justice for J6" rally planned for Sept. 18 might present a "challenge" to American democracy
Now that the gathering was a sparsely populated affair, the press, rather than admitting they had it incorrect all along, have not only shifted gears on the subject, they have changed lanes, made a U-turn, and switched vehicles. But they remain with their foot on the accelerator.
NEW YORK TIMES - Though even the organizers lamented the sparse turnout, the scene showed how the Capitol assault continues to reverberate eight months later.
BRIAN STELTER - The physical event may matter less than the digital conversation around it. The "Justice" message has been mainstreamed across right-wing media.
PHILIP BUMP - The worrisome pro-Capitol-riot activism isn't a rally. It's in right-wing media. If the goal of the rally this weekend is to elevate a sympathetic view of the rioters, it doesn’t really matter if it fails. After all, that elevation is already happening in the attention-seeking right-wing media ecosystem.
HUFFINGTON POST - Right-wing researchers like Jared Holt had said that online chatter among extremists suggested few people would show for fear of a trap by law enforcement. Far-right figures, including Gab CEO Andrew Torba and QAnon conspiracy leader Ron Watkins, encouraged their followers not to attend for fear of – as Torba put it – becoming “a political prisoner of the state.”
So, although thoroughly proved to be completely incorrect, it somehow stands as evidence that their hysteria was completely justified. This bifurcated thinking was perfectly illustrated by Rep. Ted Lieu of CA, who wants to demonize the MAGA faction of this country as the most dangerous entity on the planet and, at the same time, say they are an inconsequential political trifle.
TED LIEU FRIDAY - These Trump MAGA loons are a danger to our democracy!
— Brad Slager - Focused On Lasers (@MartiniShark) September 20, 2021
TED LIEU SATURDAY - These Trump MAGA loons are an inconsequential failure!
Like the press, these are interchangeable when the news changes on him.https://t.co/3NKwCQSGiu https://t.co/jTw6kASSy3
Presentation Paradox – NBC NEWS / MEET THE PRESS
It has been a baffling week for the mask Nazis as we have seen the elites on the Left violating their own militant mask mandates with regularity. Whether it was The Met Gala, Biden administration officials, or the mayor of San Fransisco, we have been getting a regular rotation of Democrats showing how unbothered they are with their supposed safety measures.
Add to the list Chuck Todd and his guests on this week's edition of "Meet The Press." We were presented with a backstage preshow shot of the host and guests gathering around a craft service table and posing in their masks despite the fact they were in the presence of Covid-canceling foodstuffs, which excuses mask-wearing.
If it’s Sunday… Getting ready for @MeetThePress with ?@chucktodd? pic.twitter.com/5cYOGs8U9z
— Jeff Mason (@jeffmason1) September 19, 2021
Then moments later, we have the exact same group on the air, positioned the same distance from each other at the show roundtable, and there is no longer a risk of contracting a deadly virus.
Full Panel: After France, Covid & Afghanistan, White House endures a tough week#MTPhttps://t.co/jR6dE5eIts pic.twitter.com/6ULW2lZvST
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) September 19, 2021
Then just to add to the mirth, in his opening, Chuck Todd was lambasting Joe Biden over his "mixed messaging’" on Covid directives. Oh, Chuck, this is Pundit, heal thyself territory.
Pathological Media Amnesia
- The only thing funnier is just how recently this was a violation of his own declaration.
When it is this recent of a hypocritical position, you have to believe there is no core position. Last week, we showed how Occupy Democrats made a complete 180 on evictions once it heard that people could be tossed into the street over a vaccine refusal. That contradiction took place over the span of about a month, but it has now been outdone by The Palmer report.
Expressing disdain over those who use a profane invective in reference to President Joe Biden and stating this is un-American is one thing; forgetting to have used the exact same vulgarity toward President Trump just four days earlier is a new nadir of obliviousness.
These clowns continue to drape themselves in partisan hackery. @OccupyDemocrats took both sides on the evictions issue within the span of weeks, then you have this blessed obliviousness from @PalmerReport just days apart. pic.twitter.com/XRmAi2mUGN
— Brad Slager - Focused On Lasers (@MartiniShark) September 18, 2021
Glossary Over Things – ASSOCIATED PRESS
- Technically, it is still a fact check, we suppose…
Occasionally, the journalists are forced to actually report, as much as they strive to avoid doing their jobs with Biden in office. As much as it pains them to correct their favored leader, he delivers so many misfires by the gross that avoiding them is near impossible.
So, what are those who are charged with fact-checking to do when forced into this role of doing their jobs?
Answer – they turn to the thesaurus for help. After years of declaring every speech, comment, utterance, tweet, or belch from Donald Trump to be a LIE, Biden's falsehoods need to be reclassified into something far less vile. Hey, how about "shaky claims"?! That's definitely far less ominous-sounding in the headlines!
?? @AP calls out @JoeBiden’s dangerous blame game.
— NRSC Rapid Response (@NRSC_Rapid) September 17, 2021
Why do @SenateDems refuse to hold him accountable?
AP FACT CHECK: Biden’s shaky claims on jobs, gasoline: https://t.co/EQRZVqIczm
