"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.
10.07.21
Reporting on the Mirror – CNN
- Despite all of his efforts, Brian Stelter has been unable to stop the party at Fox News.
Today marks the 25th anniversary of Fox News, and Brian Stelter is in a snit. He delivers a two-minute monologue all about the temerity of the network to recognize their silver anniversary, bringing forth no shortage of outrage and slander. He dares say that Fox has torn families apart. As if networks like his own have not sown intolerance for opposing political positions for years.
All you need to realize how emotionally wrapped up in this Brian has become is in his early comment.
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- "You won't hear any honest assessment of Fox, ON Fox."
So says the man who has proven himself incapable of making any assessment of his own network in his coverage of the media. As for honest assessments, he has to be joking, coming from the proven prevaricators at CNN. Maybe the most oblivious line, however, is the corpulent Stelter daring to accuse the network of being "The beating heart of the GOP – a heart with clogged arteries and weak muscles."
Oh, c'mon now, Brian – you cannot be THAT self-unaware!
For the families who feel they have been torn apart by Fox, this is not a happy 25th anniversary. pic.twitter.com/fos1yim7Jp
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) October 7, 2021
Glossary Over Things – CNN
One thing that has stuck in the craw of CNN personalities – beyond the blatant success of Fox News, as their network languishes deep in 3rd place – is that CNN media analyst Bill Carter famously predicted that the network would never survive.
- "Mr. Murdoch jumped to hire Mr. Ailes to run both Fox News and the news channel as soon as he became available -- and perhaps before he was ready to begin the channel. The idea, some suggested, was to give Mr. Ailes a toy to play with."
Now, the landscape is one of embarrassment for the once proud and only news channel, CNN. How does Carter explain things today, given that CNN is frequently beaten by The Food Network and that in some time slots, Fox can draw triple the audience than are watching CNN? As he explained to Stelter in his newsletter:
- "The landscape of TV was obviously very different 25 years ago. When I wrote that piece many sources doubted whether another cable news channel would be viable -- and they were right. And Rupert Murdoch clearly agreed with them because he didn't start up another news channel, he started up a conservative opinion channel."
That is some convenient redefining of things in order to not look so inaccurate.
Body Checking the Fact Checkers – WASHINGTON POST
When the resident fact-checker at the Washington Post, Glenn Kessler, is compelled to actually do his job in reference to a Democrat, his heart is not really in it. In the latest example, he was forced to take on a comment from Representative Pramila Jayapal.
The congresswoman made a bold claim that a majority of Americans support government-funded abortions. The problem? Almost every poll shows the polar opposite is the case. But, as Kessler took action, he did not exactly spring into action on the matter. This being a Democrat, after all, means shading had to be brought into his assessment, so he found reasons to not label her with the dreaded "4 Pinocchios," his version of an outright lie.
- "In this case, Jayapal is relying on a poll done for a group that wants more public funding of abortions. That result has to be balanced against the many other polls that reached a different conclusion, suggesting the answer is not as clear-cut as Jayapal asserts. She earns Two Pinocchios."
New #FactChecker --> Jayapal’s claim that ‘the majority of the country’ supports federal funding of abortion https://t.co/jyayS4rmDw
— Glenn Kessler (@GlennKesslerWP) October 6, 2021
Prose & Contradiction – New York Magazine / Intelligencer
In typical unbiased and neutral fashion, Jonathan Chait has come out with a very objective determination – you must support the Joe Biden agenda entirely, or else you are abetting authoritarianism. Did you catch that? To battle authoritarianism, we MUST support Biden, who has challenged the Constitution repeatedly, wants to issue mandates on the populace and private business, and pushes a sprawling government expansion with more control for D.C.
But there is another issue Jon probably does not want us looking into – his prior positions regarding Trump.
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) October 7, 2021
Antti-Social Media – THE NEW REPUBLIC
Taking their name WAY too seriously, the vaunted minds at The New Republic have taken a look into the inner workings of one of our states and have come to a conclusion – we need to get rid of it.
These deep thinkers are rather upset with South Dakota, and GOP Governor Kristi Noem is not even the sole reason. No, there is a nefarious banking system set up within its borders that the outlet does not like, but then there is also the problematic history of the state itself, going back to its inception. See, the land was taken improperly from indigenous people – but writer Timothy Noah is a little bit unclear exactly who the aggrieved party is. Or, tribe, as it were.
- "The great state of South Dakota was stolen in 1743 by the French in the person of Louis-Joseph Gaultier de La Vérendrye. The precise Native American tribe from whom South Dakota was stolen is not certain."
Well, now – this will make returning the land quite the challenge, won't it? The idea is to simply merge the two Dakotas back into a "proper" solitary state. The vague rationale is that since Congress has the power to create states under The Admissions Clause, it should also possess the power to eliminate states – we have to guess? How this will eliminate the cursed banks serving as a tax haven is not exactly addressed, but nestled in the body of this idiocy is the true reason behind this daft proposal.
- "Creating two Dakotas made little practical sense. 'There is no such territory as South Dakota,' a Minnesota newspaper observed. But splitting the territory in two gave the GOP six new political bases instead of five. The Washington Post's Philip Bump observed in March - It remains responsible for the Republican Party holding half of the seats in the Senate. Of those 12 seats added during that stretch from 1889 to 1890, Republicans still hold nine seats—a six-seat advantage for the party."
Annnnnd, there it is. It is the filibuster argument, redux. The Democrats do not wield FULL control in Washington – so it is time to start erasing states.
South Dakota’s lax financial regulations are fantastic enablers of illegal or brazenly immoral activity unrelated to tax-dodging. https://t.co/KPNAQDVNX6
— The New Republic (@newrepublic) October 6, 2021
Low Octane Gas Lighting – CNN
Cillizza cites a poll showing something about a majority of Republicans thinking no new candidates should be too critical of Donald Trump. This concerns Chris because Chris has deep concerns for the GOP. Uh...sure he does.
Even better is that Cillizza cannot seem to grasp that the reasoning behind this position by the politicians is made with an eye on the voters.
- "What's remarkable -- at least to me -- is that the utter fealty to Trump expected by the bulk of Republican voters has continued even though the former President is no longer in office."
Politicians taking a position that is expected by the bulk of the voters – what a rare and novel concept, Chris.
"There's no room for dissent in the current iteration of the Republican Party. That should worry every single person who cares about the GOP's future." | Analysis by @ChrisCillizza https://t.co/rumRjinHVG
— CNN (@CNN) October 7, 2021
