"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.
02.01.22
Anti-Social Media – THE NEW YORK TIMES
Everyone by now has tired of seeing the colored grid pop up in their timelines, as journalists playing the daily Wordle insist on posting their scores…but only when they have good scores, of course. Well, the newest rage in games has been acquired by The New York Times for their games portal.
Reports estimate that just over $3 million was the payout. Now the fact that Twitter has banned the bot that was ruining the daily answer makes a lot more sense.
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A bot tried to ruin Wordle by posting the next day’s answer. Twitter suspended the account.https://t.co/eTXRnP5YOe
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) January 25, 2022
Reporting on the Mirror – WASHINGTON POST
It seems less than a coincidence that the day The NY Times acquires the hottest internet game, they also let go of the internet's biggest scourge, Taylor Lorenz. It was announced that the social-cyber reporter was jumping ship and joining the ranks of the Washington Post.
- "We are thrilled to announce that Taylor Lorenz, whose dogged reporting, keen insights and boundless curiosity have made her the country's premier chronicler of Internet culture, will join The Washington Post as a columnist in March."
What I find so perplexing is that they used a photograph of Lorenz and her real name. These are actions that Lorenz declared to be an attack on her when Tucker Carlson mentioned her name on the air and used her NY Times bio photo onscreen.
Also, doxxing the reporter in this manner was Vanity Fair, which ran a bio on Lorenz where she describes the challenge of her position.
- "I think that people do not understand my beat. They don't take it seriously."
Hard to imagine people not taking seriously her practice of outing un-woke behavior in social media circles, stalking Clubhouse chatrooms looking for social offenses, and detailing for the world real-looking items which are actually cakes.
This Pickle Is a Cake. Welcome to the viral world of hyper-realistic cake slicing videos.
— Hyacinthe Miller ???? (@SassyScribbler) August 14, 2020
Taylor Lorenz Explains the Cake Meme - The New York Times https://t.co/nSdeWgXYC4 pic.twitter.com/evCgjm39uE
Artisanally-Crafted Narratives – CNBC
In the ongoing effort to demonize Senator Kyrsten Sinema, the latest comes from CNBC, as the outlet tries to show how she is corrupted away from her Democratic base by a number of donations from (gasp!) conservative figures.
- "Sen. Kyrsten Sinema's campaign raised over $1.5 million toward the end of 2021 as she opposed key elements of her own party's agenda."
That vile woman.
- "Sinema, who represents Arizona and is up for reelection in 2024, with a possible primary challenge on the way, raised the amount during the October-December period. Her campaign had just over $5.7 million on hand going into the New Year."
A politician raising money ahead of an election – unheard of! Then the news outlet detailed one of her nefarious benefactors. One of them was Home Depot co-founder and billionaire investor Ken Langone. He was not alone in backing the bipartisan-curious senator.
- "Another billionaire investor, Nelson Peltz, who hosted a 2020 Trump fundraiser at his Florida home. Tickets for the event went up to over $580,000 per couple and was expected to raise $10 million for Trump's then-joint fundraising committee, which also helped raise cash for the Republican National Committee."
Dastardly. Then we see just what these men are buying into. With all of those flashy figures tossed around, the billionaires gave a rather unimpressive sum of $5,000.
NEW: @kyrstensinema raised over $1.5 million in the fourth quarter while opposing key pieces of Pres. Biden's agenda. That includes donations from GOP megadonors such as Nelson Peltz, Ken Langone & Harlan Crow.
— Brian Schwartz (@schwartzbCNBC) January 31, 2022
FOX CORP. contributed to her leadership PAChttps://t.co/A5TQnJDtHn
Presentation Paradox – VARIOUS OUTLETS
- If we are crediting the man, then we have to call this the "Neil Young Bounce."
With barely veiled glee, many in the media were reporting on the financial impact the Neil Young controversy caused on Spotify's fortunes. We also heard plenty about subscribers running for the exits and numerous other dinosaur rockers claiming they were leaving the platform. Lost in the hysterics, of course, are the facts.
For one, the company is headquartered in Sweden and, as a result, has more subscribers in Europe than North America. Neil Young is not as big an influence across the pond. Second, regarding the cancelations last week, to get a true read, you would need to see the actual number (something never provided in the reports) and weigh that figure against the more than 100 million who have joined after signing Joe Rogan in May 2020.
Lastly, if Neil Young was credited with the drop in market share, something the stock was absorbing well before the cantankerous crooner opened his Metamucil maw, then the instant recovery of the stock has to be regarded as a result of pushback to his words. On Monday, Spotify jumped nearly 13.5%, completely recovering all the market cap lost last week and gaining some, then rose higher again today.
Do we call it a Neil Young bounce or a Joni Mitchell bounce? pic.twitter.com/YzVwyclkr8
— Bohemio of the Reeeeing Twenties (@El__Bohemio) January 31, 2022
Stealth Story Evolution – REUTERS
Let us recall, for just a moment, all the demonization that has been put out there about Ivermectin. It is a horse dewormer, not a human drug (CNN has called it a "horse medication" on the air not just once but numerous times), hospitals were overflowing with poisonings (proven fake), and it has no medicinal effect on Covid. We just have to ignore the medical studies saying otherwise.
Now, comes Reuters with a report on the drug showing effectiveness against the Omicron variant. Any moment now, we should be seeing reports of the news syndicate being de-platformed, correct?
Japanese trading and pharmaceuticals company Kowa Co Ltd on Monday said that anti-parasite drug ivermectin showed an "antiviral effect" against Omicron and other coronavirus variants in joint non-clinical research. https://t.co/VKQINH77JB
— Reuters Health (@Reuters_Health) January 31, 2022
Pulitzer Prize Nomination – NEW YORK MAGAZINE / VULTURE
The good news is that now that Covid restrictions are ebbing, the celebrities are starting to get out, and the PR firms can once again spit out useless news nuggets for the tabloids to start Hoovering up for content.
Yesterday, you might have seen it splashed across social media that Rhianna is pregnant. There is still a market for this type of non-news, and at Vulture, they looked at what was behind the photo of a fertile Rhianna that was shared on numerous platforms. Curious to see what it would take to obtain one of these exclusive snapshots, the staffers reached out with a question – and an opened checkbook.
- "The photos … they're expensive. Like, 'someone who is good at the economy please help me budget this' expensive. Not that we're surprised. Photos of celebabies are notoriously costly, but in this case, the baby isn't even pictured.
And it's not an exclusive or anything, just a Shutterstock download. Stans that we are, we caved and very frugally bought only one of the many photos in the shoot.
It was $1,500."
I'm sure it was a worthwhile investment. Certainly, the outlet made that money back by…somehow. Okay, it'll be a tax write-off as a business expense, but still…
The cost of Rihanna’s pregnancy photos? The Price is RiRight https://t.co/knCyX52I2Z
— Vulture (@vulture) January 31, 2022
