"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.
03.10.22
Both Kinds of Standards – DISNEY
- Age-appropriate content is only good for Disney movies, not classrooms, apparently.
As news organizations continue to lie about Florida's parental rights law, Disney CEO Bob Chapek got caught up in the hysteria. After issuing a corporate memo about the legislation that failed to satisfy the LGBTQ employees and the media, Chapek made a second statement where he said he contacted Governor Ron DeSantis' office to lodge a complaint about the law.
Two problems. First, his own company adheres to entertainment ratings standards which set up appropriate levels of content for ages and recommend parental guidance over certain topics – exactly as the law is written. Secondly, a letter came from LGBTQ leaders inside of Pixar, a division of the company, that said they have encountered instances of having gay representation removed from their movies. This is something not even the Florida law engages in, yet Disney is accused of doing.
Disney CEO Bob Chapek Rails Against a Florida Law for School Children While His Own Company Applies Even Tougher Standards
— RedState (@RedState) March 10, 2022
https://t.co/drQJah81SV
Pathological Media Amnesia – MSNBC
- Joy Reid is guilty of the very coverage she complains about.
It being Joy Reid, of course, she finds a way to inject race into a story. Her latest unhinged approach is that America, the press, and the international community only cares about Ukraine because they are white Europeans. Small matter that the invaders are also white Europeans, but that is a detail that would interrupt her predictable outrage.
Reid might have a slight point about overlooking the plight of some citizens enduring harsh violence, as she lists off other nations enduring military human rights abuses, such as the Tigray War in Ethiopia or that seen in Somalia. But to attribute it to racism is a stretch.
Unlike Russia's aggression, in both of those examples, it is not a case of an invasion but an internal civil war. Those deliver far more complications regarding intervention efforts, and even if we are to pick a side, we would still end up opposing people of color.
But Reid is herself guilty of the very complaint she lodges. As she bleats about the lack of coverage in the press of those countries, looking over her social media accounts and the show page for "The Reid Out," there are numerous video clips concerning the Ukraine invasion, and few, if any, concerning those countries with which she claims to harbor concern.
Body Checking the Fact Checkers – USA TODAY
And they are back to correcting jokes, folks. At USA Today, their diligent fact-checker Ana Faguy was on the case to let us all know that - NO - Joe Biden is not, in fact, in the process of selling Alaska to Russia. It turns out that "report" from the Babylon Bee was actually written as satire, a surprising turn from the satirical site.
Hard figuring out which is the better satire site is it Babylon Bee or USA Today?
— David Beruh (@daveberuh) March 10, 2022
Fact check: Satirical claim that Biden is selling Alaska to Russia https://t.co/AdhbJpslWn via @usatoday
Reporting on the Mirror – CNN
- CNN's media expert has the dirt on CNN…according to what he sees at other news outlets.
It is well known that Brian Stelter pays far more attention to what is transpiring at Fox News than at his own network, but there is a very curious activity seen from Brian Stelter any time he actually gets around to reporting ON his own network. He acts as if he does not work there.
The latest sees Stelter detailing some of the latest developments with his deposed former boss, Jeff Zucker. Brian lets us know that Zucker has finalized his exit deals. And, he lets us know about some of the final totals on his payouts, as well as the fact he signed a non-disclosure agreement as part of his departure. Brian has all the latest on the internal workings at CNN – not from his own investigation at his own place of work but based on what he read at Deadline and the Wall Street Journal.
For the latest news about what is happening inside CNN, just turn to Brian Stelter.
— Brad Slager - Digging into the CPAC 12-pack (@MartiniShark) March 10, 2022
He does not have inside information mind you, but he will deliver the breaking news from behind the scenes -- based on what other news outlets report about his own network. pic.twitter.com/wPLcZ1wnHV
Legalized Press-titution – MSNBC
- Sure we are getting reamed at the gas pump, but Andrea Mitchell raves about Biden's messaging on the problem.
The ongoing effort by our media to prop up Biden regarding the mounting issue of rising gas prices continues. Over the past couple of weeks, there has been a clear desire to blame the year-long hike in per-gallon surcharges on the Russian invasion. Now, we see that not only is Andrea Mitchell on board with the program, but she is also praising the administration for its brilliant effort. Not in solving the problem, mind you, but for spinning the issue in masterful ways. She raved about this with Chuck Todd on the recent episode of "Meet the Press."
- MITCHELL - "It's a potent one, but I really do think—in talking to members of Congress—that they now see the politics right now, and it may not last, that the American people are behind this. And, more likely, are willing to take a hit at the pump. I don't think it's been sold adequately."
TODD - "Well, if it means not bringing war here, right? Like, that's another way to message it, I might argue."
MITCHELL - "Yeah - and 'Putin's price hike' is a great way to message it."
NBC NEWS: Behind the White House's messaging shift on gas prices https://t.co/53VwhepZGM
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) March 8, 2022
DNC PR Firm – NBC News
Not to suggest that the press in this country favors one side; it needs to be declared a confirmed reality. How much more proof is needed than the reaction to seeing a conservative Spanish language radio network this week? Latino voters moving more to the right over the past few elections has been a reality, and the Democrats are not handling this well. Neither is the media, by all appearances.
You cannot get much more hysterical than this report from NBC News, where the headline blares the announcement of this new satellite radio network as "Defcon 1."
- "The network, called Americano, arrives during a crucial inflection point in U.S. politics, as more Hispanic voters show signs of drifting right and Democrats continue to sound the alarm about Spanish-language right-wing disinformation on social media and local radio, particularly in Miami."
Notice, from these news outlets, we never see concerns or anyone sounding the alarm over left-wing disinformation. That never seems to occur, either in Hispanic broadcasts or in English-speaking media.
First U.S. Spanish-language conservative network launches, opening a new front in the political information wars targeting Latinos. https://t.co/4DSKS9JCj0
— NBC News (@NBCNews) March 7, 2022
