"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.
03.21.22
News Avoidance Syndrome – WASHINGTON POST
- Addressing the uncomfortable truths…toe-on.
The Hunter Biden laptop story becoming verified has shed more light on the media malpractice involved in smothering the story in the fall of 2020. Numerous outlets today have to reconcile how they attempted to kill a story that now is seen as completely accurate, and Philip Bump works his deluded self into a fog attempting to clear his own paper.
Bump poses as if he is facing the story and looking into all the details.
- "Mainstream outlets and social media companies balked at elevating the story's claims, triggering frustrations on the right that remain to this day. There are at least four questions that arose from the initial report. Those are:
- How did the information published by New York Post get from Hunter Biden to the paper?
- Was that information legitimate?
- Was the media's skepticism about the chain of custody and the information warranted?
- Was the social media blackout of the New York Post warranted?"
These could be considered valid questions, all of which might lend some insight into what happened. If only Bump was interested in answering all the questions. Instead, in pathetic evasion, he decides to only focus on those questions that would appear to clear the name of the paper.
- "In this article, we'll only look at the overlap of the first and third questions: Was the sourcing for information sufficiently dubious to justify caution by mainstream outlets? The answer, it seems clear, is yes."
Matching Media Memorandum – ESPN
- The network's priorities mean it is shooting an airball on matters.
During a recent live telecast of a women's March Madness game, the on-air announcers took time from their job duties to virtue signal on social matters. Looking beyond the debate about the propriety of such actions, their choice of subject matter is beyond curious.
ESPN's women's basketball broadcasters briefly went silent during the NCAA Tournament in protest of Florida's "Don't Say Gay" bill. pic.twitter.com/7SQp6U1mQV
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 18, 2022
Making this all the more ridiculous is that there is another story that would have made far more sense for the women's game. There was no mention made of the story of WNBA player Brittney Griner being held captive in Russia.
Pathological Media Amnesia – VOX
- Say, Ian, speaking of conspiratorial free-for-alls, recall any taking place during prior confirmation hearings?
Expecting sane coverage of the Supreme Court from Ian Millhiser is like expecting to get food delivery these days without incurring numerous delivery charges. Ian looks at the recent criticisms of potential candidate Ketanji Brown Jackson and sees disturbing issues.
I imagine Mitch McConnell can't be happy about Josh Hawley turning the Ketanji Brown Jackson confirmation hearing into a free-for-all for people who think John Podesta is running a sex trafficking ring out of Comet Ping Pong.https://t.co/r9Q4u54e08
— Ian Millhiser (@imillhiser) March 18, 2022
It is telling that the SCOTUS expert at Vox can look over the absolute carnival fire that was the Brett Kavanaugh hearings and consider that to be a reserved and proper vetting process.
Both Kinds of Standards – WASHINGTON POST
- Seeing a clear difference and still making the wrong assessment.
Exhibiting the paradox many in the press are facing in the upcoming SCOTUS confirmation is WaPo columnist editor Ruth Marcus. She was called out this weekend for taking wildly opposing approaches to the Kavanaugh and Brown Jackson hearings.
funny how that works pic.twitter.com/5ZijQfr3YC
— Abigail Marone ???? (@abigailmarone) March 20, 2022
Ruth decided to defend her position on this matter, and the result was to only expose her bias even more.
Both of these columns are fair, accurate and consistent. I found Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony about about Brett Kavanaugh’s behavior convincing, but there was room for doubt. Here there is a completely out of context and cherry-picked attack on a nominee. https://t.co/776tHwYwTK
— Ruth Marcus (@RuthMarcus) March 20, 2022
The great thing is that Ms. Marcus has shown us she considers uncorroborated testimony absent anything approaching evidence – nor even a firm year declared of the supposed crimes – to be a valid and convincing piece of evidence. Pointing out a judicial ruling history that is fully documented and accessible to any to be read is considered an attack and unwarranted.
DNC PR Firm – BLOOMBERG
As Joe Biden's inflation and spiking gas policies (or Big Oil's gas policies, or Putin's, or…) continues to be an issue, Bloomberg is here to guide us through the morass. Their answer – suck it up, you ungrateful complainers!
In a column framed as a life hack for dealing with all the inflationary pressures, the overriding lesson is how we are supposed to accommodate our lives to fit the agenda of the D.C. elites.
- "The most recent barometer of consumer sentiment showed the highest-ever share of Americans expecting their finances to worsen in the coming year. About 54% think their incomes will lag behind inflation in the year ahead — a pretty high percentage historically."
Now, frame this against Congress voting itself a raise that exceeds the inflation rate, and you get a sense of where all the priorities rest.
Inflation stings most if you earn less than $300K. Here's how to deal:
— Bloomberg Opinion (@bopinion) March 19, 2022
?? Take the bus
?? Don’t buy in bulk
?? Try lentils instead of meat
?? Nobody said this would be fun https://t.co/HGJEoXL5ZZ
First Amendment Strike Force – TWITTER
- Accurate satire being considered hate speech is not a great look.
Consider what an absolute joke things have been during Women's Month, where a number of biological males have been honored in place of actual females.
Now, consider that actual jokes are being declared hatefully unfunny. Seth Dillon, CEO of the parody site The Babylon Bee, announced that they had been locked out of their own Twitter account over what was declared a violation of terms and service.
I just received this notice that we’ve been locked out of our account for “hateful conduct.” pic.twitter.com/udMriKcDr6
— Seth Dillon (@SethDillon) March 20, 2022
The best part of this is that recognizing biological facts is considered a violation by the same authoritarians who demand that people "follow the science." (Last time we checked, biology was considered a science discipline.)
As far as this demand from the Twitter overlords is concerned, Dillon states they are not buckling and are content to be banished if it means they have to alter the facts to fit the fractured standards of the platform.
We're not deleting anything. Truth is not hate speech. If the cost of telling the truth is the loss of our Twitter account, then so be it.
— Seth Dillon (@SethDillon) March 20, 2022
