"Riffed from the Headlines" is Townhall's daily VIP feature with coverage of 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.
05.04.22
Pulitzer Prize Nomination – MSNBC
- If word of this gets out that conceptions lead to progeny, it could be a game-changer!
As we showed yesterday, this leak from the Supreme Court about the draft opinion possibly showing a vote to overturn the Roe v. Wade decision has the press in full meltdown mode. The imbalanced coverage has turned hilarious at times.
At MSNBC, Yamiche Alcindor was at it again. Yesterday, we reported that she was oblivious to her inartful language while describing reactions to the news. Next came another field report, and this time, Alcindor delivered some jarring news – Pregnancies will turn into children!
Recommended
The thing making this cement-head commentary all the better is the network displaying their Breaking News chyron as she delivers this trenchant report.
Yamiche Alcindor is worried that "women who are poor, women of color...will be forced to have pregnancies that they cannot afford to terminate, and pregnancies that will then turn into children." pic.twitter.com/oqhd1vD11y
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) May 3, 2022
DNC PR Firm – DENVER POST
The issue of abortion can be polarizing, and the arguments from either side are passionate and deserve to be heard in order to form a cogent opinion on the matter.
Unless you work for The Denver Post.
Following the SCOTUS leak, the D-Post went into full lobbyist mode. In a piece detailing what it all could mean, the paper managed to only speak to pro-abortion voices before delivering a complete tutorial on how women can travel to Colorado for abortions, avoid clinics that might persuade them from terminating the pregnancy, and even receive funding for their procedure – through the Democratic Party fundraising division ActBlue. It is an amazing departure from journalism ethics.
The Denver Post Goes Into Full Pro-Abortion Lobbyist Mode Following SCOTUS Leak https://t.co/rj0kdrCeMi
— RedState (@RedState) May 4, 2022
Body Checking the Fact Checkers – POLITIFACT
Newsbusters' Tim Graham – via @ZebraFactCheck – describes how PolitiFact managed to rate a Sean Hannity quote about Twitter as False by selectively editing his words to reform his comment.
Hannity was discussing how many conservatives seemed to be experiencing a growth in their followers on the social media platform, speculating that it could be a result of the company altering its editing practices following the recent purchase by Elon Musk. PolitiFact states, "Sean Hannity falsely credits conservative Twitter follower gains to lifting of 'shadow ban,'" but then has to butcher his quote to make its point. Look at the two versions of Hannity's words and see how they not only clip his opening to change the intent but also omit a word to get the result they desired.
- POLITIFACT: "Twitter lifted a broad anti-conservative, anti-Trump shadow ban."
- HANNITY QUOTE: "It's almost as if Twitter employees lifted a broad anti-conservative, anti-Trump shadow ban, which we all knew was taking place anyway, in an effort to cover their tracks before the new boss takes over."
Liberals at @PolitiFact omit some of Hannity's words so they can tag him as "FALSE" as he speculates on why conservative Twitter pages had a boom in new followers.https://t.co/fFPPq4nLJv
— NewsBusters (@newsbusters) May 4, 2022
Reporting on the Mirror – THE NEW YORK TIMES
In their daily business briefing, The New York Times announced they had crossed over 9 million subscribers, a big achievement as it strives to reach a goal of 15 million in five more years.
The latest surge of customers comes after the paper purchased the sports portal The Athletic and took in their established subscriber base. Small matter that the new acquisition lost $6.8 million over the two months since the sale, in which The Times spent $550 million. Based on the net gain of less than 400,000 new subscribers, this tallies up to nearly $1,500 spent for each new sign-up.
The New York Times now has 9.1 million subscribers. The acquisition of The Athletic helped the company get closer to its new subscriber goal, but the sports site lost $6.8 million over two months, eating into overall profits. https://t.co/xdBfST5BzN
— The New York Times (@nytimes) May 4, 2022
Anti-Social Media – WASHINGTON POST
It is getting to the point you almost have sympathy for WaPo…except they should have known what they were getting into by hiring Taylor Lorenz. In the latest dose of dysfunction on display from the journalist, we see her getting into a scrap with another outlet, only to have it be a nonsensical non-story.
Oliver Darcy reports that Lorenz had been accusing an editor from The Drudge Report of harassing her "relentlessly." Darcy reached out to the namesake of the news site for a comment.
- "It was a serious allegation and so I checked in with Drudge who told me that he had 'never contacted her, nor has anyone associated with the DRUDGE REPORT.' Drudge, who made clear to me he was not pleased with the allegations against his site, forwarded me an email he had sent Lorenz asking for a correction."
After the emails from Drudge himself, Lorenz took down the tweets where she complained of harassment and announced she was contacted by an anonymous individual with no affiliation with the site. This seemed something that could have been verified prior, especially by a reporter. Lorenz appears to recognize her overreaction and/or melodramatics as she then gives a comment to Darcy.
- "Lorenz told me that her initial tweets were a 'joke' and that she found the idea someone could harm her career via the Drudge Report 'hilarious.' Lorenz said she was 'laughing very hard about the idea' and was simply joking about it online. 'I am happy to correct the record that I have no drama with Drudge Report.'"
A WaPo spokesperson also gave a tepid, boilerplate reaction that just reiterated the basics, sounding as if they would prefer not to discuss the matter in the least. Lorenz even went from hailing Drudge as an icon to claiming she had no idea he was even around. This woman is just a mess.
OK, wait a minute, @taylorlorenz:
— Jeryl Bier (@JerylBier) May 3, 2022
Monday, 6:25 PM, reply to @bendreyfuss: "I trust Matt though, he's run the site for a million years in internet history..."
Tuesday, 12:41 AM, after @oliverdarcy report: "Lol I didn’t even know Drudge Report was even still around." pic.twitter.com/2NTCbrnGjR
DNC PR Firm – CNN
- Pravda on the Wall Street.
Over at CNN, they cannot seem to get good news on the economy, so they revert to saying how the bad news is actually good for the economy. A recession might just be the thing people are looking for after record-high inflation!
In December 2021, CNN said inflation was "good for everyday Americans."
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) May 4, 2022
Now, a CNN guest says a recession is a GOOD thing!
"Raise interest rates, perhaps deal with a recession, but in the bigger picture of things, it may benefit because it will give the economy a shock"
Unreal pic.twitter.com/cZDEdsqPR4
News Avoidance Syndrome – THE NEW YORK TIMES
It is not really clear who The Times thinks might have been swayed away from the position that babies in the womb need protecting, once they learn that Europeans would be disappointed in us if Roe v. Wade is peeled back.
But then, there was little interest in detailing how in Europe, most of the countries actually have more restrictive abortion laws than the U.S.
Progressive lawmakers across Europe expressed concerns and surprise that the U.S. Supreme Court had privately voted to strike down Roe v. Wade.
— The New York Times (@nytimes) May 3, 2022
“It would be a terrible regression for American women,” one French senator said.https://t.co/V9P9XqoaKw
