"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.
05.16.22
Reporting on the Mirror – VOX MEDIA
- A staff is broken by the specter of breaking news.
While many news divisions have ramped things up to fifth gear in order to cover the shooting in Buffalo, over at Vox Media, they have taken a different approach – they will be taking personal days.
Jeremy Barr reports that Jim Bankoff, CEO of Vox Media, has announced that he is sending people home and suspending non-essential meetings for a few days as a result of the news from Buffalo.
Sooooo…we have a news outlet that cannot seem to grapple with the arrival of bad news. One thing that is revealing is they have confirmed something so many have already concluded – Vox is not essential.
In the wake of the Buffalo shooting, Vox Media C.E.O. Jim Bankoff sent a memo to employees on Monday morning saying that he's cancelling/re-scheduling non-essential meetings for a few days and asking others to do the same so that staff can "take the time and space that you need."
— Jeremy Barr (@jeremymbarr) May 16, 2022
News Avoidance Syndrome – CNN
At the ironically titled "Reliable Sources Newsletter," Oliver Darcy comes up with his "proof" that Fox News and Tucker Carlson are somehow culpable for molding the shooter's intolerance and racism. He used search terms, people! Of course, in order to reference some select things from the shooter's written screed, Ollie had to gently overlook other key passages.
Here is Oliver Darcy displaying the issues with the media blame on Tucker Carlson. He clearly read the shooter's manifesto, which means he has his own glaring omissions.
— Brad Slager ???????? Lifetime Subscriber to CNN+ (@MartiniShark) May 16, 2022
Darcy 'ignores' that the shooter never mentions Tucker and condemned FoxNews, while calling himself a leftist. pic.twitter.com/kTRiNNWolw
Following his supervisor's lead in the newsletter is Casey Tolan, who very lamely resorts to his own omitted content in an effort to paint the shooter as something apart from what he claimed to be. This is just a pathetic attempt at reframing of the lowest order.
Awful selective editing by @caseytolan in Reliable Sources newsletter to recast the Buffalo shooter.
— Brad Slager ???????? Lifetime Subscriber to CNN+ (@MartiniShark) May 16, 2022
The full segment is he began as a communist, then moved right from that extremist position. He calls himself Leftist and scolds conservatism and Capitalism.
(actual screenshots) pic.twitter.com/pFWqhQAWmU
Glossary Over Things – NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO
Over at NPR, they made a brave and…bizarre decision. When it comes to the writings of the Buffalo shooter, the editorial team has handed down a decisive edict about their coverage.
- "As anyone following the story now knows, the Buffalo shooter allegedly published a 180-page document online that repeats a series of racist conspiracy theories often referred to as the 'Great Replacement' in an attempt to justify his plan to search out African Americans and murder them.
So to refer to the shooter's document as a 'manifesto,' in my opinion, implicitly takes the twisted racist and anti-Semitic rantings that comprise it, far more seriously than they deserve to be taken and gives it a level of credibility that furthers the shooter's aims."
This creates a problem for NPR, as there is a stampede of news outlets referring to this as a manifesto in order to demonize Tucker Carlson and Fox. They will be missing out! But you have to love the concept that in the future, there will be a young, damaged sort who is about to become radicalized by this 180-page rant but then come to the realization that he should not commit a mass shooting, all because they realize it was not a "manifesto" but merely a "statement."
Where @NPR comes down on this word choice:
— Steve Inskeep (@NPRinskeep) May 16, 2022
https://t.co/J9aLNIVda9
Pounce of Prevention – ASSOCIATED PRESS
- Those Republicans have been awfully busy…
In yet another defensive screed attempting to shield "The Buck Stops, But Never Arrives Here" Joe Biden, the Associated Press goes to great length to show how he is blameless in all of the challenges – but those dastardly Republicans have been up to a whole lot attempting to blame him. Understand, they have not been pouncing this time, but they have been up to just about everything else!
In this lengthy piece of deflection, we are told of the GOP "aiming; sharpened; blaming; landed; tying; sense; argue; hammer at; linking; spun; claiming" and, most dastardly of all, a "full-court press by Republicans."
Republicans aiming to retake control of Congress have blamed Democrats for high inflation, expensive gas, migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border and violent crime. Now, the baby formula shortage is becoming the GOP's latest attack on President Biden. https://t.co/fkT12bGRGq
— AP Politics (@AP_Politics) May 14, 2022
Anti-Social Media – FAST COMPANY
- "Nice PR division – be a shame if anything were to happen to it…"
Word has come out that there is another effort being made in the press to compel businesses to come forward and make bold public statements in support of abortion rights. After CNBC and the Washington Post attempted to strong-arm businesses into going public with comments, now we hear of another publication trying to leverage businesses.
Apparently @FastCompany is calling corporate PR departments and twisting their arms to take public stances on abortion. They phrase it as a “poll” of corporate leaders, and if they hesitate, they follow up by telling them they’ll publish that the company declined to participate.
— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) May 8, 2022
Pulitzer Prize Nomination – CNN
Just when we thought the Johnny Depp/Amber Heard divorce trial could not get any more trivial, now CNN reports on an outgrowth of The Trial of the Sedentary – it has been a huge success for TikTok users posting videos.
- "Like Doggett, two other TikTok users CNN Business spoke with recounted similar stories of going from hundreds or thousands of followers to tens of thousands of followers in a matter of days due to Depp-related posts."
This is apparently newsworthy…we have to guess.
- "One TikTok user, who is based in the UK, said she posted a video on April 27 celebrating Depp for freeing his lawyer's snagged charger cord with a comment, 'the little things.' 'I wasn't expecting anyone to reach out, or like it, or share it even,' she said, noting that she'd originally created her account to post about films. But it has since garnered more than 10 million views. She's continued posting about the trial and she says her account has gone from fewer than 300 followers to more than 50,000."
TikTok posts about actor Johnny Depp's defamation trial against his ex-wife, actress Amber Heard, have turned some into accidental influencers, while making targets out of others. https://t.co/9ttrb96ypg
— CNN International (@cnni) May 15, 2022
