"Riffed from the Headlines" is Townhall's daily VIP feature with coverage of the deeply flawed aspects of journalism in the nation, where Brad Slager looks to bring accountability to the mishaps, malaprops, misdeeds, manipulations, malpractice, and manufactured narratives in mainstream media.
07.20.23
Presentation Paradox – THE DAILY BEAST
- "When we do it, that is simply good reporting."
Yesterday, we commented on the split personality coverage from this outlet, as it was regarding very critical words about Republicans making hay out of a Democrat controversy, all the while the hyperactive minds at The Daily Beast were in a froth over Jason Aldean's song "Try That In a Small Town." Well, it was even better/worse than we suspected.
"These Republicans always make a big deal out of controvesies!!!" So says the outlet about responses to actual anti-Semitism, while it is obsessed over Jason Aldean's latest song having non-existent racism. Utter clown show. https://t.co/OhRPEKczUQ pic.twitter.com/8VY2tMvUGY
— Brad Slager: CNN+ Lifetime Subscriber (@MartiniShark) July 19, 2023
Presentation Paradox – ROLLING STONE
Recommended
- Back when celebrating actual calls for violence was acceptable.
We continue to see the press spinning out of control about Aldean's song, and Rolling Stone is right there on the case. The one-time music authority is really hot and bothered by the new release. Their inference of violence from non-violent lyrics is especially precious when you recall that this is the same magazine that was not in meltdown mode when Ice-T made headlines with his release "Cop Killer," in which he blatantly called for gun violence.
No, they actually saw fit to place the rapper on their cover in grand support of the controversial song calling for murder.
This is the outlet that celebrated and defended Ice-T's "Cop Killer", and put him on the cover in regards to that call for violence. Today, they are melting down when Jason Aldean does not call out for violence directly. Grow the hell up. https://t.co/A0MOX7pYoN pic.twitter.com/0uPqzs6x4n
— Brad Slager: CNN+ Lifetime Subscriber (@MartiniShark) July 20, 2023
News Avoidance Syndrome – VARIOUS OUTLETS
- Who has time to cover these stories when there is…well, we are sure Donald Trump has said something objectionable.
With Congress hearing testimony from IRS whistleblowers exposing governmental corruption to protect Joe Biden and other testimony on censorship exerted by the government – to also protect Joe Biden – you would think this might generate a modicum of interest from the major press outlets.
Normally, we would use this as an opportunity to collect a variety of examples to display this behavior, but we have chosen not to for today's column. That is because Tom Bevan has done the legwork for us in this thread.
Complete media blackout on IRS whistleblower hearings yesterday. pic.twitter.com/3WHUYyC38q
— Tom Bevan (@TomBevanRCP) July 20, 2023
Pulitzer Prize Nomination – NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO
While there is a desire from news outlets to turn their backs on these Democratic Party embarrassments in D.C., there is a need to cover anything else.
Look, we do not always like to say what they should be covering, and it is tough to declare particular stories are not valid; after all, a varied mix of reports is actually preferable. However, when you see that NPR is actively avoiding the IRS scandal welling up and choosing instead to go with "The History Of The Sports Bra"...yeah, this needs to be called out.
The libs at NPR had no time for a story on the IRS whistleblower hearings, but it did set aside time for this:
— Tim Graham (@TimJGraham) July 20, 2023
"As the Women's World Cup gets underway, a look at the history of the sports bra" https://t.co/ZNcxP8WJod
Pathological Media Amnesia – TIME MAGAZINE
- Still waiting for the man to actually accomplish something to justify the heralding he is receiving.
Remember not so long ago when the press was forbidden from commenting on John Fetterman's health condition? Recall when bringing up his stroke or his depression was considered crossing a line of decency? Well, we ask these questions because Time Magazine has certainly forgotten.
TIME's new cover: Senator @JohnFetterman opens up about his battle with depression https://t.co/73btcP5uJJ pic.twitter.com/a4h14Y0imm
— TIME (@TIME) July 20, 2023
Artisanally-Crafted Narratives – CNBC
The money crunchers at CNBC have released their list of "The Ten Worst States To Live and Work In for 2023," and the results are, shall we say, rather uniform. For one, they all could easily be described as red states. Next, you get a sense of just how little business opportunity played when you see places like Florida (leading the nation in economic growth and lowest unemployment) and Texas, among the top in business relocations. In looking at the critical aspects of their "weaknesses" for each state, all of them are flagged for "reproductive rights" and/or "inclusiveness."
One other thing they seem to share: most of these states are top destinations for people relocating from other states.
These are America’s 10 worst states to live and work in for 2023, and there's a big surprise at the very bottom https://t.co/nYL6MJhkG1
— CNBC (@CNBC) July 14, 2023
Pre-Written Field Reports – CNN
In amazing fashion, CNN continues to display how beholden the outlet is to abortions. Just a couple of weeks ago, we covered how the channel was upset to learn that the toughened abortion law led to 10,000 more births than anticipated. Now comes this gem from the same brilliant outlet, where it is said to be tragic that there was an increase in infant mortality as a result of this law.
Their position is that these children did not need to die – if only they had been aborted. Of course, just ignore that over 9,700 babies are thriving.
Texas’ abortion restrictions – some of the strictest in the country – may be fueling a sudden spike in infant mortality https://t.co/XnXojxJlYM
— CNN (@CNN) July 20, 2023
