07.27.23
Demo-lition Project – JEOPARDY!
The ongoing strikes in Hollywood have taken another and surprising victim. Once thought to be clear of the turmoil, the upcoming season of "Jeopardy!" is now in flux. Game shows have mostly been exempted from being affected by the strike of the Writers Guild of America, as either their staffs do not require writing, or those they use are not in the guild or were granted waivers. However, what has thrown things into…uh, high risk, is that the mid-season Tournament of Champions is likely to be at least postponed, as a number of qualifying winning players have announced they would not participate out of solidarity with the striking guild members.
#Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions pushed back amid writers strike https://t.co/ZaozUbT4vq
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) July 26, 2023
Reporting on the Mirror – VARIETY MAGAZINE
In what is becoming a live-action media version of the social media GIF "Let Them Fight," in an epically-lengthed piece from Executive Editor Film & Media Tatian Siegel of Variety, Variety delivers a scathing exposé of CNN and paints former CEO of the network Jeff Zucker in a harsh light. It is laden with facts and accusations, but one of the notable aspects is that almost the entirety of the piece is sourced anonymously. This becomes notable as a number of players in the media spectrum have come forward to challenge Variety and Siegel, and those are not exclusively names from the CNN universe.
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Tim Alberta of The Atlantic penned the lengthy profile of Chris Licht that – fairly or unfairly – many say was the provocation that led to Licht's dismissal in June. On Twitter, Alberta has directly challenged Siegel's portrayal of him and his work. Dylan Byers of Puck has written a rebuttal regarding his inclusion in the article as well, disputing even the introductory stanza of Siegel's piece: "From the opening sentence the story seemed problematic and riddled with factual inaccuracies."
Sharon Waxman, publisher of Variety competitor TheWrap, also has a thread debating the merits of the article. And, of course, the Zucker camp has called for corrections and for the piece to be taken down, but for now, Variety still has it posted on their site.
Inside the Battle for CNN: Jeff Zucker, David Zaslav, Chris Licht and 18 Months of Crazy Backstabbing
— johnny dollar (@johnnydollar01) July 26, 2023
“This has been a massive dick swing between David Zaslav and Jeff Zucker, and Chris got played right in the middle of it,” says one insider...https://t.co/Jji3C7MAPB
Legalized Press-tituition – POLITICO
Writing under the website's chuckle-inducing "Political Science" heading, Julia Azari tries to lecture us – professor that she is – on the wondrous merits of Kamala Harris. Yes, the vice president who told us in a sagelike fashion that "transportation is fundamentally about just making sure that people have the ability to get where they need to go!" is really quite brilliant at her job:
Her outreach to key Democratic groups carries the expectation of what political scientists call “descriptive representation” — that she’ll be able to effectively translate the concerns of women and people of color into governing priorities and achievements. She’s been assigned to head up specific policy areas. Harris has been identified with a portfolio that’s connected to key Democratic priorities and is also consistent with the descriptive representation expected of her.
We can sum up this lengthy agitprop piece for you all this way: Praise Harris for all of the jobs she has been assigned to do – just do not judge her on her performance within those job duties.
Someone wrote this with a straight face. And it isn't even labeled an opinion piece: https://t.co/kFDxoCsq2P
— Joe Concha (@JoeConchaTV) July 26, 2023
Stealth Story Evolution – THE NEW YORK TIMES
It is with no small amount of amusement that we now see another major news outlet tapping its foot and shaking its head at Simon Ateba, the reporter from Today News Africa, who has been somewhat disruptive in the White House press briefings on occasion. Ateba is frequently frustrated at being unable to be called upon and has created a stir at times. Something that has led to a written rebuke from the Washington Post some weeks ago. Now, The New York Times is calling Ateba to the principal's office as well for his "antics."
Simon Ateba of Today News Africa has become a hero in the right-wing media thanks to his confrontational behavior in the White House briefing room. He said his antics are the only way to get questions in during briefings dominated by big U.S. outlets. https://t.co/IUZcTL1lcX
— The New York Times (@nytimes) July 26, 2023
Of course, the obvious callback in the face of such a story is the tenure of Jim Acosta, who had absolutely zero shame in making himself the center of attention while challenging Donald Trump in fierce fashion and having his credentials pulled at one point. Certainly, The Times was equally upset with his behavior and angrily addressed his unacceptable behav–...
Oh, wait, never mind…
Let Jim Acosta do his job https://t.co/76s5aQdE1a pic.twitter.com/Fe69gz51Uj
— New York Times Opinion (@nytopinion) November 8, 2018
Low Octane Gas Lighting – MSNBC
- This is so bad it even bypasses being funny to become just lame and sad.
As we are approaching the halfway mark on the calendar, it seems that with an eye on our year-end collection of the worst examples in journalism – The Townhall 50 – this year's field already has a leader. Mehdi Hasan has been a consistent entrant in this column in 2023 and a wildly imbalanced one.
For his latest, you cannot even come up with a retort. This is because one is not needed. He looks at Fox News covering Hunter Biden and claims the Democrats have no such messaging arm.
This would be where we need to get up from the keyboard and take a beer break.
Imagine if liberals or the Dems had a nationwide messaging apparatus, an actual propaganda arm, which pumped out Jared Kushner’s name and alleged misdeeds daily, 100s of times. Then you start to understand the messaging imbalance in this country & how GOP gets away with so much. https://t.co/IZ9zlwre2a
— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) July 26, 2023
Pulitzer Prize Nomination – NBC NEWS
There is a faction of journalists covering our culture, and these scribes cannot resist a trend. Even if one does not exist, they will create one. Get a handful of examples of some quirky behavior found by some randos online, and you can brand it as a trend. The latest example is that women across the globe are allegedly using the "Barbie" movie as a measure of prospective dating choices. Someone who a gal might fancy will be asked if they would like to see the film, and their acceptance of the feminist themes and other aspects of the movie will determine if they are datable:
Nicole Hoefler, a 32-year-old woman from Cologne, Germany, said she calls it the 'Barbie test.' 'It's like the new question on a first date or your dating profile: 'What are your thoughts on the Barbie movie?'' she said. 'Because if a guy really doesn't want to see it or he's not open to talking about it or, what's even worse yet, if he's seen it and he thinks it's not a good movie or he doesn't get the point, I think it's kind of a no-go.'
Two things. The film has been out for less than a week, but supposedly this global "trend" has already emerged? Doubting that. But, there is something to praise NBC News about in this report.
They describe this as a means for women to measure "their male dates." Points for accuracy here because this technique is not at all likely to nab these ladies real men.
Across social media, many women have been encouraging one another to use the 'Barbie' movie as a litmus test to gauge whether their male dates can understand, or are at least receptive to, its feminist messaging. https://t.co/SniE9sIe8V
— NBC News (@NBCNews) July 27, 2023
"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.
