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It is with tremendous excitement that we…well, with average excitement, actually. Okay, not so much "excitement," as it is just a keen eagerness to have something new. ANYWAY – we have a Brand New category to use around here at "Riffed From the Headlines." Since a trend appears to be developing, it seems apt, so our new entry is at the top of today's feature.
Criminal Family Album – THE DAILY MAIL
At least they eventually got around to the motivation for the actions of the police.
We have a new entry. Last month, when a Chicagoland motorist was gunned down by police, there was much in the way of outrage concerning the targeting of a black driver and whether it was overkill on the part of the officers. Most of these reports were hesitant to get to the fact that the driver, Dexter Reed, opened fire on the police, initiating the gunfight. Another move seen by numerous outlets was to show a photo of Reed in his graduation gown from high school, implying cops killed a lad just out for a drive. Reed was 26 at the time of his death.
Now, in very similar fashion, in Florida, we have a case of a police chase ending in a rollover accident, taking the lives of the four teens in the SUV. Complaints are that the police were overly aggressive in causing this accident, leading to the death of two of the youths, who were high school athletes.
It takes some work to get to the particulars. The SUV was stolen, the kids were driving over 110 miles per hour to elude police, there were multiple convictions shared with the occupants, and two were reported wearing confinement ankle bracelets.
Four teenagers including high school football star aged 14 to 16 are killed in horror crash after cop cruiser used PIT maneuver to stop them speeding at 111mph - as horrifying photos show their mangled wreckage https://t.co/BtXGpLtbAx pic.twitter.com/uIDYrNO2OF
— Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) April 29, 2024
Reporting on the Mirror – ABC WORLD NEWS TONIGHT
Dylan Byers breaks the news that meteorologist Rob Marciano has been removed from his position on "World News Tonight." This appears to be a pattern of unacceptable behavior involving Marciano. He had previously been removed from "Good Morning America's" set, reduced to only doing remotes, and he lost a position as the weekend anchor before being moved to the nightly network broadcast.
Apparently, it was four strikes, and he is now out at the network entirely.
SCOOP @PuckNews: Rob Marciano, the ABC News & Good Morning America meteorologist, has been fired from the network, per sources familiar. Multiple staffers had made complaints about Marciano’s behavior over the years and he was at least temporarily barred from main GMA set in NYC.
— Dylan Byers (@DylanByers) April 30, 2024
Anti-Social Media – CNN
Why do people keep using this site that he disapproves of being used?!
It is with some (dependable) amusement that CNN media guru Oliver Darcy reported on the Byers news he broke on the weatherman. Darcy is known for a number of character traits, one of which is his having become a severe opponent to Elon Musk and Xitter.
He left the platform some time ago and plies his trade mostly on Threads (An unwise move, given its announced intention not to promote news on the platform.)
You have to laugh at the pettiness Ollie puts on display at the announcement of where Byers chose to break his exclusive:
ABC News on Tuesday dismissed veteran meteorologist Rob Marciano after complaints of improper behavior. The news — which I've confirmed after Puck's Dylan Byers first reported it on Elon Musk's X (an aside, but why report it there?) — took ABC News staffers off guard.
Stealth Story Evolution – FOX NEWS
All things considered, probably a wise move guys.
Yesterday, we mentioned how MSNBC breathlessly reported that Hunter Biden was threatening to sue Fox News for libel, based on the accurate information from Hunter's computer (what MSNBC labeled "the so-called laptop"), and what he had previously confirmed in his memoirs. Sure… "libel."
But, as a result of his legal threat, Fox has spiked the six-part series on Hunter it had been planning to show on its Fox Nation streaming service.
Fox News Drops Hunter Biden Miniseries From Streaming Platform Following Legal Threats
— johnny dollar (@johnnydollar01) April 30, 2024
“Mr. Biden is a public figure who has been indicted by two different US Attorney’s Offices and has admitted to multiple incidents of wrongdoing" said FNC...https://t.co/hs9JvmoK0I
Race to the Bottom – BRITISH BROADCASTING COMPANY
The BBC comes out with a scathing report: The overwhelming majority of train drivers in the country are older white men! And…?
Britain is overwhelmingly white (over 81%), and the trade itself commands that you obtain years of experience before you are able to become an engineer. (Sorry, college interns.) The piece salutes efforts to become more diverse in the industry, but we do not see anything as far as explaining what a potential problem with the current demographics might be.
Train drivers overwhelmingly middle-aged white men https://t.co/8HOnanVJaO
— BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) April 30, 2024
First Amendment Strike Force – PEW RESEARCH CENTER
A new Pew Poll was conducted regarding the impressions of the general public on their impressions of a free press, and the current obsession that press has with misinformation. The results are encouraging…sort of.
When asked if they favor a free press, three-fourths of the respondents said "Yes." But in another question, when asked if publishing misinformation should be prevented, even if it means impeding press freedoms, 51% agreed with the comment. A revealing breakdown of the leanings behind that question shows that 60% of Democrats think that way, while nearly the same amount of Republicans feel press freedom takes priority over misinformation.
A large majority of Americans see freedom of the press as highly important to the well-being of society, but many express concerns about potential restrictions on press freedoms in the United States. Ahead of #WorldPressFreedomDay, explore our findings: https://t.co/UzWViKfOin
— Pew Research Center (@pewresearch) April 23, 2024
