OPINION
Premium

WaPo Thinks the Democratic Party Deserves an Emmy Award

Brad Slager
Brad Slager  |  Jun 27, 2021
The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Townhall.com.

This is Townhall's daily VIP feature, where we will focus coverage on the deeply flawed aspects of journalism in the nation. We'll look to bring accountability to the mishaps, misdeeds, manipulations, malpractice, and manufactured narratives in the mainstream media. 

06.27.21

DNC PR Firm – WASHINGTON POST

  • The party can save money and lay off its promotions department.

If anyone recalls the video event that was the Democratic National Convention, it was a choppy, sloppy, at times uncomfortable affair. The staging and cuts to video segments of stars were rough-hewn, and the most memorable aspect was the weird way they had Kamala Harris and Joe Biden waving to a wall of monitors with voters waving back remotely. They could not even generate enough interest to find enough voters to fill the screens.

At the time, despite the glitch-filled affair, Washington Post theater critic Peter Marks could not have been more effusive. 

Recommended

Kamala Implodes During CBS News Interview Matt Vespa
The Atlantic Came After One of Our Own...and It Ended Dreadfully Matt Vespa
  • "For your Emmy consideration: The Democratic National Convention. Seriously, Wednesday night was far and away the best full evening of political television. I have ever witnessed."

There is no way he was serious. The piece reads like it was pre-written before the broadcast. But we knew this was going to be the case because the advance praise from many outlets included how the convention was orchestrated by a noted Hollywood producer. Well, Marks is back, and this time he is serious in his Emmy push for the Dems.

  • "Some of its key operatives are seeking another endorsement: not from their partisan peers, but from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. Yes, organizers of the digital convention are improvising again, going after another brand of nomination — from the Emmy Awards, the coveted TV trophies that will be handed out this year on Sept. 19."

Marks is no less laudatory in his suggestion that this is a valid effort. 

  • "Its four-night run was entertaining, intriguingly visual, at times surprising, even witty. It featured bona fide stars and supporting players in vignettes that were often sharply drawn, sometimes moving. The innovations it introduced will probably have an impact on the form for years to come."

Reporting On The Mirror – NEW YORK MAGAZINE / Intelligencer

In a lurid peek behind the curtain, The Intelligencer spills the tea about the cattiness and infighting at the New York City cable channel, NY-1. The outlet is a news source on city life, and a number of the on-air names are shown to be a group of high school "Mean Girls" in terms of their behavior. Among those cited among the most intolerant is Brian Stelter's wife, Jamie. 

Elevated from "traffic girl" status to anchor of the morning show, Stelter is shown to be a controlling and manipulative fixture at the station (just more bonus points that she is exposed via the technique so favored by her husband’s network, anonymous sources).

  • "Colleagues say she and Pergament began to behave like 'high-school bullies,' openly gossiping about co-workers — sometimes with their mics still on."

She really sounds like a sweet personality.

  • "'A lot of people don't like working with Jamie,' says another. 'People would avoid her,' says a third. Stelter, they say, was protective of her position. When photos of then–fellow traffic reporter Alyse Zwick — a former Miss New York and Jets dancer — gained attention on Twitter, positioning her as one of NY1's top performers on social media, Stelter allegedly made 'snide comments.' Afterward, Rabinovich told Zwick she was not allowed to post pictures from her NFL or pageant days, says an ex-staffer."

Doubtful we will be getting any coverage of this on Brian Stelter's show, which is centered on media news.

Anti-Social Media – ESPN

Perhaps this is the most telling aspect that our sports worlds are now permanently interwoven with social activism. The past year saw many of the major sports immersing themselves in the social upheaval from last year. Most gave significant on-field posturing, with the NBA going so far as to have its jerseys altered to reflect the various virtue-signaling catch-phrases of the day. 

This week we saw ESPN take things to a different level when the sentencing decision of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin came down regarding his guilty verdicts in the death of George Floyd. 

It was to be expected that the network would give it notice, but this went beyond the sports pundits weighing in with opinions or even extensive coverage on the SportsCenter telecasts. They instead elected to run full coverage of the sentencing, dedicating broadcast airtime from 5 pm onward. They only suspended the coverage at 7:30 pm due to obligations for a Major League Baseball game.

Pre-Written Field Reports – MSNBC / All In

With Joe Biden's tortuous route to getting his sprawling infrastructure spending bill passed, there was a small surprise as a contingent of Republicans agreed on the bill with a long series of compromise issues hammered out. Joe Biden campaigned on his ability to reach across the aisle and work with Republicans, but for some reason, there is a problem when the GOP works out a compromise, according to MSNBC's wizard, Chris Hayes.

That reason – RACISM! 

  • "The additional, glaringly obvious aspect of all this. When you compare the first six months of the last Democratic president's administration to this one...Barack Obama faced total opposition, on the right, from the outset. Now, Joe Biden has faced a lot of opposition, too. But there is just no universe, as someone who covered this from Washington, D.C., up close, in which 11 Republican senators would have come out, posed on that driveway, to strike a deal like this with Barack Obama in his first six months in office. No universe."

Even though it was nearly a dozen years ago, the legislation is hardly comparable, and the new makeup of the chamber leads to just 11 senators lending support. This is all rooted in the race of the president. Genius analysis.

Artisanal-Crafted Narratives – SLATE

Not too many people at all can praise the work of Vice President Kamala Harris, but it is borderline remarkable (pun not intended) when the media acknowledges there is a problem. But in a manner of logic that is twisted enough it requires mustard, Slate has laid the blame on Joe Biden's doorstep.

  • "Joe Biden set Kamala Harris up for failure before he even chose her as his running mate. In March 2020, in a presidential debate with Bernie Sanders...Biden promised to name a woman as his vice president. It was a tactless, tokenizing way to make Democratic voters."

They continued with the back-handed insults.

  • "Instead of asking a woman to join his ticket on the basis of her political skills or legislative accomplishments—and leaving the gender mandate to speculation—Biden made sure everyone knew that his selection wouldn’t have to beat out the entire field of potential competitors, just the other ladies. He got to look like an ally who valued women, while ensuring his vice president would end up looking like a 'diversity hire.'"

They go on to claim that she is facing extra scrutiny due to being a woman of color. No, Slate – she is scrutinized for simply not doing her job. But here is where their argument is problematic. If Harris were so doomed to failure, she should have been wise enough to see this coming and refused the job – if your assessment of no-hope selection is at all accurate. 

This piece is so insulting to Harris it should be declared "Slate-shaming." 

Both Kinds Of Standards – FOX NEWS

  • When generals act like they are as immune to criticism as journalists do frequently.

Joining the chorus of outrage toward Tucker Carlson for daring to call the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
"stupid," retired Gen. Barry McCaffrey declared that Carlson should be fired over the offense. Somewhere in time our military leaders rose up to the level of monarchy and are today above being criticized or ridiculed. 

As our favorite keeper of all receipts, Drew Holden revealed that McCaffrey seems to have rather fluid standards when it comes to calling a public official "stupid."