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MSNBC – You Know Who Really Stinks? Our Founders!

Brad Slager
Brad Slager  |  Mar 31, 2022
The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Townhall.com.

"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.

03.31.22

Gilded Reframe – MSNBC

  • "It's important to focus on the negatives, to make us look wiser today."

Ken Burns has another of his documentaries coming out soon, this one focused on Benjamin Franklin. It is a mystery why someone who wants as big of an audience for his historical visions would resort to political opinions and select appearances, but who am I to call into question the methods Burns uses?

Note how he only seems to appear on left-leaning networks, where he was entertained by Stephanie Ruhle, who decided to wade into the subject of history and tell Ken Burns what's what.

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- "We do hold our forefathers on this pedestal for what they created together, but are we forgetting that they were, for the most part, similar aged, white male landowners. It is a lot easier for that small group to agree on a set of ideals than the giant, massive, diverse group of stakeholders that we have today. A group of white guys that are all 35 can all fit in one bar." 

I'd be curious to ask Ms. Ruhle just how diverse she thought the colonies were back in the day? 

Anti-Social Media – CNN

As the rollout of the new streaming platform CNN+ takes place, there are already signs of trouble. It began with the announced subscription plan, where you can lock in a discounted rate for life in the coming month. Offering a 50% discount when your product has not even been rolled out is a possible sign of a lack of interest. This fueled some stories that there are already anticipated layoffs coming in May. Some might be in their customer service division, based on appearances so far.

When Charles Gasparino reported on the possible internal strife, CNN communications director Matt Dornic rode in to defend the new platform. But then, comically, the CNN+Help account recognized Dornic as a customer. (Eventually, they were tipped off and deleted the tweet.) 

Reporting on the Mirror  – CNN

It is not too difficult to understand why CNN might be struggling to get people to pay for a service when this is the content you are offering as a premium.

Maybe to help explain, there are dozens of people doing this on YouTube for years. There is a ton of this exact content out there for free, already covering areas. But sure, keep on…

Both Kinds of Standards – TIME MAGAZINE

Time joins the ranks of outlets that have moved from trying to kill the new Florida parental rights bill to repealing the now signed law. One of the reactions is that some parents have drawn up a lawsuit against the state over this law. That is a curious development, considering one of the concerns Time Magazine reported about this legislation.

News Avoidance Syndrome – ABC ACTION NEWS 7 – Los Angeles

  • Working on behalf of the community organizer Maxine Waters and not the community.

At a gathering in Los Angeles, Maxine Waters appeared when dozen of homeless people were under the impression that Section-8 housing vouchers were being distributed. When a disturbance swelled, the always cogent and wise Waters told the people she wanted them to go home.

To homeless people.

As a result, the media was about to explode, but spokespeople for her office tried to clamp down on the story. The LA Times reported how Waters herself issued a warning to the writer not to do the story, which ended up appearing in the story.

-" 'You'll hurt yourself and the community trying to put this together without background,' the Democrat said. 'I don't want you to start trying to write it, you won't understand it.'"

The local ABC affiliate Channel 7 Action News seems to have played along with the compliance commanded by Waters.

This far more rosy report was approved by Waters' staff. When sent a series of questions about what transpired, Blanca Jiminez, the district director for Waters, sent the following video from Channel 7, which was glowing and had nothing to say about Maxine's "Go Home" comment to the crowd.