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Rather's Confusion, Racist Dogs, and the Press Is Now Cool With Nationalism

Brad Slager
Brad Slager  |  Sep 09, 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.

09.09.22

Presentation Paradox – MEDIA MATTERS

Tremors are being felt across the journalism landscape as CNN might become (GASP!) objective. The culling of hyper-partisan voices in recent weeks has chilled the offices in the Atlanta headquarters as well as caused hand-wringing in pressrooms across the country. 

Taking these moves the hardest, obviously, is Media Matters For America, where they see the shift taking place at CNN as dire, leading to emotional outbursts. Matt Gertz states boldly that new board member John Malone suggests that CNN "should look to Fox as a model." This is Matt's assessment of Malone's quote, whereas Malone's actual quote was:

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- "I would like to see CNN evolve back to the kind of journalism that it started with, and actually have journalists, which would be unique and refreshing."

Then Gertz basically says it is impossible for CNN hosts to remain nonpartisan because of the radicalism on the right. His claim is everyone on the right is radical, so to give them any kind of airtime is not partisan…somehow.

- "It's easier, however, for them to simply provide some false balance by leaning into the talking points Republicans use to attack Democrats; fill their panels with conservatives willing to defend the worst excesses of the Trumpian right; and maybe offer some breathless reporting of the speeches of Trump or his successor."

The admission by Gertz is that CNN currently does not allow Republican talking points and does not have conservatives on their panels. And that, Matt, is precisely the problem that has led the network to become a ratings vacuum. 

Reporting on the Mirror – DAN RATHER

  • "Oh, so THAT's why I can't get booked any longer!"

In regards to CNN's real-time evolution, one journalism veteran is dismayed by what he sees. Dan Rather commented on the moves, and he sounded almost lost about what he is witnessing.

The comments make more sense when you grasp how he was a regular on the deposed "Reliable Sources" program. "Ohhhhhh…THAT's why they haven't called to have me back on!"

Anti-Social Medoia – CBS NEWS

  • Yet another case of those decrying the coarsening of America as they dance on a grave. 

It's been a tough week for Wesley Lowery of CBS News. Wes was the source of that hilariously fawning profile in GQ Magazine (excerpts here so that you can avoid full contamination), but he also had his own social media mishap. As most know, Queen Elizabeth II just passed away, and of course, there had to be a share of pundits feeling the need to aggrandize themselves by dumping on the departed monarch. Lowery was eager to pile on, but his now-deleted entry was filled with historical ignorance. It is understandable he would not want to stand behind it. 

Legalized Press-titution – ASSOCIATED PRESS

With all of the focus on Britain and the passing of Elizabeth II, you can see how desperate the AP was straining to somehow have the news involve Biden. The decision was to highlight the rather pedestrian announcement that he was able to have met the queen, making it sound as if this were remarkable, although a dozen presidents before him managed the very same feat. 

Both Kinds of Standards – VARIOUS OUTLETS

  • Remember back when this was considered a dire move?

It appears to be something of a two-year cycle with Biden. He suddenly has this strong desire to bolster America's production capabilities, as well as jobs and factories, to strengthen our standing as a nation.

Of course, he takes little action on these proclamations, which seem to arrive just ahead of elections. What is notable, however, is that there is little in the way of media pushback on this type of exceptionalism talk. We say this because, over the past few years, we have become conditioned that focusing on America in this fashion is dangerous and possibly evil.