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The Hill Still Missing the Joke Weeks Later

Brad Slager
Brad Slager  |  Nov 18, 2022
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"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.

11.18.22

Anti-Social Media – THE HILL

  • Too much excellence in a 35-second clip.

The setup – Recall a few weeks ago when the first rash of layoffs was promised at Twitter, and reporters camped out in front of the headquarters waiting for news to walk up to them. Two pranksters emerged carrying boxes and declared they had been let go by the company, and were named Ligma and Johnson. The too-eager journalists ran with the story, posting tweets and filing news reports before they realized they had been victims of a hoax.

Now flash-forward to today. Elon Musk posed with the two jokesters inside Twitter and mockingly declared he had “rehired” the duo, in a clear troll of the press. But not clear to all in the press. We go to The Hill, where Briahna Joy Gray, co-hostess on "Rising," the outlet’s web-based show, was taking issue with Musk’s stature due to this move. Ms. Gray displays her obliviousness to the joke behind Musk’s tweet and seems to be completely unaware that this was a prank despite it being a weeks-old news item, and after displaying this ignorance, goes on to insult Musk as not being the genius he is claimed to be. Just too perfect.

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Artisanally-Crafted Narratives – NBC NEWS

  • The need to allege racism means ignoring basic story elements.

In a report from South Carolina, NBC News wanted to show the vile practice of an organization that helps parents in their battle with school boards. In one district, the group Moms For Liberty helped get a number of people voted onto the school board, and immediately they took dire action. Right away, they blocked the CRT curriculum and set up a board to review the contents of certain books to be measured as appropriate for certain ages. Also undertaken was the firing of a number of people in the system, including the superintendent. This, it sounds, was a move of intolerance.

In the opening of the piece, and in promoting it on social media, NBC saw fit to note that they had fired the district’s first black superintendent. His photo was even included. What is revealing is that, while the network felt his race was something to highlight, it was less interested in the race of his replacement. We need to delve deep into the coverage before we are granted this dose of information:

- "…Moved to terminate Deon Jackson, who was appointed superintendent last year, and replace him with Anthony Dixon, who had worked in the district as an administrator. Dixon will be the district’s second Black superintendent, after Jackson."

Presentation Paradox – CNN

  • You do realize what network you work for, correct?

At CNN, media watchdog Oliver Darcy seems to have shifted his obsession with Fox News over to Twitter. In his latest dispatch predicting the demise of the platform, he of course has to ignore the fact his network is undergoing many similar changes – content adjustment, loss of users, and layoffs – as seen at Elon Musk’s company. But in his mourning of a possible loss of a vocal platform, Darcy misses the dark irony of it all.

- "The death of Twitter would have weighty consequences, given how integral the platform is to global communications. The platform has often been compared to a digital town square.If the platform were to die off, or become unusable because of instability issues, no single space would immediately replace it and communications could become fractured across multiple social media websites, leading to a seismic disruption and slowdown in the flow of information."

Sure, the loss of Twitter would be an interruption on some level, but does it strike anyone in the press as a contradiction to lose a source of information flow when the controversy is over Musk’s desire to open up expression to allow for more information?!

News Avoidance Syndrome – VARIOUS OUTLETS

  • When yet another "crackpot conspiracy theory" gets proven accurate.

For almost two years now we have seen the press detail breathlessly elements from the January 6 riot in D.C. But, as we have come to realize, they do not do so with all elements from that event. Items that disrupt the intended resolution are not enthusiastically covered. They are barely covered at all.

For nearly two years, anyone suggesting the FBI had a hand with the groups involved in the Capitol riot would be branded a tinfoil hat kook. This week, The New York Times reported that at a trial for members of The Proud Boys, it has become apparent that the FBI had upwards of eight undercover agents embedded with the group, including in leadership positions. You would think this revelation would lead at least to questions being asked, but since The Times report, barely any major news outlets have covered this story.

Pulitzer Prize Nomination – THE NEW YORK TIMES

It seems certain that the only people interested in a lengthy profile on leftist commentator and Lincoln Project ally Molly Jong-Fast would be her already endeared fan base. Otherwise, to an objective observer this would be regarded as a paper-thin bio with very laughable credentials. In describing her as a "Liberal star" who "tweeted her way" to some level of fame is already a stretch, but then declaring she possessed no real credentials before becoming a Never Trump crank is even more of a reason to shrug.

- "She wasn’t a political expert. But her Trump-era angst found a following among Democrats."