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Jemele Hill Takes ‘Racism’ to New Lows, and the AP Gets Slanderous With DeSantis

Brad Slager
Brad Slager  |  Aug 29, 2023
The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Townhall.com.

08.26.23

Race to the Bottom – THE ATLANTIC

  • The race card is not only maxed out, the numbers are worn down!

It is hardly news to say that onetime ESPN hostess Jemele Hill had some form of racial outrage. The only name more dependable on the subject is Joy Reid. So for Ms. Hill to say something on the topic to gain notice is significant, and she has accomplished it now.

Nikki Haley had some critical things to say about Kamala Harris possibly becoming president, and Hill, of course, rushed to the defense of the vice president. But in her knee-jerk accusation, Hill does not even realize the nadir she descended to in this instance.

Anti-Social Media – ASSOCIATED PRESS

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Steve Peoples is the designated DeSantis campaign correspondent for AP and has displayed, shall we say, a tendency to trend towards a partisan approach to the candidate. Recall the time he was at an event and claimed DeSantis was avoiding the people in attendance and had to issue a correction when a video of the governor in a crowd speaking to people was shown.

This time, Peoples saw the news of the Jacksonville shooting and the racial component as a motive, and he descended into a rather disturbing level of accusatory ranting that should have his editors calling him back to the mothership for a proper dressing down.

The tragedy cast a shadow across the Republican presidential campaign this week as candidates faced uncomfortable questions about the party’s increasing appeal among white supremacists and the GOP’s fight against so-called “woke” policies on race and gender. While DeSantis has not mentioned his “war on woke” in recent days, cultural issues have been the centerpiece of his campaign.

Virtually all of the candidates have embraced a similar message aimed at appealing to the GOP’s white conservative base by downplaying the existence of racism in America and restricting LGBTQ rights.

While Peoples does allow the DeSantis team to respond and point out that the governor did condemn the individual, he described the campaign as being “ever defiant,” a clear indicator that their guilt is evident.

Artisanally-Crafted Narratives – CNN

  • It’s Trump, so journalism ethics can be chucked.

We covered CNN’s obsessive coverage of the Donald Trump arraignment and the collective shudder of joy experienced across the various network platforms when they got ahold of the mugshot of the former president.

One of the questions I have been asking is, what happened to the normal practice of using terms like “accused of” and “allegedly” in matters such as an arraignment? Jake Tapper was rather enthusiastic in describing President Trump as an “inmate” and listed off his docket number. Steve Krakauer pointed out that while Jake Tapper was defending the presentation of the facts by his network, his use of that term deviated from the accepted parlance in the industry, something the legal journalism outlet The Marshall Project has established as proper protocol regarding reporting of this nature.

Stealth Story Evolution – FOX NEWS

  • As this story went sideways, it appears Fox News made the story go away.

For a time, the tale of a Gold Star family having to foot the bill to have the body of their fallen Marine shipped back home from Afghanistan raced across the web, but then the Marine Corps began an effort to battle back against this tale. Fox News reported on this story based on the comments from Florida Representative Cory Mills.

After a series of emails, Fox first altered the story, then it was taken down completely, but without any story correction or notice. The network has said they have contacted the family of fallen Marine Sgt. Nicole Gee and gave them a full apology for the report.

Reporting on the Mirror – CNN

In an amusing dose of professional delusion, Dylan Byers at Puck describes the atmosphere at CNN as one of a bit of dismay. Ever since former (and brief) CEO Chris Licht was deposed in June, the network is continuing to spiral. But the amusement is that the folks remaining are still laying the blame for current conditions at the feet of Licht. 

One of the items described as a lingering challenge is that Kaitlan Collins has a 9 p.m. timeslot, and the nightly lineup is said to be hinged on her, who is positioned as “Licht’s girl” by some. She did not begin her show until more than a month after he left, and she could have been moved elsewhere in that time if she is regarded as the weak link. The current primetime schedule was put into place well after Licht’s departure.

The amusement in this is that so many at the network were going behind the back of Licht and confiding with Jeff Zucker, who had sent CNN on its downward trajectory for years. Licht attempted to turn that around, but now those who fought his efforts and relied upon the previous failed methods are blaming the guy they ignored for the current failing methods.