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'60 Minutes' Is Schooled by Moms for Liberty

Brad Slager
Brad Slager  |  Mar 04, 2024
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03.04.24

Matching Media Memorandum – ASSOCIATED PRESS

  • Is it too much to ask of a reporter to compile facts prior to displaying emotional outrage at a legal decision?

The Supreme Court handed down the decision about Colorado's move to have former President Donald Trump removed from the state's primary ballot, and there is a significant number of journalists melting down that SCOTUS struck down the move and Trump is to remain on the ballot. Perhaps summarizing the dysphoria felt in the press was the Associated Press' Seung Min Kim. She declared SCOTUS rejected Colorado's attempt to hold Trump accountable… for a crime for which he has not been convicted, nor even charged.

On Jim Acosta's new morning slot, he hosted a struggle session where his gaggle basically said the Court was wrong in this ruling because it knows Trump is a bad guy.

On MSNBC, Lisa Rubin is reading the Consitution, on which the Court relied in its ruling, where it states that the 14th Amendment explains the power to strike someone from a ballot rests with Congress. Her desperation is palpable, as she stipulates that it does not say "only" Congress. So she wants it to be the standard that not only the governing representative body in D.C. can rule on this, but a lone partisan state secretary should also possess this power?

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Gilded Reframe – NBC NEWS

In an amazing example of the press refusing to acknowledge the problems within their own industry, we revisit the case of Steve Baker of The Blaze. He was arrested on Friday, cuffed and shackled by federal authorities, and brought to a courthouse to face – misdemeanor charges. This is a wildly out-of-balance application of power by the DOJ, clearly targeting a journalist who has reported many truths uncomfortable to the Department.

NBC News covered the story and did so in a jarring fashion. It has been noted throughout the weekend how there is little in the way of news outlets expressing outrage that President Joe Biden would target a member of the media in this fashion. We all know the wailing that would be heard had Donald Trump committed anything close to this activity because we heard it simply from him accusing outlets of being fake news. But NBC exhibits no such condemnation; instead, it diminishes the import by pretending Baker is not actually one of them:

The former lead singer of a David Bowie tribute band who entered the Capitol on Jan. 6, licensed his footage to media outlets, and now works as a writer for Glenn Beck's "The Blaze" website has been arrested on misdemeanor Capitol attack charges after turning himself into federal authorities in Texas.

Referring to Baker as a journalist was not a consideration. This way his pro-January 6 opinions do not sully its reputation (ahem), and also Joe Biden is excused from being complicit in attacking the press.

Artisanally-Crafted Narratives -- CBS NEWS / "60 MINUTES"

  • Refusing to show their answers is not the same as refusing to answer your questions.

On "60 Minutes," Scott Pelley covered the ongoing issue of books being declared inappropriate in some schools, and in the piece, he sat with Tina Descovich and Tiffany Justice from the group Moms for Liberty. As expected, the piece was slanted and slanderous given the editing involved in the final product sent to air. The moms covered for themselves, and have the full content to back their claims.

Just to start, we have the blanket assumption that these books are "banned," so already a balanced report here is just a fantasy. When asked about the content of certain books, they read the inappropriate content to Pelley, which of course never made it to air. In one portion, Pelley twice claimed they were evasive and would not answer his questions directly, but Descovich provided the full answer she had given him, which the program omitted.

In another segment, Pelley was exposed as he claimed the group had originally begun as an anti-masking movement during the pandemic, but the correction he was provided on this was also edited out.

Scott Pelley also accused the moms of being an anti-American hate group, and we get the transcript of how they answered. What this news show omitted in order to frame the narrative speaks to the problems so often found in the press, and wisely the women were sure to have the full interview available to refute the manipulations.

Low Octane Gas Lighting – ROLLING STONE

  • So you say that years after the fact you have this exclusive...?

The music magazine with the news content that grows ever more ridiculous has come out with a scathing exclusive about drugs and the president. If you expected something involving maybe Hunter Biden, you will be let down. No, this one is about the rampant drugs allegedly dispensed during the Trump administration. Uh-huh. During the Trump years, there was so much inside nonsense flowing out of the White House it was surprising that the president's bathroom habits were not front page items. But now, four years later, we are to believe there was rampant drug use, but details of this were never revealed. Sorry, we here at RFTH ain't buying it.

Meanwhile, the man who is currently in power with the recidivist drug user for a son…not too much interest there from this outlet can be found. A search of the archive in just the last year, as an example, shows no coverage whatsoever of the cocaine scandal that was actually discovered. That is, actual hard drugs actually found in the White House. A search on the site only turns up this lame story.

Presentation Paradox – WASHINGTON POST

  • When listing off the ways conservatives are wrong, you provide the proof they are correct.

In a marvelous dose of journalistic obliviousness, WaPo's Maura Judkis strains to explain how conservatives are manipulating the story of a lone CVS drug store closing down in Washington, D.C., to extrapolate that into a national shoplifting crisis she claims is not an issue whatsoever.

It is the lame "Republicans pounce" trope writ large, but Judkis commits a crucial error; after listing every way that conservatives are wrong on the issue (the store closes for other reasons, a national spree is not happening, the shoplifting is petty theft, stores nationwide are not closing), she manages to provide the evidence that shows all of the claims are accurate.

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"Riffed from the Headlines" is Townhall's daily VIP feature covering the nation's deeply flawed aspects of journalism, where Brad Slager looks to bring accountability to the mishaps, malaprops, misdeeds, manipulations, malpractice, and manufactured narratives in mainstream media.