03.06.24
Anti-Social Media – MSNBC
So your plan to win over minds is to mock their concerns while voting?
Understanding that the Super Tuesday primary votes were a foregone conclusion and held ZERO drama, you can see how studio pundits might struggle to keep viewer interest. But at Joe Biden's Favorite Network™, they went a bit off course.
At one point, the "expert" panel of ladies looked at some exit polling numbers and saw that one primary concern with Americans was immigration. This generated a harpy giggle-fest where they essentially mocked voters over being concerned over an issue. This is the opposite of a cagey strategy from the "We Know Better Network."
MSDNC panel mocks the fact immigration is a top issue for voters across the country@jrpsaki: “I live in Virginia. Immigration was the number one issue…you’re thinking like what?!”@JoyAnnReid: *laughs*@maddow: “Well, Virginia does have a border with West Virginia!” pic.twitter.com/CpzBUxWNFG
— Chad Gilmartin (@ChadGilmartinCA) March 6, 2024
Gilded Reframe – CBS NEWS
Maybe checking with your sources BEFORE filing the report would have been the better course here.
Over at CBS News, Scott MacFarlane is its very eager January 6 reporter. He has been on the case long after the general public stopped caring about the matter, and his fervency was on display with his recent error-filled report. Scott got wind of the fact that heroic Capitol Police Officer Michael Fanone was set to testify before Congress this Thursday, and he rushed forward with a report on the matter, convinced it could only mean one thing.
Per multiple sources, House Judiciary Committee's GOP-led "subcommittee on weaponization of the federal government" stages hearing Thursday into the federal probe of January 6th
— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) March 5, 2024
Officer Michael Fanone is expected to be a "rebuttal witness" against any claims Jan 6 was peaceful
Um, yeah – about that Scott. MacFarlane later followed up with a different message, saying the hearing is on other topics but that Fanone is brought in to discuss January 6 matters. THEN, he followed up with yet another clarification – the hearing has nothing at all to do with J-6, but financial matters and even AI concerns in particular fields.
After seeing MacFarlane's wide-left claims, the House Judiciary Committee put out a brief post addressing his reporting.
FAKE NEWS. https://t.co/rgoeDk3pIG
— House Judiciary GOP (@JudiciaryGOP) March 5, 2024
Reporting on the Mirror – THE NEW YORK TIMES / THE ATLANTIC
There continues to be some fallout from the Adam Rubenstein piece in The Atlantic about his tenure working at The New York Times, which we have covered here in a couple of columns previously. Some of Rubenstein's accounts of what he experienced regarding the fallout from Senator Tom Cotton's infamous op-ed and reactions from within the paper's offices have rankled Times staffers.
It has been said The Times management has reached out to The Atlantic requesting corrections. The Atlantic has refused and stood by Rubenstein's version of things, and then, writers from both sides have been sniping and leveling charges back and forth.
At Fox News, Brian Flood and David Rutz do some good work getting the reactions from all sides on this melodrama.
NY Times reporter's resurfaced email about avoiding quoting Tom Cotton in stories at center of media dispute https://t.co/9ZyosrZKWz #FoxNews
— David Rutz (@DavidRutz) March 6, 2024
Stealth Story Evolution – Road & Track
There has been a lot of talk in media circles about this one, though why is the big question. Road & Track Magazine commissioned a piece by Kate Wagner to cover the F1 race The Austin Grand Prix. Apparently, the socialist writer was not the best choice for the periodical because, for reasons never explained by the magazine, the article was removed entirely after publication.
There are suspicions this was maybe because of her less-than-glowing assessment of the opulence of the enterprise, which may have angered a primary sponsor, or it could have had to do with some of the coverage of driving superstar Lewis Hamilton. There is a guessing game at play as Road & Track has not detailed why her 5,000+ word piece has been removed. (The archived version is available in the post below.)
Many journalists are raving about this expose of the Formula-1 race in Austin that has been removed by @RoadAndTrack.
— Lie-Able Sources (@LieAbleSources) March 7, 2024
No explanation has been given why it has been memory-holed, but here is the internet archive versionhttps://t.co/mo6pKRzUYs
DNC PR Firm – NBC NEWS
Is THIS really the best source you could find...?…
It was rather ridiculous to see last week the Muppet Cookie Monster coming out and making comments on behalf of the administration about the scourge of "shrinkflation." It was more ridiculous to have the president and other Democrats coming out to echo the message from a child's puppet.
Worse still, however, is the media coming out to do the bidding of the administration and reporting on the comments of Cookie Monster as if this were a valid opinion on policy regarding the condition of our economy.
'Sesame Street' figure Cookie Monster is criticizing companies selling food at the same price but with less actual product — a practice known as “shrinkflation." https://t.co/WkevJNFhi5
— NBC News (@NBCNews) March 6, 2024
Editor's Note: A previous version of this column mistakenly referred to Formula One race car driver Lewis Hamilton as "Leonard Hamilton." Hamilton's name has been corrected.
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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.