Riffed from the Headlines is Townhall’s daily VIP supplement that examines deeply flawed aspects of journalism in the country. We will seek to hold accountable the blunders, misdeeds, wrongdoings, manipulations, unfair practices and fabricated narratives in the mainstream media.
The tremors are being felt across the journalistic landscape as CNN looks set to become (GASP!) objective. The cherry-picking of hyper-partisan voices in recent weeks has chilled offices at its Atlanta headquarters and also caused hand-wringing in newsrooms across the country.
The hardest to take, of course, is Media Matters For America, which believes the change happening at CNN is terrible and leading to outbursts. Matt Gertz boldly states that novel board member John Malone suggests CNN “take Fox as a model.” Here is Matt’s assessment of Malone’s quote, when Malone’s actual quote was:
– “I would like CNN to go back to the kind of journalism it started with and actually have journalists, which would be unique and refreshing.”
Gertz then basically says that it is impossible for CNN hosts to remain unbiased because of the radicalism on the right. He claims that everyone on the right is radical, so giving them any airtime is not biased… somehow.
“But it’s easier for them to simply provide a false balance by relying on the talking points Republicans use to attack Democrats; to fill the panels with conservatives willing to defend the worst excesses of Trump’s right-wing; and perhaps offer breathless coverage of speeches by Trump or his successor.”
Gertz admits that CNN currently does not allow Republican talking points and has no conservatives on its panels. And that, Matt, is the exact problem that has led to the network becoming a ratings vacuum.
My latest on @LegInsurrection –>> Panicked Media Matters Gives CNN Fox News Treatment After Chris Licht Launches Reorganization https://t.co/lN1Xeu0bZu
— Sister Toldjah ?? (@sistertoldjah) September 8, 2022
Reporting in Mirror – AND RATHER
- “Oh, so that’s why I can’t take reservations anymore!”
When it comes to CNN’s real-time evolution, one veteran journalist is concerned about what he’s seeing. Dan Rather commented on the moves and sounded almost bewildered by what he was witnessing.
The comments make more sense when you realize he was a regular on “Reliable Sources”“ program.”Ooooooo… That’s why they didn’t call to invite me back!”
What’s going on at CNN? That’s a serious question. There’s a lot of speculation about directives and motives. What’s really going on? And is the audience noticing?
— Dan Rather (@DanRather) September 2, 2022
Anti-Social Mediation – CBS News
- Another case of those who decry the savagery of America dancing on a grave.
It’s been a tough week for CBS News’ Wesley Lowery. Wes was the source of this funny, flattering profile in GQ magazine (fragments here (to avoid total contamination), but he also had his own social media blunder. As most know, Queen Elizabeth II had just died, and of course there had to be some group of pundits who felt the need to aggrandize themselves by heaping insults on the deceased monarch. Lowery would have liked to chime in, but his now-deleted post was rife with historical ignorance. One can understand him not wanting to be behind it.
LOL. He has the wrong queen in the wrong country by a few centuries, but ok. https://t.co/v8oYnuB0d2
— Adam Loewy ?? (@LoewyLawFirm) September 8, 2022
Legalized press-titution – RELATED PRESSES
With all the focus on the UK and the death of Elizabeth II, you can see how desperate the AP was to somehow draw Biden into the news. The decision was made to highlight the rather banal announcement that he had managed to meet the Queen, making it seem like it was extraordinary, even though a dozen presidents before him had accomplished exactly the same feat.
Following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, Joe Biden gained the honor of becoming the 13th and last U.S. president to meet with Britain’s longest-serving monarch. https://t.co/n6pW2JIMs3
— Associated Press (@AP) September 9, 2022
Both types of standards – DIFFERENT SOCKETS
- Remember when this was considered a fatal move?
Biden seems to be on a two-year cycle. He suddenly has a strong desire to strengthen America’s manufacturing capacity, and jobs and factories, to strengthen our position as a nation.
I can’t wait to join @POTUS in Ohio this morning for a groundbreaking ceremony @IntelFirst new U.S. semiconductor factory in 40 years.
Today is a victory for American workers, made possible by the CHIPS and Science Act.https://t.co/hpdUxpI0lb
— Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (@RepEBJ) September 9, 2022
Of course, he does little to act on these proclamations, which seem to come just before the election. But what is remarkable is that the media does not react very much to this talk of exceptionalism. We say that because we have become accustomed over the last few years to the idea that focusing on America in this way is dangerous, and perhaps wrong.
Yes, I’m sure it’s completely different this time… https://t.co/NH4O66fmQN photo:twitter.com/EVAly5zxmc
— Brad Slager: Half-Fascist Practices to Become a Pro (@MartiniShark) September 9, 2022
