Protestors

Not News: Baltimore Mayor Says 'Protesters' Who Wish to Can Have 'Space' to 'Destroy'
By Tom Blumer | April 27, 2015 | 10:53 AM EDT

At a Sunday press conference, Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake told reporters that she and the law enforcement in the city she runs have a de facto responsibility, in the name of "balance," to give "space" to "destroy" to "protesters" who have such a desire.

This obviously newsworthy pull quote condoning property destruction is not present in coverage at the Associated Press's main national site, in several stories where her comment could have been mentioned at the wire service's "Big Story" site, or in two additional stories at the New York Times containing Sheryl Gay Stolberg's byline. Video and a transcript follow the jump.

AP's Bauer Covers Whining About Walker's Security Costs, But Not 'John Doe' Thuggery
By Tom Blumer | April 26, 2015 | 11:35 PM EDT

The Associated Press is one of many national establishment press outlets which has from all appearances utterly ignored National Review's chronicling of police-state tactics used by law enforcement in a "John Doe" investigation targeting Republican Governor Scott Walker in Wisconsin. Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm's fishing expedition, which began in 2012, has attempted but thus far failed to find evidence of illegal "coordination" between conservative political advocacy groups and Walker during his recall election campaign.

A search on Chisholm's last name at the AP's main national site at 9 PM ET this evening returned nothing relevant; ditto at its "Big Story" site. But the wire service's Scott Bauer found the time on Friday to relay opponents' petty, hypocritical complaint that the state is spending too much money protecting Walker, his family and his lieutenant governor from potentially violent fever-swamp leftists who Democrats could arguably be accused of encouraging (bolds are mine throughout this post; numbered tags are mine):

LA Times Reporter and 'Ferguson' Actors Won't Concede That 'Hands Up, Don't Shoot!' Is a Myth
By Tom Blumer | April 25, 2015 | 10:05 AM EDT

At a March 4 press conference, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder grudgingly bowed to the truth relating to the events surrounding the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri in August of last year: "Michael Brown’s death, though a tragedy, did not involve prosecutable conduct on the part of Officer (Darren) Wilson."

In doing so, Holder effectively acknowledged the falsity of the claim, repeated hundreds of times in broadcast, online, and print media reports, that Brown cried "hands up, don't shoot!" before he was killed. The Attorney General also (cough, cough) wondered "how the department’s findings can differ so sharply from some of the initial, widely reported accounts of what transpired" and "how such a strong alternative version of events was able to take hold so swiftly, and be accepted so readily."

Nets Skip Liberal Label for Pilot Protester; Eager to Falsely Blame Conservatives for Violence
By Kyle Drennen | April 16, 2015 | 2:36 PM EDT

Despite the clear liberal agenda of postal worker Doug Hughes flying a gyrocopter into restricted Washington D.C. airspace to protest for campaign finance reform, the broadcast networks avoided linking the dangerous stunt to left-wing politics or the Democratic Party. Such avoidance stood in stark contrast to media eagerness to falsely blame conservatives and the Republican Party for deadly acts of violence in recent years, including a man flying a plane into an IRS building in 2010, the shooting of former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in 2011, and the Colorado movie theater shooting in 2012.

Alec Baldwin Twitter-Hates Leftist Protesters 'Clogging Rush Hour Traffic'
By Tim Graham | April 16, 2015 | 1:37 PM EDT

Alec Baldwin, famous liberal actor (and public-radio talk show host at WNYC-FM), started a Twitter battle with fellow liberals about traffic-blocking protests in mid-town Manhattan on behalf of the "Fight for $15" minimum-wage demands. Occupy somewhere else, he seemed to proclaim to more than a million followers at his foundation's Twitter account.

Tampa Bay Times Touts Left-Wing Activist Who Landed at Capitol
By Kyle Drennen | April 15, 2015 | 4:38 PM EDT

Before disgruntled mailman Doug Hughes violated Washington D.C. airspace by landing his one-man gyrocopter on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, he sat down for a lengthy interview with the Tampa Bay Times and described in detail his plan to perform the dangerous stunt.

Univision, Telemundo Tackle Rubio from the Left
April 14, 2015 | 11:16 PM EDT

So far, coverage of Sen. Marco Rubio’s presidential campaign announcement has tilted left on the top-rated Univision and Telemundo newscasts, with both networks emphasizing the perspective of pro-amnesty critics of the Florida senator.

“The truth is Latinos do not want him here,” said a Rubio protester featured on Telemundo’s national evening newscast. Both Telemundo and Univision featured the group of pro-amnesty protesters outside the Freedom Tower where Rubio made his campaign announcement, and ignored the much larger group of pro-Rubio supporters inside.

CBS Touts 'Growing Backlash' Against Indiana's Religious Freedom Law
By Matthew Balan | March 27, 2015 | 11:43 PM EDT

Friday's CBS Evening News played up the "growing backlash" by social liberals against a new law in Indiana that protest the religious liberties of business owners. Correspondent Adriana Diaz spotlighted how "the protests have grown from Indiana's state house to a torrent on social media." She also played clips or read excerpts from statements of four opponents of the law, while only featuring two from supporters.

USA Today Is All-in Partner in Starbucks' 'Race Together' Campaign
By Tom Blumer | March 21, 2015 | 10:28 AM EDT

Coffee retailing giant Starbucks is getting an earful of outrage and ridicule over its "Race Together" campaign. Its intent, according to chain CEO Howard Schultz, in a joint interview with USA Today's Larry Kramer, is to do something about what he claims is "the divisive role unconscious bias plays in our society and the role empathy can play to bridge those divides."

USAT's Kramer claims that its interest arose because, "while covering those dramatic news stories in Ferguson, Mo., and New York City, among others, we committed to telling the story of the changing face of America."

Unlike NY Times, AP's Salter Fails to Directly Acknowledge That Man Arrested in Fergsuon Cop Shootings Is Black
By Tom Blumer | March 15, 2015 | 11:09 PM EDT

Here is a clear case of media reluctance to acknowledge a drop-dead obvious fact — one even the often fact-averse New York Times has admitted.

In an 8:40 p.m. report tonight, Jim Salter at the Associated Press spent eight paragraphs avoiding any mention of the race of Jeffrey Williams, the 20 year-old man arrested today and charged in connection with the shooting of two Ferguson, Missouri police officers on Thursday. Finally, in paragraph 9, the AP reporter only partially relented, writing that "Williams, who St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar said is black, is being held on $300,000 bond." An easily found mugshot of Williams relating to a prior arrest indicates that the law enforcement system classified him as black six months ago:

Megyn Kelly Decries Ferguson 'Protest Movement Based Upon a Lie'
By Tom Blumer | March 15, 2015 | 10:21 AM EDT

Thursday night, Fox News's Megyn Kelly went after the press's and the political class's continued lionization of a "protest movement based upon a lie," namely those sowing slow-motion anarchy in Ferguson, Missouri following the death of Michael Brown, and "a segment of our political leaders and pundits" egging them on by giving them undeserved visibility and sympathy.

Members of Congress who propped up the odious "Hands up, don't shoot" lie came in for a special mention.

NBC: Ferguson Protesters Won't Let Cops Getting Gunned Down 'Slow Their Movement'
By Kyle Drennen | March 13, 2015 | 12:37 PM EDT

During a report on Friday's NBC Today about the manhunt for suspects in the shooting of two police officers in Ferguson, Missouri, correspondent Craig Melvin touted protesters in the community being undeterred by the violence: "One of the protest organizers, Rasheen Aldridge, says he hopes for the officers' recovery, but is determined not to let the shootings slow their movement."