On Monday's CNN Newsroom, Brooke Baldwin rebuked a guest who bluntly labeled Michael Brown a "thug." Former DEA agent David Katz underlined that Darren Wilson was "by all accounts, a good police officer — did exactly what an officer is supposed to do. He was set upon by a thug named Michael Brown, who just moments before, strong-armed an Indian-American half his size." Baldwin interjected, "Come on, though. We don't need to call — let's not — 'thug'?" Katz retorted, "What epithet would you charge?" The anchor replied, "Let's just say 'Michael Brown.'"
Michael Brown
NYT Public Editor Makes a Mea Culpa on Ferguson Case for Criticizing Pro-Police Sources Later Proven Right
By Clay Waters | March 23, 2015 | 10:16 PM EDT New York Times Public Editor Margaret Sullivan on Monday made a mea culpa for her past criticism of her paper's reporting on the racially-charged Ferguson case, when she called out a Times lead story for including the views of anonymous sources who supported police officer Darren Wilson's account of the shooting of Michael Brown -- a view eventually vindicated by the Obama Justice Department.
By Matthew Balan | March 6, 2015 | 11:31 PM EST
On Friday, CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 surprisingly spotlighted that the "hands up, don't shoot" narrative and chant forwarded by many left-wing supporters of Michael Brown's family is grounded in falsehoods. Correspondent Sara Sidner cited a recent Justice Department report that underlined that the mantra is "inconsistent with the physical and forensic evidence" and that "witnesses have acknowledged their initial accounts were untrue."
Chris Hayes: Killing of Three Muslims in N.C. Serves as a ‘Trayvon Martin’ and ‘Michael Brown Moment’
By Curtis Houck | February 13, 2015 | 2:09 AM EST MSNBC’s Chris Hayes took about a minute and a half out of his show All In on Thursday night in between guests to give his thoughts on the recent killing of three Muslim students in North Carolina and, naturally, he brought their minority status into the picture by proclaiming their deaths to be a “galvanizing” “Trayvon Martin moment” and “Michael Brown moment for Muslim-Americans.”
AP's David Crary Perpetuates Michael Brown 'Hands Up' Myth as 'Police Killings of Blacks' is AP's Top Story of Year
By Tom Blumer | December 23, 2014 | 10:43 AM EST Establishment press reporting has all too often been about perpetuating a narrative, even long after it has been proven false, than conveying facts and truth. Anyone arguing that 2014 has been one of the worst years ever for this growing trend won't get an argument here.
An Associated Press poll about the top stories of the year got responses from 85 editors at subscribing AP outlets. Although the top story named wasn't a surprise (disappointing, yes; surprise, no), the way the AP's David Crary wrote it up to support the proven-false "Hands up, don't shoot!" narrative on Monday was absolutely outrageous (bolds and numbered tags):
By Curtis Houck | December 10, 2014 | 6:31 PM EST
Fusion/Univision anchor Jorge Ramos interviewed President Obama on Tuesdayand spent the interview flaunting his liberal beliefs by constantly hitting the President from the far left on a wide range of issues, including race.
After discussing the release of the so-called CIA “torture” report by Senate Democrats, President Obama was asked if he got “angry with” the belief that “many people expected you, probably, to do more on race relations, dealing with white privilege.”
'Why Was He Holding Back?' NYT Front Page Disappointed in Obama's Insufficient Fiery Leftism on Police Shootings
By Clay Waters | December 10, 2014 | 9:20 AM EST "Why was he holding back?" The New York Times sniped at President Obama from the left on the front of Tuesday's edition, disappointed by the insufficient fire displayed by the president over the recent incidents of black men being killed by police officers, with no conservative criticism or commentary offered.
By Randy Hall | December 9, 2014 | 6:42 PM EST
Never let it be said that Jon Stewart allowed a chance to slam the Fox News Channel slip through his fingers -- even when to do so, he has to apologize for making a blunder on The Daily Show on the Comedy Central cable television channel
During his Monday evening edition, the liberal host said he was sorry for including Dante Parker of San Bernardino County in California in a list of black men who were recently shot and killed by white police officers.
By Curtis Houck | December 2, 2014 | 9:48 PM EST
Major broadcast networks CBS and NBC failed to cover the news that police in Missouri are looking into inflammatory comments made by Michael Brown’s stepfather in the aftermath of a grand jury’s announcement on November 24 that Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson will not be charged in connection to Brown’s death.
Following the announcement of the decision, Louis Head stood surrounded by his wife and mother of Michael Brown and shouted multiple times at the large crowd gathered nearby to “burn this bitch down,” which was most likely in reference to the town of Ferguson. Later that night, widespread looting, vandalism, and burning of businesses and police cruisers all took place throughout the area.
By Matthew Balan | December 2, 2014 | 5:39 PM EST
On Monday's CNN Tonight, Don Lemon refreshingly pointed out a problematic component of the Ferguson protests. Former police officer David Klinger pointed out that "all the forensic evidence indicates that it wasn't [Michael] Brown with his hands up standing still. All the evidence indicates that he was coming back at Officer Wilson." Lemon replied to his guest by wondering, "So the question is, this 'hands up' rallying cry has – is it a false narrative that people are using to fit their own agenda?"
By Tom Blumer | December 2, 2014 | 1:41 PM EST
Certain members of Congress abused their positions Monday to imply that "Hands up, don't shoot" was something Michael Brown actually said before he was killed by police officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri in August.
On Friday, the Associated Press irresponsibly gave voice to those who say that the slogan is now a "metaphor" for police brutality targeted against blacks, even though the claim that Michael Brown did or said any such thing has been completely discredited by the physical evidence and the grand jury's credible witnesses. In covering the congressional histrionics, Lucy McCalmont at the Politico, aka Pathetico (HT Seton Motley) took things to the next level.
By Jeffrey Meyer | December 2, 2014 | 11:00 AM EST
On Monday, President Obama hosted “activists and officials including police” for a summit in the wake of the Michael Brown shooting. Following the event, all three network morning shows gave the White House event ample publicity during their Tuesday morning broadcasts. While the “big three” (ABC, CBS, and NBC) networks did their best to promote President Obama’s initiative, all three omitted the fact that no members of the Ferguson Police Department were invited to attend Monday’s meeting at the White House.