Scott Whitlock
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Sometimes the journalistic fawning over Barack Obama crossed a line from sycophantic to just plain weird. Such was the case for the August 2011 issue of Esquire, featuring a headline wondering “How can we not love Obama?” Writer Stephan Marche described the Democrat as an “astounding, ecstatic human achievement” and a “world-historical soul.” Okay...
The network that, for years, employed alleged sexual harassers Charlie Rose and CEO Les Moonves decided to lecture Americans on Friday about “doing the right thing when nobody is watching.” CBS This Morning co-host and Obama donor Gayle King was particularly sanctimonious, despite the fact that she once complained about having to cover the allegations against “my friend” Rose.
Networks such as CBS and MSNBC have hyped the rise of female Democratic candidates across the country for the 2018 midterms. Will they follow-up and report on the extreme statements by one sure-to-be elected Congresswoman? Rashida Tlaib, who could be the first Muslim woman in the Congress, announced to the BBC she wants to slash aid to Israel.
It’s sad when the liberal comedian on your network is tougher than most of the journalists. But that’s what happened on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning as socialist Bernie Sanders made two network appearances. Late Night host Stephen Colbert repeatedly pressed Sanders on the problems with promoting socialism in America. Over on CBS This Morning, the efforts were half-hearted at best.
PBS host Christiane Amanpour appeared puzzled as to why NBC spiked Ronan Farrow’s investigation into powerful Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein. Discussing the disgraced Democratic donor on Monday, Amanpour asked the journalist: “Why do you think the media entities [spiked the story]? Our DNA is to be investigative. What was it about the media that wanted you not to tell these stories?”
After deluging viewers with a seemingly unending amount of stories about fired ex-Donald Trump aide Omarosa Manigault-Newman, the networks on Monday night and Tuesday morning skimped on the news that anti-Trump FBI agent Peter Strzok had been fired. ABC, CBS and NBC allowed just 9 minutes and 6 seconds of coverage to the development. In contrast, the gossipy reporting on Omarosa (over the same period) garnered 31 minutes and 20 seconds of obsessive coverage. (When you include Friday to Tuesday morning’s programming, her total reaches an astounding 124 minutes.)
The Boston Globe is lobbying for a mass denunciation of Donald Trump as a response to his complaints about the media. According to The Hill, over 100 newspapers all over the country will “publish editorials fighting back against President Trump’s repeated attacks on the media.” In a pitch to fellow newspapers, the Globe demanded, “We propose to publish an editorial on August 16 on the dangers of the administration's assault on the press and ask others to commit to publishing their own editorials on the same date.”
Before he became the disgraced Brian Williams known for making stuff up, the NBC journalist was best known for some outrageous examples of media bias. On August 5, 2005, the then-Nightly News anchor interrogated Enola Gay navigator Dutch Van Kirk about dropping the atomic bomb on Hiroshima: “Do you have remorse for what happened? How do you deal with that in your mind?”
MSNBC host Stephanie Ruhle on Friday made no effort to hide her contempt and scorn at the administration’s call for a sixth branch of the military to be called Space Force. She alternated between horror and mockery while reporting on Mike Pence’s announcement. After playing a clip of the Vice President stating, “It is not enough to merely have an American presence in space. We must have American dominance in space,” an appalled Ruhle marveled, “Oh my goodness.”
Following the arrest of Republican Congressman Chris Collins, the broadcast networks once again showcased their partisan double standard when it comes to corruption allegations against members of Congress. Collins’s arrest on Wednesday on insider trading charges resulted in a deluge of coverage, over 18 minutes in less than 24 hours. But in 2015 and 2016, ABC, CBS and NBC buried the indictment, trial and conviction of two Democratic representatives, offering absolutely no coverage of the scandal surrounding Congresswoman Corrine Brown (convicted of fraud) and a paltry 68 seconds to Chaka Fattah (convicted of bribery and fraud).
A danger is looming that journalists want to warn Americans about. ABC, CBS, MSNBC and CNN on Wednesday all fretted about Kansas’s possible new Republican gubernatorial candidate, labeling Kris Kobach a “hard-right,” “staunchly,” “incredibly conservative” choice. This kind of ideological hand-wringing stands in contrast to the warm response socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez received. She earned some labels, but enjoyed a gentle response from journalists.
Hollywood director Rob Reiner, who supported both Bill and Hillary Clinton, is now very concerned about political untruths. Donald Trump’s that is. Reiner appeared on Monday's edition of MSNBC’s The Beat and decried Trump as someone who “constantly lies and is lying right to our face.”
The Associated Press is REALLY worried about Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. The AP posted an article on Tuesday alerting that a “hard-right” Court might come back to haunt the GOP. On Monday, the news outlet suggested that “devout Catholic” judges like Kavanaugh might have trouble “upholding the law as written” in light of the Pope’s new decree on the death penalty.
The journalists at MSNBC are awaiting a future killing in order to blame Donald Trump for it. Appearing on MSNBC Live, Monday, MSNBC contributor Jason Johnson preemptively accused the President: “And that's the other thing, we're going to have a Charlie Hebdo situation here, without question. Without question. It is going to happen. Because of the behavior of this president.”
CBS This Morning journalists on Monday highlighted the desperate need to secure the border, the northern border that is. Offering a refreshingly clear look at the lack of effort to stop illegals or terrorists from getting through, Gayle King explained: “CBS News has learned that the number of people illegally crossing the United States northern border is up 142 percent.”
Financial adviser Dave Ramsey appeared on Nightline, Thursday night, to discuss his efforts to help get people out of debt. But co-anchor Byron Pitts tried to pigeonhole Ramsey, pressing him on Trump. Pitts also cited a Politico Magazine piece on the author/radio host: “Politico has called you the financial whisperer for Trump's America. What does that mean to you?”
The “poet” Obama vs. the “zombie” conservatives? From 2008 through 2016, the contrast between how journalists fawned over Barack Obama and trashed conservatives was pretty clear. On July 28, 2016, New York Times columnist Frank Bruni rhapsodized over Obama: “He’s been more than our president. Time and again, he’s been our national poet.”
Journalists on MSNBC, Friday, fretted about the damage prominent socialists (such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez) will do to the Democratic Party. At the same time, MSNBC Live host Stephanie Ruhle mocked the American people as dummies for not understanding how much of an upside it has for them.
The journalists at CBS This Morning on Thursday brought on liberal Daily Show host Trevor Noah to pontificate as a serious political analyst and not a comedian. With no hint of Noah’s hard-left politics, the hosts tossed him softballs such as this one from Alex Wagner: “My question to you is do you think this crazy moment we're in is passing crazy or permanent crazy?”
CBS This Morning deserves credit for having Marco Rubio on the program to discuss a conservative proposal, his alternative for paid family leave. The other two networks on Thursday, ABC and NBC, couldn’t be bothered to talk about his legislation. However, CBS’s hosts complained about the idea of allowing Americans to borrow from their Social Security in order for paid time off with a new child.