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News Avoidance Syndrome – NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO
Sure, they are ALL Democrats, but did he have to go ahead and label them like that?!
NPR is still grappling with the fallout from Uri Berliner's "scathing" editorial; that is, when he dared admit the outlet was notably delivering a left-wing agenda. Given that there is not much the executives can do to besmirch Berliner's character in an act of self-preservation (the man is a 25-year vet at NPR, and is an avowed leftist himself), the only thing left to do is – traffic in denial.
It has led to comedy.
One of the first responses to his comments about slanted coverage came from the author of the initial letter of denial on the Hunter Biden laptop, David Folkenflik. Other executives came out with tepid denials barely rising above the level of, "Nuh Uh!" TV critic Eric Deggans was critical that no one at NPR was contacted for the column…written by an editor at the news outlet. Now, comes commentary from the new CEO of the network, and there are issues. Initially, this was the comment from Katherine Maher:
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The spokesperson says that Maher "believes that it's a healthy thing for a public service newsroom to engage in rigorous consideration of the needs of our audiences, including where we serve our mission well and where we can serve it better."
Then, possibly a result of the pushback within the network, this was the follow-up comment by Maher, days later:
Questioning whether our people are serving our mission with integrity, based on little more than the recognition of their identity, is profoundly disrespectful, hurtful, and demeaning.
That identity that Berliner mentioned in his column? He pointed out how on the editorial staff at NPR, he counted 87 registered Democrats, while the number of Republicans came in at an even…zero.
From NPR President and CEO Katherine Maher:
— David Folkenflik (@davidfolkenflik) April 12, 2024
Thoughts on our mission and our work https://t.co/8dXiXSCFE2
Reporting on the Mirror – THE NEW YORK TIMES
Joining the ranks of NPR, and MSNBC after its staff meltdown over Ronna McDaniel, there is The New York Times also going through internal angst. For years, the management has been grappling with a young staff that is bent on newsroom activism. From the time of Tom Cotton's editorial in the summer of 2020, which sent numerous staffers into an existential tailspin, prominent names have been being chased off the masthead because editorial positions or words spoken led to claims of an unsafe environment and other sophomoric claims.
Now, Alexandra Bruell of The Wall Street Journal details there is extensive infighting taking place concerning the paper's stance (both official and unofficial) on the Israeli-Hamas War.
My latest: A leak probe inside the New York Times shows cracks in the culture of one of America’s leading newsrooms https://t.co/IS4iRRJPJQ
— Alexandra Bruell (@alexbruell) April 12, 2024
Low-Octane Gaslighting – MIAMI HERALD
With the absolutely mindless and entirely nonsensical news from some states about squatters having more rights than landlords and homeowners, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has passed a law making squatters a non-entity in Florida.
The always intrepid and not-at-all imbalance-thinking Miami Herald saw this move and came to a conclusion: He is trying to deflect attention away from the housing crisis!
The amusement in this stunted reaction is that should squatters occupy, say, a significant portion of the Herald offices, we can be assured that the police would be called out in a relatively expedient fashion.
Florida’s anti-squatter law: Is the new GOP buzzword a distraction from housing crisis? | Opinion https://t.co/eNcmxGsrtT
— Miami Herald (@MiamiHerald) April 11, 2024
Demo-lition Project – CNN
This felt like one of those mercy killings.
We have to be honest, we had completely forgotten that this show was still on the air. But the ill-advised primetime experiment "King Charles" has been canceled by CNN. The Gail King-Charles Barkley gab-fest no one was interested in has been mercifully yanked by the network.
This, however, presents a mixed blessing of sorts for CNN. As just about every report on this had to mention this was a holdover program from the Chris Licht era, it also stands as about the last such example of such, so any failing at the network going forward cannot be blamed on the previous administration.
Running just 14 episodes, the weekly program had the lowest debut on CNN seen in a decade, and was averaging well below 500K per airing.
CNN has canceled Charles Barkley and Gayle King's weekly show, 'King Charles', after just six months. pic.twitter.com/8UYJds5ELy
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) April 15, 2024
First Amendment Strike Force – WNBA / OUTKICK
Those toxic questions will not be tolerated during this celebration of (mostly) femininity!
Over at RedState, Jim Thompson interviewed the force behind the sport-based portal Outkick, Clay Travis. The focus of the interview was that a reporter from the outlet had one of the few – make that, only – voices willing to ask the prominent names at the NCAA women's tournament about the prospect of biological males competing in women's athletics. Says Travis of this perspective:
I am saddened by the fact that Outkick is the single sports media company on the planet that is advocating for women’s sports only to be made up of women, and it a sad reality that we have even got here.
Now, quite probably as a result of this willingness to ask the question, Travis has come out to state his outlet has been denied press credentials from the upcoming draft for the WNBA.
After @outkick asked @dawnstaley whether men should be able to play women’s basketball, the @wnba has refused to credential Outkick for their draft this week.
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) April 15, 2024
Presentation Paradox – VANITY FAIR
We do not have much by way of an explanation...
Brian Stelter surfaced again, this time appearing on a Bulwark podcast with Sarah Longwell. During their talk, he actually brought up the concept that people online refer to him as a potato. This was, by the way, initially sparked by our very own Kurt Schlichter.
What is baffling is the way that Brian tells a tale about explaining why someone mailed him a potato, and he tells the kids this is because the "Fox Universe" calls him Humpty Dumpty.
We…we got nuthin'...
Brian Stelter: "I once had a potato mailed to me. I showed it to my kids. It's because that within the Fox Universe, I used to be called Humpty Dumpty. From there, it became 'Brian is a Potato'.
— Eric Abbenante (@EricAbbenante) April 14, 2024
Imagine being such a Potato head you can't explain why your nickname is 'Potato… pic.twitter.com/jPd9mZr6C0
