Tag Archive: NewsMax

NBC News fails political test with Ronna Romney McDaniel

Written on March 28, 2024 by in Fox "News" Watch, Media Watch

NBC’s peacock, now with ruffled feathers

NBC News a/k/a NBCUniversal News Group (which includes NBC News, MSNBC and CNBC) suffered an embarrassing setback this week, as it was pressured into letting go former Republican National Committee (RNC) Chair Ronna Romney McDaniel just days after hiring her at MSNBC. A swift outcry from the public and, incredibly, some of NBC News’ well-known anchors, made it clear that McDaniel’s position at the company was untenable. These events also provide some lessons into what a television or cable TV “news” network should and should not do when it comes to politics.

First, we can stipulate that it is not out of bounds or even unusual for a TV news network to hire political people. Unfortunately, TV and other news media now largely focus on politics, something for which we often criticize them. No sooner do we see coverage of some news event (for example, the recent Francis Scott Key Bridge accident in Baltimore) than the coverage turns political, with TV panel discussions (or politicians’ statements in print or social media) about how the role of government or the current administration is somehow involved, and with the political folks at these media outlets retreating to their predictable political camps and talking points. Accordingly, those who watch broadcast or cable TV news will see familiar political faces such as James Carville, George Stephanopoulos (both from Bill Clinton‘s 1992 presidential campaign), Nicolle Wallace (George W. Bush‘s White House Communications Director), Michael Steele (former RNC Chair), Jen Psaki (Barack Obama‘s White House Communications Director), etc. on a regular basis, in addition to a bevy of guests with political jobs.

The difference here with Ronna Romney McDaniel is that, as RNC Chair during Donald Trump‘s White House term, including before, during and after the 2020 presidential election, she actively participated in the Trump/Republican attempt to nullify, overturn and steal the election. That is what triggered the immediate backlash from the public and from very prominent NBC News and MSNBC hosts such as Chuck Todd (who is NBC News’ Chief Political Analyst), Joe Scarborough, his Morning Joe co-host Mika Brzezinski, and Rachel Maddow. As Brzezinski stated on-air last Monday:

To be clear, we believe NBC News should seek out conservative Republican voices to provide balance in their election coverage. But it should be conservative Republicans, not a person who used her position of power to be an anti-democracy election denier. And we hope NBC will reconsider its decision.

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In ironic twist, Republicans lose Big Business over COVID

Written on August 10, 2021 by in Democratic Messaging, Media Watch, Popular Political Phrases, Republican Messaging

Norwegian Cruise Line, fighting Republican COVID inaction

Last week, we reported that, by standing in the way of COVID vaccinations and precautions even as the delta variant ravages the U.S. population, Republicans are increasingly “out of touch with the current reality, and way behind the curve of events.” At the time, there was a small but growing number of big corporations and organizations (e.g. Walmart, Target, Tyson Foods, McDonald’s) that were ignoring Republican anti-safety ideology to some degree and taking precautions of their own, such as vaccination and masking requirements. Now, the list of such companies is growing rapidly, and includes, for example, Google, Facebook, United Airlines, and Frontier Airlines. Other companies, such as Delta Airlines, require the Coronavirus vaccine for new employees, and formally encourage vaccination for existing workers. At this point, therefore, an increasing percentage of U.S. workers is under some kind of COVID mandate from their employers, again in contrast to the unhealthy rhetoric from the GOP. It is also reasonable to think that many small businesses look to these larger companies for guidance, and will soon, if they do not already, require similar protections for their employees.

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In Matt Gaetz sex scandal, Twitter leads the way

Written on April 1, 2021 by in Democratic Messaging, Fox "News" Watch, Media Watch

Rep. Matt Gaetz (right) on Fox News, protesting a bit too much.

Unless you have been in a cave with no media whatsoever, you are no doubt aware that U.S. Congressman Matt Gaetz of Florida is in a heap of potential trouble. The U.S. Justice Department, beginning with the Trump administration last year, reportedly has been investigating Gaetz over allegations that he engaged in a sexual relationship with one or more 17 year-old girls (which, for Gaetz, would be a felony in Florida) and that he engaged in illegal interstate sex trafficking of these girls. Much of this news has been received this week via Twitter, for example, from sources such as the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal.

Yesterday, a video of Gaetz quickly spread on Twitter in which he talks about casting the sole “No” vote in the entire U.S. Congress on the 2017 Combating Human Trafficking in Commercial Vehicles Act:

Twitter is also the place where readers have been reminded that Gaetz has a boy, “Nestor,” living with him, whom Gaetz claims is his “son,” although there is no legal status that declares Nestor to be Gaetz’s son.

https://twitter.com/richardhine/status/1377070860473864195

Perhaps not coincidentally, it has also been reported this week, and widely distributed on Twitter, that Gaetz is thinking of resigning from Congress, or at least not running for reelection, to go work for right wing media outlet Newsmax.

https://twitter.com/darinself/status/1377016224987676677

While these charges against Rep. Gaetz are very serious and sad, many Twitter users have also been able to create some of the most brutal and often hilarious mockery against him. Check out some of the best examples after the jump:

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On radio, the right wing is swamping progressives

Written on July 10, 2019 by in Democratic Messaging, Media Watch, Republican Messaging

Rush Limbaugh, part of the right wing’s talk radio dominance

Many people are aware of the generalization that there are many more right wing or conservative radio outlets than there are progressives or liberals on the radio. But what’s truly alarming is just how politically unbalanced the radio airwaves are.

For example, 10 out of the top 20 most popular radio shows by weekly listeners are conservative programs (listed below by popularity rank):

1. Rush Limbaugh
2. Sean Hannity
7. Mark Levin
8. Glenn Beck
9. Coast to Coast AM (George Noory, George Knapp)
10. Mike Gallagher
12. Hugh Hewitt
14. The Savage Nation (Michael Savage)
15. The Dana Show (Dana Loesch)
19. The Joe Pags Show (Joe Pagliarulo)

In contrast, only one of the top 20 radio programs, the Thom Hartmann Show, is a liberal political program. Others, such as NPR’s Fresh Air and All Things Considered, are more general interest, personal interest or news programs. Specialty programs such as Marketplace (financial) and Delilah (music) also round out the list, making the dominance of conservative talk shows even more striking.

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