O.k. so the title is weak. Sue me.
I subscribe to several news email feeds, including CNN and Fox (among others). When I read this one from CNN this morning, I just had to laugh.
President Donald Trump accepted his party’s renomination for president Thursday night after four nights of propaganda and pageantry promising record prosperity and arguing that his deeply flawed response to the coronavirus was a great success.
[snip]
“I stand before you tonight honored by your support, proud of the extraordinary progress we have made together over the last four incredible years and brimming with confidence for the bright future we will build for America over the next four years,” he said.
As expected, Trump papered over his flawed handling of the pandemic, calling the virus a “powerful, invisible enemy” and attempting to focus voters’ attention on brighter times ahead — vowing to produce a vaccine for Covid-19 before the end of the year.
Remember, CNN bills itself as a news network. In fact, the subject line of the email was “CNN News Alert” (emphasis mine).
Now I’m not expressing any opinion whatsoever on the RNC convention or Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic . . . which is more than I can say for CNN. Notice how they describe the convention as “propaganda and pageantry.” I’m not saying it wasn’t — but calling the substance “propaganda” certainly sounds like opinion rather than fact to me. And then there’s the description of Trump’s COVID response as “deeply flawed.” Twice! That’s opinion journalism at its best.
Now, let’s look at CNN’s coverage of the DNC convention. The news alert for Night 1 mentioned how Michelle Obama issued a scathing assessment of President Trump’s “chaos, division, and a total and utter lack of empathy.” Day 2 news alert highlighted the Democratic party’s “geographic and demographic diversity.” Day 3 — well, let me just quote Day 3’s alert for you.
California Sen. Kamala Harris made history Wednesday night as the first Black woman and person of South Asian descent to formally become a major party’s nominee for vice president, paying homage to all the women who came before her
That’s inspiring! The news alert for Day 4 talked about “frustrated voters.” So I guess “CNN” stands for Cheerleading, Not News. I don’t know. I guess there was no propaganda or pageantry at the DNC convention. Good for them.
Now I ‘d like to tell you what CNN said about Days 1-3 of the RNC convention, but I can’t because I received exactly 0 — none, nada, zilch — news alert about those nights from CNN.
Just in case you were wondering, Fox News also sent out emails about the DNC convention, and they were limited to listing who was scheduled to speak on each night. No additional facts, observations, or commentary. They did note that Biden’s acceptance speech was the most important speech of his career, but CNN also described it that way, and it is probably an irrefutable observation. Fox treated the RNC convention pretty much the same way, simply listing who was scheduled to speak each night.
I should note, in fairness, that Fox described Melania Trump’s speech as being touted as forward-looking, positive and uplifting. They didn’t say it was any of those things, just that it was being described that way. Those of you who heard it can draw your own conclusions. Also, for Day 4, Fox predicted that Trump was “expected to lob harsh criticism against Joe Biden’s policies and political history in his speech” based on previously obtained excerpts.
Those of you who know me, or have read any of my stuff, know that I’m not a Trump fan. I have serious problems with how he responded to the coronavirus pandemic, among a host of other things. Likewise, I’m not a fan of Fox, primarily because that network has drunk the Trump Kool-Aid to the dregs. But CNN’s “reporting” is nothing short of egregious from a journalistic point of view. My point has nothing to do with Trump, and everything to do with how our news networks have shed any semblance of independence and objectivity.
That’s why I get all my news from MAD Magazine!
*Seriously, if you’d like true unbiased, factual, news and commentary from a conservative viewpoint, I’d encourage you to check out The Dispatch. Email newletters, podcasts, and online articles from some of the smartest people out there in punditland. Some stuff you can get for free, and if you like it you can subscribe to get all their content. It’s only $100/year, which is a steal for what you get.
