Things You Never Expect
Michelle Kosinski, a TV journalist who’s served as CNN‘s White House reporter and a foreign correspondent for NBC, posted a tweet (5/8/21) that declared:
As an American journalist, you never expect:
Your own govt to lie to you, repeatedly
Your own govt to hide information the public has a right to know
Your own govt to spy on your communications
“Trump’s unAmerican regime did all of these,” she added. “No one should accept this.”
Republicans’ ‘Value-Driven Foreign Policy’
The New York Times‘ Lisa Lerer (4/15/21) wrote a 1,600-word “political memo” on “How the GOP Lost Its Clear Voice on Foreign Policy.” The problem, as the Times saw it, was that President Donald Trump had abandoned “the kind of values-driven foreign policy that had defined the party for decades.” Presumably these are the values that drove Richard Nixon to invade Cambodia and overthrow the elected government of Chile, that encouraged Gerald Ford to back Indonesia’s conquest of East Timor, that got Ronald Reagan to support death squads in Central America and apartheid in South Africa, that convinced George H.W. Bush to illegally invade Panama and bomb Iraq with depleted uranium, and which led George W. Bush to respond to the 9/11 attacks with a campaign of torture, a generation-long occupation of Afghanistan and a blood-soaked occupation of Iraq that was justified through a systematic campaign of lies.
Remember the 1/6 Coup Attempt? Politico Doesn’t
How Politico (4/12/21) summarized Sen. Josh Hawley leading the January 6 effort to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election: “a controversial stand that liberals and some Republicans claim undermined faith in the political system.” But, Politico‘s Alex Isenstadt added, “he won plaudits from loyalists of former President Donald Trump”—and reaped a fundraising bonanza, so who can argue with success?
Washington Post: Snarkers’ Paradise
The Washington Post (4/25/21) found it newsworthy that in Venezuela—if you can imagine it—the rich have an easier time with Covid than the poor. This scoop was published under the headline, “In the Venezuelan ‘Workers’ Paradise,’ Very Different Pandemics for the Haves and Have-Nots.” Of course, no one is quoted in the article calling Venezuela a “workers’ paradise”—has anyone unironically used that phrase about anywhere in the last 80 years?—but putting words in quotation marks to indicate sarcastic disdain is apparently acceptable when you’re reporting on an official enemy state.
Voting Debate Will Affect Senate—but What About Voters?
The Hill (5/11/21) reported on congressional debate over the For the People Act—which attempts to block state Republican efforts to disenfranchise Black voters (Extra!, 5/21)—under the headline, “Senate Poised for All-Day Brawl Over Sweeping Elections Bill.” The piece began, “Senators are set for a high-stakes battle over one of Democrats’ biggest priorities that could have repercussions not only for the 2022 midterm elections but the Senate itself.”
What about the repercussions for Black voters and other minorities, whose access to the ballot box may depend on this legislation? It would be difficult to The Hill to talk about that, since its story doesn’t mention “Blacks,” “African-Americans” or any form of the word “race.”
How to Say ‘Police Killed a Baby’ in Copspeak
“A baby boy died from injuries suffered when Mississippi police gunned down his murder-suspect father, authorities say,” NBC News reported on Twitter (5/4/21). “By which they mean, police shot and killed a man and his baby boy,” tweeted Rebecca Kavanagh (5/5/21), legal analyst for Black News Channel. NBC (5/4/21) quoted a police spokesperson:
As the suspect exited the vehicle, shots were fired. Medical attention was given to the suspect but he died as a result of injuries sustained…. The juvenile did receive injuries and was taken to a local medical facility for treatment.
“Not only is the father killed by police described as a ‘suspect,’ but the months-old-baby is referred to in the story as a ‘juvenile,'” Kavanagh observed. “‘Juvenile’ is a legal term for children caught up in the criminal legal system.”
Why Use 10 Words When 22 Will Do?
“Maryland State Police are investigating a trooper-involved fatal shooting in Leonardtown that ended in the death of a 16-year-old.”
—How ABC News (Twitter, 4/13/21) said “Maryland State Police killed a 16-year-old in Leonardtown.”
Career Journalists Do Violence to Facts
“76K California Violent, Career Felons Get Earlier Releases” was AP‘s headline (Detroit News, 5/1/21) over a story that did not say that 76,000 “violent, career felons” were being released; rather, it reported that the 76,000 people in prison who were eligible for sentence reductions “includ[ed] violent and repeat felons.” Under the change being reported, people convicted of violent crimes will be able to get one-third of their sentence off for good behavior, up from the current one-fifth; people convicted of nonviolent offenses under California’s draconian “three strikes” law (the “career felons” of the dehumanizing headline) will be eligible to get up to half their time off if they stay out of trouble in prison.
Same Paper, Different Countries
“Economic Pace Signals a Boom on the Horizon”
—New York Times (4/16/21) reporting on projected 7.5% US growth this year
“China’s Gain Is Hardly Felt by the People”
—New York Times (4/16/21) reporting an 18% first-quarter growth rate in China
