Latest news with #EugeneDaniels
Fox News
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
MSNBC host questions credibility of Biden cabinet secs who spoke out on president's decline after election
MSNBC host Eugene Daniels asked on Saturday why anyone should trust the former Biden administration cabinet secretaries who spoke to author Alex Thompson about Joe Biden's decline, noting that they didn't speak out while they were in office. "But why should people trust them now, right?" Daniels asked. "Because I don't know who these cabinet secretaries were, but maybe they probably want to work in a different administration. They want to be on K Street. They want to be at some think tank. Why should anyone trust them when they spend all this time — apparently no one got this information — and not telling anybody. Now they have a lot to say." MNSBC's "The Weekend" spoke with Axios reporter Alex Thompson about his new book, "Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again," which he co-wrote with CNN host Jake Tapper. MSNBC co-host Elise Jordan said the quotes from cabinet secretaries about the former president were the most powerful, reading one that said, "Over 2023 and 2024, the circle of people with access to the president grew smaller and smaller. Even the majority of Biden's cabinet members weren't in it." Thompson acknowledged it was a fair question and said the secretaries felt that if they spoke out, "it was only going to help Trump." Jordan, after noting that Thompson included four cabinet secretaries who had concerns about the president, asked Thompson about what it was like getting these cabinet secretaries to speak out. Thompson noted that the interviews didn't occur until after the election, but that he had been trying for several years to get them to talk. "I think a lot of them were scared because they felt that if they spoke out, it wasn't going to get Joe Biden out of the race, and also it was only going to help Donald Trump," Thompson said. The Axios reporter also described a cabinet secretary he spoke to who was shocked by Biden during a 2024 cabinet meeting and described the former president as incoherent. Daniels also asked Thompson to respond to Naomi Biden's, Joe Biden's granddaughter, rebuke of the book. Biden's granddaughter deemed the book "political fairy smut for the permanent, professional chattering class" in a post on social media. "I think if you read the book, you will see that the Biden family is a completely cohesive and solid, very loyal clan. And I was not surprised to see that. I would say that I stand, and Jake and I both stand completely behind the reporting. Also, I'd say I think Naomi is a pretty good writer," Thompson said. Daniels also acknowledged that he had reached out to several former Biden officials to come on their show to defend the president, and they hadn't accepted, before noting Daniel Koh, a former deputy assistant to Biden, would be joining them to respond to Thompson's remarks. When Daniels asked about what he observed in the White House with the former president, Koh immediately pivoted to Donald Trump's presidency. Jordan asked if he detected any of the behavior described in Tapper and Thompson's book and Koh said, "he's 82 years old." "I was never concerned about his ability to make the right decision or his team around him making the right decision for the country. And I think that was reflected in the legislation that you were able to see him pass," he added.
CBS News
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Colorado State University holds first all-university commencement in 30 years
Thousands of students at Colorado State University participated in the Fort Collins campus's first all-university commencement ceremony in nearly 30 years on Friday. An estimated crowd of more than 20,000 family and friends joined to celebrate the graduates. CBS "Honestly, it is pretty exciting, having everybody side by side graduating together," said JJ McKinney, a journalism school graduate. McKinney and fellow graduate Kate Sherman graduated from the School of Journalism and Media Communications. "It has been one of the most rewarding moments of my life to see everything that has been my journalism career, and everything that has been my education in journalism, lead up to this moment," McKinney said. Both McKinney and Sherman credited the university's staff, especially those within Rocky Mountain Student Media Corporation, for taking them under their wing and getting them to graduation. CBS Adding a cherry on top of finishing their degrees, the duo was treated to a commencement address from Eugene Daniels. Daniels, current president of the White House Press Correspondents Association and senior Washington correspondent for MSNBC, is a graduate of the same program. "Our commencement speaker is a journalist, and I am a journalism grad. So, it feels perfect for me," Sherman said. Daniels first attended CSU to play football and initially thought he was going to study to one day become a lawyer. However, he took an introduction to journalism course with Professor Pam Jackson. Jackson once told Daniels that if he didn't want to be a person in a position of power, he might enjoy holding people in power accountable. "I owe a lot to CSU and a whole lot to student media," Daniels said. "I came here as a football player, I found my love for journalism here, I found my career here." Daniels said he was able to get an education and real world journalism experience on campus through the JMC department as well as RMSMC. CBS Both McKinney and Sherman followed a similar path. "It is so inspiring to see someone who looks like me reach this level of prestige," McKinney said. "It shows that if he can do it, maybe one day I can do it too." Daniels said it was humbling to hear other journalists, including young Black men like McKinney, have found inspiration in his career trajectory after CSU. "It is overwhelming, and it makes me a little more emotional than I care to admit," Daniels said. Daniels said he hoped to convey a message of inspiration and motivation for students. He said he hoped students would know they belong in whatever room they find themselves in. Sherman said she was inspired by Daniels being selected as the commencement speaker. "It's exciting. A lot of times, journalists don't get the recognition they deserve. So, it is really inspiring as a young journalist seeing someone who came from where I come from getting the recognition they deserve," Sherman said. "It makes me confident that I chose a good school and got a good degree."
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
More than 2,400 graduates participate in CSU's first campus-wide commencement in 27 years
More than 2,000 mortarboards were tossed into the air May 16 as the cannon fired at Colorado State University's Canvas Stadium. Then, the 2,418 graduates began high-fiving and hugging one another as they posed for pictures and waved to family and friends in the stands. 'It was enjoyable,' said master's degree recipient Brendan Kelley, as he filed off the field afterward. 'I think it's important to recognize everyone at CSU that graduates. I think it's really fun to have everyone together.' That was the big draw for many of the participants. Although CSU still held its usual recognition ceremonies by college and major – there are 37 scheduled from May 15-18 – where individual students' names were read as they walked across the stage. The university-wide ceremony at Canvas Stadium, with about 12,000 family members and friends in the stands in a ticketed-only event, gave those same graduates the chance to celebrate en masse. Nearly half of the 5,000 graduates eligible to participate in the all-campus event chose to do so. Officials delayed the start by about 10 minutes because of traffic delays that were slowing guests' arrival. More: Members of von Trapp family, popularized in the 'The Sound of Music,' visit Fort Collins 'I say I'm proud to be a CSU Ram,' they chanted at the urging of the featured speaker, Eugene Daniels, a former CSU football player and MSNBC's senior Washington correspondent. They all held up their hands, clinching their middle fingers tight while curling the outer ones to form the CSU Rams' horn symbol popularized at the school's sporting events, when Vice Provost Michelle Stanley asked them to as she took a selfie from the stage. There were loud cheers at multiple points throughout the 80-minute ceremony, creating the same kind of game-day atmosphere inside the on campus-stadium that opened in 2017 that there had been outside in the hours leading up to it. It was sunny and warm, but not too hot. A beautiful spring day in Fort Collins, several graduates said. "It's fun to see everyone in one place and see how big our school actually is," said Rachel Ross, who was receiving a bachelor's degree in theater. "The weather's nice, and I'm excited to be here." CSU hadn't held a university-wide commencement ceremony since the spring of 1998, when graduates gathered at the former Hughes Stadium, 3 miles west of campus below Horsetooth Reservoir. Students, wearing robes in black, green and gold – the green and gold were to recognize those graduating with honors – along with hoods and stoles of various colors were walking around campus with friends and family a good two hours before their scheduled 4 p.m. processional into the stadium. International students, many of them receiving master's and doctorate degrees, also wore stoles with the colors of their national flags. Cesar Reyes was standing in the shade with his wife, Fernanda Luna, before getting in line with the other graduates for the processional. He was wearing a pink hood, as a master's degree recipient in music, and a stole with an orange, white and green stripe, like the flag of his native Mexico. 'This is the first graduation event I have ever attended, because when I graduated from the conservatory in Morelia (Mexico, where he earned his bachelor's degree), they don't do such big things,' said Reyes, a violinist who had to leave early to get to a dress rehearsal later that night with the Boulder Symphony. CSU President Amy Parsons spoke of the important role journalists occupy in a democracy while introducing Daniels, who earned his bachelor's degree in journalism and technical communication in 2012. And Daniels spoke of the difficulties he had breaking into TV broadcasting as a man who is gay and Black, noting that he was able to persevere and now has his own weekly network TV show on politics. And he was recently elected, by his peers, as president of the White House Correspondents' Association. 'So, remember, Class of 2025, you are not the next generation of leaders starting at some vague point in the future; you're leadership starts now,' Daniels said. 'You are the ones who have the power to hurt or to help. You are going to take the reins of this world, and you will be guiding us. The question is where will we go together?' Loud cheers also went up when Kim Jordan, co-founder of New Belgium Brewing and a member of the CSU System Board of Governors for eight years, received an honorary doctorate of Humane Letters. And toward the end of the ceremony when Kristi Bohlender, CSU's senior associate vice president for advancement and executive director of the alumni association, reminded the graduates that they were the newest members of a worldwide CSU alumni base of more than 265,000 members. A few minutes later, they flipped the tassels on their mortarboards in the customary fashion of graduation ceremonies. And most then tossed those mortarboards high into the air as the historic 'Comatose' cannon was fired. They danced as the CSU fight song was played, then filed out of the stadium as 'Don't You Forget About Me' by Simple Minds played on the public address system. 'It's really exciting that we're all doing this together with our friends who have other majors,' said Zander Cohn, who was graduating with a bachelor's degree in health and exercise science. Reporter Kelly Lyell covers education, breaking news, some sports and other topics of interest for the Coloradoan. Contact him at kellylyell@ and This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: More than 2,400 CSU graduates celebrate in university-wide ceremony
Yahoo
03-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Opinion - The Cost of Arrogance: NPR's undoing is a cautionary tale for the media
This week, President Trump signed an executive order that seeks to restrict public funds to NPR and PBS. Since appropriations are made two years in advance, the immediate impact of the order is debatable. However, it is a moment the media should use for long-overdue self-reflection. I have been critical of some of the administration's attacks on the media, from barring the Associated Press from some White House events to lifting protections of the media from subpoenas regarding their sources. However, if these objections are going to have any legitimacy, the media must take a serious look at what it has become. This coming week, I have the honor of giving the keynote address for the Center for Integrity in News Reporting at the Library of Congress. For many of us who have been part of the media for decades, these are precarious times for the American press. The damage done to the press in the last decade would have been unimaginable when I started. The most chilling fact is that it is almost entirely self-inflicted. The state of American media was captured recently when the president of the White House Correspondents' Association (and MSNBC correspondent) Eugene Daniels declared, 'We are not the opposition.' Given the controversy that had occurred over the association originally booking a vehemently anti-Trump comedian for the dinner, it seemed more like a punchline than a plausible claim. As if to bring that comedic point home the next day, the New York Times published its collection of essays titled, 'A Road Map of Trump's Lawless Presidency.' A recent study showed that media coverage of the Trump Administration has been 92 percent negative. The undoing of American journalism began in 'J-schools,' where young reporters were taught that the touchstones of neutrality and objectivity were no longer viable. At schools like the University of Texas, students are told that it is time to 'leave neutrality behind.' Stanford journalism professor, Ted Glasser, has insisted that 'journalists need to be overt and candid advocates for social justice, and it's hard to do that under the constraints of objectivity.' Editors soon picked up on the change and declared that 'Objectivity has got to go' in hiring reporters committed to what I have called 'advocacy journalism.' The result has been a transformation of American journalism into a type of echo chamber that amplifies liberal and often partisan Democratic talking points. That includes framing the news in overtly biased ways — for example, describing rioting as 'fiery but mostly peaceful.' The public were treated as clay to be shaped by an enlightened media in what they would see and hear. It was insulting and alienating. Recently, Trump noticed a wounded veteran with a Let's Go Brandon! sticker and President Donald Trump jokingly asked 'who is that?' That was a far more profound question than he may have intended. 'Let's Go Brandon!' became a familiar political battle cry not just against former President Joe Biden but also against the mainstream media. It was first heard during an Oct. 2021 interview with race-car driver Brandon Brown after winning his first NASCAR Xfinity Series race. When NBC reporter Kelli Stavast's questions were drowned out by loud and clear chants of 'F— Joe Biden,' the reporter quickly and inexplicably declared, 'You can hear the chants from the crowd, 'Let's go, Brandon!'' 'Let's Go Brandon!' instantly became a type of 'Yankee Doodling' of the political and media establishment. The response of the public itself has been deafening. Readers and viewers have left mainstream media in an exodus. Despite falling revenues and ratings, most of the media seems entirely clueless or, at least, unyielding. Even as media outlets plummet in revenue, editors and reporters continue to saw at the branch upon which they are sitting. When Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos brought in Robert Lewis, a British media executive, to try to restore profitability and readership to the paper, he was met with a virtual mutiny. Lewis nevertheless dropped this truth bomb in the middle of the newsroom: 'We are going to turn this thing around, but let's not sugarcoat it. It needs turning around. We are losing large amounts of money. Your audience has halved in recent years. People are not reading your stuff. Right. I can't sugarcoat it anymore.' It did not matter. The Post has been writing primarily for itself and a minority of the population for years. The staff seemed shocked that Bezos actually wanted for the paper to sustain itself rather than treat it as a liberal billionaire's vanity project. That brings us back to NPR. Some of us have objected for years to the government subsidizing one radio outlet. It only made it worse that NPR was overwhelmingly Democratic in both its staff and its coverage. For years, NPR ignored complaints over its bias. It had a lock on federal funding to subsidize operations, even though its audience was shrinking. One editor finally had enough. Uri Berliner went public, pointing out that NPR's Washington headquarters has 87 registered Democrats among its editors and zero Republicans. NPR and its CEO, Katherine Maher, were dismissive and frankly arrogant. They attacked Berliner, who ultimately resigned in disgust. Maher recently had a disastrous appearance before Congress in which she attempted to walk back her own biased public statements against Republicans and Trump. Some of us oppose NPR's funding as a form of state-sponsored media — a fundamental contradiction with principles of freedom of speech and the press. However, this is a moment the rest of the media should not let pass. NPR was ultimately undermined by its own arrogance. Editors and journalists did not have to worry about the fact that its shrinking audience was overwhelmingly white, liberal and affluent. Due to its support in Congress, it could make the vast majority of the country, which does not listen to its programming, help pay for its programming. It will now have to choose between sustaining its bias or expanding its audience. It certainly has every right to be a left-leaning outlet (as do right-leaning outlets), but it has to sustain itself in the marketplace. It is the same question that other media outlets must face as more Americans turn to new media. With polls showing the press at record lows in trust, media companies are increasingly writing for each other rather than most of the public. The choice now rests with the media and, more importantly, the public. American journalism will either re-embrace greater neutrality or continue toward insolvency and irrelevancy. Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro professor of public interest law at George Washington University and the author of 'The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
03-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
The Cost of Arrogance: NPR's undoing is a cautionary tale for the media
This week, President Trump signed an executive order that seeks to restrict public funds to NPR and PBS. Since appropriations are made two years in advance, the immediate impact of the order is debatable. However, it is a moment the media should use for long-overdue self-reflection. I have been critical of some of the administration's attacks on the media, from barring the Associated Press from some White House events to lifting protections of the media from subpoenas regarding their sources. However, if these objections are going to have any legitimacy, the media must take a serious look at what it has become. This coming week, I have the honor of giving the keynote address for the Center for Integrity in News Reporting at the Library of Congress. For many of us who have been part of the media for decades, these are precarious times for the American press. The damage done to the press in the last decade would have been unimaginable when I started. The most chilling fact is that it is almost entirely self-inflicted. The state of American media was captured recently when the president of the White House Correspondents' Association (and MSNBC correspondent) Eugene Daniels declared, 'We are not the opposition.' Given the controversy that had occurred over the association originally booking a vehemently anti-Trump comedian for the dinner, it seemed more like a punchline than a plausible claim. As if to bring that comedic point home the next day, the New York Times published its collection of essays titled, 'A Road Map of Trump's Lawless Presidency.' A recent study showed that media coverage of the Trump Administration has been 92 percent negative. The undoing of American journalism began in 'J-schools,' where young reporters were taught that the touchstones of neutrality and objectivity were no longer viable. At schools like the University of Texas, students are told that it is time to 'leave neutrality behind.' Stanford journalism professor, Ted Glasser, has insisted that 'journalists need to be overt and candid advocates for social justice, and it's hard to do that under the constraints of objectivity.' Editors soon picked up on the change and declared that 'Objectivity has got to go' in hiring reporters committed to what I have called 'advocacy journalism.' The result has been a transformation of American journalism into a type of echo chamber that amplifies liberal and often partisan Democratic talking points. That includes framing the news in overtly biased ways — for example, describing rioting as ' fiery but mostly peaceful. ' The public were treated as clay to be shaped by an enlightened media in what they would see and hear. It was insulting and alienating. Recently, Trump noticed a wounded veteran with a Let's Go Brandon! sticker and President Donald Trump jokingly asked 'who is that?' That was a far more profound question than he may have intended. 'Let's Go Brandon!' became a familiar political battle cry not just against former President Joe Biden but also against the mainstream media. It was first heard during an Oct. 2021 interview with race-car driver Brandon Brown after winning his first NASCAR Xfinity Series race. When NBC reporter Kelli Stavast's questions were drowned out by loud and clear chants of 'F— Joe Biden,' the reporter quickly and inexplicably declared, 'You can hear the chants from the crowd, 'Let's go, Brandon!'' 'Let's Go Brandon!' instantly became a type of 'Yankee Doodling' of the political and media establishment. The response of the public itself has been deafening. Readers and viewers have left mainstream media in an exodus. Despite falling revenues and ratings, most of the media seems entirely clueless or, at least, unyielding. Even as media outlets plummet in revenue, editors and reporters continue to saw at the branch upon which they are sitting. When Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos brought in Robert Lewis, a British media executive, to try to restore profitability and readership to the paper, he was met with a virtual mutiny. Lewis nevertheless dropped this truth bomb in the middle of the newsroom: 'We are going to turn this thing around, but let's not sugarcoat it. It needs turning around. We are losing large amounts of money. Your audience has halved in recent years. People are not reading your stuff. Right. I can't sugarcoat it anymore.' It did not matter. The Post has been writing primarily for itself and a minority of the population for years. The staff seemed shocked that Bezos actually wanted for the paper to sustain itself rather than treat it as a liberal billionaire's vanity project. That brings us back to NPR. Some of us have objected for years to the government subsidizing one radio outlet. It only made it worse that NPR was overwhelmingly Democratic in both its staff and its coverage. For years, NPR ignored complaints over its bias. It had a lock on federal funding to subsidize operations, even though its audience was shrinking. One editor finally had enough. Uri Berliner went public, pointing out that NPR's Washington headquarters has 87 registered Democrats among its editors and zero Republicans. NPR and its CEO, Katherine Maher, were dismissive and frankly arrogant. They attacked Berliner, who ultimately resigned in disgust. Maher recently had a disastrous appearance before Congress in which she attempted to walk back her own biased public statements against Republicans and Trump. Some of us oppose NPR's funding as a form of state-sponsored media — a fundamental contradiction with principles of freedom of speech and the press. However, this is a moment the rest of the media should not let pass. NPR was ultimately undermined by its own arrogance. Editors and journalists did not have to worry about the fact that its shrinking audience was overwhelmingly white, liberal and affluent. Due to its support in Congress, it could make the vast majority of the country, which does not listen to its programming, help pay for its programming. It will now have to choose between sustaining its bias or expanding its audience. It certainly has every right to be a left-leaning outlet (as do right-leaning outlets), but it has to sustain itself in the marketplace. It is the same question that other media outlets must face as more Americans turn to new media. With polls showing the press at record lows in trust, media companies are increasingly writing for each other rather than most of the public. The choice now rests with the media and, more importantly, the public. American journalism will either re-embrace greater neutrality or continue toward insolvency and irrelevancy. .'
