Latest news with #Wemple
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
MSNBC mocked by Washington Post writer for lack of debate on left-wing network
The Washington Post's media critic Erik Wemple mocked MSNBC on Tuesday for its "bias toward consensus" in President Donald Trump's second term, joking that its unofficial motto should be, "I could not agree more." In a new column published Tuesday, Wemple revealed he spent 18 hours watching MSNBC in order to discover if the liberal network ever had dissenting voices on to debate the issues, as other cable news networks have done since Trump returned to the White House. "To get closer to an answer, I decided to gulp roughly 18 hours of MSNBC programming, starting with 'Morning Joe' at 6 a.m. and continuing through daytime and prime time. That way, perhaps, I could gather some insights on the network's strategy and view all those fierce debates that I'd missed with my on-again, off-again viewing habits. As it turned out, there was … one," Wemple wrote. Wapo Writer Rebukes New Policy On Paper Not Covering Itself: 'I Couldn't Possibly Dissent More Strongly' That one debate came during MSNBC's new evening program, "The Weeknight," where co-hosts Symone Sanders Townsend, Michael Steele and Alicia Menendez sparred with guest, Republican Rep. Victoria Spartz of Indiana, in "an intense exchange of views that qualifies as a debate," Wemple wrote. However, that was a stand-alone in the day's lineup, Wemple said, from a network that seems to have sidelined pro-Trump voices. Read On The Fox News App He quoted Aidan McLaughlin, editor-in-chief of Mediaite, who said MSNBC opts for anti-Trump Republicans to appear on the network to "give it the patina of balance," even if those voices don't represent the 77 million voters who elected the president "in the slightest." "The result is a programming model in which hosts and guests compete against one another to fashion the sharpest denunciations of the Trump regime," Wemple wrote. Psaki Bombs: Msnbc's Newest Primetime Program Sheds 53% Of Viewers From Key Demo In Second Episode The downside of this approach is "vast expanses of predictable programming in which people passionately agree with one another," he added. Wemple noted that there are some programs on the network that deserve recognition for sometimes breaking from this model. He acknowledged that host Ari Melber has dissenting voices on his program at times, and referenced "Morning Joe" co-hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski welcoming Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on their show Monday. The media critic argued that MSNBC's model would have been considered "outright journalistic fraud" before Trump took office, but isn't anymore. He claimed CNN's approach, of having Trump-supporting guests on the network for "loud chaotic" arguments, isn't much better, but "at least CNN viewers get to hear the pro-Trump arguments in all their fact-deprived glory." "No matter how it's produced, television is a medium ill-equipped to cover Trump. My advice? Read newspapers," he concluded. When asked by Wemple to respond to his criticism that the network is biased, a spokesperson for MSNBC offered up a list of commentators and hosts with backgrounds in Republican politics, such as Michael Steele, Tim Miller and Susan Del Percio, who are reliably anti-Trump voices on the liberal network. MSNBC declined to provide comment to Fox News Digital. The scathing column comes on the heels of former White House press secretary-turned-MSNBC host Jen Psaki's new primetime program bombing on its second day, shedding 53% of its viewers in its key demographic from the day article source: MSNBC mocked by Washington Post writer for lack of debate on left-wing network
Washington Post
14-03-2025
- Washington Post
This Sling TV ad made me really mad
Newspapers have suffered some indignities over the past two decades. More than 3,200 of them have closed since 2005. More than 45,000 newsroom jobs, gone. Many of those remaining get gobbled up by vulture funds; their journalists take abuse at public meetings; and in many jurisdictions, politicians hatch strategies to strip them of a critical revenue source. And now comes 'Paperboy,' an ad for Sling TV, a subsidiary of Dish Network that offers television channels via the internet. Have a look: A great deal of stupidity, it turns out, fits in a 30-second spot. The gist of the Sling ad is that people can do without their newspapers and instead opt for Sling. It depicts a 'paperboy' tossing newspapers to residents as he pedals his throwback bicycle down a street of single-family homes. 'I told you I don't need these anymore. I have Sling,' quips a bathrobe-clad woman who flings the newspaper back at the paperboy. Two other customers chuck it back as well, with the third managing to lodge it in the bike's spokes, causing the paperboy to tumble over the handlebars. He was wearing a helmet. Such hilarious material builds on the history of paper delivery workers who get hit by a van and end up with a 'disfigured' leg and $80,000 in medical bills; who get molested, stuffed in a car trunk and murdered; who get shot dead on their route; and so on. In a 2018 CJR analysis, Jon Allsop found 45 on-the-job deaths in this profession since 1970 and 23 murders/violent killings since 1992, which was more than twice as many as journalists in that time frame. A long trail of reporting establishes that these workers — commonly engaged as contractors — have low pay and few benefits, insurance, etc. At least they make promotional fodder for a multichannel video provider. Attempts to secure comment from Sling have been unsuccessful. Growing up in Schenectady, N.Y., the Wemple brothers dabbled in home delivery of the area's afternoon newspaper, the Knickerbocker News. 'Orchard Park was hell,' recalls my brother Mark, now 65, of a nearby neighborhood teeming with subscribers. 'Riding up that hill, chain coming off.' Collecting payment was a hassle, he says, and a community bully would stop him, stand in front of his bike and prevent him from proceeding on the route. 'So, you want to get going, huh?' taunted the young tough. Demand for the dead-tree news product, which began dwindling even before the internet, has become a niche sensibility. In 2005, the Washington Examiner thought it would be a good idea blanket well-to-do local neighborhoods with complimentary copies. It was no such thing. Recipients of this newsprint windfall essentially tossed it right back at the Examiner, overwhelming the company with complaints. 'I have a recycling bin at the front door, and [the Examiner] goes straight in it,' one recipient told me. Compare that sentiment with that of the woman in the Sling commercial. After tossing her paper back at the paperboy, she says, 'This critical time calls for the critical coverage that Sling provides.' There's the second large problem with this ad: Newspapers provide the critical coverage that Sling provides. Its offerings include the big three cable news networks — CNN, MSNBC and Fox News — plus ABC News, Bloomberg TV and others. Watch those outlets for a while, and you'll notice a pattern in which their hosts make frequent references to the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and many others. Newspapers, all of them. And they break a gobsmacking portion of the scoops that land on TV chyrons. Now for an example. Sling's anti-newspaper ads have run frequently in recent days on CNN, a network that gorges on newspaper-originating stories and commentary. From the Wall Street Journal, it cites editorials critical of Trump's trade policies, breaking news items on the planned closure of the Education Department, an investigation into Medicare abuses, an interview with Vice President JD Vance and more. From the Times come articles about Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Elon Musk's plans to donate big money to Trump's political operations, a Trump administration clash over funding for air traffic control. And so on! There are theories as to why newspapers — on the local and national levels — do so much lifting on the news front. Mine relates to focus. Though modern-day imperatives force them into podcasting and video gigs, newspaper reporters benefit from a simplicity of mission — report, report, report, attend depressing meeting, type, type, type. For TV correspondents, the routine is more like report, look good, check sound, check physique, hang out at the site of an accident that occurred three days ago, type, report, do hair and makeup, do panel discussion, post selfie to social media, wash off makeup, report, type. Frequent visitors here may recognize this topic as a hobbyhorse of mine. Just a few months ago, I wrote about how Fox News bashes mainstream media organizations — including newspapers — even as it relies upon them to feed its 24/7 appetite for content. Peak hypocrisy. Not sure whether it's more or less craven than a tech outfit claiming that it's improving upon the offerings of legacy media.
