Posted on 12/31/2018 12:21:16 PM PST by Kaslin
Cortney wrote about the sudden passing of Bre Payton, who was a regular fixture on Fox News and a staff writer for The Federalist. She was only 26. According to reports, she succumbed to the flu (H1N1) and possibly meningitis. Her friend Morgan Murtaugh found her unresponsive last Thursday in San Diego; Payton was in California guest hosting a show on One America News Network.
I only met Bre a couple of times, but she was always a class act, very kind, and respected by many. She was talented, smart, and the Federalist was lucky to have her. She was prolific writer, covering topics in news and popular culture. She co-hosted a podcast called Problematic Women with The Daily Signal’s Kelsey Harkness, which sought to shine “a spotlight on strong conservative women, current events, and the hypocrisy of the ‘feminist’ left.”
Yet, the Associated Press’ obituary is being slammed, and rightfully so, for making the entirety of her work solely on the Trump vs. the media paradigm. Newsbusters forcefully came out to call it straight trash [emphasis mine]:
Poignant tributes poured in from the conservative movement both Friday morning after word first came out about the incident and after her death, ranging from The Federalist (here and here) to The Washington Examiner and stories about her passing on FoxNews.com, Mediaite, and The Wrap. The Associated Press also published one, but it wasn’t so friendly.
The AP story followed the normal structure for a news obituary with a lede that described her as “a writer for the conservative news site The Federalist and a frequent guest on the Fox News Channel and other media outlets,” when she died, and her age.
The next two paragraphs stated how the news was announced as (by The Federalist and Payton’s friend Morgan Murtaugh, a former OANN reporter and former GOP congressional candidate) plus the alleged cause of death.
From paragraph five to the end, everything was well and good, but the fourth graph is where the AP lost all sense of decency, boiling down Payton’s work this way:
In recent appearances on Fox News, Payton had condemned what she called “fake news” media coverage of President Donald Trump and “sexist and bigoted” coverage of first lady Melania Trump.
Thank you everyone for your prayers. It is with a heavy heart that I type this. Unfortunately Bre has passed. Please send prayers to her family. Rest in paradise you beautiful soul. https://t.co/pMFCZNaqKl— Morgan Murtaugh (@morganmurtaugh) December 28, 2018
From those who knew her, and there were many, this was unnecessary and classless. It wouldn’t be the first time AP trashed someone they didn’t like due to political affiliation. They were forced to delete an absolutely garbage tweet about the passing of George H.W. Bush.
This is truly disgusting. The @AP can’t even cover the passing of one of the most kind and genuine people in DC without making it about Trump vs The Media. https://t.co/cfmsyP6EaP— James Hasson (@JamesHasson20) December 29, 2018
The @AP just stealth edited @Bre_Payton’s obituary to add a short scare quotes line on her recent comments about Melania Trump on Fox News. There’s nothing else in the piece about her great body of work as a writer & commentator. What the actual hell is wrong with these people. pic.twitter.com/ifmTLAdpFI— Jerry Dunleavy (@JerryDunleavy) December 29, 201
Why is this necessary @AP? Bre Payton died suddenly at a very young age and you’re politicizing it? pic.twitter.com/P1sn7x7FwW— Kassy Dillon (@KassyDillon) December 29, 2018
There’s a scholarship fund established in Bre’s name. You can donate here.
RIP
As an aside, what's with the title of this article.
It reads as though the obituary was slammed for making itself.
AP should have called on us language fussy Freepers. We would have corrected it.
For example, "AP slammed for writing obit on Federalist Writer Bre Payton" would be a good start.
Bash Trump at every opportunity, even in a obituary, if necessary......................
the fourth graph is where the AP lost all sense of decency, boiling down Payton’s work this way:People of the trade of journalism meet continually over the AP “wire” (and other wire services as well), and have been doing so since before the Civil War. Consequently only the terminally naive take for granted that “a conspiracy against the public” does not exist in journalism.In recent appearances on Fox News, Payton had condemned what she called “fake news” media coverage of President Donald Trump and “sexist and bigoted” coverage of first lady Melania Trump.People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raise prices. - Adam Smith, Wealth of Nations (1776)IMHO that conspiracy is the agreement among them not to compete ideologically - that is, an agreement never to challenge the objectivity of any other journalist - and to read out of the journalism community anyone who violates that stricture.
So no one should be surprised that the AP would treat a writer who is conservative - and therefore is in the business of violating that stricture - shamefully. It’s what the journalism Establishment does.
I remember her. She was very sharp!
If OAN was more accessible, she would be much more known.
OAN is one of the most targeted news corps out there. However, OAN is still small, and cannot afford the outlandish and redundant security required by other networks.
Very conservative Federalist up and coming with a bright future... Well paid, well insured... 26 year old... In San Diego, CA... Temps in the 60’s... Going into the New Year... Full 2019 itinerary... H1N1... Hmmmm...
It is possible...
But something really seems wrong to me.
She wrote a HUGE story on the Clintons, which probably got her killed!!!
WHO gave her SWINE FLU?? Anyone else around her have it???
I'm not getting why this sentence is bad, unless you buy into the media conceit that her contention is wrong.
In recent appearances, she told the absolute truth. RIP.
Even if she had meningitis, while certainly more dangerous, one would think this would have been diagnosed, and being dealt with.
All things considered, while it is naturally possible to die from “complications” related to this potent H1N1 virus, all things considered, I really don’t like this...
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Revolution
The Beatles
Produced by George Martin
Album Hey Jude
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Jefferson Airplane
Album Volunteers
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Even at 26, she was a well spoken die hard Federalist conservative, took on the establishment, and really went after the Clinton’s.
Then this happens.
The left wing establishment media can laugh and mock all they want, but with Federalist Antonin Scalia, there was a security lapse/conflict/law enforcement blame game, there was no autopsy, and the reports bounced between “natural causes”, “heart attack”, and “suffocation”.
Of course, suffocation could well trigger a heart attack.
Then with the death of Scalia, like with Seth Rich, the authorities and family did not want to dig in to figure out what happened.
This is simply not normal behavior to me, and actually could well have been evidence of death threat manipulation.
Not saying this happened here.
However, again, while possible, all things considered, this is not normal, and does not feel right to me.
I agree. So she’s 26, no apparent medical comorbidity, meaning I don’t see anything saying she had diabetes, or an autoimmune disorder, etc. with alleged meningitis, which any normal young healthy person would go to the doctor or at least an urgent care with the symptoms..
Fishy.
Biological warfare in DC?
Shhhhhhh you kill the tin foil hat conspiracy that she was “offed”
I'm shocked. I always thought you were pretty-well plugged in to conservative journalism.
You really missed a gem, brother.
I’m guessing, yes, other people around her were at least carrying the virus. It’s flu season, and California is lousy with illegals (no prior medical screening before breaking into our country).
Yes, I agree. That sentence gave me about a 1 out of 100 on my outrage-o-meter.
Conspiracy theories aside, did she get dosed w/ weaponized H1N1 and meningitis? Neither of those are available OTC at a butcher store.
Didn’t she just blow the lid off a story about the criminal, corrupt clintoons? Seth Rich comes to mind, right away.
RIP, Bre.
Someone will get the truth out. They covered-up Rich’s murder by the DNC’s “wet work” team. Hopefully, this will see some daylight.
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