Wanted: Brave Reporter on the 'Right-wing Media'

Townhall.com ^ | April 27, 2022 | Tim Graham

[Kaslin]

Back in the old days, newspapers assigned reporters to beats such as Congress, the Supreme Court, the Pentagon, and Health and Human Services. Now it seems like the new beats are about covering threats, foreign and domestic -- ideological threats. So, the New York Times has a "climate" department. Michael Bender was recently hired to report on "Trumpism," and the Times is seeking a political reporter on "right-wing media."

Back in the old days, newspapers assigned reporters to beats such as Congress, the Supreme Court, the Pentagon, and Health and Human Services. Now it seems like the new beats are about covering threats, foreign and domestic -- ideological threats. So, the New York Times has a "climate" department. Michael Bender was recently hired to report on "Trumpism," and the Times is seeking a political reporter on "right-wing media."

"Successful experience covering right-wing media, disinformation, or political extremism would be ideal," they added, "and a robust list of reporting targets would be highly attractive."

You could claim to be all about the facts if we're talking about QAnon's satanist pizza parlor conspiracies or "Trump won in a landslide" arguments. But the Times is worrying out loud about half the country that "no longer rely on the mainstream media." So it's far broader than that.

Beware, conservatives: The Times may put you on a "robust list of reporting targets."

This is not uncommon now. NBC says Ben Collins "covers disinformation, extremism, and the internet for NBC News." NPR explains Odette Yousef "is a National Security correspondent focusing on extremism ... to explore how extremist ideas break into the mainstream."

Their bodies of work are transparently liberal, dominated by not just QAnon but Tucker Carlson and "pro-Russia" voices, white nationalists, Democrat haters on Facebook, "freedom convoys" and conservative parents badgering school boards. Left-wing extremists seem nearly invisible on the assignment editor map.

The Times expects this new media correspondent to be controversial: "Prerequisites include the backbone to withstand aggressive blowback, impeccable journalistic ethics and the ability to report accurately, critically and fairly on people with extremist views."

First, we have to question whether the Times can be counted on to be accurate in calling certain views "extremist." If you love Elizabeth Warren, you might think people who like Chuck Grassley are "extremists."

Then there's the idea of drawing "aggressive blowback" with your "impeccable journalistic ethics." The Times is projecting its desire to tackle the "right-wing media" and curtail their influence, all the while being celebrated by the masses for being so fair and accurate.

NBC reporter Olivia Solon joked supportively on Twitter: "Although one would hope the NYT might provide some sort of exoskeleton/mech suit to help the poor reporter's backbone."

Perhaps the most amusing part of the Times creating a "right-wing media" beat is how the liberal media hates to be criticized or exposed or investigated. Questioning their ethics or reporting methods -- or, God forbid, calling them "fake news" -- is equated with authoritarianism.

But this reporter is required to have a "backbone" and go to war with conservative media "extremists," and it's not Democracy Dying in Darkness. It's truth-seeking "independent journalism" in the service of Democracy since Democracy and the Democrats are one and the same.

Already, LinkedIn says there are 144 eager applicants, and 12 dozen drones willing to fly on dangerous missions behind enemy lines on the internet. We in the "right-wing media" await your surveillance.

[Jamestown1630]

“Successful experience covering right-wing media, disinformation, or political extremism would be ideal,”

Looks like they’ve already decided on the bias and outcome.

[Terry L Smith]

dear reporters,

here are my talking points:
1. i am a nativist.
2. i believe that Americans go to the front of the line, for everything.
3. no handouts for illegal invading immigrants, and all the benefits for America’s veterans.
4. each and every government sanctioned illegal immigrant needs to be shipped to Washington D.C., let loose there, and if found outside the map boundaries of D.C., shot and fed to the gators in Florida and Louisiana.
5. every immigrant who has been pursuing the naturalization process, legally, be accelerated, should their background check be complete.
6. destroy the federal department of education, and restore control to the states.
7. rid the government of the useless department of homeland security and restore that structure, a. FBI internal crimes and counter iintelligence, ad it was during WW2, b. CIA external crimes and intelligenve, as it was in the 1950’s, c. return the police to control of the states and municipalities, d. maintain GITMO, e. restore the Communist Laws that were in effect in the 1950’s.

and that is just a start.

[Boogieman]

‘the Times is seeking a political reporter on “right-wing media.” ‘

A tacit admission that the NYT is itself “left-wing media”, since they aren’t even interested in covering that topic.