WTF MSM!? The sky is falling: Shutdown edition

The humanity …

Sob stories … As the vast majority of people across the nation continue with their lives, those in the northeast media bubble want us to know that the ongoing shutdown is going to be catastrophic. That’s the narrative developing across the media landscape today.

The media know that most people aren’t affected by the partial shutdown of the government. But to them, government is life, and when government is not working, it is of great concern. So they want to make sure you know what’s going on. Here are just some of the stories pushing the “sky is falling” narrative from the past few days.

• WaPo: Millions face delayed tax refunds, cuts to food stamps as White House scrambles to deal with shutdown’s consequences
• CNN: Hundreds of TSA screeners, working without pay, calling out sick at major airports
• WaPo: HUD staffers did not realize a program providing rent assistance was ending. Send 1500 letters to landlords to stave off evictions.
• Miami Herald: Shutdown affecting people waiting for government backed mortgages
• The State: Government shutdown could stall research, impede victims’ services
• Rolling Stone: The shutdown’s next victims are America’s poorest families

The media want us to feel bad for all of these people. They are trying to build sympathy to end the shutdown. What I see in all of these stories is that government is too big when it affects people’s lives like this. Expect to see more stories like this in the future.

Will Trump’s border address be covered? … On Tuesday night, President Donald Trump will address the nation on the “humanitarian and national security crisis on our southern border.” The address is scheduled for 9 p.m. ET. Over the weekend, CNN’s resident thought cop Oliver Darcy pondered whether or not cable news networks should air Trump’s comments in real time.  That sets up an interesting question. Will these networks cover Trump’s address live?

Here’s what Darcy wrote:

And on Friday, CNN, MSNBC and Fox News all carried Trump as he rambled for approximately 15 minutes before taking questions about the government shutdown and other topics at a Rose Garden press conference.

In effect, the practice of airing Trump's remarks in real-time, as networks did this week, gives the President a platform to reach millions of people at once and dominate the conversation -- and Trump often uses the opportunity to deceive viewers by peddling misinformation and falsehoods.

Trump's comments are almost always followed by informed analysis and fact-checking, but some media critics say cable news networks should still rethink carrying Trump on-air as he delivers remarks. The issue has even united some individuals on differing ends of the political spectrum.

CNN has confirmed that it will carry the address. If some of the other networks refuse to air the address, Darcy’s narrative from this weekend will have played a part in making that happen.

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Links …

• LA Times excuses anti-Semitism For the Women™: ‘Can you admire an anti-Semite and advance the cause of women? Maybe so’
• CJR: The challenges of covering a shutdown marked by lies
• Charlie Sykes and Bill Kristol are expanding The Bulwark, which formerly was an anti-Trump news aggregator for a nonprofit started by Kristol. The site will be staffed by many former Weekly Standard employees
• Media completely ignore the tale of an American citizen who lived in East Jerusalem who was sentenced to life in prison for ‘selling a house to the enemy [Jews] in Jerusalem’
• Christian Bale thanks Satan for inspiring his role as Dick Cheney; Church of Satan responds
• Women’s March leader took part in anti-Israel demonstration in Nazareth
• NYT’s Frank Bruni: ‘I don't think we have been anti-Trump. I think we have been negative and I think that's the only honest way to cover this president.’
• Joy Reid: Wall won’t stop drugs: ‘Traffickers can get on a plane’
• CNN seeks to improve trust in the media … among Democrats

Tell a friend …

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