Legacy media tries to bushwhack DeSantis spokeswoman
Legacy media publications like The Washington Post and the New Yorker have established a reputation for themselves over the years for their investigative journalism and insightful biographies of movements and individuals that people want to know more about.
In April, the New Yorker did a fascinating story on the ‘New Right’ where one of their reporters attended the National Conservatism conference.
The Washington Post is renowned for breaking the Watergate scandal that wracked the nation.
But in the age of ‘Resistance’ journalism, the publications often publish stories that look a lot like what you’d expect from a grocery store tabloid.
The decline in editorial standards was made apparent today when the New Yorker reached out to Governor Ron DeSantis’ spokesperson, Christina Pushaw, to ‘fact check’ details in the article that they are writing about DeSantis.
The magazine’s fact-checkers reached out to Pushaw via e-mail and asked to set up a phone call where they could verify details about the story. Pushaw insisted that they e-mail her regarding the information that needed to be fact-checked, presumably so they could be on the record. The reporters refused to do so.
A liberal magazine reached out to our office with a request for us to “fact check” details in their soon-to-be-published article about @GovRonDeSantis. We asked them to email us the lines they want us to fact-check. The editor refused, saying they ONLY do this over the phone. Sus pic.twitter.com/WbjBuHedb7
— Christina Pushaw 🐊 🇺🇸 (@ChristinaPushaw) June 10, 2022
The shady practices of legacy media publications reporting on disfavored politicians has been frequently put on display in the last year.
The reporters could have simply made an offer to record the call so that conversations between Pushaw and their fact-checkers were on the record, but chose not to do so.
We've found that recorded zoom calls work well, but it does sound like they don't want a record of what happens.
— Florida Jolt (@PBCJolt) June 10, 2022
Washington Post reporter Taylor Lorenz has been called out on multiple occasions for asking people she’s writing about for comment just minutes before she publishes an article about them, and then claiming that the person declined a request for comment in her article.
In one instance, Lorenz did even worse when she lied about reaching out to the subject of a hit piece for comment.
After she was criticized, someone at The Washington post stealth-edited the story without issuing a correction until they were called out again.
.@washingtonpost just edited Taylor Lorenz’s article claiming she reached out to 2 accounts for comment after those accounts posted that she in fact never reached out to them. An outright lie published by WaPo.https://t.co/6RbVjZCNuL pic.twitter.com/IkmDh5lDFy
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) June 3, 2022
When journalists at major publications are making mistakes like this, it’s no wonder people distrust the media.
My trust in media has pretty much bottomed out. I wouldn't give any information to anyone in media unless they give it to you in writing and you answer in writing. It's sad that it has to be that way but media made their bed.
— carolyn tackett🐊 (@CarolsCloset) June 10, 2022
DeSantis fame, of infamy depending on your opinion of him, continues to rise as he positions himself to be a leader of the conservative movement. If journalists want to regain credibility with the general public, they should cover him responsibly and not repeat the same mistake that they made with President Trump.
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