Even beyond the obvious Covid paradoxes, there were more times the press defied the press in the press.

While journalists and news outlets love to claim they are holding people accountable in their reporting, one detail always overlooked is their own accountability.  Those who hold judgment are above being judged, goes their thinking. This leads to odd results frequently, such as when the press manages to defy the very mandates they have called to be imposed on others.

It never fails to amuse when the self-appointed authorities cannot keep their own positions straight and, throughout the past year, there have been numerous instances where the media managed to contradict their own positions. These experts in all fields have no hesitation in delivering stern lectures to us, the uneducated rabble. What exposes them as much as anything else is when they are shown to be ignoring their own rules, or worse taking a position that is entirely out of phase of a prior position, from the same source.

When the press is shown to be incapable of keeping track of even their own words it is all the evidence we need to stop listening to them. So, to expose their scam, here is a non-exhaustive list of some of the better examples of the media and journalists who were incapable of keeping track of their own stance on the issues.

The Pandemic Pandemonium

This first entry is a general one, but it is the biggest. Throughout the year, in regards to the viral outbreak, the press displayed two main traits: they were incapable of reporting any good news, and they constantly opposed prior stances on stories. Both were due to the need to paint President Trump in the worst light possible, and in that desire, the press were not afraid of looking doltish by violating their previous demands and commands.

It began in mid-January when the New York Times said Trump was lax in not issuing a travel ban as news of the virus came out — and as we know, when he banned flights from China immediately he was dubbed a racist xenophobe. In February, as the administration was taking a serious look at the virus, many in the press were downplaying the severity, such as Anderson Cooper and Dr. Sanjay Gupta saying ‘’the flu was far deadlier’’ in March. Later in the month was when the press began its 180, calling it racist to refer to the virus as ‘’The Chinese Flu’’. (Many went back and edited prior stories where they used that exact term; note this Vox.com piece where they expunged all references, except in the URL of the web page.)

Even as late as October, the media was still at it. After months of telling us that it was imperative to listen to medical professionals, suddenly came the news that President Trump contracted the virus. In their zeal to report on Trump’s declining health, something bad happened — his doctors said all was well. Just that quickly, the press turned on the medical profession. They questioned the diagnosis, stories were spread based on anonymous emails claiming Trump was desperately ill, his doctors were called liars, and there was even a call going out to defund the Walter Reed Medical Facility as a result of his getting better. These are the ‘’experts’’ who deride anyone claimed to not follow science, mind you.

Tater Keeps Sending His Order Back

On a more specific note, we have CNN’s media hall monitor, Brian Stelter. In January, he was moaning over the fact that the White House had suspended the practice of press briefings. 

Day 301 without a formal White House press briefing. @PressSec doesn't hold briefings because the president doesn't want her to hold briefings. It's as simple as that. pic.twitter.com/50GBJkVU6J

— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) January 7, 2020

Then, as the virus became a mounting issue and more in the press called for more information, the Coronavirus Task Force began holding daily press briefings, and we saw the reaction. As these regular pressers became popular, the President’s approval numbers rose to new highs, and suddenly the press opposed the idea. Stelter first proposed they fact-check the President in real-time, then he began echoing the growing calls to stop covering these briefings from numerous journalists and outlets, including his own network which eventually stopped doing so.

As a result, the regular pressers tapered off by summer, just as the press requested/demanded. Then, Stelter went from being a boob to a complete clown. He later came out with a note of outrage — Brian was left ‘’wondering’’ why we do not see any more coronavirus press briefings, even after his own pal Don Lemon demanded they stop. 

Someday we're going to look back and wonder, why wasn't the president leading daily coronavirus task force briefings from the White House when the virus ripped across the country in late October of 2020?

— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) October 30, 2020

Too, too precious.

The Incredible, Inedible Egg

On a lighter note, you just have to wonder how it is a news outlet can be oblivious to its own coverage. In March, Britain’s The Daily mail published a lengthy report touting that regular egg consumption was not a health risk. Fears about cholesterol and cardiovascular disease were unwarranted, eating one egg a day was pronounced safe and healthy.

Then, in November, came this jarring follow-up, from the same Daily Mail: Eating just ONE egg a day increases your risk of diabetes by 60 percent, study warns. I’ll need to check in with our legal experts on staff, but after having consumed roughly 250 eggs by this time, this sounds like they opened themselves up to a lawsuit.

Mothers in Politics: ‘’Awesome’’, or a ‘’Threat’’, Depending on the Party

When the Joe Biden administration was being formulated, Glamour Magazine conducted an interview with incoming Deputy Chief of Staff Jenn O’Malley Dillon. In it, she was hailed for being both a political operative and a mother. Said the interviewer, ‘’It’s so awesome—the thinking of it in terms of “I did it, not in spite of being a mother, but because I’m a mother,” right? It was part of parenting, deciding to help make our world better for the children that you’re bringing into it.’’

This was a bit of a turnaround. Ignoring the fact there were numerous women in the Trump administration who were mothers and never declared to be awesome, there was also a case where motherhood was not-so-celebrated as an asset in D.C. In fact, it was just weeks prior when Amy Coney Barret was scorched over her motherhood, when it was seen as a hindrance by many in the press. One outlet even described her as being a ‘’Threat’’ because she was a mother. It was the exact same outlet. 

JUST WEEKS AGO.
Too deliciously oblivious. https://t.co/2cIAVR67U8 pic.twitter.com/EK9OKh9EQO

— Brad Slager Mail-splaining and Voter Resignation (@MartiniShark) December 17, 2020

Holding Him to His Own Words Is Intolerant

Over the years, Paul Krugman has become a contradiction factory. The man seemingly lives to hold views in opposition to himself, but sometimes, the New York Times expert columnist manages to exceed even his own high standard. Following this year’s election, he had all sorts of condemnation for Republicans who refused to accept the result of the election as valid.

“After all, when was the last time Republicans accepted a politically inconvenient fact?, Krugman wrote recently. ‘’It has been clear for years that the modern G.O.P. is a party that can’t handle the truth.” 

Oh, Paul…how easily we forget. And by ‘’we’’ it is meant ‘’You’’. In 2016, in reference to that year’s election, Krugman said, ‘’Whatever happens, however, let’s be clear: this was, in fact, a rigged election.” In that piece, the man who mocks GOPers for citing election fraud today, declared Hillary’s loss would be due to everything from states disenfranchising voters, James Comey digging into Hillary’s emails, and, of course, The Russians. But it gets better.

In rebuffing vote opposition, Krugman claims, ‘’No, Democrats never said Trump was illegitimate.’’ Interesting — he says ‘’Never’’. It is interesting because just before Trump’s inaugural in 2017 Paul wrote, ‘’Is it OK, morally and politically, to declare the man about to move into the White House illegitimate? Yes, it is. In fact, it’s an act of patriotism.’’

History only began for him on November 4 of this year.

Mika Brzezinski, Nanny to the Democrats

While Krugman might be excused for a lapse in memory over the years (he’s not excused, for the record) a worse example occurred within the confines of a day. 

The Hunter Biden fiasco has been one of the most audacious acts of journalistic negligence we have seen. The outright refusal to cover it was amazing to watch, and the ethics were tossed in a shredder, lit on fire, and thrown off a bridge by the wildly conflicting stance many took in the press: They refused to cover what they declared was a lack of proof by declaring the story was Russian disinformation…without ever displaying proof that there was Russian involvement.

The Hunter story exposed the imbalanced mindset of the press, and this has been displayed since well before the election. On MSNBC’s Morning Joe, hostess Mika Brzezinski addressed the issue head on, declaring what the underlying problem was with the desire to discuss Hunter’s voluminous problems. Following a speech that President Trump gave — when he asked, ‘’Where’s Hunter — where is Hunter, by the way?’’ — Mika delivered her trademark derision.

‘’Wow – he’s really going after the kids?!’’ Now, it could be said that her classifying the 50-year-old Hunter Biden as populating the realm of politician’s ‘’kids’’ who are normally considered off limits as a ludicrous stance, largely because it is. But most amazing is that not only does Mika invoke this hands-off policy as a means to justify not covering Hunter’s exploits — she violated her own standard.

After declaring that Hunter should be left alone Mika did see fit to go after Ivanka Trump for her displayed support of Goya Foods, suggesting laws were broken by promoting a company in the White House. Her position to avoid Hunter’s illegalities due to being among ‘’the kids’’, but accusing laws broken by the Presidential progeny, took place within the span of 30 minutes on the same program.

‘’Aloha’’ Can Mean Both Acceptance AND Intolerance

In this year of social upheaval over racial issues, there has been a stampede in the press for writers to become the first to declare some innocuous item in our culture as ‘’racist’’. This year, we saw things like classical music, the outdoors, and peanut butter-jelly sandwiches declared to be items of intolerance. A favorite of mine — the white figure on crosswalk signs was clearly white privilege. 

Another item said to be indicative of white privilege — Hawaiian shirts…I think. In May, In Style Magazine suggested the Hawaiian shirt was poised to be a hot fashion for summer.  Then, just three weeks later, the same publication had the exposé revealing that these adornments, featuring intolerant floral patterns, were a sign of white supremacy, due largely to their being spotted being worn by some alt-right protestors. This kind of thinking causes rational thinkers to turn to Mai Tais.