With the inauguration of Donald Trump imminent and Joe Biden’s ever-flickering pilot light nearly extinguished, our national press complex has been in a state of dizzying imbalance. It is almost amusing (okay, very amusing) to see the media incapable of grappling with the aftereffects of the election and the realization they have severely lost traction with the general public. 

That said, we had a bit of a time narrowing down our weekly list. Even though there was a clear winner this week, the competition between the also-rans was rather tight. Now let’s pick through the media debris from the past week and note those outlets who distinguished themselves with markedly undistinguished performances.

     THE CONTENDERS

NEW YORK TIMES – The Times gave us a four-person team of reporters to attempt placing the blame for hiding Biden’s mental state on the inner circle at the White House, as if the press played no part for the first half of the year protecting his image. Pete Hegseth was corrected about the racial aspects of the military while basically proving him correct. 

CBS NEWS – The network turned desperate to deflect from Democrat responsibility for the wildfires, finding new excuses for the conflagrations. In wondering why there is a rise in wildfire conspiracy theories, they also say those have been following familiar patterns. (So, not so much of a mystery, you say.) Global warming was to blame for the rise in insurance rates across the country, because of course it is. The network tries to shame Trump ahead of his new term by citing a poll with citizens expressing doubts about his ability to lower high costs, not realizing it is an admission that costs spiked under Biden. On “60 Minutes,” they turned to a government official to generate support for Gaza, even though she's in bed with Hamas-supporting CAIR.

AXIOS – Complaints over the fact-checkers being put out to pasture continued, as now they are upset billionaires can say things without expecting repercussions. The site lamented that the trauma experienced in California this month cannot be blamed on the GOP due to the Democrat supermajority in the state. 

WASHINGTON POST – Columnist Catherine Rampell gave a grave warning of prices under Donald Trump, while never getting grave over Biden’s inflation spikes. Employees signed a letter begging Jeff Bezos to meet with them about the direction of the paper; the biggest complaint is still that the outlet didn't endorse Kamala Harris. Meanwhile the paper is doing away with its risible mission statement of “Democracy Dies In the Darkness." One of their political cartoonists, Darrin Bell, after years of attacking the right over grooming stories, was arrested for possession of child pornography.

     WINNER

CNN

In what is sure to be one of the biggest news items of the year concerning the press, a jury found CNN guilty of defamation and acting with malice. Worse than the Fox News settlement with Dominion voting systems, the network has actually been judged to have delivered fake news, and did so with the intent to harm. For some added comedy, the CNN lawyer pleaded for the jury not to severely punish the network, as its fortunes are already depleted.

Ahead of Joe Biden’s farewell address, there was Jake Tapper invoking January 6, yet again. He needed to ignore that his own network showed the general public has little interest in the topic.

The day before the verdict, Jim Acosta laughably delivered a self-aggrandizing speech where he said the press is not the enemy of the people - just before they were found guilty of defaming a Navy veteran.

John Berman read the disgraced Jack Smith’s report on his failed case against Donald Trump, declaring he would have been convicted had he not become president-elect. Small matter that Smith’s case never went to trial, never saw a jury, and delivered no judgment.

In rather disturbingly crass fashion, Donie O’Sullivan compared the fact-checkers to the first-responder firefighters.

The network has announced a major scheduling shakeup, and speculation is that Jim Acosta could be outcast to a post-midnight timeslot.

In a video testimony at the trial Jake Tapper laughably tried to say he was unaware of his official title at the network and that he doesn’t concern himself with his ratings. Puh-lease…

NEW: During the CNN defamation trial, Jake Tapper testified in a pre-taped deposition he doesn't “pay attention to ratings” when asked about his show’s viewership.

Fox News Digital found more than a *dozen* online posts contradicting his sworn testimony. https://t.co/5coiENXDoL

— Joseph A. Wulfsohn (@JosephWulfsohn) January 15, 2025