One of the main reasons most of us speak out as American citizens about the sad state of affairs in the mainstream press is not because we want to destroy the institution. It's because we want to see it return to its role as a neutral observer of things and to report the news without slant. This gives readers and viewers the opportunity to make their own assessments about the topics of the day, rather than have a reporter spoon-feed them what they think their opinion should be.
But man, can they try your patience. For some folks, the patience has worn paper-thin; for others, they've completely lost patience and believe the MSM needs to be destroyed - metaphorically speaking, of course - in order to save it.
Being a media critic for some 30 years (give or take a few), I completely get it, because the corporate political press in my home state of North Carolina has been notoriously biased toward conservatives and in favor of liberals for decades.
I've written about it a lot, including the especially egregious incident some will recall during the 2014 Senate race between Thom Tillis, who was the N.C. House Speaker at the time, and then-Sen. Kay Hagan (D), who was running for reelection. A longtime reporter for the Raleigh News and Observer, Craig Jarvis, essentially admitted that they had - for two weeks - sat on a huge story involving Hagan skipping out on an important Senate Armed Services Committee intelligence briefing on the rise of ISIS in favor of attending an NYC political fundraiser for her campaign. It was part of a longstanding pattern with the N.C. political press to run interference for Democrats where necessary.
It's happening again in the current Senate race between former N.C. Democrat Gov. Roy Cooper and former RNC Chairman Michael Whatley, as we've also documented. It is, to a significant degree, why Cooper is known in some circles as "Teflon Roy," with old guard members of the political press corps here in the Old North State and even some upstarts who just want to "fit in" standing at the ready when the opportunity presents itself to boost Cooper, who has never lost an election in his nearly 40-year political career.
The instances are too numerous to catalog, but in addition to the ones we have already written about, here are a few more Hall of Shame contenders from this election cycle - including a bonus entry from The New York Times.
"CanesGate"
Amid the Carolina Hurricanes playing in the Stanley Cup Final in early June, The Assembly politics "reporter" Bryan Anderson decided to hound a U.S. Senate nominee (Whatley) not about the issues facing North Carolinians but about whether he knew the names of at least three Canes hockey players. I kid you not.
In the middle of a critical midterm election year where voters deserve to have important questions answered - and oftentimes have to rely on the press to ask them - this was what Anderson chose to do. Cooper's campaign ate it up, knowing it would help his campaign bid because he was and is an avid supporter of the NHL team.
Hard hitting news for sure…… Coming up next, reporters demand candidates identify every member of the 1996 Carolina Panthers roster before being allowed on the ballot. #ncpol
— Nick Craig (@nicholasmcraig) June 3, 2026
Soon after, the News and Observer penned a fawning piece about Cooper's "Caniac history" because this is what the Democrat-aligned political press corps does:
Media slurping on Roy Cooper will never not be gross. #NCpol #NCsen
— Pete Kaliner (@PeteKaliner) June 5, 2026
The Shoes
NC Newsline is the site formerly known as N.C. Policy Watch, a far-left advocacy group. It's purportedly a news site now, and one of its reporterettes, Christine Zhu, was partying at covering a recent Cooper campaign event on making "Stuff Cost Less," and got cutesy with a tweet about the former governor's "Dem Gov" shoes, which obviously were custom-made and likely cost a substantial amount of money that the average NCian probably doesn't have lying around. The bonus? It was revealed exactly what shade of blue was on the shoe (and they were actually Air Force 1s, as she noted in a correction):
Fun tidbit from tonight's "Make Stuff Cost Less" event in Raleigh: Former Gov. Roy Cooper has "DEM GOV" on the back of his Jordans They are Democratic blue, not Duke blue https://t.co/WncRJUSW0P
— Christine Zhu (@christinezhu142) October 22, 2026
Amazing insight for voters! Any chance we know whether Cooper will vote to pack the US Supreme Court or abolish ICE? #NCpol #NCsen
— Pete Kaliner (@PeteKaliner) October 23, 2026
Cooper the... Comedian?
Danielle Battaglia, the News and Observer's political impact reporter, gushed about something Cooper, who has the personality of a wet noodle, said on the campaign trail that she apparently thought was exceptionally funny.
This may be the funniest thing @RoyCooperNC has ever said: “Cooper on his concerns about running for Senate: “I'll have to admit that I did look up at all of those Senate committee chairs in Washington, and I was thinking I might be a little young for this.” #ncpol
— Danielle Battaglia (@dani__battaglia) October 22, 2026
Hey Danielle, as an “impact” reporter can you explain how this will impact North Carolina voters if Cooper is elected?
— SASNC👩💻📊 (@sasncsheri) October 23, 2026
The continued fawning over Cooper from the NC media should be an embarrassment to journalists who take their job seriously. pic.twitter.com/aFI58SStVm
The National Press Goes Cuckoo for Cooper
Not to be outdone by the local press, The New York Times published a fawning piece just days ago - complete with a Hurricanes mention - that might as well have been written by his comms staff.
There is literally NOTHING in this NYT puff piece on Roy Cooper related to his positions on illegal immigration, packing SCOTUS, etc. It just talks about what a well-known "aw shucks" guy he is. PR release disguised as "journalism." #ncpol #ncsen
— Sister Toldjah 💙 (@sistertoldjah) October 23, 2026
NOT journalism ->> "He was a law-and-order state attorney general for 16 years. As governor, he guided the state through the coronavirus pandemic and three major hurricanes, wearing button-downs branded with the state’s disaster-response logo..." #ncpol #ncsen
— Sister Toldjah 💙 (@sistertoldjah) October 23, 2026
I'm having a hard time deciding which one of these examples is most worthy of Pulitzer Prize consideration. Please let me know your thoughts in the comments.
