Media top headlines December 7
In media news today, CNN and Chris Cuomo issue scathing statements against each other, the former anchor announces he’s leaving his SiriusXM radio show, and a New York Times op-ed gets mocked for fearing free library is contributing to gentrification.
MSNBC’s Ari Melber was accused of omitting important context Monday after comparing the Associated Press’ coverage of two similar jobs reports – one filed under President Biden this week and the other under former President Trump in 2018.
“While the AP reported on the ‘sluggish’ jobs report under President Biden, they called a similar number under Trump ‘robust,’” Melber tweeted Monday with an accompanying graphic.
“This is one of the most shocking illustrations of MSM not being fair to @POTUS,” MSNBC analyst Jill Wine-Banks said, agreeing with Melber’s take.
FILE PHOTO: Signage for a job fair is seen on 5th Avenue after the release of the jobs report in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., September 3, 2021.
(REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo)
US HIRING STUMBLES IN NOVEMBER AS ECONOMY ADDS JUST 210,000 NEW JOBS
Yet, as some analysts noted, Melber failed to mention that the 2018 jobs report, filed in a booming economy well before the coronavirus pandemic, had exceeded economists’ expectations at the time of 180,000 jobs. Wages had also risen at the fastest rate in eight years, leaving the Associated Press to conclude Americans were enjoying a “healthy job market.” By contrast, this month, in a recovering economy, there was an expectation of more than 500,000 new jobs.
“What this tweet is intentionally leaving out is that the January 2018 jobs report had an expectation of 180k jobs that was exceeded by the 200k added,” Josh Jordan tweeted. “This month they expected 500,000 jobs but only added 210k. I’ve seen this reposted by big accounts and it’s misleading at best.”
President Joe Biden remarks on June’s jobs report.
(White House)
BIDEN TURNS BACK ON REPORTERS, REFUSES TO TAKE QUESTIONS AFTER REMARKS ON DISMAL JOBS REPORT
Jobs reports under the Biden administration have underperformed expectations more often than not in the later half of the year. Biden addressed a bleak September jobs report in a White House speech in October, but left without taking questions.
President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the economy in the South Court Auditorium on the White House campus, Tuesday, Nov. 23, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
(AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
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Melber isn’t the first to accuse the media of being unfairly negative when reporting on Biden’s agenda. Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank wrote a column based on artificial intelligence claiming Biden received worse media treatment than Trump in the last four months.
“What’s actually interesting is you would think there’d be a corresponding effect, the left-wing media would be more favorable to Biden. But it doesn’t actually happen,” Milbank said of his report on CNN. “The left-wing media is tough on him. He’s too progressive. He’s not progressive enough.”
Milbank was roasted by skeptical readers and he too admitted that he was only “somewhat” confident in the study’s results. Pollster Nate Silver lambasted the study’s methodology on Monday, calling it “complete crap” since it made tenuous ties between certain words and whether stories were positive or negative on Biden. Some stories in the study, he pointed out, also had nothing to do with Biden.