The Daily Signal - How Media Bias and ‘Woke Identity’ Have Infiltrated News Rooms

Episode Date: December 14, 2020

It is no secret that the mainstream media leans left. From the ways in which they choose to report on critical issues, to the questions they decide to ask political leaders on different sides of the aisle, media bias is undeniable.  CNN contributor Mary Katherine Ham and Fox New contributor and radio host Guy Benson were recently interviewed about media bias during The Heritage Foundation’s annual President’s Club Meeting. Today, we are excited to share their perspectives with you on the podcast.  Plus, we read your letters to the editor and share a good news story about the ways in which Americans are stepping up to help small businesses as COVID related lockdowns continue.  Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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available on Disney Plus in Canada. This is the Daily Signal podcast for Monday, December 14th. I'm Robert Bluie. And I'm Virginia. Alan. On today's show, we share Rob's interview with CNN contributor Mary Catherine Ham and Fox News contributor and radio host Guy Benson. They discuss the state of the mainstream media and some of the more egregious examples of media bias in 2020. We also share your letters to the editor and we have a good news story about the ways in which Americans are stepping up to help small businesses as the

lockdowns continue. Before we get to today's show, Rob and I want to thank you for your support for the Daily Signal. Each day, the Daily Signal brings you the news that you can trust on the most important policy debates that are facing our country. We cut through the liberal media spin and provide you with honest, thorough, and responsible reporting on today's top issues. But we can't do it without the help of Patriots like you. Consider giving a tax-deductible contribution to the Daily Signal and help us build the conservative movement this year and beyond. It's easy to do. Just visitdailysignal.com slash donate. And with your help, we'll build an America where freedom, opportunity, prosperity, and civil society flourish.

Now stay tuned for today's show. Coming up next. Last week, the Heritage Foundation held its annual presidents club meeting. We had some fantastic speakers, including a panel on the media. I had the opportunity to interview CNN contributor, Mary Catherine Ham, and Fox News contributor and radio host, Guy Benson. We're going to replay our interview on today's show. We hope you enjoy it. Can you reflect back on 2020 and share what you may think of as some of the most egregious examples or just the most egregious example of media bias that you've seen? Oh, Rob, there's so many to choose from. It's hard to say.

No, I did do some thinking about it. And I think one that stood out to me and that is a pattern that has repeated itself throughout my career in journalism is the different way in which protests on the left are. covered versus protests on the right. And you saw this diametric or sort of like put back, juxtapose to each other this summer with protests against lockdowns on the right, mostly, and then protests on the other side, BLM,

criminal justice reform, right? And the argument when the lockdown protests happened at the very beginning of summer was, these people are endangering the entire country. I mean, just being out here, even driving your car in a circle around City Hall and honking your horn is a problem, right? And then the other side protested, and suddenly the sacrosanct First Amendment right to gather and profess one's grievances and peaceably assemble was A-OK and not a danger

to anyone. And all I wished was that maybe we could just recognize this as a First Amendment right that shouldn't be socially shamed selectively, depending on which side you like. So that was annoying. Well, that's a good example, Guy. How about you? Oh, it's also tough. I did see a tweet from an MSNBC anchor this week where she was celebrating the fact that Joe Biden declined to answer a question. So I guess he was asked if he had met with Mitch McConnell yet, and he wouldn't say so. And she's like, how refreshing that he didn't lie.

He just stonewalled us. Thank you, sir. May I have another, right? This is what four years are going to look like again. The media is going to go back into sort of vacation, hibernation mode. I think what I've seen this year on media bias, that has actually concerned me more than anything, beyond just the media overall supporting Democrats,

being Democrats, helping Democrats, is the internal machinations within newsrooms where journalistic fundamentals are now being subsumed by woke identity. And we saw it, I think, the most prominent example that some people at home might remember was Tom Cotton in the New York Times and that whole mess where people ended up being demoted

or fired from their positions for election. allowing a sitting senator to write words in the New York Times is supporting a position that a majority of Americans agreed with, mind you. That was a high profile one. Another one that I would just bring to your attention was in Philadelphia, where the executive editor of the largest newspaper in Philadelphia was thrown out of his position because he approved a headline that was about the destruction of property

during all the riots, and the headline was, Buildings Matter 2. And this was deemed so egregiously offensive this man who had been at the paper for 20 years had led them to a Pulitzer surprise was hounded out of his position after these Zoom meetings where staffers were crying and rending their garments and saying that they felt physically unsafe at the newspaper. And we're seeing now facts, who what, where, when, and why. If they conflict with certain high pieties of the woke left, that is what now controls, especially the younger elements of newsrooms. and these civil wars are trying to break out inside newsrooms, and in some cases, the non-journalism side is winning. So that goes far beyond just right-left, conservative liberal.

It's within this intra-left fight, and the pro-factual side in some key cases is losing. Well, and this is one of the reasons, I think that many conservatives have gravitated to create their own outlets, like we have at the Heritage Foundation with the Daily Signal. Both of you have been involved in conservative media for many years. What is your view on the state of media today and what conservatives can do to either fight back against what we're seeing in newsrooms

or maybe take an alternative approach altogether? Yeah, I mean, so from my point of view, when you're in a mainstream media outlet, as I am, like conformity just is a problem. And if you have a bunch of people in your circle who all believe the same thing, then you're going to be more inclined to cover. things from that point of view. And as Guy was saying, more inclined to sort of bend to pressure should all the people who are in your peer group and agree with you say, well, you're a bad person if you think this particular thing. I'm happy to be that person on every panel.

That's my specialty. But I do think the diversity of thought in any group on a college campus, in your family, in your community, being able to have those discussions is really important. And we have advanced, as Guy was noting, it's beyond just sort of a left-leaning disposition. There is a progression here into sort of a demand that everyone emote on the same level about an issue. I have been in situations where I'm just trying to analyze an issue, and that is taken as opposition to a point of view when, in fact, I'm just analyzing the politics of the situation because I'm not emoting in the way that is demanded. And I think that demand is poison within media coverage

because we can't all not only believe the same thing, but believe it at the same pitch, or else we are just all the same person. And that is not a fair treatment of any news story, or I don't think a mature and professional way to approach it. But that is increasingly what I see. Yeah, Guy. I mean, I think that for those of us

who are on the center right in journalism or the commentary business, we're going to have to pick up some of the slack, as we did for eight years under Barack Obama. Under a Biden administration, much of the press, I mean, it's sort of remarkable to see, Mary Catherine, like, the tone of some of this coverage where it's just relief. There's this cathartic coverage of like, oh, finally the good people are back in charge. Isn't it nice to cover someone we like, guys? This is fantastic.

That's just like, our people are back in. We can finally take a nap. And I think that they intend to do that. They'll go through the motions and do some coverage. The New York Times has a few stories about potential conflicts of interest in the incoming potential cabinet. And lefties are going bonkers that they're even writing those stories because you're not supposed to say or write anything that hurts the tribe at all ever.

But in terms of accountability, I think it's back to a different posture for the right-leaning media. And I think our North Star has to be telling the truth, telling the truth when it is a pleasant truth for people on our side, telling the truth when it's a less pleasant truth for people on our own side, because to the extent that many, many, many, Americans, millions of them live in their own cocoons and only hear their truth. That's sort of a lefty thing to be like, you know, my truth is this, no, there's the... But we're all adopting.

There's the truth. Yes. And I think our job is to help shine a light on and expound upon and expose the truth. Yeah, I think it's so true. I mean, it's one of those things that when we started the Daily Signal way back when, six years ago, we made sure that that six years. Six years, we made sure that that was one of the guiding principles for us. Now, Mary Catherine, since you brought up CNN and your position there, I want to ask you, at a time when so many conservatives have tuned out CNN, why do you think it's important to have a conservative voice still there? And what's it like behind the scenes? What can you share with our audience tonight? Having a voice there is why I do the job, and it's why I've always done the job. And I hope that my career has shown, it was when I started it in my mid-20s arguing with Bill O'Reilly, of all people, that I have never shied away from an argument. I like debate.

I enjoy it. I don't want to be somewhere where everyone agrees with me, as I was just saying, I love to go to college campuses. You could say I like a hostile room. I like to win over a hostile room. And so I enjoy... Should I be new to you right now? That would be perfect. I'd be fantastic if you were mean or to me right now.

So I like going into the situations. You know, I have to do it every night when I put my kids to bed. They're very hostile. They don't want to give in at all. Especially one of them. But I do think it's worthwhile to communicate with different audiences. And I was at Fox for a long time, and I loved working there. And then it's funny, there are some people who think that I just haven't worked for the last five years

because they never changed the channel. And I'm like, oh, no, no, no. I didn't just take a hiatus. I've just been somewhere else. But I do think it's worth reaching a different audience. And as I joke, like, I went from Fox to CNN, and then I was a Trump critical conservative on CNN. My hate mail is so diverse. It comes from so many directions. But I do think it is worthwhile. And I like to sort of, if I can, mess with people's bubbles a little bit. And to the extent that I'm able to do that in that place, even when it's tough and when I can, speak some truth sometimes when I feel like it's flying by some people,

I enjoy the opportunity to do that. Well, Guy, I'd be remiss if I didn't ask you about Fox News because there were also some conservatives who were tuning out Fox going to places like watching Sean Spicer's show on Newsmax. What's your message to them who, you know, they may not necessarily agree with all of the actions on election night, calling Arizona early, but you, I mean, you have a successful program there. You've had a lot of success over the years.

What's your message that you want to, share with them tonight? Well, I mean, first of all, I think we're conservative as we believe in competition, right? And so we're not afraid of competition at Fox. We welcome competition. I remember when Fox was growing and becoming huge early on, CNN, like Larry King, it's like in a football game where you put bulletin board material up of like how you were dismissed or, you know, dissed by the other team or, you know, someone in the media, Larry King said some very dismissive things about like, oh, these upstarts, who's Hannity? Like, ah, you know, we're going to eat their lunch. And then obviously, that didn't work out so well for them over the longer term. So I think

it would be a mistake for anyone at Fox to assume that we are entitled to any audience and that they shouldn't ever go anywhere else. I would say that I'm extremely proud to work at Fox. I think that we do a really extraordinary job. I see some people are, look, people are heated, people are frustrated. You see some stuff out there like, oh, it's indistinguishable from CNN now. I I'm like, fact check. Like, in the 8 p.m. hour, if you can't tell the difference between Tucker Carlson and Chris Cuomo, then I don't know what to tell you, right? But we have some very strong opinion voices who do not shy away from telling you exactly how they feel.

We also have a really robust news gathering operation and organization, and sometimes what the news people are reporting is not sympathetico with what many of our our viewers and opinion people believe, and trying to thread that needle is an interesting balance. And I sort of straddle those two worlds at Fox. But I think we're working through it and we'll see what shakes out over the next couple weeks, but we're extremely grateful for everyone who's watched us for years, and we hope they will continue to watch this for years to come because we work really hard and we care about the country. Well, I agree what you say.

Competition is a good thing. It makes us all better. I want to thank both of you. Mary Catherine is a Heritage Foundation alum. I as a longtime friend of the organization. We appreciate the work that you do and bring credibility and integrity of the media. So thank you both. That's our pleasure.

Happy with us. I'm Zach Smith. And I'm John Carlo Canaparo. And if you want to understand what's happening at the Supreme Court, be sure to check out SCOTUS 101, a Heritage Foundation podcast. We take a look at the cases, the personalities, and the gossip at the highest court in the land. Be sure to subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever else you find your podcasts. It's SCOTUS 101.

Thanks for sending us your letters to the editor. Each Monday, we feature our favorites on this show. Virginia, who's up first? In response to my interview with Garrett Bess, Congress's race to pass COVID-19 relief package, Harold Harmon writes, your podcast on the COVID-19 relief bill was very insightful. The average American hardly ever thinks about the national debt and feels that money can flow forever. each one selfishly wanting a big piece of the pie without considering the overall cost. I learned in Economics 101 that there is no such thing as a free lunch, nor does money grow on trees.

Well, that's certainly true, Virginia. And Gregory Topliff of Warrenville, South Carolina, writes to us, Dear Daily Signal, there has been a two-fold attack on the American people going on for years. One was the assault on President Trump for over four years with the latest being on the election debacle, and the other is the coronavirus pandemic. The most recent despicable and egregious act is voting fraud. The fact that various state Supreme Courts as well as the United States Supreme Court has had legitimate suits brought to them over voting fraud and thus far has refused to hear them, denies all people their rights to hear the complaints. If there is nothing to hide,

then bring it all out in the open. Your letter can be featured on next week's show. So send us an email at Letters at DailySignal.com. Americans have almost entirely forgotten their history. That's right. And if we want to keep our republic, this needs to change. I'm Jared Stepman. And I'm Fred Lucas. We host The Right Side of History, a podcast dedicated to restoring informed patriotism and busting the negative narratives about America's past.

Hollywood, the media, and academia have failed a generation. We're here to set the record straight on the ideas and people who've made this country great. Subscribe to the Right Side of History on Apple. Podcasts, SoundCloud, and Stitcher Today. Virginia, you have a good news story to share with us today. Over to you. Thank you, Rob. Some of the individuals who have been really affected most adversely by the lockdowns and all the restrictions this year are small business owners. All across the country, small business owners have faced a sobering reality of having to lay off employees or even just having to

close their doors altogether because of the pandemic. And as we find ourselves in the ninth month of restrictions and lockdowns, many small business owners are really at their wit's end. Some of you may have seen the viral video of an L.A. County restaurant owner named Angela Marsden. Marsden broke down crying, saying she had had enough when a movie crew set up an outdoor dining area right next to her outdoor patio. She was told she had to close her patio because it was not safe for patrons, but the city gave the film crew a pass. Let's take a listen to the video Marzden posted on her Facebook page on December 4th when she saw the hypocrisy in her city firsthand.

I'm losing everything. Everything I own is being taken away from me, and they set up a movie company right next to my outdoor patio. The video shows a massive tent with tables and chairs for outdoor dining, literally just a handful of yards away from Marsden's shut down patio restaurant. That video did go viral and the story was reported across a number of media outlets. Marsden told Prager you during a recent interview that people from all over America and even the world are now stepping up to offer her their support and to thank her for speaking out. I have gotten calls from all over the world. I've gotten calls from Canada. from Australia, from Tennessee, from Florida.

I had a bartender from New Orleans. I read his email. I almost cried. And he's like, thank you. Thank you. He's like, I didn't even think owners cared. Nobody's, you know, talking about us. Nobody's standing up for us. I think there's so many people that are in these situations. And they needed a voice. We need somebody. And my thing is, is I can't do it alone. You know, people need people, and I need people to join in and stand up because we do have the ability to make change together. You know, and that's why I keep going. Marsden organized a peaceful protest to push back against the restrictions harming small businesses in L.A. County.

And she is asking for more voices to get involved and speak out in support of small business owners and their right to operate. A GoFundMe page was launched to support Marston, and so far about 4,000 people have donated over $190,000 to support her restaurant and help her pay her staff and her bills. And Rob, I think this is one of the most incredible things about 2020 is that with so many small businesses losing money because of the pandemic or being destroyed because of riots, we've seen again and again that a GoFundMe page will go up. and Americans are ready to offer their support and to give generously. And I do want to encourage all of us that Christmas is just around the corner.

And maybe instead of going to Target or getting on Amazon, think about doing your holiday shopping at a small business in your community, maybe buying a gift card to that local restaurant. A couple of my favorite ways to shop small are either through Etsy, which is a great online platform with lots of small business vendors, or even when I have time driving to one of the towns near me that still has a main street with lots of little shops and often has some really fun gift items. So this Christmas season, if you have been fortunate enough this year to stay employed, to have a job,

we really encourage you to think about how you can support the local businesses in your own community. That's great advice, Virginia. Thanks for sharing it. I mean, I know our family tries to do our part with local restaurants and so many of the small businesses that are struggling right now given the pandemic. And that's one reason we can hopefully stay optimistic and hope that a vaccine will help us return to as much of a normal situation as possible.

But we really appreciate you bringing us that story today, really uplifting. Yeah, oh, Rob, it's my pleasure. I think it really has just been incredible to see this year how Americans have rallied around small businesses. And, of course, that's something that I hope just continues in 2021. Well, thanks again. and we're going to leave it there for today.

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