CNN: S/D

I hate their views but I could watch and marvel at Fox's bluster a thousand times before I can stomach Wolf Blitzer single out a blue tie the President's wearing and asking, "Is it a purple tie for bipartisanship?"

I can buy that. It's like the way NPR radio sometimes acts like it's a nature program for humans. And in doing this detached bemused reportage pushes its subjects down worse than if they just came out and said, "I cannot relate to you on any level so I am going to pretend that I can."

Wolf Blitzer was hyping an Osama bin Laden story after the break, new information about his last days: "...the love letters he was writing, the attacks he was planning." The wording made me laugh. Feels like it needs a third part: "the parties he was planning," "the scrapbooks he was assembling," "the blogs he was launching," something like that. At least he was keeping busy, I guess.

D

https://twitter.com/ggreenwald/status/651093017181466625

CNN had Jamal Simmons on today as a commentator. He was on pretty much every day in 2008, hardly at all in 2012, and haven't seen him since. Liked him a lot in '08--hope he's back on a regular basis.

CNN (TV news in general) gets pilloried around here--I do it all the time--but Jake Tapper's interview with Scott Cross, the victim who spoke out against Dennis Hastert, was as good as it gets. I missed the Hastert story completely, till today (he was just released from prison).

Making this title available to the world for a book on modern-day media's (especially CNN, and especially during the pandemic) 24-hour breaking-news/panic addiction: No News Is Terrible News.

I generally like Jim Acosta, but this morning, in the space of 10 seconds--prefacing both with "As I like to call it"--he said "bonfire of the insanities" and "lord of the lies." Ouch.

I guess Jeffrey Toobin has been reinstated.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/23/politics/supreme-court-first-amendment-cheerleader/index.html

CNN chief executive Chris Licht to leave network after weeks of criticism
A tumultuous town hall with former president Donald Trump, a scathing article and ratings freefall preceded his downfall

Just came to post that...Someone posted the Atlantic piece on a different thread; I downloaded it so it wouldn't disappear behind a paywall, planned to read it, now he's gone.

that don lemon thing with musk is just TOOOO rich if you hate don lemon.