Coverage of CNN's trial softer than Trump’s

Before we get into the serious stuff, ABC tweeted with a video, “There was snow-stopping fun in Washington, D.C., as hundreds of people took part in a mass snowball fight after a winter storm dropped a reported 4 to 8 inches of snow across the metro area.”

Looks like the crowd fought in a park. A few blizzards ago, they had a took over a major intersection which could have interfered with emergency vehicles. They would not disperse. A Rambo cop flashed his gun and everyone wet themselves over this because our nation was run by morons.

It still is, of course, but snowball fights are fun. Maybe this helped make a second Trump presidency more palatable for the morons in DC. As football player John Riggins told Justice Sandra Day O’Connor at a formal dinner, “Come on, loosen up, Sandy baby, you’re too tight.”

Now for the serious stuff.

It is as surprising as Tuesday following Monday, but I must point out that the Washington Post has gone from rooting for the prosecutor in covering Trump’s trial for 34 imaginary crimes to bring Perry Mason’s PR department for CNN, which is defending itself in a defamation trial.

Navy veteran Zachary Young sued CNN after it said he charged exorbitant fees to help people leave Afghanistan in the wake of FJB’s unconditional surrender to the Taliban.

As Maury Povich would say, that was a lie. CNN eventually admitted it and apologized on the air, but that was insufficient—according to Young.

The trial began in Panama City, Florida, on Monday and the Washington Post’s initial story brought up a point that it chose to ignore in Trump’s trials in New York and the January 6 protesters in DC.

The Jeff Bezos Post said, “In November, about 73% of Bay County, where the trial will be held, voted for Trump in the presidential election. Because Trump supporters largely view CNN unfavorably, jurors could treat the network’s arguments skeptically. The county is also home to several military bases—another advantage for Young, a veteran.”

That’s pertinent and I am glad the newspaper included it.

But I don’t recall the Post mentioning during jury selection in any of Trump’s three trials in Manhattan that only 14% of Manhattanites voted for Trump in 2020. He lost each case.

Also, those J6 show trials were held in DC, where only 5% voted for Trump in 2020.

As one should expect, the story on CNN stood as a bulwark against holding the media accountable for its mistakes.

The Bezos Post said, “The network suffered a setback when Florida Circuit Judge William S. Henry, who is overseeing the case, ruled this past fall that Young’s activities were legal, preventing the network from suggesting to jurors that he may have been engaging in illicit behavior. If the jury determines the term ‘black market’ to refer to illegal activity, CNN could be found to have knowingly published false information, as network journalists acknowledged their reporting did not find evidence that Young committed a crime.”

A black market indeed is an illegal activity, while a gray market is a phrase for questionable dealings.

The story also said, “Media companies such as ABC News, Fox News, Newsmax and One America News have all recently chosen to settle cases rather than open up their internal processes to the scrutiny of a jury.” Asbestos makers did the same thing.

And five years ago, CNN settled out of court with Nick Sandmann, who was the victim of a smear of racism at 16 by Big Media.

The fear of deposition is real because journalism has become less disciplined, less factual and more scandalous in its quest for online clicks. Exposing how they make their garbage would lead to more lawsuits.

Big Media never was much good at covering itself. Over the weekend, the Guardian reported, “Washington Post cartoonist resigns over paper’s refusal to publish cartoon critical of Jeff Bezos.

“Pulitzer prize winner Ann Telnaes had drawn a cartoon of the paper’s owner kneeling before Donald Trump.”

Ah, but let us pause before filming A Cartoonist for All Seasons, for on Monday the Guardian revealed:

Dozens of employees are expected to be laid off at the Washington Post in the coming week in what is another of several tumultuous episodes in recent months for the storied title, according to a report by the media reporter Oliver Darcy.

“The layoffs are slated to hit the Jeff Bezos-owned newspaper’s business division, I’m told. One person familiar with the matter said that the cuts will be deep, impacting many dozens of employees,” Darcy, the former CNN reporter, wrote in his newsletter Status.

Darcy also reported that the Washington Post reporter Josh Dawsey is leaving the publication and is expected to join the Wall Street Journal. The Post, whose publisher is the UK-born Will Lewis, did not immediately comment to Darcy on the expected layoffs.

Maybe Telnaes have quit one step ahead of the pink slip. I men, who in the heck tries to mock the paper’s owner in his own paper? But good for her. Going out in a blaze of glory is good marketing. It’s self-promotion time because a Pulitzer no longer is guarantees lifetime employment.

In the Post’s story on CNN’s civil trial, the Post quoted David A. Logan, professor emeritus at the Roger Williams School of Law, who bemoaned the fact that the jurors come from MAGA country.

Logan said, “You can hardly imagine this case being in a worse place for CNN given this plaintiff, this allegation and this likely jury pool.”

Maybe CNN should have thought about that when making the decision to run its story.

The people in the media centers of Manhattan (86% Never Trump) and DC (94% Never Trump) need to understand that their prejudices are not shared elsewhere in the nation. Maybe this trial will serve to enlighten the media on the price of lying.

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Meanwhile on Twitter, there was this exchange on Monday about Britain’s pedo-friendly PM Keir Starmer’s threats against Elon Musk.

Seán Ono Lennon: Starmy weather...

Tim Plunkett-Chapman: Another American sticking their nose into UK politics?

Seán Ono Lennon: I have a British passport so…

OK Canada, we upped the offer for statehood. How about 50 stars and one maple leaf on the flag? The Stars and Stripes With Maple Leaf forever.