Journalism today

A report from the deathbed of an industry.

Want to know why newspapers are folding? They suck at gathering news.

Kane at Citizen Free Press linked one of his favorite news sources—Cowboy State Daily in Wyoming—for a report on Joe Manchin landing a lucrative job at a Ramaco, a coal company that is about to mine a deposit of rare earth minerals worth, oh, about $37 billion in Wyoming.

Most readers likely are unaware that Wyoming is the nation’s leader in coal mining and has been for decades. Last year was typical as 41% of the nation’s coal came from Wyoming. The runner-up was West Virginia at 14%.

By the way, the USA has enough in recoverable coal reserves to last 422 years using today’s technology. West Virginia needs a post-coal economy as much as I need to have a post-writing career.

The Cowboy State Daily—an online only outlet—scooped the Charleston, West Virginia, newspaper. OK, the story is in Wyoming, but Manchin is the biggest Democrat in West Virginia, having served over 30 years as secretary of state, governor and the man who replaced Robert C. Byrd (now that he’s dead, I show Bobby a little respect) in the U.S. Senate.

The paper has two coal reporters. Well, OK, one is paid by ProPublica, a totally nonpartisan and (wink, nod) unbiased source of journalism. The duo did not bother to read the press release from Ramaco.

You would think that the paper, which is a parrot of the Democrat Party would have a good relationship with Manchin but nary a word about his big appointment was in its Wednesday edition.

The Cowboy State Daily reported that Randall Atkins, Ramaco's chairman and CEO, said, “I have known Sen. Manchin for a number of years. We have a lot of operations in West Virginia on the metallurgical coal side, and I have also testified before the Senate Energy Committee.”

So why didn’t Manchin give the Charleston paper a head’s up?

Because its coal reporters cater to the anti-coal establishment. The government-funded greenies are its only news sources on coal.

I am no fan of Manchin but he does know the coal business and made a lot of money before entering state politics. He should be a good fit. I hope Ramaco succeeds if only to rid our dependence on Red China.

Manchin also knows the newspaper business, which is why he stiffed the largest paper in his home state.

AP reported, “The top producer at 60 Minutes has quit. He says he can no longer run the show as he always has.”

The story said, “Bill Owens, executive producer of television’s most popular and influential newsmagazine since 2019, said in a note to staff that it has “become clear that I would not be allowed to run the show as I have always run it, to make independent decisions based on what was right for 60 Minutes, right for the audience.”

60 Minutes has become an albatross because the quality of its work dropped off considerably under Owens. The Trump Derangement Syndrome is strong on this one. The show got in trouble by screwing around with an interview with Kamala that was sharply edited to make her look good just before the election. Trump rightly complained.

AP said, “When Trump took office for his second term, his Federal Communications Commission chairman, Brendan Carr, announced CBS would be investigated for the same issue.

“At the same time, CBS parent Paramount Global, run by Shari Redstone, is seeking approval for a merger with Skydance Media, founded by Larry Ellison. They are reportedly in mediation to settle the lawsuit with Trump, a prospect that has been bitterly opposed by Owens and others at 60 Minutes.”

Ah yes, the lawsuit.

On February 5, the New York Post reported:

Kamala Harris gave a meandering, 179-word answer on Israel that 60 Minutes cut to just 20 words, according to transcripts released Wednesday by the Federal Communications Commission.

The FCC says it’s investigating CBS for possible election interference, after complaints that the venerated news program cut Harris’ word-salad answers to make her look more coherent. Donald Trump has filed a $10 billion lawsuit against the network.

Trump-appointed FCC chair Brendan Carr got the full transcript and video on Monday after a tug-of-war with the Tiffany Network, which has defended the editing as a standard practice for “time, space or clarity.”

But a CBS source told The Post on Wednesday that the 60 Minutes edit did Harris “a lot of favors and makes her seem more succinct.”

60 Minutes covered up Kamala’s mental retardation by stitching together 20 words of a 179-word nonsensical answer to make her sound intelligent.

Of course, the media puffs Owens up as some sort of hero.

The media covered up Biden’s criminality by dismissing Hunter’s laptop as fake. The media covered up Biden’s dementia by dismissing as cheap fake video proof of his applesauce brain. And the media covered up the FBI’s role in making up the Russiagate dossier.

That ends in Trump’s second presidency.

Semafor reported, “Paramount owner Shari Redstone in recent days sought to know which upcoming 60 Minutes stories were about President Donald Trump, according to two people familiar with the situation—triggering a series of events that ended with the Tuesday resignation of the show’s longtime producer.”

Someone in management finally watched the show and now Owens is gone.

Letting 60 Minutes manipulate the news is not the only management malpractice at CBS.

Fox reported, “As CBS and its parent company Paramount Global navigate a high-stakes lawsuit from President Donald Trump, the media conglomerate quietly settled another lawsuit alleging racial discrimination against straight, white male employees.

“In 2024, former SEAL Team script coordinator and writer Brian Beneker sued Paramount Global, CBS Entertainment and CBS Studios for unlawful discrimination for repeatedly denying him career advancement based on his race, sex and sexual orientation.

“According to America First Legal, who represented Beneker in the case, both sides ultimately agreed to a settlement after what AFL senior counsel Nick Barry described as satisfactory moves by Paramount to publicly back away from DEI policies.”

We are going to look back at DEI and call it the Airhead Era.

The White House beat is a cornucopia of news stories. Instead of bothering with that, CNN interviewed Natalie Winters of Bannon’s War Room. Trump gave her a press pass. The White House Correspondents Association won’t accept her as a member. So much for One For All, All For One when it comes to protecting the free press.

She posted a clip of the interview:

CNN: “Are you a real journalist?”

Natalie: “The rest of the media covered for a president that was essentially dead. You failed. That’s why new media is here.”

His question made me laugh because he just admitted he doesn’t know what a real journalist is. Working at CNN will do that to a person.

Vanity Fair did a puff piece on CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, headlined, “Kaitlan Collins Is CNN’s ‘Joyful Warrior’ Covering Trump 2.0.

“The chief White House correspondent talks to VF about once again enduring Donald Trump’s insults—‘a distraction technique’—while now also hosting a prime-time show and beaming in on Instagram. ‘She’s relentless,’ says Wolf Blitzer, ‘in the best possible way.’ ”

Here’s her being joyful: