Newsgate 2016 & Beyond


Note: This article was first published in 2017. 
The following is a news media analysis and commentary

Regardless of who is your chosen – or least favorite – presidential candidate, independent minds should be concerned about the latest revelations in the news media’s unseemly relationships with government and political actors. While there are many responsible journalists working today, inside documents and leaks have exposed serious lapses constituting the most far-reaching scandal our industry has known. It’s our very own Newsgate.

Watch my TV report “The Big Miss”

Compromised reporting has always existed as a result of covert collaborations between reporters and political officials—Democrats and Republicans alike. For example, in my new book out next year, The Smear, I’ll report on instances of improper collusion that surfaced during the Bush administration. The most recent available evidence is heavy on Democrat-ties due to the nature of the available documents and leaks.

It can be argued that some individual accounts can be rationalized and are not serious breaches of ethics. But taken as a whole, it’s easy to see how we as journalists have done a poor job protecting ourselves from being co-opted by organized interests, often ones that are paid and politically-motivated. Whether we realize it or not, they’ve figured out how to exploit the media and use us to publish their propaganda. It implies a broad and growing trend that has seriously undermined the credibility of the news industry.

Opinion reporters and those who work for obviously ideological news groups are entitled to publish party propaganda. It’s one matter to provide viewpoint journalism. But it’s quite another for us to act as a tool of any interest, publishing narratives or talking points upon suggestion or demand, without disclosing we’ve done just that.

The Players

The following accounts come from human sources, Freedom of Information Act documents and Wikileaks emails. Obviously, this is just a small sampling of the behind the scenes dealings going on between reporters and their sources. Those mentioned below, to the extent they’ve offered comment, have denied doing anything improper or unethical. Some of the reporters have explained that the reason they provided advance drafts of stories to their news subjects, or allowed the subjects to make editorial choices—moves that are generally considered unethical—was to be responsible, as part of a fact check. Some have commented their actions reflect common practice.

The Associated Press (AP)screen-shot-2016-10-16-at-9-40-25-pm

The State Department considered AP reporters Matt Lee and Bradley Klapper “friendlies,” and planned to “place” Hillary Clinton email stories with them and dictate the timing of their release. The goal was to blunt the June 2015 news that Clinton had failed to provide Congress certain required emails. Clinton campaign press officer Nick Merrill coordinated directly with the State Department on the plan to use AP to “lay this out before the [Republican] majority on the [Benghazi] committee has a chance to realize what they have and distort it.” Merrill posited, “It would be good to frame this a little and frankly to have it break tomorrow when we’ll likely be close or in the midst of a [Supreme Court] decision taking over the news hyenas.” AP published a story the following day.

The pro-Hillary Clinton super PAC American Bridge claimed it “placed” negative stories about Jeb Bush with AP and other news outlets.

In August of 2015, the Clinton campaign was reeling in damage control mode over revelations about Hillary’s improper email usage, her aide Cheryl Mills laid out her “personal preferences” for getting their side of the story out to the public in the most favorable way possible. They included feeding information to AP and determining the timing of its release.

(Also, see Dilanian below under LA Times)

The Atlantic

Marc Ambinder from The Atlantic, asked a Hillary Clinton aide for advance text of a speech. The aide dictated “conditions,” including “1) You in your own voice describe [Hillary’s words] as ‘muscular’,” to which Ambinder agreed. Ambinder formerly worked for ABC, CBS and National Journal.

CBS

The State Department and White House indicated they had arranged with CBS News Face the Nation for Secretary of State John Kerry to be shielded from any questions about the Hillary Clinton email controversy. “Think we can get this done so [Kerry] is not asked about email,” the White House’s Jennifer Palmieri emails to State Department spokesman Jen Psaki on March 12, 2015. Despite the fact that Kerry’s appearance on Face the Nation happened two days after Clinton held her first press conference on the emails, he was not asked about the controversy. CBS News says there was no discussion about or agreement to limit questions.

CNBC

CNBC anchor and New York Times contributor John Harwood, who moderated a Republican presidential debate, appears to have offered, complimentshelpful thoughts and analyses to the Clinton campaign.

On Sept. 21, 2015, Harwood appears to have solicited editorial ideas from Clinton campaign chair John Podesta for Harwood’s upcoming interview with Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush. Harwood asks Podesta: “what should I ask Jeb…in Speakeasy interview tomorrow?”

CNN

On April 28, 2016, a Democratic National Committee official indicates the DNC can supply CNN with questions to ask Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz. In an email titled, “Cruz on CNN,” the DNC official emails DNC colleagues that “CNN is looking for questions. Please send some topical/interesting ones. Maybe a couple on Fiorina. Someone please take point and send them all together by 3pm. Thank you!”

The Clinton campaign emailed that CNN politics producer Dan Merica and Clinton were “basically courting each other.”

In an email, Democratic National Committee chair Donna Brazile (then a CNN contributor) said she obtained an advance presidential debate question and passed it on to the Hillary campaign. The question was later asked in a March 13 Democratic presidential town hall including Democrat Bernie Sanders and co-hosted by CNN. Brazile says she didn’t do what she allegedly said she did in the email.

A second email revealed Brazile passed along to the Clinton campaign another advance question in advance of a CNN primary debate between Clinton and Sanders. “One of the questions directed to HRC tomorrow is from a woman with a rash. Her family has lead poison and she will ask what, if anything, will Hillary do as president to help the ppl of Flint,” Brazile wrote on March 5, 2016. On March 6, a woman fitting the description asked a similar question.

CNN political commentator Maria Cardona emailed Democratic National Committee officials a draft of her opinion piece that attacked Bernie Sanders prior to the upcoming Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. She invited the DNC’s editorial input and made changes accordingly, asking the DNC, “Is this better?”

The pro-Hillary Clinton super PAC American Bridge claimed it “placed” negative stories about Jeb Bush with CNN and other news outlets.

American Bridge also claimed that a report it produced against the conservative Koch Brothers (billionaire donors) resulted in “a high-profile CNN story.”

(See also Stelter under New York Times)

Daily Beast

Eleanor Clift of the Daily Beast appears to feel left out when she wasn’t invited to a Clinton campaign dinner for reporters as Hillary Clinton was launching her run for President. On April 10, 2015, she writes Clinton campaign chair John Podesta, “John, I completely understand why dinner at your home did not include someone like me, who’s a known quantity to Clinton campaign veterans. But I wanted to make an appeal for an early opportunity to get myself and the Daily Beast Political editor, Jackie Kucinich, on your radar so I/we can write and report knowledgeably. There’s a long campaign ahead, and I’d like to establish a line of communications. Is there an assistant I should go through? I look forward to working with you (and maybe getting some of that pasta and walnut sauce dish!!) All best, Eleanor”

Daily Kos

A source for the pro-Hillary Clinton smear group Media Matters named Daily Kos as one of several news outlets that are helpful in getting out the Media Matters agenda, according to Daily Caller.

Huffington Post

“The [Huffington Post] guys were good, Sam and Nico,” said a Media Matters source to Daily Caller, speaking of reporters who will report what Media Matters puts out. The comment apparently refers to Nico Pitney and Sam Stein.

Los Angeles Times

Ken Dilanian, who covered the CIA for the LA Times, explicitly promised positive news coverage and sometimes sent the CIA press office entire story drafts for review prior to publication, according to the Intercept, which obtained internal CIA emails and called Dilanian “the CIA’s mop-up man.” Dilanian now works for AP.

Jim Rainey of the LA Times “took a lot of our stuff,” a Media Matters source told Daily Caller.

MSNBC

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“Media Matters staff had the direct line of MSNBC president Phil Griffin, and used it,” a Media Matters source told Daily Caller. “If we published something [negative] about Fox in the morning, [MSNBC would] have it on the air that night verbatim. We were pretty much writing their prime time. But then, virtually all the mainstream media was using our stuff.”

The Clinton campaign believed it could count on Andrea Mitchell to conduct a helpful interview, upon its request, with Hillary Clinton amid the email controversy in 2015, according to Wikileaks emails.

New York Times

New York Times reporter Scott Shane privately provided the State Department Public Affairs office with what appears to be an advance NYT story publication schedule regarding a major controversy surrounding Hillary Clinton’s State Department.

“Brian Stelter at the New York Times [now at CNN] was helpful,” in publishing the Media Matters narrative, a source told Daily Caller.

New York Times reporter Mark Leibovich gave Hillary Clinton the opportunity to approve or veto her quotes. He later explained that was because he agreed to make the original interview off-the-record and required her approval to use selected pieces of it.

The pro-Hillary Clinton super PAC American Bridge claimed it placed negative stories about Jeb Bush with the New York Times and other news outlets.

It’s unclear exactly how, but the Clinton campaign’s Jennifer Palmieri got an advance briefing about a soon-to-be-published New York Times story. “I got a briefing on the story, it’s in a much better place,” Palmieri writes on July 8, 2015 to Clinton and colleagues. “Takes the viewpoint that 20 years after WJC declared ‘the era of big government is over,’ HRC is putting forward more liberal agenda that would expand government’s role. It refers to HRC’s ‘policy ideas’ as opposed to ‘plans,’ notes she hasn’t rolled them out yet, and will do an economic speech on Monday. It says that if her ideas were enacted they would likely cost in the ‘hundreds of billions of dollars,’ does not put a number on it, which is good. There is a good bit in there about Bernie’s plans too, and how he would represent a bigger expansion of government and questions whether HRC’s agenda will be seen as progressive enough in comparison. It should post later tonight or tomorrow.”

Nov. 13, 2015 Clinton campaign press secretary Brian Fallon indicated the campaign had successfully planted a negative story about Sen. Charles Grassley in the New York Times. “After hitting a wall with other outlets, NYT will do a story about DiSanto. Adam Jentleson in reid’s office is giving a statement saying the connection is troubling and raises questions. Could pop this weekend,” Fallon emails another Clinton ally. Three days later, the New York Times’ Maggie Haberman published the article questioning whether a State Department official (DiSanto) was improperly leaking damaging information to Grassley. Haberman was previously lauded as a cooperative journalist by Clintonites while working at Politico.

(See also Haberman under Politico)

(See also Harwood under CNBC)

Politico

In April of 2015, Chief Politico political correspondent Glenn Thrush sent part of an article to Podesta for approval before it was published. “Please don’t share or tell anyone I did this,” Thrush writes in the April 2015 exchange. “Because I have become a hack I will send u the whole section that pertains to u…Tell me if I fuc*ed up anything.” Podesta signs off and the article is published. An email on April 17, 2015 shows Thrush also sent eight paragraphs from a pre-published article to Clinton Communications Director Jennifer Palmieri with the title “please read asap…don’t share.” Palmer writes colleagues, “Glenn Thrush is doing a story about how well launch went and some part of it will be about me – which I hate. He did me the courtesy of sending what he is going to say about me. Seems fine.”

Staffers at Media Matters say they “knew they could dump stuff to Ben Smith [formerly of Politico now editor-in-chief at Buzzfeed.com],” according to Daily Caller. “Ben Smith will take stories and write what you want him to write.”

Politico chief investigative reporter Ken Vogel emailed a soon-to-be-published story to Democratic National Committee official Mark Paustenbach “per agreement” and invited his “thoughts.” Paustenbach gave the draft to the DNC’s head of communications, Luis Miranda. “Vogel gave me his story ahead of time/before it goes to his editors as long as I didn’t share it,” Paustenbach told Miranda.

In his effort to get an interview with Chelsea Clinton, Mike Allen, Politico’s chief political reporter offered to provide questions in advance, “precisely” agreed upon with a Hillary Clinton aide. “The interview would be ‘no-surprises’: I would work with you on topics, and would start with anything she wants to cover or make news on. Quicker than a network hit, and reaching an audience you care about with no risk,” Allen wrote the aide. After the email became public, Allen apologized and said he would never do what he offered to do in his email.

Hillary Clinton staffers described Maggie Haberman, then of Politico, as an ideal “friendly journalist” with whom to place stories. “We have had her tee up stories for us before and have never been disappointed,” writes one staffer in an email. Haberman now works for the New York Times. The emails were first reported in The Intercept.

Read the Intercept article by Glenn Greenwald and Lee Fang

PBS

The Clinton campaign apparently arranged for PBS to “put the news out” about the reversal of Clinton’s support for the Trans Pacific Partnership TPP trade deal in interview with Judy Woodruff on Oct. 7, 2015. The Clinton campaign implied it retained control over the timing of the rollout, and planned a coincident paper release statement. “I told PBS to hold till 345pm and that we would send the statement to our travelers after they put the news out (we should give them 15 minutes of breathing space),” writes the campaign’s Jennifer Palmieri. She notes, “We can move up PBS’ time if need be.” The time on the PBS online release is 3:44pm.

Salon

A Media Matters source told Daily Caller that Salon proved to be a “helpful” news outlet for getting its message across.

San Francisco Chronicle

A Media Matters source told Daily Caller that Joe Garofoli at the Chronicle “took a lot of our stuff.”

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Vox

The Clinton campaign believed it could use Ezra Klein of the liberal blog Vox (formerly of the Washington Post) to further its narrative on Clinton’s email controversies in 2015, according to emails released by Wikileaks.

The Wall Street Journal

The pro-Hillary Clinton super PAC American Bridge claimed it placed negative stories about Jeb Bush with the Wall Street Journal and other news outlets.

The Washington Post

The Democratic National Committee conducted negative research about Donald Trump on behalf of Dana Milbank of The Washington Post. April 21, 2016 a DNC official wrote colleagues, “research request: top 10 worst Trump quotes? Milbank doing a Passover-themed 10 plagues of Trump. Off top of my head, I’m thinking: · Punish women · Mexicans as rapists · Ban Muslims · Shoot someone in middle of 5th ave · Rough up BLM protestor · Anchor baby · Do a lot worse than waterboarding · Blood coming out of her wherever · Spill beans on ted’s wife · Talked about penis on stage at debate Any other big things I’m missing? And can you pull bullets for these?” The resulting Milbank article entitled “The Ten Plagues of Trump” cited eight of the suggestions provided by the DNC.

Democratic National Committee officials discussed “placing” a story with the Washington Post’s Greg Sargent to put a positive spin on some bad news for Hillary Clinton. The goal was “to make sure the first story out of the gate is as helpful as possible,” according to a DNC official. “But, the specific reporter is not as important as getting it to an outlet before the news breaks so we can help control the narrative on the front end. Otherwise this may likely get spun in a not-so-helpful way. We should also get Rep. [Elijah] Cummings on the phone with that reporter.” The email continues, “…can we please consider giving Sargent the first bite to get a good first story out there? Can I have him call you? We had been working him for weeks in general on writing up something positive, we think he’d play ball.”

Staffers at Media Matters counted on the liberal Plum Line, Sargent’s Washington Post blog, according to a source who spoke to Daily Caller. “Greg Sargent will write anything you give him. He was the go-to guy to leak stuff,” claimed the source. “If you can’t get it anywhere else, Greg Sargent’s always game.”

“We’ve pushed stories to Eugene Robinson and E.J. Dionne [at the Washington Post],” the Media Matters source told Daily Caller.

The pro-Hillary Clinton super PAC American Bridge claimed it placed negative stories about Jeb Bush with the Washington Post and other news outlets.

The Strategy

A window into how political interests, including super PACs, work to influence and manipulate the news is found in an internal Clinton campaign memo published on Wikileaks this month. In it, the Hillary Clinton super PAC “Correct The Record” boasts it had placed 21 “strategic memos” with the media that “led to stories in a number of news outlets including National Journal, Politico, USA Today, MSNBC and The Hill.” Correct The Record has joined other pro-Hillary Clinton groups founded by Clinton surrogate David Brock, including Media Matters and the American Bridge super PAC, in attacking Clinton’s opponents. Correct The Record’s targets have included Democrat Bernie Sanders and Republican Donald Trump.

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Correct The Record president Brad Woodhouse has repeatedly appeared in news interviews without the disclosure that he operates a Hillary Clinton super PAC that coordinates openly with the campaign, unlike any other super PAC.

Among other functions, the Correct The Record memo says it arms more than 300 surrogates with facts and talking points to spread the message and the facts on cable and other news” and deploy products targeted to specific audiences.”

One of the “products” is “pushback documents” distributed to “members of the media, key surrogates, pundits, opinion leaders” to refute “false information” about Clinton. The documents include “research analyses,” “talking points” and “blog-style posts made specifically for the web.” Other products are “media statements” and “positive media relations with Clinton beat reporters, producers and editors…Our communications team is constantly in touch with the media and provide, whether in our own voices or in the voices of surrogates, a constant stream of statements to the press on all things Clinton related. And because media relations isn’t just going on the record, some of our team’s most important work is killing bad stories before they ever get written.”

Under “Metrics,” the Correct The Record memo cites its mailing list of 960 members of the national media and 10,756 regional reporters in 28 states. It sends talking points and memos regularly to 369 televisions producers and bookers. It says its work has “impacted the framework for dialogue about 2016, Clinton, and her competitors.” The group says it has “engaged trusted names” to write opinion editorials for newspapers across the country. [quote]“Correct The Record has placed 132 op-eds nationally and in strategic local markets” and, since May 15, “helped write and place 36 op-eds across the country in a number of publications including Politico, Times Union, Huffington Post, CNN, Washington Blade, and New Jersey’s Bergen Record.”–Correct The Record internal memo[/quote]

Correct The Record also says it’s conducted “over 900 on-the-record and off-the-record media interviews” and “identified 372 surrogates including influential and frequent pundits on broadcast and cable news for Presidential 2016 politics and provided them around 80 sets of talking points, background materials and briefings on topical issues” to defend Clinton and her record.

American Bridge

More information on how super PACs manipulate the news media is found in an internal memo written by Brock’s pro-Hillary American Bridge super PAC. It was also published by Wikileaks.

The opposition research group set up “war rooms” for the first time on site in states where its trackers were monitoring Republican candidates to “interact with reporters on site, and to cut and move footage more efficiently so we can break news before anyone else.” In other words, American Bridge uses its formidable resources to do one-sided investigative work and then peddles the product as “news” to reporters.

Apparently, it works. The American Bridge memo said its on-site war room in Wisconsin collected negative clips about Senator Ron Johnson and got them covered by Talking Points Memo, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, The Capital Times, The Hill, and Roll Call.

In the memo, American Bridge also bragged that CNN was receptive to its outreach. “CNN recently ran a feature story on our use of livestream technology.” Examples of the group’s rapid response efforts getting picked up by the press included “Jeb Bush’s comments on privatizing Social Security (June 2015), his comment that “all lives matter” (July 2015), Chris Christie jumping on Jeb Bush’s ‘work longer hours’ bandwagon (July 2015), and Rick Perry slamming Jeb’s economic growth record in Florida (July 2015).”

“Several of these were clipped, cut, and shared on social media and/or by press release while the candidates were still delivering the same speech,” read the American Bridge memo.

American Bridge said it “placed” negative stories about Bush with CNN, Washington Post, the Associated Press, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and several key Florida outlets. “Our tracking operation has also been key in undermining Jeb through a constant barrage of rapid response attacks.”

One month after the 2014 midterm elections, American Bridge released a “primer” to “define the field before the prospective candidates could define themselves for the electorate.” The group took credit for successfully marketing a negative media narrative on Scott Walker, leading to his downfall. “We developed a powerful narrative of cronyism, outsourcing, and looking out for the interests of big business over middle class families, which undercut his economic message,” said the group’s memo. It also took credit for “forcing the Kochs [conservative billionaire donors]…out of the shadows” and said an American Bridge report against the Kochs resulted in “a high-profile CNN story.”

These activities appear to be within the law. But these are just two of many groups working to influence the news. The breadth and scope of their operations confirms how important it is for news organizations to set up policies and systems to retain their independence.

More on all of this in my upcoming book, The Smear.

Watch my weekly program Sundays on TV and online anytime at www.FullMeasure.news


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75 thoughts on “Newsgate 2016 & Beyond”

  1. Looking into the #GamerGate fiasco made popular by unethical journalism might help inflate many of the reasons why ‘journalists’ do their illicit work in the first place.

    Speaking about a large group of people without their consent or approval and fabricating a narrative which gets followed up by bloganism only shows what a stronghold the media has and how it is corrupt.

    If a simple thing like backhanders being known can upset the entire applecart imagine what world leaders and their buying out and censoring of the press can do.

  2. Donna Martin-Netherton

    Excellent and well written article. I posted it to twitter today.
    Keep these honest reports flowing since there are too few non-biased reporters left to do so.

    Thanks Sharyl!

  3. You are truly a breathe of fresh air.
    Although it sickens me what has become of the media we rely on as a check and balance on power, I needed to see this in black and white. Stunning what is going on (and dangerous). It has become State Run Media and still we pretend we are better than other Countries.
    No wonder so many are angry at the media. Does the media realize Trust will be a long time coming after what they have done? I’m ashamed for them and hope they change their ways (doubtful).

  4. Thank you for naming names of media hounds who collaborate with the Clinton Campaign. Unfortunately, there are a lot of names mentioned.

    It looks like we have “Freedom of the Press” but it seems to be freedom for the press/media to assist in perpetuating a one-party State.

    I look forward to reading your forth-coming book on this subject.

  5. Eric Zorn had a half-page commentary in the October 14 edition of the Chicago Tribune titled “The inherent peril in trusting Wiki-Leaks dumps.” The article claims to be a public warning that all those Clinton E-mails might be forgeries. Further, and even more diabolical, that if the current ones released aren’t forgeries, they are simply being used to set us up for all the fakes yet to come.

    Zorn claims he’s not wearing a tinfoil hat but I’m not so sure he shouldn’t be. Or, does his “I’m With Hillary” button serve the same purpose?

  6. Thank God people like you exist. Watching the news is like having my brain and eyes pulled out! Do they really think the American people are this stupid? I think they do!

  7. More unmitigated leftist PROPEGANDA for all gullible voting public to believe? OMG when are ‘WE THE PEOPLE’ going to wake up? TOO LATE??? No, it is NEVER too late to do the right thing.

  8. Diogenes would lose his sanity if he had to search for any an honest man among the Clinton campaign and DNC machine. The problem with their incessant lies and legalistic, slippery obfuscation, is that no one believes anything Mrs. Clinton says about anything. She actually earned the right to be considered dishonest by the majority of Americans! A dubious honor, but its all her’s. How could she possibly lead this nation? She would be unable to garner majority support for anything since even her knee-jerk supporters will always wonder what the truth is in anything that she says and wonder which donor controller is behind the curtain making her say it. Maybe someone should inform her that, this time, “It’s the lies, stupid!”

  9. Sharyl, as usual great reporting. very few like you. There is a report in the Daily Caller (today 10/17/16) of a hidden video camera showing how the DNC send agitators to Trump/Pence rallies in an attempt to cause violence — an effort allegedly supported by the Hillary Clinton campaign.

    This campaign is about saving America as we know it!

    Read more: https://dailycaller.com/2016/10/17/hidden-camera-video-shows-democrats-sent-agitators-to-trump-rallies/#ixzz4NNGo9J8c

  10. Independent thinkers have known the presstitutes in the MSM were captured by the establishment long ago, and is a big contributor to Trump’s success. Do these sell-outs think their careers are worth another World War, and/or the collapse of our economy, or are they just that ignorant of history and economics? It looks like Trump will get the last laugh, regardless of the election, as TrumpTV looks to fill the massive void left by the collapse of MSM.

  11. Here’s the problem with this report, and I’m not saying it isn’t a good one. The people that need to see it, won’t be looking at it. Thanks again Sharyl. Keep up the good reporting.

    1. Jeffery,
      In general, I agree. However, a few journalists, who are truly ignorant of their bias, may read Sharyl’s article, and do some introspection. Anytime there’s a problem, the first step is to recognize that there is a problem. In this case, the problem is the absence of neutrality when reporting the facts (or any serious attempt).

      Once again, well done Sharyl. Just curious, why there are no right leaning entities mention?

      1. There will be some right-leaning examples in my book The Smear, but there are no right-leaning examples in the Wikileaks emails to date since they are leaks of Democrat campaign operatives. Likewise, the recent FOIA examples from government cases are Democrat examples because they occurred under a Democrat administration.

  12. I look forward to watching you after the election holding a prominent position with the new cable channel that will form dedicated to real news…

    Hannity topping all ratings in the 8-10 pm slots shows people just want something to counter balance,albeit partisan in his case, the corrupt drivel on the MSM.

    Thanks for what you do…

    1. Hannity is the only “news” I can stand anymore…I know a lot of what he says is exaggerated, but I like the fact that he has people from both sides of the aisle on at the same time addressing the same topic…most of the time both sides are just on spin cycle, but at least you can hear both sides at once and here the points/counter-points…

      1. Hannity is no longer news, he is Trump Pravda, and is just as seriously biased for Trump as the examples here are biased for Hillary. One of the few I have seen that is fair to both Trump and Hillary is Megyn Kelly, Brit Hume, and O’Reilly.

  13. I agree with Tartt. How to get the truth out when so few know what truth is?

    Jesus said, “I came to witness to the truth.” In other words, He is, truth. If you do not know Him, you cannot know truth.

  14. How hypocritical that the very reporters in bed with media/party people win Edward R. Murrow awards–old Ed has been spinning in his grave constantly for many years thanks to crooked journalists. Thanks Sharyl!

  15. Sharyl Attkisson is virtually the only actual journalist in America today.
    All the toadeaters she has listed in this piece will be odious to thinking citizens FOREVER.

  16. Snarky, I read your book, “Stonewalled” and I could not,put it down. You verified and confirmed what a lot of us who stay informed knew that the news media works in conjunction with the Democrat party and to a lesser extent a Republican Administration that is liberal. What has been uncovered here and assembled is beyond most people’s imagination. The level of coordinated collusion, lying, propaganda, yellow journalism, dishonesty and abdicating objective responsibility is nauseating. I’m glad you aren’t part of that culture and I trul admire you as a journalist. My greatest fear is if you are ever silenced because you present the truth. I do not know if objectivity will ever come back in full to the news media but stories like this are out there; people just have to dig to find the truth. Keep up he good world.

  17. It’s so disheartening to watch how the democrats have colonized like locusts and are stripping away the democracy so many of our fellow Americans have fought so hard to protect. What the Clinton campaign is doing is not democracy. It is theft and deceit, pure and simple. And if she wins (and I’m still believing in the American people to see through the democrats’ fog of corruption and manipulation) I pray that America will be able to survive the decay that will overcome us as the locusts move through this great land. God please watch over America.

  18. Great article. It’s refreshing reading truthful reporting. I don’t understand how so many people can turn a blind eye to all the corrupt dealings HRC is involved in. She has been caught in so many lies I would know where to start. When I read about all of her lies and corrupt actions I feel overwhelming disgust. When she sits there with a straight face or sometimes laughing off someone’s questions about her lies and continues the lies again right to the persons face it makes me think that she is psychotic,evil,just plain crazy. She has absolutely no common decency. I don’t understand everyone in the world now knows what she has done and yet she still allowed to run for president of the United States of America. GOD BLESS US ALL IF SOMETHING ISN’T DONE TO PUT HER IN JAIL WHERE SHE BELONGS.

    1. I whole heartedly agree with you Pat!! God Bless our country & God help us all if she wins! (And it hurts me to say this, but I think she will – but she won’t have my vote!)

  19. We are returning to the era of openly partisan press. For the first 130 years of our history, most media was partisan. Everyone knew it, and knew the point of view that the stories came from. Then we had a short period where we had mostly “objective” media. They were close enough to objective that some people could not be sure which way they leaned.

    I believe that by 1960, the media was reliably and overwhelmingly “progressive”, but the claimed to be objective. Many of them actually believed it. It led to where we are today, where a government/media/bureaucracy has pretty much subverted the Constitution, deciding who can be a candidate, and what issues are allowed. It has been that way for at least 30 years.

  20. Sharyl, you are the best. Have to share a quick story with you. While in college during the 60’s, majoring in finance and accounting, I was bombarded with conflict of interest warnings and prohibitions. Serving as a mutual fund treasurer in the 70’s, while the market was collapsing and corruption was prevalent, I made a decision to leave the industry forever and never looked back. Well anyway, during the Clinton administration, I had noticed never seeing conflict of interest problems ever being discussed in the public forum. A former associate in the financial world, cynically suggested to me that the problem had magically disappeared. Ever since that time, national ethics, integrity, honesty, wisdom and accountability have disintegrated into the ash heap. Since then, I have questioned college graduates about the concept of conflict of interest , they looked at me and had no idea of what I was referring to. You have seen the movie yourself over and over. End of story and why we are where we are today. .

  21. Great work, keep it up. There is change happening in America and it isn’t good. We are becoming an Orwellian state.

  22. The MSM media in this country is like the media I envisioned they had in the Soviet Union when I was a child. I felt sorry for the people in those countries back then. But now as an adult, I realize that our MSM is much like the media that I thought they had in Russia. We are basically the same now. State sponsored/controlled media. My how we have fallen.

  23. Excellent article! Amazing how low the MSM has stooped to get this person elected. It is so sad to see our country controlled by such a wicked and twisted ideology. Worry not only about our country but also for the future of my grandchildren and what they will be forced to endure. My prayer is that God will intervene. He IS in control and for that I am so grateful. Love your work!

  24. Thanks for honest reporting, What i am about to print is only my opinion, The American people are just observers. Most know how corrupt our government has been and is today, but our only defence is the vote which Donald Trump has shown to be a sham. A phony way to calm the masses, I have known the electoral college to be a tool the democratic party has used for years among other things to control voting outcomes. The stakes are higher than they have ever been in my lifetime, Our society is about to change dramatically from a partial democracy to a pro globalists socialists you name it third world country. When people say they are afraid of Trump to even consider voting for Clinton that my friend scares the hell out of me. There is no one more UNFIT to serve as POTUS than Hillary Clinton. Look at her big money supporters G.Soros and many foreign countries, our known enemies , She Accepting donations to the Clinton foundation to use to pay for her political ambitions and this is against the law and totally unacceptable . I could go on and on there is an endless list of improprieties involving the clintons and yet the media is pushing this narrative that Trump is unfit, Believe me he’s Americas only chance at any kind of a future

  25. Miss Attkisson again Thanks for your great reporting, I do agree with Mr. Tartt it’s unfortunate that the reading and viewing audience is somewhat limited, I was not aware of Newsgate 2016 but intend to stay connected. And the lack of interest that seems to be so prevalent in the world today has a lot to do with the uninformed masses , But unfortunately the uninformed still vote and justifiably so

  26. It first hit me how biased the media was when no one in the media (except fox) reported the Kermit Gosnell
    discovery of full term aborted babies found in freezer. Filthy conditions and jars with baby feet in them.A woman died in his clinic and the health department didn’t even investigate.
    It was a media blackout.

  27. Arnold Brackman worked for the UPI,The Christian Science Monitor and the New York Times, retired and taught a class at Western Connecticut State Collage in which I had the privilege of attending. You would be given as an example of what a “journalist” is.

  28. Have you heard of the American Solidarity Party? Mike Maturen is running for President and Juan Munoz for Vice President of the United States.

    1. Sounds too communistic…i dont know anything about the party you mention, just that that was my initial reaction to the name.

  29. Are you saying that media coverage of W would have been worse if there wasn’t “improper collusion that surfaced during the Bush administration.”

    That’s simply a throw-away line to get people to read your book because practically everything in the media was trumped (pun intended) up to make Bush look bad.

    Nice try, but no cigar.

  30. Nothing will top the criminal mishandling of classified material as a disqualification for Clinton. If she can get away with that, she can get away with anything, including all of the criminal and unethical garbage that you have so beautifully compiled in this report. We most likely are now stuck with our first felonious president. May the good Lord have mercy on our nation.

  31. “While there are many responsible journalists working today” – who? I’d be curious as to who you think are responsible journalists. Thank you.

  32. A Great write-up. More updates came out today on another NYT reporter cosy with the Clinton camp – Amy Chozick.

  33. Anyone who has rafted a river has learned that “mainstream” is not the same as “midstream”. Sharyl, you’re a rarity among journalists in that you know the difference and consistently steer a “midstream” course.

  34. Try
    to keep this in mind, Donald Trump did not steal your money. Donald
    Trump did not raise your taxes. Donald Trump did not quadruple the price
    of food. Trump is not stirring a race war. Trump did not leave any US
    soldiers in Benghazzi to be slaughtered
    and desecrated by Muslims. Trump did not send the US Navy to fight for
    Syrian ,Al-Qaeda. Trump did not arm ISIS and systematically exterminate
    Christians throughout the Middle East. Trump did not betray Israel.
    Trump did not provide financing and technology to Iran’s nuclear weapons
    program. Trump did not give our military secrets to China. Trump did
    not remove our nuclear missile shield in Poland at the behest of Russia.
    Trump did not shrivel our military, and betray our veterans. Trump did
    not cripple our economy. Trump did not increase our debt to 20 trillion
    dollars. Trump did not ruin our credit, twice. Trump did not double
    African American unemployment. Trump did not increase welfare to a
    record level for eight years. Trump did not sign a law making it legal
    to execute, and imprison Americans. Trump did not set free all of
    terrorists in Guantanamo bay. Trump did not steal your rights. ——-Deborah Lynnx

    1. Jill Stein did none of those thing either….and she’s not a racist, xenophobic misogynistic climate change denier.

      Vote Jill Stein!

  35. I think it would be helpful if you analyzed the reasons for which the journalists decided to support the liberal cause. It is common knowledge that Mme. Clinton is unqualified for the office, but these people blithely quote the party line to such a degree that the bullet points become common speech.

    If these people had a bare modicum of a knowledge of history, they would realize they would be first on the chopping block when their idol attains power. I’d love to have a sense of why they support a fledgling dictator.

  36. i am always so pleased to see Good, Honest investigative reporting. Sharyl Attkisson is about the only journalist i can count on and trust any more. I am so disappointed in Andrea Mitchell and the rest of the media trolls.
    Well Done Ms Attkisson …keep up the GREAT work; Some of us are paying attention.

    Regards,
    SML,
    West Village,
    NYC New York

  37. Great job providing examples. Personally I believe you are being far too kind by saying there are many responsible journalists working today; if they were, they’d be more of them doing what you have.

    At this point, I’m willing to believe the CIA is even pushing brooms at all of these networks and newspapers. You were one of the last Mohicans at CBS.

  38. Dear Sharyl,

    This article identifying cases of “info operatives” planting news stories to be reported on is very enlightening. I think that this explains why when I see/read news stories, they are so often hollow. By hollow I mean that the subject of the story is not researched or the “facts” of the sited statements are not questioned. Journalists should be called “propaganda echoers.” I guess that my label is just me echoing what critics of the press have said since the beginning of news.

    Who are the Koch’s for the info operatives, besides Gorge Soros? I do think that it is amusing that even though the Democrats cast their stones at the Republicans for being big money players, when you consider the amount of political boots on the ground, the Democrats somehow spend more money than the Republicans. I know; my conviction is based on speculation.

    Well Researched,
    Scott

  39. Access to political (and corporate?) officials is golden for reporters, and with the popularity and ubiquitous nature of today’s mobile devices, the personal secretary who may have once aided reporters in making contact with Senator Doe has become a quaint vestige of the good old days in media-government relations.

    As it became increasingly difficult for reporters and editors to reach the interview subjects they need for stories, the value of a direct contact within a campaign or in the office of a government official becomes a form of currency, and much too cozy. The ability of elected officials to respond to a reporter’s question via the answering machine, instead of in-person, also allows too much finessing of their answers as well. In all, electronic devices have depersonalized many parts of our lives but in the give & take of politics and reporting the freshness of facts is clearly a casualty. The genie is out of the bottle.

  40. This is another example of what a great investigative reporter you are Sharyl, always presenting the honest, unbiased truth. One can tell that a lot of research went into preparing this report. You always tell it like it is. Thank you for what you do.

  41. “The most effectual engines for this purpose are the public papers. You know well that that government always kept a kind of standing army of news writers who without any regard to truth, or to what should be like truth, invented & put into the papers whatever might serve the minister.” — Thomas Jefferson, Paris, October 13, 1785

    Jefferson, Thomas. Jefferson: Writings (Library of America) (Kindle Locations 13387-13389). Library of America. Kindle Edition.

  42. As usual, great reporting Sharyl. My question to those who still watch Left Wing Political News Broadcast is this. You do know what’s going on, right? There’s no way someone can watch this propaganda and not see it for what it is?

  43. In 1988 I was a member of BORTAC, the same unit that Brian terry was a member of when He was killed in Az. We planned and ran the same type of operation in the same general are of az. Because of the proximity of our operation to the US-Mexico border We had to brief the US state Dept on our operation and only ran the op when they approved it. Op. fast and furious was an egregious violation of Mexicos sovereignty and customs laws of the United States. Hundreds of people in Justice, Treasury, DHS, FBI, Defense, etc. knew of F&F. Certainly the AG and Pres. of US knew and approved. Mexican military and intel also certainly knew of it. The only way Obama would ok the F&F op. was if the Mex. Pres agreed to not go to the UN and World Court if it blew up. You need to research this, the greatest political scandal in US history and write a book on it. By the way after we briefed State Dept. on our op they went straight to the Mex Ambassador in Dc and briefed him on our op.

  44. WHAT THIS HAS TOLD ME. IS THAT THE GOV=AUTHORIES=MEDIAS= AND DNC PARTY ARE PLAYING ALL OF US AMERICANS AS FOOLS. AND IF THIS CAME OUT BEFOR THE 2022 ELECTIONS. IT WOULD HAVE COME OUT BETTER FOR AMERICA. AND NO THE DNC WOULD NOT HAVE THE CONTROL THEY HAVE NOW .BE HOPING THEM THAT VOTED FOR THE DNC READS THIS. AND UNDERSTANDS. THE REASON THE DNC DID THIS. IT THEY WERE PUSHING THE MUDER OF THE UNBORE. (MOST HELPLESS )A SAD ASS WAY TO WIN. AT THE COST OF 1,000’S OF BABYS LIVES

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