Carlson lied himself: he said “if something remarkable happens” at the hearing, “obviously we will bring it to you immediately”. But his show did not do that. When Thompson said January 6 was “the culmination of a coup attempt,” Carlson asked why the media did not care. He barely mentioned Donald Trump, even though the former president’s conspiracy to undermine American democracy was the focus of the hearing. On the contrary, he spoke a lot about the Democrats and wondered why other networks were “negotiating” with the House by broadcasting the hearing on television. “Because the Democrats and the left are desperate,” said Jason Whitlock, his guest. When spokeswoman Liz Cheney first revealed many of the commission’s findings, Carlson said everyone knew that America “could have some real problems soon.” hinted that Congress should not waste its time on the 1/6 poll. and called Thompson and Cheney “crazy.” Carlson sounded like an amateur magician trying to distract children when a show collapses: “Look here, not there.” He said: “Gas is more than five dollars. Inflation is higher than most Americans have ever been. Violent crime makes cities impossible to live in, and more than a hundred thousand Americans responded to drugs last year. Why not?” is there a first moment I hear any of this? “
Fox ignored its own role
Throughout the night, Fox downplayed the Jan. 6 violence and dismissed revelations about Trump’s behavior. The network also ignored its own role in promoting false allegations about the election before the uprising and the publication of personal messages by the commission among some of its hosts. When Cheney read an exchange of messages between Fox stars Sean Hannidi and Kylie McEnani from the day after the uprising, with Hannith urging “no more crazy” and “no more stolen election talk,” Carlson showed the live coverage. on other networks and made fun of it. of these networks. He did not mention anything about the texts. Newsmax, Fox’s right-wing rival, actually showed most of Cheney’s remarks, but was cut short by analysts in favor of Trump. The network banners also promoted Trump’s discussion points and, from time to time, Newsmax’s own application. Back at Fox, when the panel showed a video that had never seen an attack on the Capitol, with terrifying images from surveillance cameras and other sources, Carlson’s producers showed sterile live footage of the auditorium, but not the video. One of his banners read “TODAY’S HEARING IS A POLITICAL THEATER”. When the video was completed, Newsmax’s Rob Schmitt said: “We saw much worse in the summer of 2020, prompted by comments across the corridor that burned down major cities in this country. Where is the audition for it? Well they do not have it hearing, because they do not care about your life, where you live “. When Sean Hannity started his Fox program at 9 p.m., he did the same thing Carlson did: He showed live video from the audition and talked about it all the time. Haniti said the hearing – still ongoing – was “the most boring, the most boring” Democratic “fundraising”. He did not play a word from what Cheney said. He instead focused on security gaps and put the blame directly on the feet of Parliament Speaker Nancy Pelosi. When the panel was sworn in to its witnesses, Fox banners called the hearing “PARAMPHISI” and “ITS OWN ANTI-TRUMP SHOW”. When injured police officer Caroline Edwards described how she was thrown tear gas outside the Capitol, Federalist editor-in-chief MZ Hemingway wrote on Twitter: “Is the Soviet-style demonstration trial still going on?” When Edwards described the massacre as “slipping into the blood of the people” outside the Capitol, Hannity said the hearing had failed: “They promised too much, they gave too little.” Somehow he claimed to already know it, even though it was on live TV during the second part of the audition. And no, he did not recognize his own writings or his role as Trump’s adviser. By the time the hearing was over and analysts on other networks had absorbed the huge volume of what was presented, the media narrative in favor of Trump had already been heard. On Newsmax, Schmitt dismissed it as a “completely one-sided hearing about something that happened a year and a half ago.” At Fox, the banner on Laura Ingraham’s show at 10 p.m. wrote “THE COMMISSION OF JANUARY 6 IMPRESSES IN PRIMETIME”.
“Do not get me wrong…”
Why does the right-wing opposition in the media matter? Because it ensures that the country remains on two completely different rails of information. “Do not misunderstand me: These hearings are vital and every American should listen to them,” Tom Nichols, author of The Atlantic, wrote on Thursday. “But the alternative reality in which about forty percent of us live will never be violated by real events.” Dispatch Editor-in-Chief David Frances estimates that “tens of millions” of people still do not understand the reality of January 6 largely because the media and trusted personalities deliberately lie and / or conceal the plain truth about it. Of course, Fox News said days earlier that it would not show the first listen on its iconic network, but it was still unusual to see the network following its ignore-the-news plan. Mediaite editor-in-chief Aidan Mr McLaughlin was quoted as saying: “The horrific violence in the area is the reason why this hearing is not being shown on Fox News. “So they can lie about it,” he wrote on Twitter. It is worth noting, however, that Carlson and Hannity’s shows did not show these stores or promote these options, nor did they put a box in the corner of the screen pushing the news, but Bret Baier wrote a reminder on Twitter that he was at Fox Business and accumulated critical responses.
Made for TV?
“We all heard that this was going to be a television audition, a presentation designed to get the public’s attention in a way that ordinary Capitol events just don’t do,” wrote Oliver Darcy. “Specifically, we heard that the 1/6 committee consulted with the former president of ABC News, James Golston, to help with the production. The New York Times teased that Goldston had been hired “to produce auditions as if it were a documentary or a must-see mini-series.” But in reality, the audition was not like a “docudrama” or a “mini-series to watch.” “Not even close,” Darcy wrote. “Instead, he mostly used the style of a typical, unusual audition at the Capitol. Yes, there was also a haunting video package showing the brutality of that day. But this video, the only real detour from the formal audition, was only part of the two-hour affair. “ The audition “was not the shock and awe it should have been,” wrote Deadline editor-in-chief Dominic Patten shortly afterwards. “Despite the praise from TV-talking heads, this was NPR when it should have been the UFC.” Hollywood Reporter critic Frank Scheck disagreed: “It remains to be seen whether what follows in the coming weeks will do anything to move the needle between A citizen who seems to have settled in his respective positions. But judging by the starting dose “There will be plenty of powerful material for those with an open mind.” A version of this article first appeared in the “Trusted Sources” newsletter. You can register for free here.
