Journalism Archives - The Minnesota Sun

Trump Demands New York Times, Washington Post Be Stripped of Pulitzers for Russia Reporting

October 4, 2021October 4, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

Former President Donald Trump asked the Pulitzer Prize committee on Sunday to strip awards to The Washington Post and The New York Times, arguing their award-winning stories in 2016 and 2017 alleging Russia collusion lacked “any credible evidence “

The newspapers’ reporting was “based on the false reporting of a non-existent link between the Kremlin and the Trump Campaign. The coverage was no more than a politically motivated farce,” Trump wrote in a letter to interim Pulitzer administrator Bud Kliment.

Trump noted that multiple investigations have dismissed any notion of collusion between his campaign and the Kremlin and that a recent indictment by Special Prosecutor John Durham traced some of the key allegations to people tied to Hillary Clinton’s campaign.

Michael Patrick Leahy on Narrative Journalism and Big Tech Alliances

September 6, 2021September 5, 2021 Julie Carr

Thursday morning on Frist Principles with Phill Kline, host Kline welcomed The Star News Networks CEO and Editor in Chief Michael Patrick Leahy to the phone lines to discuss the changing landscape of journalism and Big Techs’ partnership with social media titans.

Phill Kline to Michael Patrick Leahy: ‘Zuckerberg Money Paid for the People Who Boarded Up the Windows and Kicked America Out’

September 2, 2021September 2, 2021 Julie Carr

Thursday morning on First Principles, host Phill Kline welcomed The Star News Network’s CEO, Michael Patrick Leahy to the phone lines to discuss the influence of Zuckerberg’s money on the 2020 election and altered state election laws.

European Publishing Giant to Acquire Politico, Deal Could Cost $1 Billion

August 31, 2021August 30, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

German publishing company Axel Springer announced Thursday it intends to acquire the digital news outlet Politico which could reportedly cost up to $1 billion.

The acquisition of Politico will add to Axel Springer’s portfolio of news outlets which include Morning Brew and Insider, according to a press release from Axel Springer.

Former New York Times Journalist Alex Berenson Permanently Suspended by Twitter

August 30, 2021August 29, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

Twitter has permanently banned Alex Berenson, a former New York Times journalist who has become a major critic of Big Tech censorship and coronavirus lockdowns and mandates.

Responding to an inquiry from Fox News, where Berenson has been a frequent guest during the pandemic, a spokesperson for Twitter replied that “The account you referenced has been permanently suspended for repeated violations of our COVID-19 misinformation rules.”

Berenson responded on his Substack page, where he posted a message titled “Goodbye Twitter.”

University of North Carolina’s Hussman School of Journalism and Media Dean Resigns Post after Nikole Hannah-Jones Controversy

August 23, 2021August 22, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

Susan King is stepping down as dean of the University of North Carolina’s Hussman School of Journalism and Media.

The university announced the decision yesterday.

The Hussman School faced backlash from progressives after it apparently backed off from a plan to give Hannah-Jones tenure for her work as the Knight Chair in Race and Investigative Journalism.

Commentary: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Journalism Professors Protest ‘Objectivity’ in News Reporting

July 21, 2021July 20, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

Carroll Hall UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media

Journalism professors at UNC Chapel Hill are protesting a “core values” statement that upholds objectivity as a key tenet of news reporting.

Faculty members of UNC’s Hussman School of Journalism and Media converged last week to bemoan a statement of values that’s etched in granite and is found in the lobby of their school.

The core values statement, installed two years ago, touts objectivity, impartiality, integrity and truth-seeking, and after their kvetching session that statement was reportedly scrapped from the school’s website, the News & Observer reports.

In 2019, Walter Hussman, a UNC alumnus and owner of a media conglomerate of newspapers and other media outlets, donated $25 million to the UNC journalism school. Part of the donation contract installed those values into the school’s wall and mission, according to UNC’s website.

Commentary: Journalists Become Cynical, But Not Skeptical

May 2, 2021May 1, 2021 RealClearWire

Journalists and scientists have more in common than you’d think—at least they should. Scientists seek to understand and explain how the natural world works. They observe, ask questions, and approach new information with skepticism as they work through a careful process to determine what is true.

Journalists, in theory, use the same curiosity and rigor to provide the information we need to make good decisions in our lives. According to the Society of Professional Journalists, a core tenet of journalism is to “seek truth and report it.” In both worlds, negligence begins where skepticism ends, creating dangerous opportunities for peddlers of misinformation.

The Environmental Working Group’s (EWG) annual “Dirty Dozen” list is a perfect marriage of scientific and journalistic negligence. Each year, the EWG, a controversial, agenda-driven organic activist group, purports to rank the top 12 fruits and vegetables most contaminated with pesticides. And each year, the media takes the bait without fail, and the coverage reads like sponsored content.

Commentary: Fear of a 2016 Repeat Inspires Anti-Trump Hysteria

October 13, 2020October 12, 2020 Minnesota Sun Staff

Over the past four years, American news organizations have not merely shredded their own credibility, but have piled those tattered shreds into a heap, poured gasoline onto the pile, and incinerated it. Anyone who still believes what they see on CNN or read in the New York Times is in the throes of a delusion. As much as we might wish to laugh at the plight of the media, now so obviously lost in the helpless hysteria of Trump Derangement Syndrome, we are not better off as a nation as a result of the catastrophe that has befallen American journalism.

Arizona State University Journalism School Removes People, News Items Decried as too Pro-Police

September 22, 2020September 21, 2020 Minnesota Sun Staff

In the last four months the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University has repeatedly removed pro-police related items after students and activists cried foul.

In June, the school rescinded a job offer to the new dean of its journalism school, Sonya Forte Duhé, after students accused her of past microaggressions and other insensitive comments. Mostly notably, Duhé had recently tweeted support for “good police officers who keep us safe.”

Report Claims Gannett, Owner of The Tennessean, Plans to Cancel USA Today Print Edition

October 18, 2019January 2, 2020 Anthony Gockowski

A new report claims that the merger between Gannet and GateHouse Media, owned by the New Media Investment Group, will result in the cancellation of USA Today’s print edition.

Commentary: Rumor and Bias, Inaccuracy and Ignorance Contribute to the Low State of Journalism

April 28, 2019April 27, 2019 Minnesota Sun Staff

by Jeff Minick William Tecumseh Sherman, a Civil War general not known for his delicacy of speech, once said, “If I had my choice, I would kill every reporter in the world, but I am sure we would be getting reports from Hell before breakfast.” Like many people today,…

Commentary: Media Needs to Stop Hiring Young Know-Nothings

September 14, 2018September 13, 2018 Admin

by Julie Kelly The American news media is quick to blame President Trump for their current woes, but they have no one to blame but themselves. A revealing poll issued Tuesday shows how much the public’s trust in the news media has tanked over the past ten years: Nearly 70 percent…

Do As We Say, Not as We Do: MSM Conveniently Reprimands Republicans, Not Democrats on First Amendment Reporting

August 19, 2018August 18, 2018 Julie Carr

During Friday’s broadcast of The Gill Report – live on WETR 92.3 FM in Knoxville – conservative political commentator and Tennessee Star Political Editor Steve Gill was humored by the one-sided and propaganda-driven reporting by the ‘fake news media,’ and it’s ability to conveniently forget the actions of the lefts…