The Shepherds have a credibility problem

Scott Jennings on CNN:

“This election is something of an indictment of the political information complex. The story that was presented was not true. We just ignored the basics.”

Scott Jennings does an impeccable job defeating a whole group of woke CNN anchors. pic.twitter.com/w2eBJeTi6E

– Nick Adams (@NickAdamsinUSA) November 6, 2024

Brian Stelter and an anonymous consultant:

“Maybe we’re right,” one Trump adviser remarked overnight. “Perhaps ‘misinformation’ is a lazy word that was never used in press coverage of Biden’s health or the border. Maybe ‘offensive’ things aren’t offensive to most people.” Maybe, the aide added, a little more humility is in order.

— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) November 6, 2024

Uri Berliner at The Free Press:

It’s one thing to waver on an important story and miss something. Unfortunately it happens. You follow the wrong leads, are misled by sources you trust, are emotionally invested in a narrative, and pieces of circumstantial evidence never add up. It’s bad to screw up a great story.

What’s worse is pretending it never happened, moving on without mea culpas and without self-reflection. Especially if you expect high standards of transparency from public figures and institutions, but do not practice these standards yourself. This is what undermines trust and creates cynicism towards the media.

From New York Magazine’s Intelligencer:

…as one of the TV executives put it: “If half the country has decided that Trump is fit to be president, that means they don’t read any of this media and we’ve completely lost that audience.” A Trump Victory means that the mainstream media in its current form is dead. And the question is what it looks like afterwards.”