Media top headlines July 13
ESPN's Stephen A. Smith admitting he 'screwed up' on his Shohei Ohtani comments, reporters and Democrats blaming US embargo for protests in Cuba, and an MSNBC host claiming 'there's a lot' national Democrats can learn from fleeing Texas Democrats round out today's headlines
Journalist Glenn Greenwald blasted the media Tuesday for their coverage of disgraced attorney Michael Avenatti, who was recently sentenced to 30 months in prison for trying to extort millions from Nike.
Avenatti, who represented Stormy Daniels in unsuccessful lawsuits against former President Donald Trump, enjoyed a wide platform on cable news for a full year, racking up hundreds of appearances. MSNBC's Joy Reid called him "brilliant" and "mad telegenic," while her colleague Nicolle Wallace said Democrats would be "foolish" to underestimate him. CNN's Brian Stelter was also among the pundits who took Avenatti seriously as a potential White House contender.
Greenwald observed those same networks have now been forced to frame Avenatti in a different light now that he's heading to prison, and they've done so while trying to exonerate themselves. He called their behavior "stunning."
CBS CORRESPONDENT ADMITS ‘MAYBE WE WENT ABOUT COVERING’ MICHAEL AVENATTI ‘THE WRONG WAY’
Greenwald went on to argue there was no excuse for the media's red carpet welcome for Avenatti, considering all the warning signs swirling around the volatile lawyer.
"And as usual, the standard elite self-exoneration of 'we-couldn't-have-known' is utter bulls--t," Greenwald added. "Aside from the fact that the stench of Avenatti's sleazy fraud suffocated anyone within a mile radius, countless people pointed out at the time how exploitative and dishonest he was."
Greenwald argued Avenatti was far from the "worst person" to be promoted by the above networks, suggesting their employment of figures like former CIA Director John Brennan and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper was worse.
"Avenatti is nowhere close to the worst person promoted by CNN and NBC," Greenwald wrote. "They have security state ghouls, perjurers and war criminals on their payroll -- Bush and Obama's CIA & DHS chiefs, FBI officials, etc. Still, if you can't recognize what Avenatti is, you can't see anything."
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The Avenatti media debacle is yet another chapter in recent industry embarrassments. The Washington Examiner's Becket Adams called the fawning coverage of Avenatti "one of the more humiliating chapters in media malfeasance."
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