Off on his own now, Oliver Darcy is serving himself up to disgruntled reporters, acting as a cathartic outlet and therapist, all in one. In the latest example, Ollie spoke with a number of Pentagon correspondents who have to endure the horror of Pete Hegseth taking the reins at the Defense Department.
These fragile souls dumped out their anxieties after a meeting with incoming press director Sean Parnell. He made uncomfortable, new decisions and the meeting was tense. Some reporters called it "bleak and horrible." This is where we remind you they are covering the Defense Department and wartime matters, but a meeting was regarded as bleak to them.
While they expressed a number of ways these reporters felt offended, they also displayed every reason for the new leadership to regard them negatively - at the start of his piece, we see that these reporters were spilling out extensive details about a meeting that was stated to have been off-the-record. And yet, they did so anonymously.
Reporting on the Mirror - Independent / Fox News
It's pretty clear that Chuck Todd is not handling his new position of unemployment well. He has been making regular appearances on various podcasts and video casts making complaints about political figures and even going so far as to attack and insult other journalists. In the latest example, he decides for some reason to go after Brett Baier of Fox News. The problem is Chuck doesn't seem to grasp the reality of his newfound impotence.
His attempt at insulting Baier as being a suck-up to Donald Trump really doesn't hold up well against reality, but more than that, coming from Chuck Todd - who was the biggest Democrat lackey at NBC - it becomes even more laughable.
Thursday night there was a media event held, and Bret Baier was actually asked about Todd's comments but he responded in a very calm and still cutting away.
Demo-lition Project - FOX NEWS / MSNBC
As February wraps up, the network news ratings come in and two trends continue: Fox News continues to win and increase its audience, while CNN and MSNBC continue losing and doing worse.
For February, Fox saw a record number of viewers showing up in historical fashion. This continues to prove wrong the contention made by the excuse-makers at the other networks that all they are experiencing is an expected election lull. Fox is growing as a result of the election while the others continue to lose.
The amazing thing is as bad as the numbers have been, CNN and MSNBC still managed to lose audience share. In total day figures, CNN found a way to drop 9% for the month, and MSNBC, amazingly enough, dropped 25% in year-over-year numbers. Meanwhile, at Fox, the figures they're showing are up 50% over the same month in 2024 and in the key advertisers demo they were up 57% - an amazing showing despite the fact that everything else is trending downward for network news.
Artisanally-Crafted Narratives - CBS NEWS
The press continues to look for ways to support illegal immigration, and for some reason, ABC News is at the forefront of that lobbying effort. In the latest, the network spoke with a privately-run grocery store and the anxiety and concerns she feels concerning this issue. It has to be soft-peddled that this anxiety is felt because about half of her employees are undocumented - that is, she has illegally hired illegals.
But we are supposed to have an attitude of forgiveness for her because she voted for Trump based on the economy, and the economy and immigration are separate issues, we are told. But at the same time, we are told Trump's policy will affect her business and her customers.
DNC PR Firm - THE ATLANTIC
Jonathan Chait looked at a story about USAID workers who had been fired and the weepy coverage that they were hustled out of the building with only 15 minutes to gather their personal items. His conclusion: He has seen an "invasion" of the government he once cherished.
Government workers feel as if they are entitled to demands after being let go, and Chait thinks it is only his government when he approves of the winner.