• TheFriar@lemm.ee
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    11 months ago

    I think the “grifter” comment comes from—if this quote is to be believed, which I appreciate your due diligence on—the man turning to the well-worn path of a person of color finding profitability and open arms as a conservative-come-lately.

    Again, the whole quote changes the context, because Pod Save America is establishment liberal as it comes, but if he were to go from the consistent state of righteous indignation over conservatism/trumpism on air for CNN to proudly hawking Ben Shapiro’s show, it would’ve suggested his well dried up in the liberal market, so he switched to milking the conservatives for cash.

    Again, I don’t think the whole quote (if even that is to be fully believed) lends itself to this, but to just take the worst item in the list and turn it into a blurb about how Don Lemmon “bashes liberal media, praises Ben Shapiro after CNN ousting” is very much an internet news thing to do. It gets clicks. Engagement. Anger. And it’s very much a liberal/conservative thing to do. “My team rules, anyone not falling in line is dead to me” etc.

    • vexikron@lemmy.zip
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      11 months ago

      I agree with you, I get that the story as it has evolved now would place Lemon into that basically ‘sold out my principles to make more money’ narrative…

      …but the problem is that /even if the Lemon quote is real/, it still does not actually, factually back up that narrative!

      See this is why I got thrown out from being a copy editor at my University newspaper almost two decades ago now, I actually valued journalistic integrity and the truth over being misleading.

      The actual quote is that he is interested in hearing Shapiro’s views on a subject.

      That, to a former person working in the field of journalism, could very possibly simply indicates he wants to understand Shapiro’s presentation style, or his market demo and how they get appealed to.

      Without any actual evidence he is planning on like becoming a fucking featured guest on Shapiro’s show, or getting his own show under Shapiro’s media company or something, I see no way you can be actually valid in claiming Lemon is now on the grifter path.

      It plays into the narrative disingenuously.

      Which is why its perfect to suspect some bullshit is going on.

      If there is /any/ actual evidence Lemon is actually planning on becoming a grifter… you would run with that instead!

      At least if you actually cared about not being journalistically irresponsible.

      Oi vei, now I am back in that dingy unused classroom arguing with my former editor again, fuck.

      • TheFriar@lemm.ee
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        11 months ago

        Oh I’m fully with you. I was just explaining where the “grifter” labeling was coming from. The true issue, as you pointed out, is journalistic ethics in the splicing of one example of media he is consuming out to splash across a misleading headline. For the sole purpose of exactly what is happening, actually: people sharing the headline to create controversy where there really isn’t any. It’s gross and so, so damaging.

        But so is the state of political discourse these days. This is the depth at which all discussion takes place these days. Headline, anger, share, repeat. We are so fucked.

        • vexikron@lemmy.zip
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          11 months ago

          Yeeep.

          As I have said to others on lemmy, I am /tired/ and think I am just going to make a video game before I die, because I have a lot of relevant experience from tech jobs and hobbies, and more important /I would enjoy making it/.

          I have literally no hope at all the world in general will get better for the average person, climate change will fuck us all and /maybe if i am lucky/ in 10 years I can end up in a modest cabin or apartment somewhere in a northern US state or in Canada and /hopefully/ be able to afford food water and electricity as the oceans acidify, farmland dies and has to be newly founded further north, wars intensify, governments fascistify, crime gets worse, and everywhere that is even kind of liveable gets more and more flooded by climate refugees.

          Wheee!