Newsmax columnist James Hirsen took shots at his employer’s competitors in a couple of recent columns. His Nov. 25 column was focused on bashing MSNBC after getting spun off from its former patent company:
Media and technology conglomerate Comcast is spinning off cable news network MSNBC from its roster, along with a number of other cable networks.
The company announced it will create a new publicly traded entity, which will house MSNBC and NBCUniversal’s additional cable television networks.
Comcast is giving the new company an apt moniker, “SpinCo.”
[…]The idea of giving MSNBC a makeover has been tossed around for a long time. The network wasn’t always the far-left echo chamber that it is today.
We don’t recall Hirsen ever describing Fox News as a far-right echo chamber. He continued:
Oh, the good ol’ days, when there was a fairly clear line of demarcation between hard news and editorial opinion. That line served a number of important purposes, including a commitment to truth and accuracy in the conveyance of national and international information as well as an adherence to a journalistic code of ethics.
It could be that the good ol’ news days are going back to the future. And the sport of intellectual sparring will make its own separate comeback.
Let’s all stay tuned in whatever new media way is preferred. And may the Truth win out.
We also don’t recall Hirsen ever complaining about the complete obliteration of the line between news and editorial at Fox News. And that “a commitment to truth and accuracy in the conveyance of national and international information as well as an adherence to a journalistic code of ethics” should also apply to Newsmax, which recently settled a defamation lawsuit filed against it by Smartmatic over the falsehoods it spread over election results, which presumably involved millions of dollars in payments. Not that Hirsen wants to remind his readers of the legal difficulties of the website that publishes his column, of course.
Hirsen spent his Dec. 19 column chortling over ABC paying to settle a dubious lawsuit Donald Trump had filed against it:
ABC News and anchor George Stephanopoulos recently settled a lawsuit with President-elect Donald Trump.
The terms of the agreement have the defendants in the suit forking over $15 million to our nation’s incoming 47th commander in chief.
The money purportedly designated for a future presidential library or similar endeavor.
Also included in the settlement is a forced payment of $1 million of Trump’s legal fees and a big crow-eating apology.
HIrsen concluded by declaring:
The ABC News-Stephanopoulos settlement sends a powerful message. It’s one that says news personalities, especially those who work for far-left media outlets, can no longer broadcast false claims in the cavalier manner that they have become accustomed to.
An early Christmas present for those who value truth in news reporting.
Again, no mention of whether he thinks Newsmax’s settlement with Smartmatic was a present for those who value truth in news reporting — or whether he thinks the upcoming trial in Dominion’s lawsuit against Newsmax is an early Christmas present that will send a similarly powerful message.
It’s strange that the media columnist for Newsmax doesn’t want to talk about the legal issues faced by the outlet that publishes his columns. Perhaps his strategic silence is why he’s still allowed to publish columns there.