Oh my God, Soledad O'brien just killed a man.

[kpete]

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

[poboy2]

1. Great critique. Very efficient as well. I'm impressed. -eom

[MrModerate]

2. O'Brien successfully polished her credentials as a twit.

The effect on Cillizza -- whose extended metaphor was pretty damn apt -- will be minimal, except he gets to make fun of O'Brien going forward.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

3. I dunno. Kevin Kruse coined the headline, and he seems pretty up on things.

Just my cursory impression. I’m not up on either of them.

[SCVDem]

4. A Twit?!

I first encountered Soledad O'Brien on Science shows produced in the Bay area such as 'Beyond 2000'.

I never equated 'twit' with her work.

[MrModerate]

41. I don't follow her career . . .

But I did read this particular series of tweets. Nobody died and made her the god of Good Content.

[DownriverDem]

6. Huh?

I totally disagree. How insulting.

[MrModerate]

42. I found her so. n/t

[american_ideals]

16. Soledad just said out loud what smart media people all think

Cillizza and CNN are selling America out for profit.
By airing the president’s rallies unfiltered, CNN did more than anyone to get him elected.

Politics is not a game. It’s not a reality show. He can go to ESPN if he wants a reality show. Democracy depends on a realistic press that covers issues. CNN is not that. Sooner we all recognize that the better.


Criticism of Cillizza and “savvy”-issue free coverage:

http://pressthink.org/2014/02/behold-how-badly-our-political-journalists-have-lost-the-freakin-plot/

https://www.cjr.org/the_profile/chris-cillizza-cnn-politics.php

After he began at The Washington Post, Cillizza’s profile and brand began to grow, and so did criticism of his work. In 2009, The Washington Post canceled his comedy series “Mouthpiece Theater” when he and co-host Dana Milbank suggested in a segment that Hillary Clinton should drink “Mad Bitch Beer.”

Jay Rosen, media critic and professor of journalism at New York University, is a relentless critic of Cillizza’s informal style of political punditry. He believe’s Cillizza’s work weakens the country’s trust in journalism.

In 2014, Rosen described Cillizza’s emphasis on “savvy” journalism as a mistake. He warned that the quick-infotainment approach to politics would turn analysis into gamesmanship, cultivating a class of people who were just into politics for the fun, rather than assessing real-world implications. Rosen explained, “The savvy severs any lingering solidarity between journalists as the providers of information, and voters as decision-makers in need of it.”

[MrModerate]

43. So, media critics don't like Cillizza's style.

That doesn't make his reporting wrong. And it doesn't hand O'Brien any Delphic powers to call it that.

[american_ideals]

48. Anyone who cares about America hates fact-free takes

Cillizza is just the worst of many offenders in the media who care more about chasing clicks, and which party “won”, than about facts.

We used to have a media that informed the country. Now we have an infotainment machine. Which is a big reason this president got elected. And no one is more responsible for this degradation of America than Chris Cilllizza.

I cited Rosen because he wrote a comprehensive explanation. But every patriotic American who cares about issues in public debate should be calling out Cillizza.

[muriel_volestrangler]

19. Cillizza is just repeating what Trump said a couple of months ago, and falling in line with him

He's admitting that he craves the ratings that Trump provides, and doesn't care about analysing the actual effect of the Trump administration, let alone holding it to account. He's asking people to sit down and enjoy the circus.

The effect on Cillizza may not be much, because he doesn't seem to have much self-awareness or shame. But, far from being a 'twit', O'Brien is being very straightforward about Cillizza's failings.

[MrModerate]

44. O'Brien is straightforward, but has no standing to judge Cillizza. n/t

[muriel_volestrangler]

47. "n/t"? How can you "n/t" that, when it's clearly the set-up for a punchline?

Everyone has standing to judge Cillizza. He's a running joke. And this crap was a typical reason why so many people laugh at him.

[american_ideals]

49. Thank you. Exactly.

America depends on a robust, honest media that covers issues. We have an infotainment machine churning out hot takes and seeking ratings. That’s why this president got elected- and Cillizza bears a lot of the blame for that.

[MrModerate]

51. I'm happy you find him so entertaining.

However, I find your opinion about as compelling as O'Brien's.

[muriel_volestrangler]

52. She has 2 Peabody awards, and 3 Emmys, for her work

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soledad_O%27Brien#Honors

He has mainly collected criticism for 'infotainment' and being clickbait: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Cillizza

And somehow, you think she has no standing to judge him.

[MrModerate]

57. Her complaint is that his humorous piece shouldn't be read . . .

Because the issues addressed are so serious.

If you can't see the invalidity of that argument -- and why no number of awards qualifies one to make it -- then, well, I guess we'll continue to disagree.

[A-Schwarzenegger]

23. Cillizza's always been a jerkoff.

And proud of it.

[Iggo]

34. That's enough.

[KPN]

5. Collizza thinks too highly of himself apparently.

He should never even engaged with her.

[Malikshah]

7. Chris Cilliza: Desperately wants to be the Andy Cohen of political reporting

Swirling at the bottom of the humanity bowl . . .

(BTW: I'm sure he would relish the comparison to Andy Cohen)

[longship]

8. Cillizza is a fucking idiot. Always has been!!!

Enough said?

Hope so.

[Cryptoad]

10. + gazillion!

[DFW]

53. That is about the most accurate and concise assessment of Cilizza on this thread I have seen

As one who grew up in the DC press scene (as in "since the days when my dad took me to the Capitol to hang at the Senate press Gallery with guys like Church, Javits, Humphrey and Dirksen"--before Cillizza was even born), I have seen fat-headed blowhards come and go, and Clizza's smug "I-Hate-Hillary" routine was already old when he still had his column "The Fix" at the WaPo. He was full of himself in print, and when I finally saw him do guest spots on TV, he merely confirmed the impression I got from his writing.

[GreenEyedLefty]

9. I enjoyed Cillizza's piece.

Because I read it for what it was (hint: not hard journalism).

[american_ideals]

14. Hes bad for America (cillizza). Click chaser.

Weakens America’s trust in the press.

Worst: he doesn’t cover ISSUES. He covers political drama. He’s the People of political reporting. Which is bad, because many think that CNN is real news.

Sooner we recognize that CNN and esp Cilizza are ratings-chasing infotainment, the sooner we can rebuild American public debate.

Politics is not a reality show. Lives are at stake.

http://pressthink.org/2014/02/behold-how-badly-our-political-journalists-have-lost-the-freakin-plot/

[SayItLoud]

11. It's not analysis

Soledad is correct but it's observation. I'm sure the a big part of the 30% support lemmings of the F'n MORON (as said by his own SOS) see the unfolding, evolving chaos in the WH as normal. It is like and can be compared to a reality *get off the island* television show. tRUMP is a kkkon who has run just such a show for 10+ years, so it's all normal life for him.

Pointing this out by Cillizza may offend Soledad and others but I look at it as giving an insight into how those 30% lemmings think, process info and can be swept up into votes. They along with Russia swung this election and to ignore what attracts them is to ignore reality. Just my 2 cents. Flame away.

[american_ideals]

15. Politics is not a reality show. Lives are at stake.

While Cillizza is fluffing the president and his own ratings, DACA kids’ lives are getting screwed up. And people are losing healthcare. And Jared is selling America out to Qatar. And we just put a $3T tax cut on a credit card d that we and our kids will need to pay back, cutting our quality of life.


This is not a game. Cillizza shouldn’t pretend it is just to enrich himself.

[ecstatic]

33. +1000. So many people are scared shitless

every single day with trump at the helm. Cillizza is a white guy, born and raised in the US, so maybe he doesn't notice that this "reality show" isn't fun and games for everyone. If they had reported the news accurately, there is no way trump would be in the white house right now. It's all about sensationalism and ratings for them. They don't give a shit about setting the record straight *unless* it is their specific industry being attacked.

[CBHagman]

54. Cillizza was also born to privilege, not a disqualifying trait in itself but useful for context.

I generally steer clear of Wikipedia, but out of curiosity I looked at the respective entries for Soledad O'Brien and Chris Cillizza, as network or publication biographies can only provide so much detail and context.

Without comment, here are the records:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Cillizza

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soledad_O%27Brien

[Bernardo de La Paz]

12. NO. Some asshole made a vandalism edit on Wikipedia. Please don't oversell dull twitter convos. . nt

[Shrike47]

13. Me, I love the title. However, I fear Cillizza is recognized only in a very small universe.

[mcar]

17. Perfect!

The other comments are priceless as well. Cillizza is a tool.

[longship]

18. A perfect assessment of Cillizza!

A tool. And a fucking idiot, too.

[Blue_Tires]

20. That's my girl...

[Ellen Forradalom]

21. Condescending shitsack

I don't even know who this Chris guy is but what a douche

[highplainsdem]

22. I didn't like that Cillizza piece, either:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100210326818

[Awsi Dooger]

24. "why people hate the media" is worse than anything Cillizza wrote

Sorry, if you are a journalist yet are accepting and pushing that theme, I have no respect for you.

Big picture dominates. People who won't read what Cillizza wrote or care what Cillizza wrote will hear of this exchange and use it as support of their distrust in media. Meanwhile, media is our only weapon against people like Trump. The lower the public opinion of the media, the greater opportunity for Trump and other Republicans who follow him.

Soledad O'Brien is an inept handicapper.

[Kirk Lover]

26. Yes +1000

[brush]

28. Nah! She's on the money about him. Now is no time for jokes about look how...

funny I can be.

That fucker trump needs to be ousted before he sells out the whole shebang to Putin.

There's no time for "wink wink" parody.

[american_ideals]

50. +1

[CBHagman]

55. "Why Americans hate the media" has been a theme journalists have explored for decades.

James Fallows, for instance, has on multiple occasions written about the way the U.S. media approaches reporting and analysis, and the consequences for the United States as a whole. That is the big picture, and a cheap shot at Soledad O'Brien, who actually is a journalist, won't change that.

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1996/02/why-americans-hate-the-media/305060/

The natural instinct of newspapers and TV is to present every public issue as if its "real" meaning were political in the meanest and narrowest sense of that term—the attempt by parties and candidates to gain an advantage over their rivals. Reporters do, of course, write stories about political life in the broader sense and about the substance of issues—the pluses and minuses of diplomatic recognition for Vietnam, the difficulties of holding down the Medicare budget, whether immigrants help or hurt the nation's economic base. But when there is a chance to use these issues as props or raw material for a story about political tactics, most reporters leap at it.

[BannonsLiver]

25. Cilliza is a world class slime

A true gutter rat, just like that weirdo Jeffrey Challion.

[Kirk Lover]

27. I think she needs to redirect her fire to the real enemies of journalism...not

Chris Cillizzia for fucks sake. No really...if she's wants to go after people I really can think of a few other candidates she'd like to expose as 'mediocre'. Ya know what even if she feels that way it really wasn't just a very nice thing to do publicly and on twitter like that. So shame on her.

[radical noodle]

29. Did you read his article?

He deserved every bit of that, and the twitter world is giving it to him in spades.

[Kirk Lover]

30. No I didn't read this particular article, but I've read others and see him on the tube.

He's just an opinion guy...that's it. No matter what stupid or whatever thing he said I don't engage in beating up on my own in this climate...it has to be pretty bad for me to pile on a liberal in these times. I'm giving out passes left and right.

[radical noodle]

32. I try to give out a lot of passes too

but I don't think joking about trump and his band of criminals being a great reality show is passable (at least not for me). YMMV

[Kirk Lover]

35. Maybe he means that it would be a great reality show..... if it weren't reality.

Well like I said I cut people slack....something like this doesn't bother me in the least. This is nowhere near bad enough for me to care. No Hearing that the NRA wants to hold I need a fucking gun as my right rally on March 24 too enrages me. That is what pisses me off.

[radical noodle]

36. Speaking of which...

is that really happening? I googled it and even went to the NRA website and saw nothing about it.

[Kirk Lover]

37. I read it on a thread here on DU! n/t

[OnDoutside]

40. Have a listen to what JoeScum said about Cillizza to Trump in Feb 2016 for what Cillizza's

attitude was. From 4.29 in

[ecstatic]

31. Soledad speaks for me. This is not a joke

for many of us. This is real life. And articles like the one Cilizza wrote trivialize everything that's going on and contribute to the dumbing down of Americans. It's disgusting. He should use his platform more responsibly.

[Cha]

38. Mahalo, Soledad.. Cillizza doesn't even

get it. That figures.

[radius777]

39. I thought Cilliza's piece was good, actually,

basically a Truman Show type of analysis that accurately describes how Trump and his voters see the world and the presidency, almost like a reality show or wrestle-mania type event, and how that is a critique of our culture in some sense.

I like Soledad, but Cilliza (who usually sucks) is right on this one. Standard political and journalistic analysis fails with someone like Trump, who doesn't play by standard rules.

[janx]

45. She's right.

And facile is an excellent description of what this guy produces. He thinks he's being clever and often interjects casual, sarcastic remarks. He comes off as a sensationalist and does no good for CNN.

[aikoaiko]

46. I miss Soledad.

[Trumpocalypse]

56. Cillizza is why people hate the media

He's a smug sexist who was rightly kicked to the curb by O'Brien.