Media top headlines September 10
In media news today, MSNBC remains silent after Rachel Maddow and Joy Reid amplified a false ivermectin overdose story, left-wing media celebrates the Biden admin's move to oust Trump appointees from military panels, and The New York Times defends Gavin Newsom against recall
The Los Angeles Times appears to have stealth-edited a report about the turmoil of pro-women group Time's Up, scrubbing any reference of Biden accuser Tara Reade.
On Saturday, the paper published an article on the exodus of the Time's Up leadership that has parted ways with the organization following the revelations that its top officials were secretly aiding Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo as he began facing allegations of sexual harassment. Among those who resigned included Democratic operative and CNN contributor Hilary Rosen.
The report referenced Rosen's apparent efforts to secretly "discredit" Reade, a charge that's been leveled by Reade and her backers.
"Supporters of Tara Reade, who alleged that President Biden harassed her in 1993, have claimed that Rosen worked behind the scenes to discredit Reade and other women who have accused powerful Democratic men of wrongdoing," the Times originally wrote. "Rosen wasn’t immediately available to comment on the group’s announcement, made in a statement on its website Saturday."
However, according to the internet archival website The Wayback Machine, that reference to Reade disappeared the next day without any sort of editor's note.
It was replaced with a watered-down paragraph about Rosen, which read, "Some have criticized the involvement of Rosen, who is vice-chair of the powerful Washington, D.C., public relations firm SKDKnickerbocker and a high-profile Democratic operative. Rosen declined to comment."
The Times did not immediately respond to Fox News' request for comment.
Reade had previously alleged that Rosen reached out to the digital news outlet Law & Crime about a March 2020 report it wrote just days after she came forward with her assault allegation against Biden. The report listed financial transactions between SKDKnickerbocker, the PR partner for the Time's Up Legal Defense Fund, and the Biden campaign during the 2019-2020 presidential election cycle as Reade sought financial aid from the group but was ultimately turned away.
According to Reade, she was told at the time by Law & Crime's Colin Kalmbacher, who authored the report, that Rosen called the editor and went over the article "line by line" and that she urged the outlet not to "lift" or "elevate" Reade in any more stories. Law & Crime went on to publish several other reports about the Biden accuser.
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Fox News reached out to Kalmbacher for comment but received a response from Law & Crime editor-in-chief Rachel Stockman, who confirmed that Rosen "did reach out to our editor to discuss and critique our coverage" but stressed, "Not a word was changed or altered as a result of that conversation."
However, Stockman did not respond to Fox News' inquiry about the details of that conservation, including if Rosen urged Law & Crime to no longer cover Reade.
Rosen did not immediately respond to Fox News' request for comment.
Last month, The Washington Post reported about Rosen's alleged involvement in the shielding of Andrew Cuomo in supporting Time's Up decision not to issue a statement responding to the sexual harassment claim made by Cuomo's first accuser, former aide Lindsey Boylan, when Fox News reached out to the group for comment back in December 2020.
Rosen was allegedly concerned about the negative impact of giving Fox News "a headline to run all day." She told the Post that she thought "serious allegations of sexual harassment should not be politicized" in an attempt to explain her objection.
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Reade, who wrote the memoir "Left Out: When the Truth Doesn't Fit In" about her experience coming forward with her assault allegation, was one of eight women who came forward in 2019 to accuse the then-Democratic candidate of inappropriate touching when she worked for him as a Senate staffer.
A year later, Reade revealed her sexual assault claim on "The Katie Halper Show." Biden repeatedly denied her claims on the campaign trail.
Before going public, Reade sought help from the Time's Up Legal Defense Fund in January 2020 to help defray the costs of public relations and legal fees. However, while the organization offered attorney referrals, she said they denied her funding, citing concerns it could affect its nonprofit 501(c)(3) status as her allegation is against a politician actively running for office.
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