NYT Exploits Man’s Coronavirus Death With Shoddy, Hypocritical Hit Piece on Fox News – By Guy Benson (Townhall) / April 20 2020
Over the weekend, the New York Times published a story about the Coronavirus-caused death of a bar owner from New York City. The man was a conservative, a Fox News viewer who was distrustful of the mainstream media, and was beloved by his patrons and wider community. The piece is filled with texture, but its inescapable underlying theme and tone is, ‘this Trumpy right-winger’s ideology caused his death.’ That’s certainly how many ‘blue checkmarks’ on social media chose to market it, almost as a weird form of vengeance porn. They wouldn’t quite say that he deserved to die — although plenty of online commenters would — but with just a glimmer of satisfaction, they shared the story as a means of attacking politicians and institutions that they’ve loathed for years. See, we were right all along, and now a man is dead:
“He watched Fox, and believed it was under control … he didn’t think that he could have it, because he wasn’t 100 percent confident that it was a thing.” https://t.co/DgWqb8LyXV
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 19, 2020
He trusted Fox and Trump. They told him to dismiss the Democrats' new hoax. He did. Now a beloved fixture of his Bay Ridge neighborhood is gone. A poignant obituary. https://t.co/MkKJv5Or8O
— David Frum (@davidfrum) April 19, 2020
“He watched Fox, and believed it was under control," said the daughter of a beloved NYC bar owner who went on a cruise in March, contracted coronavirus, and died. https://t.co/bfEJUngLAU
— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) April 18, 2020
A sad, loving @GiniaNYT portrait of a man killed by Fox News https://t.co/esOacKdXS3
— Jonathan Chait (@jonathanchait) April 19, 2020
“Killed by Fox News.” This story was shared far and wide, offering liberals the irresistible chance to gravely nod along to its premise — that this man was killed by his ideological priors — while affirming their own ideological priors. It’s smug condescension, wrapped in faux sympathy and concern. It’s also the latest installment of a concerted effort among some in the media, especially at CNN and the Times, to exploit the pandemic as an opportunity to batter and assail Fox (where I work), an outlet they’ve despised and resented for years, largely for political and ideological reasons. One might say that using the occasion of a man’s death to write a hit piece on his preferred political and media figures is, well, creepily ghoulish. But doing so while relying on sleight-of-hand and supposition is downright disgraceful. Reporter Ginia Bellafonte briefly acknowledges some inconveniences to the narrative, but doesn’t allow them to derail the Larger Point, which she correctly identified as catnip for her
Continue to article: https://townhall.com/tipsheet/guybenson/2020/04/20/nyt-fox-hit-piece-n2567204
