Because she makes some really egregious mistakes over there at MSNBC (one of the White House Designated “Real” News Channels), so I want to know.
I mean, during the summer, Brewer did some primo race-baiting as she (and others at White-House-Approved-and Met-With) MSNBC went out of their way to hide the race of a videotaped, gun-carrying tea-partier (ahem, he was African American) in order to suggest that the rally attendees were all a bunch of ignorant white racists who were probably threatening the life of the Dear Leader, President Obama.
Today, she apparently did zero prep before interviewing the Rev. Jesse Jackson for a bit of class-warfare-instigation. After flipping her hair in umbrage on behalf of “the guys who make $10 an hour” (of whom she knows many, we’re sure) the too-pretty-for-honesty-or-prepwork Ms. Brewer (a “real” journalist on a White House Approved “Real” Channel, remember) sped-read her teleprompter and betrayed her staggering lack of preparation by introducing Rev. Jackson as “The Reverend Al Sharpton.”
One would assume that a real, professional bigtime journalist like Contessa Brewer would have talked with someone about her upcoming interview WITH REV. JESSE JACKSON, and maybe she might have prepared a few questions FOR REV. JESSE JACKSON, so she would actually know that she was about to speak with THE REV. JESSE JACKSON.
But no – in a clear indication that Brewer does little more than look pretty, read adequately and possesses working ears that can hear the questions being whispered to her by some less camera-worthy producer who probably got better grades but fewer dates than Brewer-her-better, Contessa Brewer (White House Certified Real Journalist) introduced REV. JESSE JACKSON as…Al Sharpton.
The look on Jackson’s face, as he hears Brewer introduce him as Al Sharpton and then continue to prattle away like a hopped-up magpie: it’s priceless. And it’s poignant, too.
Over at Gawker they correctly note: If Fox News did this, there would be sit-ins.
Yes, well, that’s because it would fit the “conservatives are all racist, sexist, homophobes” narrative.
Brewer gets paid, I am sure, a very healthy salary in order to make rather a habit of exposing the left -oh, excuse me the White House Approved CONTAINMENT Media, for the race-fixated, race-baiting, stereotyping political expedients they are.
That’s not a very long video, but the expression on Jackson’s face – it is a sort of American tragedy; it is at once a very dignified-but-scornful look that says, “tell me again you’re not a racist and that we don’t all look alike to you,” but it also conveys a sort of resigned awareness that,
a) this is his team, and if he wants his share of the spoils he must play along and
b) he knows damn well that he and Sharpton are little more than changeable tools being used by the Democrats and the left Mainstream Official White House Media for the further establishment of narratives and the further promulgation of Official Propaganda.
Brewer’s excuse: “it was in my script!”
Yes, some lesser-paid-lackey’s head will roll for exposing as a knucklehead a woman whose job requires that she actually knows who she is going to be talking to within a five-minute segment and perhaps be nimble-enough of mind to manage a mental edit or two on the fly.
This reminds me of the time another Official Journalist, I think it was Diane Sawyer, made a fool of herself and later blamed her staff saying, “it was an informational problem…my staff…”
Hooey. All we get from the government is hooey, dutifully presented by head-patted, White-House-Approved hoo-ers. Which is why I stopped watching any televised news (unless it’s breaking) a long time ago.
UPDATE: Don’t miss Ace’s fisking of The White House Steno Pool
Also, Deacon Greg, who had a front-row seat at the implosion of the mainstream media gives his take
UPDATE II: The complete list of White House Pets
October 21st, 2009 | 8:22 pm | #1
Poignant is right. The look on his face said a thousand words.
October 21st, 2009 | 8:49 pm | #2
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by The Anchoress and The Anchoress, Jenny H. Jenny H said: RT @TheAnchoress:my thoughts on Contessa Brewer & J. Jackson http://bit.ly/nbEa8///. Is there now an'Official Journalist' badge&r they union [...]
October 21st, 2009 | 9:01 pm | #3
A cynical man might call that somewhat racist. I can’t imagine the outcry if a Fox anchor did this – the FCC would suspend their liscence immediately.
October 21st, 2009 | 9:27 pm | #4
You know, all you have to say in that sort of situation is something like, “Yikes! I did what?!?!” Then, looking very sheepish, “the dangers of live TV…”
Everybody’s had a brain fart, so if you are abashed and shake your head in self-deprecating amusement, everybody will smile with memories of their own brain farts and not think poorly of you at all.
October 21st, 2009 | 10:19 pm | #5
I wanted to see the pre-show rehearsal of this. “Now which African-American flack do we have on today? Al? Jesse?”
October 21st, 2009 | 10:21 pm | #6
So true, Cathy – I could write a book on the sheepish look!
October 21st, 2009 | 10:29 pm | #7
I often tune in to Morning Joe on MSNBC because they seem to make an effort to include many different points of view. Generally speaking, I find Joe and Mika to be likeable and generally respectful of each other and their guests. They have Pat Buchanan on a regular basis, for example.
However, when the show is over and Contessa Brewer comes on, the entire network shifts into liberal overdrive. Brewer is a lightweight who enjoys trashing Sarah Palin as often as possible.
I giggled when I read the story about Brewer’s on-air whopper of a mistake. Has she been living under a rock for the past 20 years? Who can’t tell the difference between Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, particularly when they are sitting right in front of her?
Couldn’t have happened to a nicer person…:-)
October 21st, 2009 | 11:43 pm | #8
Anchoress, your post was hilarious!
October 22nd, 2009 | 12:12 am | #9
If Pravda and Tass say it was Al Sharpton, then it was Al Sharpton! They don’t make mistakes.
October 22nd, 2009 | 5:11 am | #10
Like you, I quit watching all network news a long time ago. I’m a print person by nature anyway, and getting the news from print allows me to control it without Katie or Charles telling me what to think.
October 22nd, 2009 | 10:26 am | #11
[...] media is an EPIC FAILURE! It should not be difficult, as there are lots and lots of examples of mainstream media incompetence and failure to choose [...]
October 22nd, 2009 | 12:03 pm | #12
Well at least she didn’t do consiously like Sarah Palin did.
October 22nd, 2009 | 12:13 pm | #13
Brewer was never considered to be very bright.
As Don Imus!
Forget any cries of racism….this girl picks up a telephone to answer it and puts it in her mouth.
Maybe she should just do guest shots on “The View” and leave news ananlysis to professionals.
October 22nd, 2009 | 4:11 pm | #14
I honestly can’t remember the last time I saw either Sharpton or Jackson on television. I also don’t tend to pay a lot of attention to the photos attached to the news stories I read online.
Yet there is no way in a million years I could ever, ever confuse the two men. In my book, this would be the lowest dollar-value question on a show like “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” or “Cash Cab.”
How does someone this ill-informed attain such a position in broadcast media? Seriously– how???
October 22nd, 2009 | 9:02 pm | #15
… and the beat goes on. The Obama regime tried to ban Fox News from interviewing the pay czar, but the other networks in the White House pool refused to play along, so Barry caved – this time. I’ll ask again – when will impeachment hearings begin?
October 23rd, 2009 | 12:02 pm | #16
She isn’t being paid for her brains; if she were, she’d have to be on welfare!
October 24th, 2009 | 12:15 am | #17
“…continue to prattle away like a hopped-up magpie”
Ouch! And so true!!
October 24th, 2009 | 12:28 pm | #18
If Obama can walk and chew gum he’s already done more than the Bush debacle. In this short time the world feels that the US government is in the hands of grown-ups again. It’s amazing how people who have never been in the military or in harm’s way always want to be Hawks (compensation I guess). The communication arm of the Bush administration (Fox News) pushed for war and now they want to criticize Obama for not ending it.
All this being said, the Obama administration is wrong to give Fox that much credibility, what he should do is just continue to let Olbermann show the dumb things that Fox news people say so that intelligent people can laugh at them. I turn on Fox for 15 minutes and my IQ goes down 10 points.
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