© Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty ImagesDemocratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton speaks to the press onboard her plane September 5 above Iowa.
In April 2015, the
Clinton campaign held a
private dinner party with at least 65 journalists and pundits in attendance. Individuals from CNN, CBS,
The New York Times, NBC, MSNBC and more came together under the campaign's stated goal of "framing the race" to help
Clinton win.
Many of the above media outlets were indeed the Clinton campaign's biggest surrogates throughout the 2016 presidential election.This past election cycle was unprecedented in terms of the bias and lack of objectivity exercised by the mainstream media. The emphasis on mainstream media blaming "fake news" for Donald Trump's election is an attempt to distract and divert the feedback loop developed between the Clinton campaign and much of the press. Throughout the 2016 election, the media obsessed over
Trump to elevate his candidacy. He was their preferred opponent for Hillary
Clinton-after they had thoroughly subverted Sen. Bernie Sanders' campaign for the Democratic nomination.
Several journalists from
The New York Times, which formally endorsed
Clinton twice, created propaganda for the
Clinton campaign rather than independent journalism. The
Times' Mark Leibovich allowed
Clinton campaign communications director Jennifer Palmieri to "veto what you didn't want" from his interview with
Clinton. Maggie Haberman was
listed by the
Clinton campaign as a friendly reporter with whom they could plant stories. Haberman also
allowed Clinton campaign staff to proofread her pro-
Clinton stories.
The
Times' Patrick Healy
published a "heroine" piece planted by the
Clinton campaign about New Hampshire
Clinton campaign volunteer Laura Donahoe. Jonathan Martin was
revealed to have been coached through a story on the
Clinton campaign by manager Robby Mook. Jason Horowitz
solicited a quote from Clinton campaign chair John Podesta on a hit piece about the relationship between President
Obama and
Sanders.
The New York Times wasn't alone.
Politico reporter Ken Vogel had
Democratic National Committee (DNC) communications director Luis Miranda
review an article before he sent it to editors as part of an agreement with the
DNC.
Politico has since
called Vogel's actions "a mistake." Glenn Thrush also
allowed Podesta to approve articles.
CNN published an anti-Sanders
Op-Ed written by
Clinton lobbyist Maria Cardona-it was proofread by the
DNC.
The Intercept
reported in May that an Op-Ed ostensibly written by Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and intended to discredit
Sanders was actually written by a
Clinton lobbyist and proofread by a
Clinton Super PAC, which sent the article to CNN. CNN regularly featured pundits with financial
ties to the
Clintons, yet failed to disclose those ties before the pundits praised
Clinton.
DNC interim chair Donna Brazile was
revealed to have obtained CNN debate questions while working for the network and forwarded them to the
Clinton campaign.
CNN also allowed the DNC to
compile questions to be asked during
interviews with Republican candidates on air.
In the WikiLeaks release of
DNC emails,
The Washington Post was
exposed to have hosted a joint fundraiser with the
Clinton campaign. The paper published hyperbolic hit pieces on Sanders throughout the primaries, including the editorial board calling his campaign "fiction-filled" and an article published with the
title claiming that nominating Sanders would be "insane." Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting's (FAIR) Adam Johnson pointed out the
Post published 16 hit pieces on Sanders in the span of 16 hours in early March.
Harper's Thomas Frank wrote also a
detailed piece on how
WaPo sabotaged
Sanders during the primaries.
Wall Street Journal reporter Laura Meckler
received a letter leaked to her from DNC communications director Miranda and used it to write a hit piece on Sanders during the primaries. Miranda
used the same reporter to criticize Sanders in the media over convention platform appointments.
The Associated Press was
cited by the
Clinton campaign as a publication in which they could plant stories with friendly journalists Matt Lee and Bradley Klapper, including discussions regarding the private email server
scandal. Robby Mook's assistant
emailed fellow
Clinton staff members asking what time would they prefer the story be published by the AP. They also
called the Democratic primaries for
Clinton before
California even voted, citing anonymous superdelegates.
MSNBC
halted negative coverage of former DNC chair
Debbie Wasserman Schultz after she called the network's president, Phil Griffin, to complain. Two days after
Clinton campaign staff discussed how to attack
Sanders on campaign finance by citing a Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) retreat he attended several months earlier, MSNBC reporter
Alex Seitz-Wald wrote a
Sanders hit piece using the very same criticisms. Seitz-Wald, like many other pro-
Clinton journalists, started out at John Podesta's Center for American Progress. Seitz-Wald also propagated the chair-throwing myth at the Nevada Democratic Convention to discredit
Sanders and his supporters.
Meet the Press host Chuck Todd held a
private party for Jennifer Palmieri while she was working as the
Clinton campaign communications director. MSNBC host Joy Reid regularly pushed
false narratives in order to help
Clinton, especially in regards to WikiLeaks. Rachel Maddow
premiered ads from Clinton Super PACs on her show.
CNBC correspondent John Harwood emailed
Clinton Podesta on a regular basis, soliciting access in exchange for friendly coverage on
Clinton.Several prominent bloggers-MTV News' Jamil Smith,
Guardian columnists Sady Doyle and Jessica Valenti, Tech LadyMafia founder Aminatou Sow, America's Voice Gabe Ortiz and Latino blogger Elianne Ramos who was later
hired by the
Clinton campaign-were
selected by
Clinton campaign staff to attend a conference call in which they could disseminate information they wanted the bloggers to propagate "without our fingerprints."
Vox's editor in chief, Ezra Klein, was
cited by
Clinton campaign staff as an attack dog they could use to push out a story they were putting together.
All these outlets and networks played significant roles in perpetuating false narratives in favor of the Clinton campaign. This includes the "Bernie Bros" myth, the whitewashing of the
Sanders campaign, and
adding superdelegates to Democratic primary tallies, even though they don't cast their votes until the Democratic National Convention.
The
DNC and
Clinton campaign manipulated mainstream media coverage to further
Clinton's candidacy, especially in the
Democratic primaries.
Clinton's lack of press conferences during the primaries and general election are symptomatic of her not willing to deal with any media not entirely subservient to the campaign's political agenda. As the mainstream media offers more excuses to avoid responsibility and accountability for this election, major press reforms are needed. Admitting the vast amounts of unethical, pro-Clinton coverage among media elites would be a good start.
Comment: It's not just during the elections that most of these mainstream outlets were perpetuating false narratives. Even now, they are still downplaying the reality that the Clintons are a bunch of corrupt swamp monsters while continuing their attacks on Russia and Trump.