'Complete BS!' NBC News slammed for 'stunningly stupid' report on US being 'dangerous' for journalists

It’s kind of interesting that journalists want us to see them as brave firefighters and guardians of truth when they spend so much time portraying themselves as victims.

But here we are:

United States added to list of most dangerous countries for journalists for first time https://t.co/R2NAYvS1jl

— NBC News (@NBCNews) December 19, 2018

Oh.

Based on what??? Seriously

— Teddy Murphy (@wernerKrimsin) December 19, 2018

This is stunningly stupid reporting. https://t.co/xEvP0LHzh6

— Lee Doren (@LDoren) December 19, 2018

That’s an understatement:

The world’s five deadliest countries for journalists include three — India, Mexico and, for the first time, the United States — where journalists were killed in cold blood, even though those countries weren’t at war or in conflict, the group said.

…

Reporters Without Borders said the three most dangerous countries for journalists to work in were Afghanistan, Syria and Mexico.

Meanwhile, the shooting deaths of five employees of the Capital Gazette newspaper in Annapolis, Maryland, in June propelled the United States into the ranks of the most dangerous countries for the first time.

The deaths of the Capital Gazette employees were tragic and horrible, but they were not emblematic of a systemic oppression of journalists like we see in places like China and the Middle East. For all of Trump’s public raging against journalists and the media, he’s never detained a reporter or ordered one killed. NBC News’ decision to report this as evidence that the U.S. oppresses its journalists is grossly irresponsible — and dishonest as hell.

The narrative attempted by this story is complete BS!!! The US government is not killing journalists, the one killing inside US mentioned in the story had nothing to do with Trump, or anything Trump has ever said! I would call this disingenuous, but it's downright dishonest!!!

— Brian (@BS_elephant) December 19, 2018

Wow, can't believe I missed all those stories about the journalists our government jailed and murdered… While what happened at the Capital Gazette was horrific, I don't understand how one individual's personal grudge against a newspaper put the U.S on this list.

— Jessica Letizia (@jmletizia) December 19, 2018

This says a lot more about the rarity of journalist deaths (and the folly of using raw numbers for country-by-country comparisons) than it does about the United States. https://t.co/kwqN4xOTRX

— Griswold Christmas Vacation (@HashtagGriswold) December 19, 2018

I'm trying not to sound glib here, but a grand total of six journalists were killed in the United States last year. Two of those (counted in the report) were killed accidentally by a falling tree.

— Griswold Christmas Vacation (@HashtagGriswold) December 19, 2018

Put another way, by the standard NBC News is forwarding here, the state-ordered, premeditated murder of Jamal Khashoggi counts half as much towards making a country "dangerous" for journalists as the accidental deaths from a tree falling in North Carolina.

— Griswold Christmas Vacation (@HashtagGriswold) December 19, 2018

One third of the ones in the US were killed when a tree fell on them. Horrible that it happened, but an accident nonetheless. pic.twitter.com/tBIg3LnzkE

— Rob Schneider (@hokirob) December 19, 2018

Calling America “dangerous” for journalists is absurd

Since 1992, a total of 3 journalists have been killed due to the actual danger of the assignment.

Yes, journalists here can be hit with a stray bullet or be targeted for a personal grudge. So can anyone. https://t.co/mM7AzIT0op

— Buck Sexton (@BuckSexton) December 19, 2018

6 journalists died on the job in the U.S. last year. 4 were victims of that psychopath who shot up an Annapolis newspaper. The other 2 were killed by *a falling tree*.

Does that mean the US should be included on the same list of "dangerous for a free press" as Putin's Russia? https://t.co/YmRlFMX8Ng

— Jeff B. (@EsotericCD) December 19, 2018

And what’s really obnoxious is that NBC News isn’t even the first outlet to run with this bogus narrative:

I did a whole thing on this. Not exactly shocking how many news outlets and advocacy orgs shoehorned a condemnation of Trump into this news, but man is it reckless stewardship. https://t.co/P4nmolJ2Sf

— Noah Rothman (@NoahCRothman) December 19, 2018

Reckless is right.

Absurd methodology. https://t.co/59PMA4UDFk

— Josh Kraushaar (@HotlineJosh) December 19, 2018

And Russia didn't even make RSF's top six. But the US did.

— Noah Rothman (@NoahCRothman) December 19, 2018

Our journalists are not oppressed. But a lot of them deserve to be shamed.

pathetically unserious.Offensive to journalists in Mexico,Turkey,Iran,other countries who are actually imprisoned,tortured&murdered

— Animal Mechanic (@LentDVM) December 19, 2018

Also, a little unrelated, but a final note on Reporters Without Borders in the Trump era: https://t.co/P4nmolJ2Sf pic.twitter.com/UJHh5T6pAU

— Noah Rothman (@NoahCRothman) December 19, 2018