You probably thought the highlight of your day yesterday would be celebrating Father’s Day. But you forgot about the “Reliable Sources” newsletter, which came out last night as reliably sourced as ever:
Sunday night's media newsletter is hitting inboxes now: https://t.co/yznVpGK70a
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) June 19, 2022
The newsletter’s “entertainment desk” featured this snarky little passage:
Write what you know!
BY BRIAN LOWRY:
I hereby (half-jokingly) suggest a pact where film critics swear off politics if New York Times op-ed columnists stop writing about movies. Without refuting or dissecting them point by point, the shortcomings in Ross Douthat‘s latest column – essentially envisioning two very different films, “Top Gun: Maverick” and “The Northman,” as a portal to Hollywood’s past – underscore what can happen when news-based columnists choose to dabble in pop culture, a beat where (much like sports) everyone presumes that they’re an expert…
Brian Lowry is CNN’s media critic. So you’d think he of all people would know that if you’re going to critique media, you should be familiar with the media you’re critiquing.
Alas, Brian Lowry — like Brian Stelter — can’t be bothered with such inconvenient tasks. That left it up to National Review critic at large Kyle Smith to call Lowry out:
Truly amazing face-plant by Brian Lowry of CNN when he says @DouthatNYT should stick to politics and not write about film. Ross has been the film critic for National Review magazine for nearly 15 years. pic.twitter.com/ei87LtJaR5
— Kyle Smith (@rkylesmith) June 20, 2022
“National Review film critic” is literally in Ross Douthat’s Twitter bio:
Nice journalism, Brian Lowry.
“I know absolutely nothing about what I’m talking about”
— Kyle Smith (@rkylesmith) June 20, 2022
“I won’t bother to dissect this column but I assure you my dissection would be amazing, take my word for it.”
— Kyle Smith (@rkylesmith) June 20, 2022
Also, where is it written that nobody can have opinions about both culture and politics? Just irredeemable stupidity.
— Kyle Smith (@rkylesmith) June 20, 2022
Liberal celebrities sound off about politics all the time! And unlike so many of them, Ross Douthat is actually pretty well versed in the political stuff as well as the cultural stuff. Maybe Brian Lowry is just envious that he’s incapable of being interested in and knowing about multiple things at the same time.
And of course Ross has been writing film reviews longer than he’s been an op-ed columnist for NYT but CNN media team just unaware of stuff that happens in media
— Kyle Smith (@rkylesmith) June 20, 2022
Of course.
CNN media reporter Brian Stelter published this little bon mot in his evening newsletter, indicating that he, too, is completely unacquainted with the basic facts of people he writes about.
— Kyle Smith (@rkylesmith) June 20, 2022
This is like Remedial Journalism 101 stuff. And CNN still can’t do it.
https://twitter.com/rkylesmith/status/1538709818797608960
“Total lack of professionalism.” “Sheer stupidity.” That’s pretty much CNN’s brand in a nutshell.
https://twitter.com/BecketAdams/status/1538892041878487041
Only the hardest-hitting media reporting from CNN.
