Media
For media, Biden news conference notable for what's missing – Coast Reporter
NEW YORK — Joe Biden’s first presidential news conference was notable for what was missing after predecessor Donald Trump: no contentious exchanges with reporters, no Fox News and no questions about COVID-19.
The last omission was probably the least expected, considering the pandemic has killed more than half a million Americans and kept much of the country home for the past year.
Many in the news media had been impatient since Biden had not submitted to a formal question-and-answer session with reporters until his 65th day in the office. When he finally did Thursday, it was carried live on the major broadcast and cable news networks.
Before taking a question, Biden announced he was setting a new goal of having 200 million vaccine doses for the coronavirus administered during his first 100 days in office.
And that was it. None of the 10 reporters who questioned him, some on multiple topics, brought the topic up. Noting that in a tweet, Sheryl Gay Stolberg of The New York Times said the questions “suggest that coronavirus is no longer Topic A.”
“Pretty sure it is for the American people and the Biden White House,” White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain tweeted in response.
Four questioners brought up immigration and the Mexican border, while three asked about the filibuster, the arcane Senate rule that will be key to getting legislation passed. Not quite three months into office, Biden was asked whether he would run for reelection and if Vice-President Kamala Harris would be on his ticket.
Biden was occasionally direct, occasionally windy and occasionally cagey in response to questions. When a Bloomberg reporter asked specific questions about economic policy and China, Biden instead embarked on a lengthy verbal treatise on relations between the two countries.
A question about gun control devolved into a long discussion of the president’s infrastructure plans.
Some reporters, noting the unlikelihood of being called on again as Biden consulted a list for reporters to take questions from, made queries on multiple topics.
While former President Trump’s sessions with reporters sometimes included nasty exchanges, there was none of that with Biden. While he was sometimes pressed, like when NBC’s Kristen Welker tried unsuccessfully to pin Biden down on media access at the Mexican border, there was nothing notably harsh.
Trump on Thursday accused the White House reporters of throwing “softballs” to Biden. “It’s very sad to watch, actually,” he told Fox News Channel’s Laura Ingraham, adding, “Look, the whole thing is ridiculous.”
With only 10 reporters called upon, some were left out, including anyone from The New York Times. So were reporters from outlets popular with conservatives, and favourites of Trump when he took questions as president.
Newsmax’s Emerald Robinson wasn’t called upon, and no reporter from One American News Network was in the room. Fox News Channel’s Peter Doocy, who had some memorable exchanges with Biden on the campaign trail, wasn’t called upon.
That quickly became an issue at Fox, where the chyron “Biden Snubs Fox News during First News Conf” was put onscreen.
“I definitely would have told the president to call on Peter Doocy,” said Fox’s Dana Perino, a White House press secretary in George W. Bush’s administration. “Why make Peter Doocy a story? Just take his question and move on.”
Doocy, for his part, said later from the White House lawn that he had a binder full of questions ready to ask.
“Maybe next time,” he said.
David Bauder, The Associated Press
Media
CTV National News: Social media giants sued – CTV News
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CTV National News: Social media giants sued CTV News
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Media
India’s media – captured and censored
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Across almost every form of media in India – social, broadcast and print – Narendra Modi and the BJP hold sway.
With India amid a national election campaign, its news media is in sharp focus. Until recently it was believed that the sheer diversity of outlets ensured a range of perspectives, but now, India’s mainstream media has largely been co-opted by the Bharatiya Janata Party and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Just how did the media in India get to this point and what does it mean for the upcoming elections?
Featuring:
Ravish Kumar – Former Host, NDTV
Shashi Shekhar Vempati – Former CEO, Prasar Bharati
Pramod Raman – Chief Editor, MediaOne
Amy Kazmin – Former South Asia Bureau Chief, Financial Times
Meena Kotwal – Founder, The Mooknayak
Media
Social media lawsuit launched by Ontario school boards
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Premier Doug Ford says that lawsuits launched by four Ontario school boards against multiple social media platforms are “nonsense” and risk becoming a distraction to the work that really matters.
The school boards, including three in the Greater Toronto Area, have launched lawsuits seeking $4.5 billion in damages against Snapchat, TikTok, and Meta, the owner of both Facebook and Instagram, for creating products that they allege negligently interfere with student learning and have caused “widespread disruption to the education system.”
But at an unrelated news conference in Ottawa on Friday, Ford said that he “disagrees” with the legal action and worries it could take the focus away from “the core values of education.”
“Let’s focus on math, reading and writing. That is what we need to do, put all the resources into the kids,” he said. “What are they spending lawyers fees to go after these massive companies that have endless cash to fight this? Let’s focus on the kids, not this other nonsense that they are looking to fight in court.”
Four separate but similar statements of claim were filed in Ontario’s Superior Court of JusticSocial media lawsuit launched by Ontario school boards pervasive problems such as distraction, social withdrawal, cyberbullying, a rapid escalation of aggression, and mental health challenges,” Colleen Russell-Rawlins, the director of education with the Toronto District School Board, said in a news release issued Thursday.
“It is imperative that we take steps to ensure the well-being of our youth. We are calling for measures to be implemented to mitigate these harms and prioritize the mental health and academic success of our future generation.”
The school boards are represented by Toronto-based law firm Neinstein LLP and the news release states that school boards “will not be responsible for any costs related to the lawsuit unless a successful outcome is reached.”
These lawsuits come as hundreds of school districts in the United States file similar suits.
“A strong education system is the foundation of our society and our community. Social media products and the changes in behaviour, judgement and attention that they cause pose a threat to that system and to the student population our schools serve,” Duncan Embury, the head of litigation at Neinstein LLP, said in the new release.
“We are proud to support our schools and students in this litigation with the goal of holding social media giants accountable and creating meaningful change.”
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