Politics - News Analysis

Fox News is Angry That Jill Biden is Getting ‘Gooey Puff Pieces’ When Melania Got None in 2016

Fox News analysts are crying out for equal time. They are angry that CBS News Sunday Morning ran a piece on Dr. Jill Biden, the nation’s favorite community college professor, and the story wasn’t hard hitting enough.

The news segment covered much of Jill’s recent past, showing her to be a great wife, cool teacher, and all-around wonderful woman, loved by many people. Of course, this shouldn’t surprise anyone because people genuinely like Jill Biden.

But Fox News demands a hard-hitting piece on the many Dr. Jill Biden scandals that have come down over the years.

Link:

“CBS Sunday Morning” ran a glowing feature on Jill Biden on Sunday but Media Research Center news analyst Nicholas Fondacaro called it a “gooey puff piece” and criticized CBS correspondent Rita Braver for a “love fest” that Melania Trump never received when her husband was running for president.

“Between excited fawning over the idea of continuing to teach and playing pranks around the White House, it was obvious that Braver desperately wanted Biden to be her ‘unconventional’ first lady.”

“As the segment wrapped up, Braver turned to gush about a prank Biden had played on Air Force 2 as second lady,” Fondacaro wrote, pointing out they joked about having a prankster in the White House “as they stood on a Delaware beach, in the middle of a pandemic, with other people around, and no masks.” Fondacaro also observed, “When Trump was running for president, there was no ‘CBS Sunday Morning’ puff piece for Melania.”

So what part of Melania’s past did Fox News want covered in 2016? Melania’s great charitable work? Her professional background? People have gotten sued for asking questions about Melania’s professional background, which often dampens enthusiasm for “puff pieces.” Did the Trump people even offer Melania out for stories? Maybe the Trumps should offer some personal Melania anecdotes to use in this puff piece. Tell us some funny, warm, stories.

Anyone?

Because it is hard to do a lovefest “puff piece” when no one will answer questions about the person’s background and the media is left with images such as this.

So, it is much easier to do puff pieces on some people than others. Incidentally, we intentionally picked out pictures from Melania’s past with her clothes on, though we were under no obligation to do so and it wasn’t necessarily easier. To the extent there were few puff pieces on Melania in 2016, perhaps it is because the Trump camp itself didn’t want people looking into her background.

Fox News would be well served to pretend Melania Trump and Dr. Biden are irrelevant to the campaign. Because even though FCC regulations require equal time and fair treatment of the political candidates, there is no getting around the fact that Dr. Biden is a wonderful woman who Americans have known for decades. It isn’t Jill’s fault, nor CBS’s problem, that Jill is always pictured with her clothing on, and that she’s never partied it up with child traffickers.

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Peace, y’all
Jason
[email protected] and on Twitter @MiciakZoom

meet the author

Jason Miciak is a political writer, features writer, author, and attorney. He is originally from Canada but grew up in the Pacific Northwest. He now enjoys life as a single dad raising a ridiculously-loved young girl on the beaches of the Gulf Coast. He is very much the dreamy mystic, a day without learning is a day not lived. He is passionate about his flower pots and studies philosophical science, religion, and non-mathematical principles of theoretical physics. Dogs, pizza, and love are proof that God exists. "Above all else, love one another."

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