New York Post to Staff: Stay Away From CNN, MSNBC, New York Times and Washington Post

Why did The Post single out these four outlets and not, say, Variety or CBS News? The three journalists said no explanation had been given, but they added that the reason did not have to be detailed. CNN, MSNBC, The Washington Post and The Times are seen as liberal within the Murdoch empire, which is home to Fox News and Fox Business, cable networks that were instrumental to the rise of President Trump. To publish articles based on the work of those organizations would not fit The Post’s right-leaning identity, the journalists said.

That identity has gone through whiplash changes in recent months. During most of the 2020 election, under the guidance of the senior adviser Col Allan, a former editor in chief of The Post who was having a newsroom comeback after roughly 40 years at Murdoch papers, the paper went all in for Mr. Trump and sometimes belittled his rivals.

In the final days of the campaign, when Mr. Trump seemed headed for defeat, the tabloid’s tone shifted. A Post article published shortly before Election Day reported that the president was making the “unfounded claim that political foes were trying to steal the election.” Mr. Allan, who was once seen wearing a Make America Great Again cap in the newsroom, announced that he would retire.

As the president continued to push his false claim that the election had been rigged, and his fervent fans backed him with cries of “Stop the steal,” The Post seemed to make a sharp break, publishing a Dec. 27 front-page editorial headlined “Stop the Insanity.” The editorial blasted Mr. Trump over his refusal to accept the election outcome and told him to “end this dark charade.”

The ban on articles based on the work of CNN, MSNBC, The Times and The Washington Post was ordered days after a mob incited by the president stormed the Capitol building. The news media was a secondary target of the antigovernment agitators. Amid the violence, Trump loyalists chanted, “CNN sucks,” and MSNBC journalists said they had made sure not to display MSNBC-identifying markers on their gear or clothing.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/13/business/media/ny-post-aggregation-fake-news.html