This Week’s Most Disappointing Media Outlet – Who Fell Short in the Latest Dysfunctional Media Rankings?

Following the Labor Day break, the media seemed unusually anxious and eager to report stories in a sensationalized manner. It started with online speculations suggesting that President Trump taking time off indicated he was either unwell or possibly even deceased — a narrative the media was keen to propagate.

There was a Chinese military parade that they felt compelled to praise after previously criticizing Trump for acting like authoritarian leaders. This was further fueled by the ongoing narrative of Trump’s desire to combat crime in Washington, D.C., and Chicago, as if making cities safer was somehow adverse.

Thus, we once more must brace ourselves to evaluate media misconduct, by navigating through the disarray and complexity of our media landscape, to identify which outlet achieved the most (least) commendable recognition this week.

     THE CONTENDERS

Associated Press – Lisa Cook was protected against mortgage fraud allegations, not due to her innocence but because her infractions should be overlooked, given the Fed’s independence. During China’s military parade, there was only favorable coverage, contrasting with Trump’s commemoration of the Army’s 250th anniversary. The news agency seems perplexed by Fox News’ consistently high ratings.

Politico – Dan Brooks struggled to portray Trump as an underdog in the conventional Hollywood trope of “slobs versus snobs”; not only has he inverted these roles, but this also exemplified the media’s efforts to support the struggling Democratic Party. When examining the Trump administration’s attempts to reverse the declining national birth rate, they criticize his ineffectiveness as the “fertilization president,” culminating in an outrageous headline.

Great work by @Politico, except they did not get a second corroborating source.#Newseum pic.twitter.com/KTkrUuCLph

— Brad Slager: CNN+ Lifetime Subscriber (@MartiniShark) September 3, 2025

MSNBC – Jen Psaki delivered a starkly oblivious critique by attacking the White House for lacking transparency about Trump’s health due to his Labor Day leave. A weekend panel asserted that Trump’s interventions in Chicago constituted a war declaration because Obama is originally from there. Concurrently, accusations arose that permitting D.C. residents to carry firearms without criminal charges posed risks, yet the local district attorney’s refusal to prosecute violent crimes was not seen as problematic.

CNN – Brianna Keilar played games with crime statistics to suggest there is no need to fight crime in Chicago. Kaitlan Collins shamed herself by delivering an intended gotcha question to JD Vance, only to be served corrective facts. Jake Tapper pushed the conspiracy theory that Trump’s wanting to rein in crime in Chicago would lead to overturning the midterm elections. In a knee-jerk criticism of Trump’s call for trans people to be denied access to weapons, there was the contradiction of the network’s gun control messaging, as we were told people have a right to own guns.

     THE WINNER

CBS NEWS

It was almost as if they tried to win this week.

After being caught editing the Kristi Noem interview, the network announced it would apply more transparent standards with future interviews. 

Speaking of interviews, Norah O’Donnell was exposed as having very different approaches to speaking with members of the Supreme Court, depending on which justice she spoke with.

Scott MacFarlane tried to demonize the presence of troops in D.C., while at the same time noting few of them were carrying guns and they were not conducting arrests. He also covered the Jeanine Pirro news conference and completely avoided the details of the announced arrests of two of the alleged killers of the D.C. intern weeks ago. 

The news that Bari Weiss was having her news portal bought out by Paramount Global, and she would earn editorial control of CBS News, had many in the network rebelling.