Media

Morning Mirror: Will Benny Johnson Wind Up At The White House?

Betsy Rothstein Gossip blogger
Font Size:

Quote of the Day:

“Ungovernable.” 

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) on what his daughter Meghan McCain was like as a child. McCain shared his views on ABC’s “The View.” When asked if Meghan’s boyfriend is funny, McCain deadpanned: “No.”

Headline of the day: “Once a ‘jackass’ and ‘idiot,’ Trump and Graham now pals” (Politico, see here.)

More on IJR‘s firing of Benny Johnson…

In 2014, BuzzFeed fired Benny Johnson for plagiarism. The site proceeded to delete thousands of posts, not all of which were penned by Benny and said they fell short of their editorial standards. Earlier this year, coworkers once again accused him of plagiarism, as reported by Business Insider. It’s October, 2017, and Johnson has once again been fired — this time, by IJR. So far the reasons are murky, but certain things are rising to the surface. Although higher-ups didn’t appear to handle the situation above board, many of his coworkers are not sad to see him go. “It was high time IJR distanced itself from someone like Benny. I can assure you many in the newsroom are happy to not be associated with him. It’s an exciting time for IJR as a brand – the old is gone.” The insider added, “I know the rest of media community is also so glad he’s out. I’m curious to see where he will land.”

Benny remarked on Twitter, “Some of the best professional years of my life were spent at @TheIJR. I love the team there dearly & with them the best To the next chapter.”

Predictions for Benny’s future:

“If he’s smart he’ll approach Daily Wire. It’s the only ‘successful’ [site that] has an appetite for his kind.” — Anonymous D.C. reporter.

“Praying that Benny goes to OANN (One America News Network).” — Ashley Feinberg, HuffPost.

“Benny Johnson to Scaramucci Post.” — Josh Barro, Business Insider.

“He probably goes to the Trump WH to do video.”

“He could be on the National Security Council by Monday.” — Anonymous D.C. reporter.

“Maybe The Caller….but actually i think The Federalist. I mean Ben Domenach is also a plagiarist.” — Anonymous D.C. reporter.

“Who doesn’t already have a plagiarist on staff? MSNBC (Mike Barnacle) and CNN (Fareed Zakaria) are covered. The Federalist has their publisher, I don’t know. Who needs one?” — Anonymous D.C. area reporter.

“I hadn’t heard about this until just now. I like Benny. He’s a really nice guy and I always have a fun time with him when I see him around. His work has a populist spirit to it, which I appreciate. IJR is a totally embarrassing website and clearly tainted by the corporate middle-management culture of Washington journalism. I never would have even seen that site pop up in my news feed if it wasn’t for Benny. He’s probably better off. He’s welcome to write for Big League Politics alongside our growing stable of 30+ contributors.” — Patrick Howley, editor, Big League Politics.

“At this rate, understudy Secretary of State?” — Anonymous D.C. reporter.

Benny weighed in… on his future with a provocative new Twitter bio:

“Love my Family, God and Pipe Tobacco; not necessarily in that order. I make internet all day long for …”

The Observer: Less Trump, More Everything Else 

“I wonder if we all might agree, whether you love Trump or hate him, that he should simply say less. Do we really need to constantly hear from the president? And I mean any president.” — Freeman Klopott, former staff writer, Washington Examiner. He’s now the Director of Marketing and Communications for the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York.

Trump’s White House rush delivers letters to Gold Star families 

“The White House is now rush-delivering letters from Trump to Gold Star families after his false claim this week.” — Kyle Griffin, producer, MSNBC’s “The Last Word.”

“They’re next-day UPS-ing condolence letters. This is embarrassing, even for this White House.” — MSNBC’s Joy Reid.

Trump dings the media — again 

Sunday morning Trump: “It is finally sinking through. 46% OF PEOPLE BELIEVE MAJOR NATIONAL NEWS ORGS FABRICATE STORIES ABOUT ME. FAKE NEWS, even worse! Lost cred.”

“Disturbing the president of the United States seems to view loss of public trust in the media as a good thing.” — CNN media writer Oliver Darcy.

Tabloid-Gossip Roundup

 

 

 

 

 

 

TMZ: Billionaire Mark Cuban is contemplating taking on Trump in 2020. See here.

Jewish Telegraphic Agency: Anthony Scaramucci doubles down on that Holocaust poll. See here. Also: NYP‘s Page Six kicks his ass. Emily Smith deserves an award for “The Mooch Is Not Happy About Unflattering Story.” See here.

NYP‘s Page Six: Comedian Kathy Griffin kicks ex-attorney Lisa Bloom to the curb and blasts her in an  astonishing tweet. See here. (Don’t forget, Bloom repped Griffin after she clutched onto a faux bloody head of President Trump.)

Daily Mail: Trump’s strong pushback against the Gold Star widow whose husband died in Niger get the Daily Mail treatment. See here.

National Review: Ex-FNCer Bill O’Reilly needs to be Weinsteined… See here.

US Weekly: John Stamos appears to be off the market. See here.