Let’s face it: Some in the Washington press corps still resent Stephen Colbert because he so brilliantly lampooned them to their faces at the 2006 White House Correspondents Dinner over their coziness with the Bush White House.
Yesterday, some elite journalists couldn’t contain their anger after Colbert testified before Congress on behalf of immigrant farm workers – mostly in character (with some funny and not-so-funny jokes) and partly in total seriousness: “I like talking about people who don’t have any power and it seems like some of the least powerful people in the United States are the migrant workers who come and do our work and don’t have any rights as a result. And yet we still invite them to come here, and at the same time ask them to leave.”
Thanks to Colbert, a hearing on migrant workers that would have been ignored by mainstream journalists was jam-packed with mainstream journalists.
But hosting “Hardball” last night, NBC’s Chuck Todd was beside himself: “A lot of us frankly are offended.” He suggested Congress members should have walked out of the hearing room as Colbert testified.
Ironically, Todd made the Colbert appearance his top story.
And that’s a good thing – because the plight of migrant farm workers is otherwise ignored on “Hardball.” I did a quick NEXIS search for variations of “immigrant farm workers” or “migrant farm labor” and found about three mentions in the last decade.
On last night’s ABC World News Tonight, correspondent Jonathan Karl did a piece on Colbert on Capitol Hill; Karl rushed up to Colbert, gotcha-style, as soon as he finished testifying and asked if he was “worried about trivializing such a serious issue.”
If it’s such a “serious issue,” why has ABC World News offered such spotty coverage? It’s been almost a year since Brian Ross’s strong piece on child labor. According to NEXIS, there was a solid report a year before that on farm workers in the heat wave. I found a passing reference in 2009 to an astronaut being the son of migrant farm workers, and a 2008 story on a man’s journey “from an illegal migrant farm worker to world-class brain surgeon.”
If that’s how ABC World News covers “serious issues” of human rights, it’s Jonathan Karl who needs to answer about “trivialization.”
Not Stephen Colbert.
Help us Prepare for Trump’s Day One
Trump is busy getting ready for Day One of his presidency – but so is Truthout.
Trump has made it no secret that he is planning a demolition-style attack on both specific communities and democracy as a whole, beginning on his first day in office. With over 25 executive orders and directives queued up for January 20, he’s promised to “launch the largest deportation program in American history,” roll back anti-discrimination protections for transgender students, and implement a “drill, drill, drill” approach to ramp up oil and gas extraction.
Organizations like Truthout are also being threatened by legislation like HR 9495, the “nonprofit killer bill” that would allow the Treasury Secretary to declare any nonprofit a “terrorist-supporting organization” and strip its tax-exempt status without due process. Progressive media like Truthout that has courageously focused on reporting on Israel’s genocide in Gaza are in the bill’s crosshairs.
As journalists, we have a responsibility to look at hard realities and communicate them to you. We hope that you, like us, can use this information to prepare for what’s to come.
And if you feel uncertain about what to do in the face of a second Trump administration, we invite you to be an indispensable part of Truthout’s preparations.
In addition to covering the widespread onslaught of draconian policy, we’re shoring up our resources for what might come next for progressive media: bad-faith lawsuits from far-right ghouls, legislation that seeks to strip us of our ability to receive tax-deductible donations, and further throttling of our reach on social media platforms owned by Trump’s sycophants.
We’re preparing right now for Trump’s Day One: building a brave coalition of movement media; reaching out to the activists, academics, and thinkers we trust to shine a light on the inner workings of authoritarianism; and planning to use journalism as a tool to equip movements to protect the people, lands, and principles most vulnerable to Trump’s destruction.
We’re asking all of our readers to start a monthly donation or make a one-time donation – as a commitment to stand with us on day one of Trump’s presidency, and every day after that, as we produce journalism that combats authoritarianism, censorship, injustice, and misinformation. You’re an essential part of our future – please join the movement by making a tax-deductible donation today.
If you have the means to make a substantial gift, please dig deep during this critical time!
With gratitude and resolve,
Maya, Negin, Saima, and Ziggy