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https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/26/media/january-6-select-committee-hearing-reliable-sources/index.html
Will reality ever sink in for riot-deniers? January 6 hearing will be a test
Analysis by Brian Stelter, CNN Business
Updated 11:21 PM ET, Mon July 26, 2021
New York (CNN Business)A version of this article first appeared in the "Reliable Sources" newsletter. You can sign up for free right here.
Earlier this month I mentioned the demoralizing experience of Kate Starbird, a disinformation researcher who occasionally writes about people in her own life who have been deceived by right-wing fictions. Out of respect, Starbird only identifies them as a "loved one." Starbird recently described a visit with one of her loved ones who "expressed confusion when I said there were videos of violence against police on 1-6."
"All he does is watch 'news' all day," she tweeted. "How could he live in such a vastly different reality?" She said "the conversation ended with me explaining that yes, there WERE videos of ACTUAL violence on January 6, and showing a few of them to my <loved one>. He was very, very confused and wondered why he couldn't find them on his TV."
Cue Tuesday's first public hearing by the House select committee investigating the January 6 attack at their workplace. "Like the 9-11 Commission before it, the select committee is investigating how our nation's defenses failed and how we can prevent similar attacks from occurring again," Ryan Goodman, Barbara McQuade and Joyce Vance wrote for Just Security.
Four police officers will testify starting at 9:30am ET, and there will also be new video of the melee, according to CNN's reporting. Republican lawmakers, led by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, will hold a get-ahead-of-the-hearing news conference at 8am.
Most major networks will carry the hearing live. A source familiar with the officers' plans told CNN that the testimony will be "quite vivid" at times. The political tensions will also be dramatic: Republicans Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger are serving on a committee "that the rest of their party has dubbed unnecessary and, in some cases, tried to stop from happening altogether," CNN's Melanie Zanona, Ryan Nobles and Lauren Fox wrote Monday.
As Cheney said, "We have important work to do." But will it break through the far-right TV fortress? More specifically, will Fox News, Newsmax and One America News show the hearing wall-to-wall, the way a serious probe into an insurrection should be treated? Signs point to no...
TV coverage plans
Fox News will provide coverage, I'm told, but that could mean just about anything. A network spokesperson would not confirm any plans for wall-to-wall coverage of the hearings. Nor did the channel signal any plans for a "special report."
OAN did not respond to my inquiry on Monday night. As for Newsmax, a spokesman said the channel is planning "significant live coverage," adding, "we are awaiting the committee's full witness and expert list before committing to the time allotted." Alas, the four key witnesses have already been named: Harry Dunn, Aquilino Gonell, Michael Fanone, and Daniel Hodges. I don't expect Fox or Newsmax to go wall-to-wall, even though the channels position themselves as anti-terror and pro-police.
CNN, meanwhile, has been promoting its plans for special coverage starting at 9am ET. Jake Tapper will be in the anchor chair. On MSNBC, Hallie Jackson and Andrea Mitchell will begin special coverage at 9am too. And the NBC, ABC, and CBS broadcast networks have been blasting out press releases about their plans as well.
David Muir will anchor ABC's special report; Major Garrett will anchor on CBS; and Peter Alexander will anchor on NBC. (Since NBC is in Olympic mode, its plans are a bit more complicated. Because the hearing will take place partially during the "Today" show, and the "Today" cast is in Tokyo for the games, NBC will be putting all four hours of the A.M. show on Today.com to stream, starting at 10am ET, for anyone who wants the Olympic-focused coverage.)
Many major news outlets will livestream the hearing as well. We'll all see how newsworthy it really is. "I do hope that people will do themselves the courtesy of actually watching these hearings," Van Jones said on "The Situation Room" Monday evening. "When you hear from real people and you see real video, you don't have to take the left-wing word or the right-wing word, the truth speaks for itself, and it will in these hearings."
But even if right-wing TV does show the hearings, and the horrific videos, will it sink in with riot deniers? When I brought this up to Oliver Darcy, using Starbird's personal example, he was pessimistic: "Even if the videos are on his TV, he may not see." Meaning, Trump has convinced his devotees to disbelieve their own eyes and ears.
As for Starbird and the people in her life, she told me via email that "the interesting thing with these particular loved ones is that it's not Trump, but the media they consume, that has them so... influenced. If Fox News changed their tune and a few of their favorite 'blogs' aligned, they would follow suit fairly soon after." That's why the media coverage, or non-coverage, matters so acutely...
Tucker's link to the GOPers
Unable to participate in the hearing, Jim Banks and other GOP lawmakers plan to hold their own press conference on Tuesday. Those who watch the stunt might be treated to rhetoric that is similar to what Tucker Carlson pushes on his nightly show. And as it turns out there is, in fact, a connection between Carlson and Banks. Carlson's son Buckley is the communications director for Banks. It is an open secret in DC, but not well known outside those circles...
For the record
-- Here are some Q's the select committee "should ask its witnesses..." (Just Security)
-- Jon Allsop's latest is about "the absurd coverage" of the committee... (CJR)
-- Some fringe GOP lawmakers will attempt to counter-program the committee by holding a press conference about "treatment of January 6 prisoners..." (Roll Call)
-- Jake Tapper flagged the fact that Brian Walsh, former spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, called out the "prisoners" presser stunt in this tweet: "You can't credibly claim to support our brave men and women in law enforcement, especially the Capitol Police, but then side with their attackers. Hopefully responsible media outlets will refrain from covering this circus act..." (Twitter)
-- "Tech accountability groups are urging members of Congress to 'dig deeper' into the role Facebook played in leading up to the Jan. 6 riot," Rebecca Klar reports... (The Hill)
-- "Donald Trump finally has the obsequious press he always wanted:" Philip Bump describes OAN-land and says "it's an ecosystem in which his false election claims spread unchecked..." (WaPo)
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