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Reporting on the Mirror – MSNBC → MS NOW
It marks a new era! And…the same old slanted slop.
On Saturday morning, it happened! The final step in MSNBC experiencing the complete divorce from NBC News, the network, and all affiliations took place, as the rebranded MS NOW took to the air! There’s all kinds of excitement (most of it pre-fab and PR-generated) within the network.
What remains to be found is any excitement from outside the compelled bubble of excitement.
My piece for @semafor on the launch of MS Now. The strategy, so far:
— Max Tani (@maxwelltani) November 17, 2025
- New pods
- YouTube explainers, “simulcasting" on YT
- Live MS Now events across the country
- Paid subscription products
- An expanded role for Pablo Torre
- Collaboration, potential deal w/Crooked Media pic.twitter.com/L9op4Xs32r
Anti-Social Media – MS NOW
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Well now…that did not take long…
For those who were wagering, we have the final official time in for the Over/Under on the first “Nazi” reference to be uttered on the new MS NOW network. The chalk was laid for under half a dozen hours, going off at five and a half (5.5 hours — 330 minutes).
As Ali Velshi hosted Professor Jason Stanley, the two were discussing immigration raids in the country, and his guest saw the need to invoke German authoritarianism in order to criticize the enforcement of our border policies:
Because it's this—ICE is lawless, ICE is lawless. And there does not seem to be any way of, as it were, policing ICE’s behavior. And that brings me to another point, which is that local police are really important here. And we learned about this from history as well. My grandmother talks about how on Kristallnacht in Germany, a local policeman helped a Jewish citizen escape from the SA.
With Stanley invoking Godwin's Law before lunchtime, you are a winner if you took the UNDER. The official tally clocked at 11:32 AM ET – 4.53 hours / 272 minutes. Bring your winning ticket to the payout window.
Newly rebranded MS NOW goes 4.5 hours before making their first Nazi analogyhttps://t.co/OxSsiYwXol
— MRC NewsBusters (@newsbusters) November 17, 2025
Low-Octane Gaslighting – ASSOCIATED PRESS
Seriously, how have they not placed a moratorium on this phrase in its style guide?!
Over the weekend, there was a massive riot that resulted from protests in Mexico City against government corruption. (We are dubious about the earnestness of these protesters, given all of the footage shows there are no inflatable animal characters in the crowds.)
The clashes resulted in approximately 100 police officers being injured. Now this might sound like a jarring statistic, one indicating widespread mayhem spread across this massive city, but the Associated Press (via Politico) is here to disabuse you of any such thoughts.
See, despite how many police were hospitalized, this was a “mostly peaceful protest,” according to the news syndicate.
Thousands protest crime and corruption in Mexico City as ‘Gen Z’ protests gain momentum https://t.co/92SasXsBJq
— POLITICO (@politico) November 16, 2025
DNC PR Firm – THE NEW YORK TIMES
Isn’t this exposé really more like a “formal announcement”?!
At Axios, Jake Tapper’s co-author Alex Thompson comes out with a potentially scathing profile on longtime columnist Ezra Klein and his influence on the Democratic Party.
We often cover the tendency of journalists to lend assistance to the party on how they could improve their fortunes against Republicans. (Hence the heading of this category.) Klein has taken this to a level that even some in the media might consider beyond the line. But not those at his paper:
Jill Abramson, the paper's former executive editor, told Axios she doesn't see a conflict. "It's true that this is a blurry line between journalism and politics and governing. But he's in the opinion category and not covering news — that's a little blurry itself. I don't see him crossing a line. I'm assuming the New York Times is cool with it."
How Ezra Klein's power play is guiding Democrats https://t.co/GdStxRMa2u
— Axios (@axios) November 16, 2025
Glossary Over Things – VICE NEWS
Back in the day, we called these “relationships.”
Vice News came out with a dire report on the dating scene. Women are pulling out of the dating scene. This is all due to the men they come across in the dating scene.
Apparently, the men they encounter expect to have emotional support, undivided attention, and to help with moods and dealing with stress. These typically had been the aspects of a common relationship – ya know, that whole thing about being there for the other person because you care about them?
But no, these days women are declaring this intolerable, and it has been given a term – “mankeeping.” So this is driving women away.
We are confused here at RFTH because all this time the main complaint we have always heard from women is that men are closed off and do not get in touch with their emotions. Now, when the new generation has begun to do just that, look what happens – women supposedly do not want to deal with the very thing they have been demanding all this time.
Researchers at Stanford have finally given a name to something many women have been dealing with for years. It’s called mankeeping. https://t.co/dI5sRy23Nd
— VICE (@VICE) November 14, 202

