Archives for November 2020

Craig Newmark Philanthropies announced a $3 million grant to the Bob Woodruff Foundation in support of an initiative to help feed veterans across America.

According to their joint press release, the Bob Woodruff Foundation is responding to exacerbated food insecurity caused by the pandemic, which has left food banks in a difficult position to serve those who have served us. 

“Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of Americans are experiencing financial strain and food insecurity, which has led to food banks facing a perpetual, diminishing food supply,” said the press release. 

“In the near-term to address this urgent need,” the press release continued, “BWF is providing stimulus funding to tackle hunger and food insecurity among the veteran population, while continuing to build a sustainable plan of action to support veterans and their families in the long-term.”

“Veterans sacrifice so much through their service – when they come back home, it’s simply not right that they have trouble getting enough to eat,” said philanthropist and founder of craigslist Craig Newmark. “We want our veterans to know their fellow Americans have ‘got your 6’, to borrow a military expression. That’s why I am investing in the Bob Woodruff Foundation’s efforts to tackle this issue and help our military heroes and their families thrive through this pandemic and into the future.” Craig Newmark also serves on the Bob Woodruff Foundation’s board of directors.

The Bob Woodruff Foundation cites statistics that show that the food insecurity rate among veterans is nearly twice that of the general U.S. population, and pointed out that this was a problem that has only been exacerbated by the coronavirus.

“We knew food insecurity was a growing concern based on our research combined with insights from our grantees and Local Partners on the ground in communities across the country,” said Anne Marie Dougherty, Chief Executive Officer of the Bob Woodruff Foundation. “Over a quarter of our 2020 grantees are already addressing this issue directly or indirectly. With Craig Newmark’s incredibly generous support, the Bob Woodruff Foundation will be able to expand our critical support for veterans struggling to put food on the table during this difficult time.”

And, for those veterans who are looking for support in time for the holidays, the Bob Woodruff Foundation is also coordinating with the NYC Department of Veteran Services to donate 400 frozen turkeys in time for a Thanksgiving celebration.

As major networks competed for top ratings on their election coverage, CNN managed to secure the largest total number of viewers for the week, reports the Associated Press.

CNN boasted an average of 5.9 million viewers each day of the week of the election, putting them just ahead of Fox News Channel’s 5.7 million-viewer average. Fox News did manage to surpass CNN on Tuesday when voters were heading to the polls with 14.1 million viewers, compared to CNN’s 9.4 million.

MSNBC came close in third with 7.6 million on Election Day and a 4.6 million-viewer average across the week. Broadcast networks struggled to keep up with the cable channels with ABC at 6.3 million, NBC at 5.8 million, and CBS at 4.5 million.

CNN pulled especially far ahead Saturday evening with a whopping 13.5 million tuning in to hear projected President-elect Joe Biden’s speech after the race was called in his favor by AP, Fox News, and other major networks. MSNBC came in second that night with 9 million viewers. Only 3.1 million watched Biden’s speech on Fox News.

The broadcast networks made their comeback in the evening newscasts with ABC’s “World News Tonight” at the head of the pack, averaging 9.4 million views for the week. NBC’s “Nightly News” had 8.2 million, and the “CBS Evening News” had 5.7 million.

CNN congressional correspondent and Twitter’s favorite ‘Map Guy’ Phil Mattingly has earned praise for holding his own with network veterans throughout the coverage of a tumultuous election cycle.

As election day quickly turned to election night, viewers stayed tuned to only a handful of experts to get the latest news on vote counts, including CNN’s John King and Phil Mattingly, MSNBC’s Steve Kornacki, and Fox News Channel’s Bill Hemmer. As voters stood on their toes waiting for an election outcome, viewers began to share their appreciation for the live coverage over Twitter, referring to the election experts affectionately as ‘map guys’ or ‘chartthrobs,’ as LA Times’ Matt Brennan put it.

Mattingly, who took the late night shift following King, garnered a lot of attention when he and CNN’s Chris Cuomo reacted to Biden’s sharp recovery in Michigan early Wednesday morning following Election Day. 

“We’ll pull back out here. Look, Donald Trump just took the lead!” Mattingly mistakenly said after Trump’s nearly 60,000 vote lead was cut down to around 26,000 in Michigan. “Pull back out. Donald Trump now ahead. By 26, didn’t take the lead, sorry, it’s been a long night.”

“Overall margin went from in the 60s down to 26,000,” Mattingly clarified.

Of course, most commentators were concerned with something other than this minor gaffe. “This election has taught me so much about my country,” says YouTube star and two time Emmy nominated comedian Randy Rainbow. “But mostly that Phil Mattingly from CNN is hot asf and John King could also most certainly get it.”

Meanwhile, r/MapBoy became a trending subreddit full of memes honoring Mattingly for his good looks and charismatic coverage.

Mattingly took his night of fame modestly, tweeting about the honor of working along with CNN veteran John King. “In a week full of endless highlights, this ranks right there near the top,” Mattingly wrote on Twitter. “First ever time comparing Magic Wall notes on live TV with the [goat].”

A majority of television news networks cut away from President Trump’s remarks last night on the election after he made a series of baseless claims of fraudulent voting. 

MSNBC was the first, cutting away just 36 seconds into the White House press conference, followed by ABC, CBS, NBC, and NPR just a few moments later. CNN and Fox News received flak for continuing to cover the President’s remarks, however, both outlets acknowledged that the President provided no evidence of his claims of voter fraud, reports The New York Times.

President Trump’s news conference took aim at the evening newscasts of ABC, NBC, and CBS, which generally receive a much larger and broader viewership. Among his many claims, President Trump argued that Democrats were “trying to steal the election.”

News anchors were quick to respond to the President’s claims with extensive fact-checking, as reported by the Poynter Institute. 

“We are watching President Trump speaking live from the White House, and we have to interrupt here because the President made a number of false statements including the notion that there has been fraudulent voting,” said NBC’s Nightly News weekday host Lester Holt. “There has been no evidence of that.”

“Here we are again in the unusual position of not only interrupting the President of the United States but correcting the President of the United States,” said MSNBC chief anchor Brian Williams. “There are no illegal votes that we know of, there has been no Trump victory that we know of.”

CNN’s Anderson Cooper made a particularly harsh critique of the President following the broadcast: “That’s the President of the United States. Most powerful person in the world. We see him like an obese turtle on his back flailing in the hot sun realizing his time is over. But he just hasn’t accepted it, and he wants to take everyone down with him, including this country.”

The Poynter Institute’s Politifact provides a thorough review of the accuracy of the President’s statements, providing relevant context for each claim with reporting from each state implicated.