Maria Bartiromo Debasement Roundup

 One-Time "Money Honey" Trades Credibility for Trump Fealty; What Happens after January 20?

It's really sad to see how far Maria Bartiromo has fallen, at least as a journalist. Those, like

me, who remember her best as the go-to reporter during the glory days of CNBC in the late 90s and 2000s, when the markets were on a roller coaster.

Since 2013, she has been on Fox Business Network and Sundays on Fox News Channel for "Sunday Morning Futures." FBN, like its sibling, has been a predictably friendly forum for Donald Trump. Anchors like Stuart Varney and Lou Dobbs--like Bartiromo, CNN alumni--foment and generally foam at the mouth over anything 45-related. Bartiromo may be less venal, but she is something worse--an enabler for Trump in exchange for access.

That was on exhibit today, when she was on the receiving end of Trump's first interview since Election Day. It's not the first time she's gone one-on-one with Trump. And one reason for that is she throws softballs Big Orange is only too willing to hit out of the park. Even worse, she is all too willing to buy into the whack-a-doodle conspiracy theories Trump and his diminishing minion of minions are trying to palm off. Lies piled on lies, but Bartiromo either stayed silent or leveled broadsides like these.

“Elections are the reason that our young men and women go on battlefields across the world and in some cases lose their lives. Because they believe that their vote, my vote, matters just as much as your vote. And if that is not true, this is a very serious turning point for America. So, this is no longer about you, President Trump. This is about America.”

Eeew. Really does make your stomach churn. But it might be what she needs to do in order to get Fox back in the good graces of Trump, who's been excoriating the network for taking a break from butt-kissing and urging far-righties to abandon Murdoch World for Newsmax and OANN.

And it may have done the trick. As The Washington Post reported, Trump tweeted four clips today. 

More critical coverage of Bartiromo's "interview" can be found at USA Today and CNN ("It was filled with lies"), 

Bartiromo may no longer be the "Money Honey" (a term she reportedly trademarked), but she's mindful of her own bottom line and where she works. We'll see how much her stock falls once her biggest fan decamps for Mar-A-Lago on Jan. 20.

Outrage with Your Coffee: NPR Story on Filipino "Comfort Women" During WWII A Must-Listen

 Report by Julie McCarthy Brings Home Vitality of NPR Despite Network's Pandemic Challenges

Despite the fact that most of us who listen to "Weekend Edition" on NPR don't need more than the jolt coming from the caffeine in our mug of medium roast, the program doesn't shy away from taking on tough topics. That was in evidence today in a dispatch from Manila bureau chief Julie McCarthy, left, about the continued fight for justice by Filipino women who were sexual slaves to Japanese soldiers during World War II.

The report demands your attention, as it weaves a harrowing tale of one woman and how she and her family were terrorized in 1943 by Japanese soldiers who stormed their village looking for Filipino guerrillas. They lashed her father--the village leader--to a tree and started skinning him alive. Two of her siblings who tried to stop the soldiers were bayoneted, while her mother was sexually assaulted and later died. The woman told McCarthy she was removed to a garrison where two of her sisters were also taken, and  repeatedly raped by soldier after soldier. She was 12.

There's much more to this gripping story and it's one you should catch up to. It's also remarkable in that it runs for more than 13 minutes, which the weekend format allows for more so than NPR's signature weekday news programs, "All Things Considered" and "Morning Edition." Still, 13 minutes is a relative eternity, even on NPR. But McCarthy offers no padding, no unnecessary flourishes. Just damn good storytelling.

Reports like these highlight why NPR remains essential, as it has the forum to tell stories like these without fear or favor. That's not to say it's easy to pull off. NPR has been clobbered by a drop-off in underwriting revenue and donations because of the pandemic. NPR staffers avoided layoffs by agreeing to unpaid furloughs, which are still ongoing this year. Cutting overseas bureaus would be an easy way to cut costs, but NPR has not succumbed to the beancounters, and has held the line in places like Manila. That means we get to hear from award-winning correspondents like McCarthy, who has criss-crossed the globe in service to NPR. We are better for it, as this story affirms.

P.S. After I tweeted about the story, McCarthy wrote back that more would be posted on the NPR Goats and Soda blog, devoted to global health and development news. The blog is new to me, but with stories like these I'll be happy to get acquainted.