One month after Brian Stelter’s departure, there was a question: What would happen to Oliver Darcy, his ward? The two of them were closely connected. Ollie appeared on Brian Stelter’s show several times and shared duties on the newsletter Reliable Sources. Darcy was initially retained, and it was later revealed that he would be producing a reconstituted emailer.
The re-debut took place just now, and it was exactly what we had hoped for. The new RS version is a little more streamlined than Brian’s earlier comprehensive offering. Stelter covered a broad range of media. Oliver’s version seems to be focused on a handful of primary stories. The briefs are then filled in with information on other happenings and completed with bullet-point notices or links. Although it is shorter, is it still impactful?
The main entry is about a book that Denver Riggleman (ex-GOP Rep.) has published. It contains allegedly explosive revelations dating back to January 6. Riggleman served as an advisor to the January 6, committee, and had access for several months to the investigation. He says Sean Hannity’s producer called the White House to inquire about intel concerning the 2020 election. This is the big reveal.
The executive producer of Sean Hannity’s radio show tried to meet with Donald Trump in January 2021. The text, which was not previously reported, was published in “The Breach,” a new book by former Rep. Denver Riggleman. Riggleman served as an adviser to the January 6 Committee.
It doesn’t take long for you to realize that this revelation is not incendiary. Lynda McLaughlin, the producer, reached out to Mark Meadows to discuss irrefutable evidence she claimed to have provided proof that Trump had won. This bombshell, unlike many others that were derived from the J6 committee’s “bombshells”, does not explode.
First, as with many past revelations, it is important to ask why the delay in getting the details out to the public. It’s not hyped if the information is so explosive that it wasn’t previously reported, and was kept in reserve to be an exclusive book publication. These details are like Bob Woodward’s Covid quotations from Trump in “Peril” and Maggie Haberman’s nuggets, which rob them of their import.
The book’s release is not full of drama. It was announced on Tuesday, but there had been no advance notice. The book isn’t being supported by the committee, which is a further drain on its impact. This could be partly due to the fact that the book is being used to distract from the delayed return to primetime hearings. However, the committee is not cooperating or supporting the book. Members tend to downplay Riggleman’s involvement or dismiss his revelations.
Even the story reported fails to get traction. The McLaughlin/Hannity revelation is not a major story generator. Even the item itself is seen to deteriorate with its own details. Although it may seem like it was gripping that a Hannity producer called the White House with election data it didn’t happen. Meadows asked McLaughlin for Jim Jordan’s opinion, but Meadows dropped the matter after she refused to talk to Trump directly. “Meadows appeared to have stopped responding to McLaughlin later on in the conversation.”
Oliver Darcy continued to condemn conservative media despite this. Darcy extrapolates this one example of Mark Meadows contacting Mark Meadows as evidence that all conservative media behaves in this manner.
“The messages highlight the intimate relationship Hannity and his team have with right-wing media outlets, which is shared with Trump’s White House. The messages reveal that right-wing media outlets and personalities often worked hand-in-hand with the Trump White House.”
We see that the new Reliable Sources may be a different design and have a different intended direction but we still get the old partisan bickering, Fox obsession, and Stelter’s infamous Fox obsession. Oliver Darcy is unable to adapt his strategies at a time when CNN is changing its structure.
