We are looking at a jarring news item from the Sunshine State, as a local broadcaster has brazenly co-opted President Trump as its promotional face, and the fallout from this disturbing act is…umm, nonexistent??? At least this is what we can glean from the weak-tea report out of Fort Meyers by a national network, as a radio station has cloaked itself with the image of the president, and we are told we are supposed to care – even when no serious outlets have the slightest interest. 

As CBS News has been having a tough couple of months, things are not much better looking forward. After settling its lawsuit brought by President Trump, there has been the ongoing Stephen Colbert non-troversy, and then a new editing scandal emerged over a Kristi Noem interview last week (leading to a shift in editorial standards), and then news that Bari Weiss would be taking on a prominent position at the news division, allegedly has the staff roiling.

Worst Outlet of the Week - Who Took Bottom Honors in the Latest Round of Dysfunctional Media?

So as things unspool out of control, you get a palpable sense of desperation edging into the news coverage, and veteran D.C. fixture Scott MacFarlane is displaying that very urgency. Recently, the CBS justice correspondent was covering the way the administration’s crime-fighting efforts in the nation's capital have been countered in the courts, with one judge slamming the allegedly weak criminal charges brought in recent arrests. He also tried to deliver a scary tableau involving 2,300 National Guard troops seen in D.C., but undercut his own messaging by admitting that few of them carried weapons, and they were not performing arrests.

The bias from MacFarlane is found in what he does NOT report on here. While trying to impugn the legal character of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, Jeanine Pirro, he played a clip of her news conference last week disputing the positions of the judge. What MacFarlane failed to include was the announced arrests of two individuals for the murder of Congressional intern Eric Tarpinian-Jachym. That was made by Pirro at the same press conference, but the expert justice correspondent for CBS News did not deem this a newsworthy detail.

Now we get a new report from Florida, and Scotty-Mac's take is kind of perplexing as he makes it sound like he has the goods on a dastardly development. The southern-tinged radio station WHEL 93.7 FM has branded itself as “Trump Country,” complete with imagery of the president in his trademark suit and red tie, but also sporting a Stetson, and including the tagline “Make Country Great Again.” Well, hell-fire, this cannot stand!

Now, admittedly, this example could certainly be a case when people may react by saying they do not want politics injected into entertainment; it would seem a valid statement here. But it is also a case of a private business choosing to operate as it sees fit. This bears some similarities to another case of partisan business practice, where a spice company boldly came forward to declare it did not want Republicans as customers.

But MacFarlane is clearly angling from another position. He is intent on generating controversy with suggestions that this is being done with some level of unethical promotional practice. “We didn't ask for permission," the station’s general manager is quoted as saying, and Scott sets the table for trouble to be seen.

The font in the radio station's logo appears to use the typeface as the Trump-Vance campaign used for its signage. The largest image in the logo is an animated image of the president himself. The Trump campaign for years tried to weed out fake merchandise and theft of Mr. Trump's name, image and likeness.

The tell is that what is being delivered here is not a breaking news story. WHEL has been using this campaign since March, and it has not been met with any pushback regarding the appropriation of presidential promotional imagery, either legal or otherwise. This is not for a lack of attempted conflict, as Scott tried to get pushback. Instead, he was met with apathy.

Representatives for Mr. Trump declined to comment. The Florida Democratic Party did not respond to a request for comment.

(Cue the sad trombone sound effect.)

There is probably a genuine reason a well-respected national correspondent at a broadcast network would see this as a news story he needed to cover ardently. Unlike the case referenced above with Penzey’s Spice Company, where the owner was mewling over the loss of business following his negative outreach, WHEL has been enjoying a significant boost in its audience after rolling out this campaign.

After the implication that this was a controversial move (“The use of Mr. Trump's name on the radio station carries some risk of alienating potential listeners and customers,” states MacFarlane), he delivers, what must have been for him, disappointing details.

The general manager of WHEL says "Trump Country" has tripled its ratings among adults 25-54 since March, according to a ratings report shared by the station's executives. July Nielsen ratings released in August showed WHEL was the second highest-rated country station in the area.

And there is all the motivation you need to see why a national reporter was so primed to cover a small-market radio station on the west coast of Florida. That kind of success involving the president cannot stand, but their success leads to a sad ending for Scott MacFarlane, like his own country song. 

Maybe he can go on to write “Seltzers For My Yorkies.”

Editor's Note: The mainstream media continues to deflect, gaslight, spin, and lie.

Help us continue exposing their grift by reading news you can trust. Join RedState’s VIP and use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your membership.