The Miami Herald was once considered the gold standard of journalism in the Sunshine State. At 120 years venerable, it was the pride of South Florida, won two dozen Pulitzer Prizes, covered the Miami Dolphins and Hurricanes, and was considered the state’s stern news organ. This paper grew huge enough early that publisher John S. Knight was able to build the Knight-Ridder News Syndicate. The paper broke the Gary Hart scandal and was respected by reporters who became nationally celebrated: Gene Miller in the ’60s and ’70s, Edna Buchanan and her ruthless coverage of police, columnist Carl Hiassen who became a best-selling novelist, and, of course, home to nationally syndicated humorist Dave Barry.
Those days of glory and venerability are long gone. What remains is a rag that now ranks fifth in circulation nationwide and is confined to publishing mostly baseless diatribes against Ron DeSantis and the Republicans. The weekly tabloid-level “reporting” they have become known for has included attempting to criticize DeSantis for favoring seniors for COVID-19 vaccines and claiming he is Fundraising with a fraudulent news channel(It was the humor website The Babylon Bee.) In a dose of smug glory, Herald reporters asked his office to provide “evidence” that arrests had occurred under a up-to-date immigration law—and evidence that They were referred to reports of the arrests in their own newspaper. Even in news stories that have nothing to do with DeSantis, the paper embarrasses itself, like when the city closed public parking garages to control crowds during spring break and claimed in its story that the closure of all vehicles was supposedly racist… somehow.
When discerning readers in Florida read a story from the Herald, the first reaction is, quite literally, Okay, how did they screw up THAT story?…?
Such is the case with the BREAKING NEWS that this once-respected newspaper published tardy Monday. Herald reporters Julie Brown and Ben Weider were very excited to announce this damning report — it was learned that Donald Trump had flown on a jet formerly owned by notorious predator Jeffrey Epstein.
Why Trump flew to campaign events on Jeffrey Epstein’s plane last weekend https://t.co/hc9CMwnQJh
— Miami Herald (@MiamiHerald) 13 August 2024
It is to be expected that reactions to this headline would vary depending on one’s political stance. On the left, this was likely to result in shouting and screaming and accusations, while on the right, there were likely to be deafening defenses and accusatory language. Although I am more right of center, my initial reaction was: “Is this a big deal – Epstein can’t possibly use it any longer?(Epstein died in prison about five years ago while awaiting trial.)
The crux of the uncontroversial issue is this: Trump had an event planned in Bozeman, Montana, but his private jet had mechanical problems and had to land in Billings. During these groundings, he first chartered a small plane to get to the Bozeman event, and then his campaign chartered a larger jet from California-based Threshold Aviation Group. That plane, used for an initial flight to Wyoming and then two more in Aspen and Denver, is the one previously owned by Epstein. After the events in Denver, Trump’s repaired plane – dubbed “Trump Force-1” – was available again.
The plane belongs to a private company. The Trump camp may not have been aware of this. Then comes the always proud moment for any news outlet – when the story provides elements that disprove its entire premise.
Trump’s operate of the plane is likely to augment public scrutiny over his relationship with Epstein, although no evidence has emerged that Trump was involved in Epstein’s crimes.
Well, that really sounds like a disappointment for the newspaper. And it also sounds like it has rendered this BREAKING NEWS story completely useless.
