'Dinosaurs': Critics say legacy media coverage of pardon illustrates 'steep decline'

President Joe Biden's decision to issue a sweeping pardon to his son — charged in two federal cases — earned widespread criticism from experts, pundits and journalists — a fact not lost on some on the left, who lashed out at legacy media outlets over their coverage.

Joe Biden issued a full and unconditional pardon to Hunter Biden over the weekend, washing away any crimes he may have committed or participated in between Jan. 1, 2014, and Dec. 1, 2024.

The pardon specifically wipes away Hunter Biden's federal gun charge and tax evasion cases. Hunter was convicted of three felony charges related to buying a gun in 2018 while battling drug addiction and lying about it on his application. He also pleaded guilty to nine tax evasion charges in September.

In his statement, Biden argued that a "carefully negotiated plea deal agreed to by the Department of Justice unraveled in the courtroom, with a number of my political opponents in Congress taking credit for bringing political pressure on the process."

Mark Knoller, a former White House correspondent for CBS News, posted on X a tweet that the left seized on.

"At the very least, Biden should have held an immediate news conference until reporters exhausted all questions on his pardon of son Hunter," he wrote.

The tweet became a small flashpoint for critics of mainstream and legacy media outlets, who took to the social media site Bluesky to voice their frustration over the media's coverage of the decision.

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"I said why I was fine with Biden’s pardon," wrote Josh Marshall, founder and Editor-in-Chief of Turning Points Memo. "Reaction among highly engaged Dems seems overwhelmingly supportive. This tweet, I think, helps explain why. The pardon taps into the almost unfathomably deep ocean of 'f--- you' Dems are feeling toward the gatekeepers of political discourse in the country."

Marshall later added that the "niche criticism" of the pardon he found "most entertaining" was the "'breadth.'"

"I totally get people who simply think the pardon was the wrong decision. But the expansive breadth is the single part of this which I do not think can be the subject of any criticism," he said, noting that President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to seek retribution on his political enemies, including Biden. "Punishing Hunter Biden is basically as much party orthodoxy as tax cuts once were. The idea you’d leave hunter to the mercies of Pam bondi and Kash Patel is crazy."

Knoller's post also caught the attention of Democracy Docket founder Marc Elias, who said that regardless of your view of Biden's decision, Knoller's reaction — whom Elias noted is prominent and well-respected — "illustrates why the legacy media is in such steep decline."

"Had Biden wanted to explain, there were an endless set of more relevant options available to him than a news conference," Elias said.

He added: "The sooner legacy news outlets realize that they do not enjoy a privileged place by virtue of their existence, the quicker they will recover the public's trust. If they don't, like may other business to arrogant to adapt to the times, they will go the way of the dinosaurs."

James Fallows, a former speechwriter and newsletter journalist, gave a more blunt assessment.

"I think it's a close call on the merits of the pardon," he acknowledged on Bluesky. "But it is not a close call on the a--holery of the establishment press, as illustrated here."