
Ink Stained Wretches
Eliana Johnson and Chris Stirewalt love the news business but they hate a lot of what’s happening to it these days. Using their decades of experience in print, digital and TV news they tell the story behind the stories, always on the lookout for bias, sloppy reporting and, well, just plain wretched journalism. Every week they help you to be a better, smarter news consumer.
Latest episodes

Mar 26, 2022 • 30min
Journos Lavish Praise on Each Other
Mary Katharine Ham is in for Chris. We talk about the latest brouhaha over an NYT editorial, what the heck is up with Axios’s weird new newsletter, and lots of listener mail. Show Notes: Axios steps in itInvasion of the Fact-CheckersManchin’s houseboat too homely to be a yacht, experts sayBuy Mary Katharine’s bookListen to Getting Hammered

Mar 18, 2022 • 52min
Slaves to the Red Light
Chris Cuomo’s novel defense, emotionally exploitative Ukraine coverage, and Chris makes a star turn on Jon Stewart’s showTimes:
05:20 - Segment: Front Page
05:31 - "They made me do it" - Chris Cuomo
9:49 - Taylor sits down with Obama Bro
16:44 - Chris hangs out Jon Stewart
19:15 - NYT falls for Veritas
22:44 - Exploitative Cable News Coverage on Ukraine
28:02 - Keith Olbermann pitches Keith Olbermann to MSNBC
33:40 - Segment: Obsessions
33:56 - Justin Smith believes the era of the foreign correspondents is over
42:18 - Substack launches a standalone app
46:06 - Segment: Favorite Item of the Week
46:20 - Emails from our listeners! We are thankful!
47:44 - Mina Kimes owns the bullies
Links: Chris Cuomo: They made me do it! Andrew Cuomo wants to make a comeback First Rule of the NYT: Don’t Talk About the NYTMina Kimes defends pretty sports reporters

Mar 11, 2022 • 50min
Can’t be confined by the New York Times
Taylor Lorenz is just bigger than that, according to Taylor Lorenz, plus the truckers are the left’s Mexican caravan, and a top NYT reporter accidentally says what he really thinks about some of his whiny colleaguesShow Notes:Shawn McCreesh profiles Taylor Lorenz***CRINGE*** Taylor Lorenz Twitter threadNYT’s Matt Rosenberg spills the beans on Jan. 6 and his sissy colleagues in Project Veritas sting Amazing Ukraine picFNC’s Jen Griffin fact-checks her FNC colleagues on Russia/Ukraine

Mar 4, 2022 • 48min
The State of the Union is…Absurd
Chris goes all-in on why SOTU coverage is ridiculous, journos unite at the altar of Zelensky, and Eliana is doubly obsessed with CNN.Show Notes:
Axios on Smith-Smith fundraisingChris Licht’s CNN mandate WSJ: Drip, drip, drip on CNNNikole Hannah-Jones beclowns herself John Malone on CNN

Feb 25, 2022 • 50min
Ukraine in the Membrane, Baby!
Eliana talks baby, plus Eliana and Chris dig deep on their obsessions over the past six weeks: the CNN drama, the Washington Post's (mis)understanding of freedom, and the Free Beacon's crack pipe blockbuster.LinksPre-order Chris’s book here!David Graham piece in AtlanticWaPo on Clyburn and Biden’s SCOTUS picks, with an epic correction WaPo on freedom is white supremacyWFB on crack pipesWaPo and NYT “fact check” the Washington Free Beacon80s news screens Shape covers restless anal syndrome

18 snips
Jan 20, 2022 • 58min
Ink Stained Wretches, The Interview: Alex Thompson
POLITICO White House correspondent and author of West Wing Playbook Alex Thompson talks to the wretches about the trials and travails of covering the Biden administration, working for Maureen Dowd, and more.LinksSign up for the West Wing PlaybookChris Cadelago and Daniel Lippman's reportingAlex Thompson's other talent: jumping rope with his arms

Jan 5, 2022 • 54min
Ink Stained Wretches, The Interview: Ben Smith
In what we didn't know was an exit interview, the recently departed New York Times media writer covers the waterfront on journalism and the news business with Eliana and ChrisLinks Ben's piece in the New York Times on racecar driver Brandon Brown

Dec 31, 2021 • 38min
A Wretches Year in Review
Eliana and Chris unpack the best and worst of the media in 2021Times
02:18 - The Worst
03:15 - Nicole Wallace on public opinion of President Biden's Afghanistan withdrawal
08:17 - Coverage of critical race theory and the Virginia gubernatorial election
12:58 - Tucker Carlson's January 6 documentary
16:17 - Mainstream media's praise for Simone Biles quitting the summer Olympics
18:48 - The Brothers Cuomo
24:16 - The Best
24:33 - New York Times reporter Michael Powell on the tyranny of the woke in the media
28:48 - PBS's documentary of the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan
31:00 - Pat McAfee announces FanDuel deal
32:52 - Reid Epstein's piece on long-lost father and son
33:57 - Animals on the loose!
35:28 - Yale Daily News on mental health and Daylight Saving Time
LinksReid Epstein's article

Dec 24, 2021 • 52min
Manchin Hit by Flurry of Snowflakes
Joe Manchin is no maverick, Kamala can't take the heat in the kitchen, and capes are super, or the Financial Times saysTimes
04:26 - Segment: Front Page
04:38 - Joe Manchin kills Build Back Better
12:50 - Chris Wallace's Fox News Sunday replacement
17:06 - Jesse Watters catches flack after saying he wants a "kill shot" interview with Fauci
24:59 - Kamala Harris spends big in a Paris kitchen store
28:46 - Trump's Truth Social won't allow criticism of the network
30:50 - Ben Smith's interview with Brandon Brown of "Let's Go Brandon" fame
34:04 - The New York Times on coronavirus and college students' mental health
39:06 - Segment: Obsessions
39:18 - The obituary of Renay Mandel Corren (Chris)
41:09 - The Wall Street Journal's coverage of the Washington Post grappling with post-Trump subscription decline (Eliana)
47:01 - Segment: Favorite Item of the Week
41:11 - Wall Street Journal travel columnist Scott McCartney bids adieu (Chris)
48:34 - Capes are in, according to the Financial Times (Eliana)
LinksChris's Dispatch article on Joe ManchinThe San Francisco Chronicle's hard-hitting coverage of Kamala HarrisHarris complains about her media coverage (like this piece in the Washington Free Beacon)Ben Smith of the New York Times interviews Brandon of "Let's Go Brandon" fameThe Wall Street Journal's piece on the Washington Post's post-Trump strugglesLong live the obituary! Rest in peace, Renay Mandel CorrenWall Street Journal travel columnist Scott McCartney signs offNot all heroes wear capes. But according to the Financial Times, they're having a moment.

Dec 17, 2021 • 52min
Chris Wallace +
FNC Sunday host jumps to streaming, NYT issues an epic correction aka retraction, and Fox News hosts hit up Mark Meadows on Jan. 6 with their unvarnished thoughts. Times
03:24 - Segment: Front Page
03:33 - Chris Wallace departs Fox News to join CNN +
14:52 - Sen. Amy Klobuchar plays hall monitor with CNN's Jake Tapper
18:55 - Operation Whistle Pig
22:15 - The Washington Post's piece on Sen. Joe Manchin's opposition to green energy
26:40 - Dr. Oz tells CNN that he will only do interviews on Fox News
29:30 - Segment: Obsessions
29:40 - Fox News hosts sent texts to Mark Meadows urging Trump to act on January 6 (Chris)
36:01 - The New York Times "corrects" a story on a Palestinian professor in Gaza "calmly" teaching Israeli poetry (Eliana)
41:57 - Segment: Favorite Item of the Week
42:08 - The best-ever restaurant review in on the Everywhereist blog (Chris)
45:57 - Real Housewife of New York City Luann de Lesseps dines and dashes at Le Diplomate (Eliana)
LinksYaHoo News on the article on CPB investigating AmericansThe most epic New York Times correctionThe most wild restaurant review everReal Housewife of New York City dines and dashes at Le Diplomate, via New York Magazine