Lazy Chris Cillizza Insults Hardworking Journalists

CNN’s Chris Cillizza complains about his job—an insult to every unpaid, underpaid, and out of work journalist and political writer.

Both Martin and I have written at length about CNN’s resident idiot Chris Cillizza. His reputation as an untalented hack is legendary. As I have pointed out, he is reliably wrong.

But in an admission that this out-of-work writer finds enraging, he is also lazy and spends his time on Twitter complaining about his highly-paid job, which requires him to watch politicians talk and translate it into normal English.

On behalf of every single unpaid blogger, laid off writer and reporter, and struggling editor, FUCK YOU CHRIS CILLIZZA. I could make a few whiney complaints about my previous job, but at no time, EVER, did I complain about what a privilege it was to get paid to write about politics. I would gladly suck Ted Turner’s withered wang to climax to enjoy the kind of job that Cillizza can only complain about.

One of the reasons I don’t blog now is the lack of time. A single post can take a few hours to generate, when you consider the research, fact-checking, HTML, choosing images, etc. It’s not easy work. Marty is lucky to have a job as a political writer, because it affords him the time to do it right. Same here, when I was at Raw Story. Now I’m out there chasing that money. I made $59 after taxes last week. That’s not a typo.

Cillizza makes far more money than I ever made at Raw Story, and here he is COMPLAINING that his job is HARD. Poor fucking baby. If he hates it so much, I will gladly trade places with him. He can be the one to lift heavy stainless steel truss and 175 pound decking panels. He can be the one to get sweaty and dirty working behind the scenes at conventions for $16-$20.00/hour with no benefits.

If CNN wants to live up to its slog “the most trusted name in news” they would be well-advised to get rid of Chris Cillizza, who not only serves no purpose but openly hates his job. On that note, my lunch break will be over in 20 minutes and I need to get back to a warehouse where I’m dismantling LED video walls all day. It’s good, hard work. Maybe Cillizza should try it some time.

Author: Brendan Skwire

Brendan Skwire is a cultural and media critic. He offers nearly two decades of experience as a journalist, video editor, blogger, and community organizer. Skwire has worked for the Philadelphia Weekly, Scrapple TV, and Raw Story, and is a former member of the News Guild.

10 thoughts on “Lazy Chris Cillizza Insults Hardworking Journalists”

  5. As a former 20-year paid commentator for (among many others) Seattle Weekly,The Stranger, Mother Jones. In These Times, and a Working Assets web site that is sadly defunct, I couldn’t agree more.I basically took this year off from writing (longtime BT readers *might* remember my occasional front page posts) – because kidney failure and assorted complications led to four months total of hospitalizations and four major surgeries – and the pittance I was earning working freelance was hardly worth distracting me from the need to heal. It’s been a complaint going back at least 30 years that DC journalists, once “made,” could transform whatever previous skills they had into the worst kind of hackery without fear of getting fired – from David Brooks to Richard Cohen to David Brooks to Cizzilla. Judith Miller was the rare exception that proved the rule but even she was able to pivot from her NYT gig into a lucrative new career as a right wing martyr. Meanwhile, I’ll probably give it another go after recovering from the latest surgery, because between soaring housing costs and medical bills, I have no idea how my disabled partner and I will be able to keep our home in 2020.

    The sad part is, Cizilla thinks he’s hot shyte. He’s half right. I read him mainly to find out what the most idiotic “Hot Take’ will be on any breaking news story. smh…

  6. The professional injustice and reward of mediocrity aside, this prancing and preening pinhead is performing the one critical function of the corporate media: repetition and reinforcement of “Both Sides Do It.”

    Thus an impeachment hearing in which “conservatives” assert serial bogus procedural maneuvers in a coordinated manner, repeatedly get gaveled down, and start a yelling match is “a bunch of adults yelling at one another…” Bravo! Journalism at its finest!

  7. Charlie Pierce put it best:

    When the Smithsonian opens its American Museum of Feckless Journalism, the Cillizza exhibit is going to be right there in the lobby, across from the statues of Maureen Dowd and David Brooks.”

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