It’s impossible to throw a rock into a room full of mainstream journalists and not hit a raving hypocrite, and Tim Alberta is no exception. A staff writer over at The Atlantic, one of the most laughably left-wing outlets in the world, Alberta has come a long way since his days at National Review. That was on display on Saturday after launched an attack on Townhall editor Katie Pavlich.
On Friday, Pavlich shared an anecdote centering on the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene in North Carolina. In it, she described what she had heard from a friend in the area.
A friend from North Carolina with many friends in the disaster zones describes things this way: “Pure abandonment”
She says a week in people have “zero support” from the government, no urgency and that private individuals trying to deliver supplies are being turned away.
— Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) October 4, 2024
There have been a multitude of reports out of the flood-ravaged areas surrounding Asheville that have shared a similar sentiment. It is not exactly unbelievable or crazy to suggest that a lot of people do feel abandoned and let down by an inconsistent federal response. Certainly, it’s far more crazy to suggest that everyone is “very happy across the board,” which is what President Joe Biden on Friday.
SEE: Joe Biden’s Response to Hurricane Helene Causes Outrage and Concern
Regardless, Pavlich’s post triggered Alberta, who rushed to mock her journalism and slam her for using an anonymous source to report on the hurricane’s impact.
Ah yes. Sourced to one unspecified person who knows many unspecified persons living in unspecified locations.
Rock solid. Definitely meets the standard for publishing such sweeping and empirically contested assertions. (Fear not: she’s got “journalist” in her bio.) https://t.co/qqafQFjvpb
— Tim Alberta (@TimAlberta) October 5, 2024
All you can do is roll your eyes. Alberta works for an outlet that has infamously produced dozens of hit pieces targeting Republicans using anonymous sources. One of the most infamous was a piece claiming Donald Trump called dead American servicemembers “suckers and losers.” That was an anonymously-sourced piece, by the way. It was eventually denied on the record by dozens of people, yet has been repeated over and over throughout the 2024 presidential election.
So it’s just a bit rich for Alberta to swipe at Pavlich for using anonymous sources, something The Atlantic has done many times. Besides, why is he so upset by her post? Is he really suggesting no one on the ground feels abandoned and desperate? That’s what he wants to go with?
Of course, as the saying goes, there’s always a tweet. Guess what Alberta did back in 2017 when Hurricane Harvey hit Houston? You guessed it. He used a single, anonymous source to report on the devastation.
You absolutely comical hack. https://t.co/7qkSF24IwR pic.twitter.com/l2stFLWPzU
— Bonchie (@bonchieredstate) October 5, 2024
At the time, Alberta was probably hoping that the damage done by Harvey was “10x” worse than Hurricane Katrina. That would have been great for his politics given Trump was president. In the end, that didn’t prove to be true (at least not regarding loss of life and the extent of the damage). Funny how Pavlich isn’t allowed to use a friend’s word to report on a Hurricane by Alberta is, right? At least her reporting appears to be largely accurate.
Alberta and so many in the mainstream press are jokes. They truly believe they exist on a higher plane when they are nothing but partisan hacks masquerading as professionals.
