Dick Cheney Dead at Never? The Hill's Perpetual News Cycle
In a truly astounding demonstration of 'live' reporting, The Hill informed its readers that Dick Cheney had died, amidst updates on 2025 elections and a government shutdown 'tying' a 35-day record. For those of us tethered to the actual calendar, Cheney is very much alive, and the 35-day shutdown record was shattered in 2019, clocking in at 35 days. This isn't just an erratum; it’s a temporal
anomaly in mainstream journalism, (or perhaps an unedited leftover from a draft written during the 'Before Times'). This isn't merely a gaffe; it's a stark reminder of the often-unquestioned reliance on recycled narratives and template-driven reporting. When basic facts like who's alive and who's dead, or the length of a historical event, are mangled in a 'live update,' one might wonder what other
crucial contexts—like the historical cost of military interventions championed by figures like Cheney, or the real impact of those shutdowns beyond a headline count—are getting lost in the shuffle. Apparently, some news cycles are so 'live' they're actively time-traveling.