CNN’s Fake News Manager
Which word would you pick to describe CNN’s live Town Hall meeting with Donald Trump? Here are some from a variety of news media sources in America and around the world.
· Fiasco
· Disastrous
· Outrageous
· Bewildering
· Disgusting
Okay, that last one was mine. But it reflects the overall sentiment expressed. On the flip side, Fox ‘News’ and other right-wing groups are gloating. While CNN’s Kaitlin Collins is getting some criticism, most critics recognize she was put in a no-win situation. The real failure rests solely on the shoulders of CNN CEO Chris Licht. He has failed as a manager. Worse, he has failed as a journalist.
The indictment of Licht comes in two ways. The most telling and disgusting (there’s that word again) comes from what Licht himself said to Trump just before the town hall meeting:
“have a good conversation and have fun”
And he had fun — at Collins’ expense. At one point, in typical Trump fashion, calling her a “nasty person” as she tried to fact-check his many lies.
As if that wasn’t enough, following all the justified criticisms, Licht made this blatantly idiotic (there’s no other word for it) statement about the fiasco:
“absolutely, unequivocally believe America was served very well”
The other indictment comes in the selection of pre-guests and the selection of the audience. It’s almost as disgusting. Licht caved to Trump team demands and booked pro-trump surrogates before and after the “show.” And the audience that was supposed to include “undecideds” was clearly dominated by pro-Trump crazies. Again, he failed.
But Licht got what he wanted, or at least some of it. The ratings were the highest for CNN in two years:
3.3 million viewers with 781 thousand viewers in the coveted 25–54 demographic. For perspective, that is actually lower than the CNN Biden town hall that got 3.7 million viewers with 912 thousand in the 25-demographic.
CNN disgraced itself. Thanks to Mr. Licht. And I’m not the only one who thinks that. Here are just some of the headlines following the ‘town hall.’
“Toe-curlingly bad Television.
“Town Hall was reckless and irresponsible”
CNN Gave Trump his Best Campaign Moment”
According to several reports, many of CNN’s own people are both angered and concerned. Angered that Licht did this AND angered by the reactions. Concerned about the direction Licht has been taking the network AND concerned about the ratings and reputational aftermath of the show.
CNN’s own media critic, Oliver Darcy, said “it’s hard to see how America was served by the spectacle of lies that aired on CNN.” Reportedly, Licht called Darcy into his office to ‘scold’ Darcy telling him that he had to be “dispassionate.” CNN anchor Anderson Cooper defended the decision saying that while it’s understandable that people are angry about how it turned out, “do you think staying in your silo and only listening to people you agree with is going to make that person go away?”
No, it’s not, but allowing a lunatic to scream “fire” in a crowded theater, which is what the town hall live show was, is not defensible. Former CBS News anchor and documentarian Dan Rather wrote that CNN gave a “liar… a bigot… a misogynist and a deadbeat… a megaphone.”
Like me and many others, Rather finds the unthinkable support of Trump by so many fake Americans (my term) disheartening. There is no denying that he is a potent force in what is clearly an impotent Republican Party. But that does not excuse allowing him to spew such hate and venom that he poisons America. That’s where responsible real news comes in. As Rather put it —
“Let us hope the press will analyze it, not amplify it. The future of not only American journalism, but of America itself, will be shaped by how Trump is covered going forward.”
