In June 2002, The New York Times wrote about Clinton staffer George Stephanopoulos joining ABC News in an article titled 'From Spin Doctor to Reporter to Anchor' and in it this is how they described the former Clinton senior advisor for policy and strategy joining the network:
Any day now, ABC News will name Mr. Stephanopoulos as the sole anchor on a revamped ABC morning program, ''This Week,'' setting up the newest showdown in network television and giving the network a chance to showcase its newest generation of talent. But as word of the imminent appointment spread in political and media circles, it became apparent that the 41-year-old Mr. Stephanopoulos might soon draw the kind of hothouse scrutiny he did in the cauldron of the White House communications office. There, he gave advice to political figures nearly twice his age (that they did not always want to hear) and clashed at times with reporters who complained that he was manipulating them and restricting their access.
Already, Mr. Stephanopoulos's scant journalism experience is being cited in some quarters as a lack of fitness for the job. And some officials in the Bush White House and Republican Party headquarters and various journalism ethicists are questioning whether the anchor's partisan past taints his objectivity.
Now, 22 years later, Stephanopoulos is responsible for costing the network $15 million in a defamation lawsuit brought forth by president-elect Donald Trump.
Stephanopoulos said -- on air -- a judge found Trump liable for rape, which was a lie. Trump rightly sued and days after a judge ruled Stephanopoulos would have to sit for a deposition in the lawsuit, the station settled.
The Left wailed and gnashed their teeth. ABC was capitulating to that fascist Donald Trump, they said, ignoring the fact Stephanopoulos could have, you know, not lied about Donald Trump in the first place.
A novel concept, I know.
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Now we're told Stephanopoulos was told by a producer not to use the word 'rape' on-air:
ABC’s George Stephanopoulos was repeatedly warned not to use word ‘rape’ by producer — but said it anyway: sources https://t.co/d9x1iKq1c2 pic.twitter.com/AvfRFfJmGZ
— New York Post (@nypost) December 19, 2024
Makes the panic over deposition so much more understandable. A producer told Stephanopoulos not to do something and he did it. To attack Trump. Because Stephanopoulos is a partisan, and not a journalist.
But what did we expect? Back when Stephanopoulos signed with the network, Jim Dyke (then spokesman for the Republican National Committee) said (emphasis added), 'There might be a tendency, a genetic tendency, to agree with the positions of the Democrats over Republicans and therefore take a different approach to Democrats on the show than Republicans on the show. And this is not to say it would be intentional.'
Well, that's diplomatic, isn't it?
William Kovach, chairman of the Committee of Concerned Journalists in Washington and former editor of The Atlanta Constitution and The Atlanta Journal, was more blunt, calling the hire 'depressing' and noting (emphasis added), 'His career has been as a partisan. Partisanship itself is fine in politics, but not in a journalistic forum.'
THANK YOU, Mr. Kovach.
ABC News had no business hiring Stephanopoulos in 2002 and -- as I talked through the story that inspired this piece -- determined he should be fired by the network for it (more on that in a bit).
Did ABC predict a Donald Trump candidacy or presidency when they hired Stephanopoulos? Not a chance. But they hired someone from the campaign and administration of a prominent Democrat precisely because he knew how the sausage was made and because he would be a partisan.
Even in 2002, the clear Democratic bent of the media was obvious even to me and I was only 19 years old. George W. Bush was literally Hitler, a war criminal, etc. (remember when they hadn't beaten that drum to death?). Adding Stephanopoulos to ABC's ranks -- not as an advisor, or a consultant, or a contributor, but as a hard core 'journalist' -- was a deliberate choice.
They were aligned with the Democratic Party, in the budding age of an incestuous relationship that continues to this day. That the media are enjoying historic lows in ratings and public trust is no shock. They've brought it on themselves.
Oh, and about firing Stephanopoulos? I'd be shocked if that happened. Days after the settlement, ABC News renewed his contract to the tune of $20 million. ABC wants what Stephanopoulos brings to the table: unrepentant partisan bias.
Nice work if you can get it, huh?
