It is a tremendous dose of catharsis for many that it needs to be shared. Brian Stelter has a new book out that is not filled with recipes for potatoes, but is actually his take on the media environment in the Trump era. While he is stumping around selling this he made an appearance on CSPAN, virtually.
While on the air they fielded phone-in questions, and one caller took Tater to the mat. It is a joy to behold.
C-SPAN caller GOES OFF on CNN’s Brian Stelter live on the air: pic.twitter.com/V9see3Pbpz
— The First (@TheFirstonTV) September 1, 2020
Stelter squirmed a bit in the face of this, but then he seemed to fall back on some prepared rebuttal. He chalked up the opposition to the media as coming from a group of offball freaks in the populace.
”There’s been a process of radicalization that’s happened in this country, with media bashing that is absolutely unprecedented.”
You understand this now? Those who take an opposition stance or a cynical view of the media are doing not because they have witnessed numerous mistruths from that industry, but only because they have become radicalized to do so.
But then Brian manages to go forward and agrees with some points the caller made.
”Conservatives talk about media bias, and there are some really valid points to that critique. It is absolutely true that lots of journalists are based in New York and Washington, or they’re based in the big cities — they have liberal leanings. And mainstream newsrooms are built to make sure that bias doesn’t seep out into the news coverage — and yet sometimes it does, I absolutely acknowledge that.”
Uh…we are going to need a ruling on this paradox, please. Those who are ”bashing” the media are doing so from the basis that they have been ”radicalized”. But then Stelter goes on to agree that the very reasons people have to bash the media actually exist.
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Then he closes out this segment in glorious fashion.
”I think it is different to talk about things as if they are enemies. No American is an enemy of another American. No news outlet is an enemy of America.”
Bold, firm, and clear words from Stelter. Too bad that was not at all what the caller had said. The caller had not said anyone was the enemy of the nation. His actual line –
”CNN is really the enemy of the truth, and that’s my opinion.”
Stelter managed to get this quote completely incorrect, and in the process he manages to prove the caller correct. Hard to suggest that Stelter had forgotten what had been spoken; that line was the last spoken by the caller before Brian countered him.
In his 45 second response Stelter manages to both agree with the caller’s premise of a biased news industry, and he proved his point correct about being ”an enemy of the truth” by misrepresenting the caller’s own words.
So drink it in, dear readers, and then laugh heartily. This was delicious.
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