With Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh newly sworn into the Supreme Court, CNN host S.E. Cupp wanted to discuss how “the media has played a starring role” in tearing down the Judge during her Unfiltered program. CNN media reporter Brain Stelter joined her Saturday evening where they defended the media’s antics and downplayed their anti-Kavanaugh fervor as simple “sloppiness.”
“[F]rom capturing that elevator confrontation on video for all of us to see, to grilling Senators, even revealing their own stories every sexual assault in numerous cases,” Cupp touted the liberal media smear machine as she introduced Stelter. “Let's start with the obvious question, was the media biased against Judge Kavanaugh?”
According to Stelter, there were very few journalists actually smearing Kavanaugh but more partisan commentators were. “I think the weight of that commentary made it seem like there was a big chunk of the media out to get him, out to take down his nomination,” he suggested, downplaying the truth. “I don't think editors and bosses in newsrooms were trying to tank his nomination, but there were a lot of individual journalists who were really disturbed by the allegations.”
Of course there were more commentators than journalists tearing down Kavanaugh, that’s because those people the liberal media claimed were journalists were actually politically-invested commentators. If what Stelter suggested was true, then there were very few (if any) journalists at CNN at all. All one needed to do was to go see what their coverage was like. CNN hosts Chris Cuomo and Don Lemon spent most nights commiserating and assailing the Judge with lies.
Cupp questioned Stelter on obviously partisan stories published by The Washington Post, The New York Times, and USA Today (they suggested Kavanaugh was a pedophile). “Well, there was also sloppiness in some of the stories,” Stelter said, brushing it off. He seemed to forget The Times’ journalistic malpractice because they apologized: “For example, The New York Times admitted they shouldn't have had an opinion writer go out and work on a story at Yale. There were some admissions about that.”
But Stelter defended the liberal media’s deluge of ridiculous gotcha journalism and hit pieces by arguing that it just had to be done. “I do think a lot of journalists were trying to figure out what really happened. Because heck, the Senate really wasn't -- and FBI really wasn't able to go out and figure out the facts,” he argued.
“So the media did play a key role, but I can understand why to a lot of Americans it felt like the media aligned against Kavanaugh,” he added.
Appearing to be completely tone deaf to what he just said about how it only “felt like the media aligned against Kavanaugh,” Stelter then praised Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, Kavanaugh’s first accuser:
STELTER: And by the way, I just want to say, Christine Blasey Ford was right. She predicted all of this. Remember, she didn't want to speak out publicly. She called The Washington Post, but she stayed off the record, she didn’t want to be named. And then in August, she said, “no, I definitely don't want to tell my story.” She said, Kavanaugh was going to get confirmed. She said, quote, “why suffer the annihilation if it's not going to matter?”
CUPP: And it didn't.
STELTER: I wonder what she's thinking right now.
After cutting back from marveling at the leftist lunatics literally crawling all over the Supreme Court building, Cupp teed Stelter up to defend CNN’s support for the anti-Kavanaugh mob. “I want to give you a second to defend the media because I think they deserve some. There was some criticism over having journalists on buses with protesters. Our journalists, some other, to me that's the definition of embedding. We do that in wars, we do that on campaign buses,” she proclaimed.
Stelter began by giving lip service to the right by saying the media should be covering the pro-Kavanaugh demonstrators. But when asked by Cupp if they were doing that, he seemed to suggest that they didn’t cover the pro-Kavanaugh side because they needed to make the leftists happy: “Well, I think, on the left there's constant complaints about Trump supporters being interviewed too often.”
“YES”, Cupp shouted in agreement. “Too many focus groups and panels the counterweight to that is to be with the protesters,” Stelter argued as he touted CNN’s “up close and personal” coverage of the left-wing mob. “But when you're able to be up close the way CNN was today, you have a sense of the passion that's going on on the left.”
“That's where the news is. You have to be inside it,” Cupp agreed.
This is not news. This is not Facts First. This is CNN.
The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:
CNN's S.E. Cupp Unfiltered
October 6, 2018
6:50 p.m. Eastern(…)
S.E. CUPP: Republicans and Democrats, of course, are not the only players in this historic SCOTUS fight though. We are! That’s right, the media has played a starring role from capturing that elevator confrontation on video for all of us to see, to grilling Senators, even revealing their own stories every sexual assault in numerous cases. So how did we do? Well, here to give on you the media's report card, again CNN media correspondent and host of Reliable Sources Brian Stelter. Let's start with the obvious question, was the media biased against Judge Kavanaugh?
BRIAN STELTER: Some individual journalists were, and there are many, many commentators that were lining up against him. I think the weight of that commentary made it seem like there was a big chunk of the media out to get him, out to take down his nomination. I don't think editors and bosses in newsrooms were trying to tank his nomination, but there were a lot of individual journalists who were really disturbed by the allegations.
CUPP: Let me ask you about that. Just to name a few examples: The Washington Post published an op-ed written by, quote, Kavanaugh’s ex-drinking buddies who believed he shouldn’t have been confirmed. The New York Times published a story about that that included Kavanaugh being involved in a bar fight 33-years-ago during which he threw ice on someone. USA Today ran a column alleging Kavanaugh was a child predator. I mean that seems kind of like an effort.
STELTER: Well, there was also sloppiness in some of the stories.
CUPP: And that’s a difference, yeah.
STELTER: For example, The New York Times admitted they shouldn't have had an opinion writer go out and work on a story at Yale. There were some admissions about that. There was so sloppiness as well.
However, I do think a lot of journalists were trying to figure out what really happened. Because heck, the Senate really wasn’t -- and FBI really wasn’table to go out and figure out the facts. So the media did play a key role, but I can understand why to a lot of Americans it felt like the media aligned against Kavanaugh.
And by the way, I just want to say, Christine Blasey Ford was right. She predicted all of this. Remember, she didn't want to speak out publicly. She called The Washington Post, but she stayed off the record, she didn’t want to be named. And then in August, she said, “no, I definitely don't want to tell my story.” She said, Kavanaugh was going to get confirmed. She said, quote, “why suffer the annihilation if it's not going to matter?”
CUPP: And it didn't.
STELTER: I wonder what she's thinking right now.
(…)
CUPP: Back to you, Brian. I want to give you a second to defend the media, because I think they deserve some. There was some criticism over having journalists on buses with protesters. Our journalists, some other, to me that's the definition of embedding. We do that in wars, we do that on campaign buses. What was your thought on that?
STELTER: Certainly we should be with the protesters, but also be with the folks who support Kavanaugh’s nomination and now his confirmation.
CUPP: Did we in the media do that?
STELTER: Well, I think, on the left there's constant complaints about Trump supporters being interviewed too often.
CUPP: YES!
STELTER: Too many focus groups and panels the counterweight to that is to be with the protesters. And I think, when we can be up close and personal, that's the best. When cameras are zoomed out far away, you don’t really see what’s going on. But when you're able to be up close the way CNN was today, you have a sense of the passion that's going on on the left.
CUPP: That's where the news is. You have to be inside it.
(…)
CUPP: Real quick before we have to go, I really wanted your take on this because when I saw it yesterday on Facebook, I immediately thoughts of you. It was Dan Rather going to Facebook to say – “So Collins misses her moment to be a hero.” And I was struck by that. Dan Rather is an august veteran journalist, and I'm not sure it's the job of journalists to arbitrate heroism. To be a check on power certainly, but did that strike you as odd.
STELTER: He may disagree with me, but I would say he's embraced a more of a progressive identity in the past few years now that he's not a full-time nightly anchor. And that's fine, but we need to have a lot of down the middle, objective as possible news anchors as well because everybody has an opinion. Opinions are easy to find. Bringing the facts is a lot harder. The last three weeks certainly proved that.
(…)
