A San Diego television station said that CNN no longer wanted to hear its “local view” after learning that the station’s coverage portrayed the border wall as effective.
On Thursday, KUSI said that CNN specifically asked for a local reporter to weigh in on the border wall debate but didn’t end up booking one.
“The wall is not an issue here. In fact, most officials believe it is effective. The issue we face is the migrants and the debate over their treatment.” a KUSI reporter said Thursday. “And knowing this, CNN declined to have us on their programs, which often present the wall as not required in other places.”
Thursday morning, @CNN called the KUSI Newsroom asking if a reporter could give them a local view of the debate surrounding the border wall and government shutdown. After we informed them about our past reports, they declined to hear from us.
More info: https://t.co/RX4mB6EdNE pic.twitter.com/r0SAvWxFIm
— KUSI News (@KUSINews) January 11, 2019
CNN responded to the claim on Friday, calling it a “non story,” citing that the network chose not to book any reporters from TV stations in the San Diego area.
“We called several local stations to book someone for a show. We didn’t end up booking any of them. That happens many times every single day,” CNN said in a statement. “We did, however, book a reporter from KUSI for a story on immigration and the border wall in November. This is a non story.”
We called several local stations to book someone for a show. We didn’t end up booking any of them. That happens many times every single day. We did, however, book a reporter from KUSI for a story on immigration and the border wall in November. This is a non story. #factsfirst?
— CNN Communications (@CNNPR) January 11, 2019
As of Friday the government shutdown has lasted for three full weeks, and if it continues for one more day, which is the most likely situation, it will set the record for the longest shutdown in U.S. history.
The partial shutdown began Dec. 22 at midnight when funding for several federal agencies ran out after President Trump and Democratic lawmakers could not reach an agreement on a bill that included money for the southern barrier.
