This week’s Liberal Media Scream features CNN media critic Brian Stelter ripping the “right-wing” media’s “obsession” with the persecution of former national security adviser Michael Flynn, treating it “like it’s a bigger deal than the deaths of 2,000 Americans a day” from the COVID-19 virus.
Stelter said Sunday, “It’s so disappointing to look at what we’re seeing from right-wing media these days, where there’s such an obsession with the deep state and these revelations about the Russia probe and the decision about Michael Flynn.” Last week, the Justice Department dropped charges related to the fumbled Russia collusion case against Flynn.
And suggesting the media should only be covering Trump’s handling of the virus in a big way, he added, “In what right mind is any scandal, any political scandal, any Department of Justice story, more important to ask the president about than the pandemic that’s raging?”
From Stelter’s commentary at the top of Sunday’s Reliable Sources on CNN:
“It’s like New Orleans floods every day. It’s like the planes go into the towers every day. And to look away or act like it’s now normal or acceptable is a disgrace to the victims. It’s so disappointing to look at what we’re seeing from right-wing media these days, where there’s such an obsession with the deep state and these revelations about the Russia probe and the decision about Michael Flynn. They’re treating the Michael Flynn story like it’s a bigger deal than the deaths of 2,000 Americans a day.
“We were seeing this on Fox and Friends and other shows. When the president called into Fox and Friends the other morning, Friday morning right before the unemployment rate numbers came out, he talked about the Flynn case for 20 minutes before he was asked about the pandemic. In what right mind is any scandal, any political scandal, any Department of Justice story, more important to ask the President about than the pandemic that’s raging?
“Look, ultimately it’s about news judgment, it’s about lack of judgment, but I find it befuddling that some people are acting like this death toll is just normal, and accepted, and common, and just another day now. Imagine if 1,000 to 2,000 Americans were dying a day from terror attacks? Imagine the president’s response?”
Media Research Center Vice President of Research Brent Baker explains our weekly pick: “How dare other media outlets inform people about a major news development on the now-discredited ‘Russia collusion’ media storyline which CNN remains, undeterred by facts, so devoted to promoting. Maybe Stelter could use the time he spends whining about President Trump the Fox News Channel to provide at least some time examining CNN’s distorted reporting on Flynn and ‘Russia collusion’ while still keeping viewers informed about the pandemic. A real news organization can walk and chew gum at the same time.”
Rating: Four out of five screams.
