Saturday, February 8, 2020

CNN's Cascading Credibility Crisis

Tony Branco
Daryl Austin  "CNN is currently suffering a credibility crisis unlike anything they've experienced before. Last year, Business Insider reported that only 53% of American adults believe CNN is "credible," and among Republicans in particular, CNN's credibility has fallen "by nearly 20 percentage points since 2016."
"One of CNN’s most famous "Facts First" ad campaigns shows a shiny red apple against a white backdrop as a voiceover posits the following:
“This is an apple. Some people might try to tell you that it’s a banana. They might scream banana banana banana over and over and over again. They might put BANANA in all caps. They might even start to believe that this is a banana, but it’s not. This is an apple.”
"Claiming to value the facts first used to work for the once-proud network, but no longer.
There are, of course, scores of contributing factors and explanations that various people may have for mistrusting CNN. But my primary reason for no longer trusting the network comes down to the way network executives react whenever their journalists are caught behaving badly.
"CNN host Don Lemon and two panelists openly mocking purportedly stupid Trump supporters last week provides one such example. Putting aside the blatant lack of journalistic objectivity and unprofessionalism displayed throughout the segment, the question of credibility still arises in its aftermath.
"Instead of apologizing or taking responsibility for his actions, Lemon tried to misrepresent what actually transpired. He said, "Just to make this perfectly clear, I was laughing at the joke, and not at any group of people." Unfortunately for him, the facts disagree. While the clip shows that Lemon certainly begins laughing in reaction to a joke told by one of his guests at President Trump's expense, his laughter only increases as his panelists continue to mock "an administration defined by the ignorance of the world," using farcical Southern accents and calling Trump supporters "credulous boomer rubes."
"After the clip went viral, Lemon defended himself by saying "I don't believe in belittling people," but once again, the facts say otherwise. The truth is that Lemon frequently uses his nightly program to belittle President Trump and his supporters." . . .   Full article here

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