Wednesday, the CEO of CNN reprimanded a left-leaning media reporter for “emotional” comments he made in response to former President Donald Trump’s town hall.
Chris Licht reprimanded Oliver Darcy for the appearance of public criticism over the decision to grant Donald Trump air time, which was a ratings triumph for CNN, whose programs typically attract far fewer viewers than Fox News and MSNBC.
“Fox News Digital confirmed that Darcy was summoned for a meeting with Licht and other top CNN executives, who took exception to the overzealous framing of the fallout the network has received, particularly from liberals,” Fox reported after “Darcy appeared to join the choir of CNN criticism in his ‘Reliable Sources’ newsletter Wednesday night after the town hall.”
“It can’t be based on emotion, it’s got to be based on fact,” a source claiming to be familiar with the dressing-down of Darcy by his boss told Fox.
According to the source, Licht received a “ton” of messages from CNN employees expressing their disapproval and astonishment over Darcy’s newsletter. According to the newsletter, CNN and Licht faced significant opposition “internally” at the network as well as externally.
According to the source, many responses to Darcy’s newsletter contained the phrase “What the f**k?”
“I’m asking you to not be emotional,” the source characterized Licht’s message to Darcy.
Puck News reported that following Licht’s support for the Trump town hall during CNN’s Thursday morning editorial call, he scheduled a meeting with Darcy and his editor Jon Passantino for later in the day.
Darcy was informed by CNN’s senior management. “His coverage was too emotional, and [Licht] repeatedly emphasized the importance of remaining objective when covering the news, whether for CNN or any other media outlet,” the source said.
“Darcy stood by his work and pushed back on the ‘emotional’ characterization, one source with knowledge of the meeting said. But afterward, two sources who heard about the meeting described him as visibly shaken. ‘They put the fear of God into him,’ one source said,” Puck News’ Dylan Byers reported Friday.
Fox News observed:
In his Wednesday newsletter, Darcy stated, “It’s hard to see how America was served by the spectacle of lies that aired on CNN Wednesday evening.” He complained that, despite CNN moderator Kaitlan Collins’ attempts to fact-check Trump’s statements during the town hall, “CNN aired it all.”
“On and on it went. It felt like 2016 all over again. It was Trump’s unhinged social media feed brought to life on stage. And Collins was put in an uncomfortable position, given the town hall was conducted in front of a Republican audience that applauded Trump, giving a sense of unintended endorsement to his shameful antics,” Darcy wrote. “Yes, some news was made… But for most of the night, the nation’s eyes were transfixed on Trump’s abuse of the platform that he was given.”
Anderson Cooper, the presenter of CNN, criticized Trump while also attempting to defend the network’s decision to give him a platform.
More on this story via Conservative Brief:
“You have every right to be outraged and angry and never watch this network again. But do you think staying in your silo and only listening to people you agree with is going to make that person go away?” Cooper said, according to Fox News. CONTINUE READING…
