Trump has made CNN into an unlikely hero.
You are fake news.
Repeatedly criticizing the network for its coverage of his administration.
Your ratings aren’t as good as some of the other people.
That’s let CNN play the part of the embattled news network.
Are we fake news, Kellyanne?
Is CNN fake news?
But the truth is a lot of this is theater.
CNN plays a really important role in mainstreaming Trump’s misinformation.
And that's because CNN’s approach to covering politics often prioritizes drama and spectacle
over serious truth telling.
If you want to understand how CNN covers Trump, you have to understand Jeff Zucker, the network’s
president since 2013.
Zucker came to the network from NBC, where he oversaw shows like Fear Factor and, yes,
The Apprentice.
His background is entertainment television, and to Zucker, politics is essentially a big
game.
He told New York Times magazine:
Can’t believe that’s a real quote.
Oh boy.
You can see that approach in a lot of how CNN covers politics: flashy countdown clocks,
dramatic graphics, pre- and post-debate panels.
It’s essentially become the ESPN of politics.
You a big ESPN fan?
You know what…
But the clearest parallel between CNN and typical sports coverage is the screaming matches.
Turn on CNN, and you’ll almost certainly see an argument between hosts, pundits, and
commentators.
Turn on CNN’s primetime shows and you’ll see that same argument between a much bigger
panel of people.
[crosstalk]
I don’t know what we’re yelling about.
These shows are clear relatives of ESPN shows like First Take, which pit commentators against
each other to argue about whatever news story was happening that day.
This is the pro- hold on.
This is the problem.
You can actually see some pretty clear parallels in the formats and studio sets of these shows.
This type of news coverage, centered around pundits arguing with each other, makes for
cheap, easy TV.
It’s loud, it’s dramatic, and it requires no original reporting.
Yeah, unlike you.
But in the age of Trump, it’s turned CNN into a circus of misinformation.
It’s created a huge demand for people who are willing to go on TV and defend Trump,
and that leaves CNN booking less and less credible guests.
People in the studio are even laughing.
So you end up with arguments between seasoned political analysts and the “death panel”
lady.
Stop, stop, stop, or I’m going to have to cut this interview short.
Betsy, where are you getting that from?
About 5 million people will lose coverage, not 24 million.
Look, there are so many things wrong with what you said, I’m not going to have a chance…
And it’s resulted in CNN hiring a small army of paid Trump supporters,
people like Jeffrey Lord and Kayleigh McEnany,
for the specific purpose of participating in arguments about Trump.
While hiring paid political commentators isn’t new for a news network, CNN’s Trump pundits
are unique in the ridiculous lengths they’ll go to to defend Trump.
Has Trump ever said anything about race that’s wrong?
He hasn’t said that much about race.
Oh he can’t stop.
They make inflammatory arguments that shut down entire segments.
[crosstalk]
They misrepresent Trump’s positions.
That’s not what he said, that’s what it’s being spun into.
That’s not what the president said.
Again, that’s not what the president tweeted and alleged.
That’s not what he said, and that’s not what those stories say.
That’s what you’re saying!
I’m lost now.
And they say false and misleading things on national TV while being paid by CNN.
This article does not say what you and other Trump surrogates are saying that it says.
Susan Rice was unmasking American names, disseminating that information to numerous different agencies—
No, no, no, no, that is not true.
In a lot of cases, CNN’s Trump pundits are repeating the misinformation that CNN’s
serious journalists spend all day trying to debunk.
We’ve had the reporter on twice saying, “You are wrong, my article did not say what
Sean Spicer and the White House and you are claiming it says.”
CNN does this because they know that fighting makes for entertaining TV.
In a quote that should make your skin crawl, Zucker told New York Times magazine...
Jesus.
I know.
Zucker sees his pro-Trump pundits as “characters in a drama.”
And they are.
CNN’s fighting-based approach to politics is nothing if not dramatic.
But much like on Fear Factor or The Apprentice, it’s manufactured drama.
Side by side, it should be noted.
This is about arguments, not insults.
CNN books wackadoodle Trump supporters to make sure that every segment is poised to
become a disorienting screaming match.
Just look at how CNN reacted when Jeffrey Lord went on live TV and said this:
Think of President Trump as the Martin Luther King of health care.
CNN knew it would get people angry and watching, so within hours Lord was back on air to spend
two full primetime segments arguing about it.
Our very own Jeffrey Lord making a statement that raised a lot of eyebrows.
Let’s discuss it now.
CNN hired a bullshit artist, invited him to say ridiculous things on TV, and then turned
that bullshit into its own mini TV drama.
We don’t judge people by color in this country.
That is racist, it’s wrong.
[crosstalk]
And it’s drama that Trump directly benefits from.
BuzzFeed recently reported that Trump quietly pushes his surrogates to appear on CNN, even
while he publicly criticizes the network’s coverage.
Jeffrey Lord, oh he fights so hard.
This would all be fine and normal if this was reality television or ESPN.
But it’s not.
At its most basic level, political journalism is about keeping viewers informed about how
the government is impacting their day-to-day lives.
That can’t happen when CNN treats every story as a chance to reopen the Thunderdome.
When you treat politics like a sport, you’re going to end up with news coverage that cares
more about watching people score political points than about telling the truth.