ABC’s Charles Gibson Admits: ‘I Worry About the Lack of Objectivity’ in News Business

World News anchor Charles Gibson admitted on Tuesday, "I worry about the lack of objectivity and the future of the news business." According to the Boston Herald, the ABC host spoke before the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce and said of Fox News and MSNBC: "I don’t like the fact that they’re delivering news based on the conviction of its viewers." He also derided some viewers who "watch news that plays to their own prejudices."

With no sense of irony, Gibson attacked Republicans for being obstructionist on health care: "It’s not being very productive to have an opposition party that simply says, ‘We are going to fight the president no matter what on health-care reform. We are not going to give you a single vote and we are going to march in lock step against you." He added that this is "not good for the country."

Although Gibson did note that "Democrats similarly stood in lock step in opposition to President George W. Bush, and that was a great mistake, too," he’s long had issues with a "lack of objectivity." On September 15, 2009, five days after a massive story about ACORN and corruption broke, the anchor was interviewed on a Chicago radio station and asked about lack of coverage.

He laughingly dismissed, "I didn’t even know about it. Um. So, you’ve got me at a loss. I don’t know. Uh. Uh. But my goodness, if it’s got everything including sleaziness in it, we should talk about it this morning."

When Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize on October 9, Gibson commented on the President’s "humble" tone and extolled, "The Nobel Committee feeling that he has inspired a new sense in the world."

On June 4, 2008, the ABC host famously offered this softball to Obama after he won the Democratic presidential nomination: "When everybody clears out, the staff is gone, you're in the hotel room at night, and you're alone, do you say to yourself, 'Son of a gun, I've done this?"

Instead of worrying just about Fox News and MSNBC, perhaps Gibson, who is retiring in January, should think about the reporting of his own show and network.