Howard Kurtz Gives Jonathan Martin 17 Minutes on CNN Without Asking About 'Cracker Counties'

February 5th, 2012 4:01 PM

As NewsBusters reported Tuesday, Politico's Jonathan Martin, while chatting with MSNBC's Chuck Todd, referred to some of Florida as "cracker counties."

Despite the firestorm this created, Howard Kurtz on CNN's Reliable Sources spent seventeen minutes Sunday - almost half of the show when commercials are taken out - with Martin as one of his guests and never said a word about this controversy.

Kurtz, Martin et al discussed how the media handled Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's infamous comment about the "very poor," how the press so badly predicted Donald Trump would endorse Newt Gingrich, Romney's dealings with the New York Times, and President Obama doing a question and answer session with folks via Google Plus.

Yet Kurtz, a media analyst, chose not to address Martin's own racially-charged commotion despite it garnering the attention of the highly-influential TV Newser which asked Wednesday, "Is it Okay to use the Term ‘Cracker’ when describing Florida voters?"

We at NewsBusters asked Martin that very same question Friday.

I guess we and TV Newser are far more curious about this issue than Kurtz.

Did I mention he was a media analyst?


Associate Editor’s note: As you are likely aware, since the financial collapse of 2008, charities and non-profit organizations have seen a sharp reduction in donations. Although the environment has improved, contributions are still nowhere near where they were prior to the recession. Unfortunately, the Media Research Center has not been immune. With this in mind, your support has become more important than ever. With a critical election approaching, the liberal media needs to be monitored 24/7. As we have been predicting for months, the press are willing to do anything to get their beloved politicians elected and/or reelected. As such, we need your help to fight this fight. Any contribution, even $10, is greatly appreciated. Please consider a tax-deductible gift to the Media Research Center to help us battle the liberal media. Thank you.