Isn't Jessica Yellin mocking her own network for incessantly reporting on Sarah Palin's bus tour? The CNN correspondent called the coverage of the tour "a media low-point" on CNN Tuesday, although her own network made mention of tour almost every hour Monday from 6 a.m. EDT through 11 p.m. EDT – and then again Tuesday from 6 a.m. EDT through 1 p.m. EDT.
The continuous coverage included nine live reports from Gettysburg, one of the tour stops, by correspondent Jim Acosta – and a live appearance there by anchor John King Monday afternoon. John King, USA – King's 7 p.m. EDT show – was broadcast from Gettysburg, and then the anchor returned later to guest-host Anderson Cooper 360 from the same site, for two hours.
[Click here for audio. Video below the break.]
Yellin, who appeared on CNN during the 3 p.m. EDT hour, abruptly made it clear that her main problem was with media coverage of the tour more than the tour itself. When asked what she thought about the tour, Yellin answered "What I make of the coverage of this Palin bus tour – not the tour, but the coverage of it – is a media low-point."
"Chasing around someone who, so far, is not running for president, and who has been playing the kind of 'tease the media' games that only movie stars and reality stars play is kind of a media low-point," Yellin lectured the press.
A transcript of the segment, which aired on May 31 at 3:16 p.m. EDT, is as follows:
BROOKE BALDWIN: But Sarah Palin wants us all to know, folks, this is not a campaign bus, and this is actually some sort of – I don't know, family vacation? Jessica Yellin, what do you make of this?
JESSICA YELLIN: What I make of the coverage of this Palin bus tour – not the tour, but the coverage of it – is a media low-point. Chasing around someone who, so far, is not running for president, and who has been playing the kind of "tease the media" games that only movie stars and reality stars play is kind of a media low-point.
But – but – she has a huge following among some tea party activists who feel very alienated from the system. And I talked to one top Republican strategist today who said that actually this coverage of Palin right now is helpful to the current crop of presidential candidates on the Right, because the tea party feels that with Palin out there, someone's speaking for the tea party. And if Palin and Rep. Michelle Bachmann, who as expected will get in the race, if those two women weren't out there, then the tea party might be raising noise and getting insistent that this field of candidates doesn't speak for them. So at least this attention to Palin is making some activists happy, but I'll tell ya, I know for a fact it's leaving some other candidates who are running for president wondering why she's getting all that coverage, and we're not giving all that much attention to some other candidates who are actually running for president, Brooke.
BALDWIN: Point duly noted, Ms. Yellin. Thank you very much.
