Brand new CBS Evening News anchor Norah O’Donnell on Thursday continued to announce just how pleased she is with herself and fellow journalists. Days after ending her inaugural broadcast vowing to fight “ignorance,” O’Donnell appeared on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert and hailed how people in her profession “make democracy work.”
Talking to Colbert, she gushed over Walter Cronkite: “I have been reading Walter Cronkite's biography. He held the post for more than 20 years, was known as the most trusted man in America, the most trusted voice.” O’Donnell quoted approvingly, “One of the things he said is, ‘Journalism is what we need to make democracy work.’ And I so firmly believe that in my bones about having an informed electorate and also having a trusted news source.”
At the end of Monday’s show — her first— she lectured Americans with another self-important quote, this one from from Edward R. Murrow: “There is a great and perhaps decisive battle to be fought against ignorance, intolerance, and indifference.”
The journalist, who has a long history of liberal bias, somehow claimed, “I think there are lots of sources out there of affirmation, but we provide information on the CBS Evening News.” As to what defines success, she told Colbert: “People come to our broadcast and say, ‘You know what? They play it straight. They call a ball a ball, a strike a trike, I trust them.”
To see the worst examples of her bias, go here.
Later, Colbert praised O’Donnell for calling out Donald Trump’s tweets about four Democratic Congresswomen. Now, the tweets were clearly offensive. But journalists have not jumped to bluntly declare Representative Ilhan Omar’s anti-Semitism exactly what it is: Bigotry against Jews. Colbert hailed:
Speaking of calling a ball a ball and strike a strike, you got some praise Monday for being the only one of the major news broadcasters to describe Donald Trump's tweets about the Squad as racist. What was the editorial process, what was the decision, how was that reached?
A partial transcript is below. Click “expand” to read more.
The Late Show With Stephen Colbert
7/19/19 (7/18/19 on the west coast)
12:00AM ET
STEPHEN COLBERT: Folks, my first guest is a veteran journalist who has served as chief white house correspondent for CBS and co-hosted CBS This Morning. She now takes the helm as anchor of the CBS Evening News. Please welcome Norah O’Donnell!
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COLBERT: Well, this news seat that you're in right now is the most storied one on television. This is the house that Murrow and Cronkite built.
NORAH O’DONNELL: Yes.
COLBERT: What does that job mean to you?
O’DONNELL: It means an incredible amount. I have been reading Walter Cronkite's biography. He held the post for more than 20 years, was known as the most trusted man in America, the most trusted voice. One of the things he said is, “Journalism is what we need to make democracy work.” And I so firmly believe that in my bones about having an informed electorate and also having a trusted news source. You know, I think there are lots of sources out there of affirmation, but we provide information on the CBS Evening News.
COLBERT: What will success look like to you?
O’DONNELL: Success means, you know, winning reputationly. And it means people come to our broadcast and say, “You know what? They play it straight. They call a ball a ball, a strike a trike, I trust them. They do important news and they no only point out abuse and corruption but they also point out what his happening right in America. People who are doing great service to their nation and heir communities and we'll also going to tell those kinds of stories. So I want to have a broadcast that is about integrity. Because I do believe that’s important to having an informed electorate that can go to the polls and make the right choices.
COLBERT: Well, you got some praise. Speaking of calling a ball a ball and strike a strike, you got some praise Monday for being the only one of the major news broadcasters to describe Donald Trump's tweets about the Squad as racist. What was the editorial process, what was the decision, how was that reached? Because no one else did that. Beyond looking at it and going, “Yeah, that seems racist.” What was the decision?
O’DONNELL: Right, and we looked at the history of those words and the context of those words.
COLBERT: You mean, “Go back to where you came from"?
O’DONNELL: Yes, to go back. I think if you are a person of color and a minority, that's a phrase you've probably heard in your lifetime and it's a very hurtful phrase, and it's an historically racist trope. We called them racist tweets. We didn't call the president a racist. We didn't label him. We called the context of what these remarks are.
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COLBERT: Might be too late because the crowd seemed to enjoy it. He has created an atmosphere he might not be able to control.
O’DONNELL: That's why I think journalism is so incredibly important, what we do, it exposes us to the mistakes that people made. It causes other people to hold them accountable, all of that information is incredibly key.
