CNN's Reliable Sources host Brian Stelter dedicated much of his Sunday show to the aftermath of the White House Correspondents Dinner and included far-left New York public radio host Bob Garfield tearing into media members like Stelter for attending such a "repulsive" "sham" that's a "disgrace" to the idea of an independent press.
Hosting from Washington (instead of New York), Stelter introduced Garfield as "outspoken about this over the years" by calling the evening "ethically questionable" before he defended himself offered a defense of why he went to the event and the various before and after parties.
"I went to the parties, tried to take in the whole thing. I mentioned earlier, trying to be removed, trying to take it in and be skeptical about it. But it is a very odd and intriguing phenomenon, these dinners," Stelter gushed.
Just as he was when he called Mitt Romney the "Michael Vick of presidential candidates," Garfield was not amused in blurting out that the evening was "[o]dd and intriguing and repulsive" before elaborating about how reporters "are supposed to be the watchdogs, watchdogging those in power."
Instead, Garfield pointed out that "they're sitting there passing one another dinner rolls with zero possibility of any journalism breaking out" at an evening honoring the President who's "stiffed the media for going on eight years now" with the world on fire:
I mean, it's about 7 1/2 years of the worst access of a modern president. He -- his administration has prosecuted journalists for doing their jobs. The FOIA situation is out of control. That's the Freedom of Information Act requests...And there he is, 40 feet away from you, Syria is on fire, there's a -- the Republican front-runner is running for dictator. The Russians are buzzing our military in the open seas.
Naturally, Stelter tried to defend the idea of the dinner as providing benefit for reporters down the road by having "relationships" that "actually improve access and improve reporting, not that night, but weeks or months later."
Garfield sarcastically shot that down on the grounds of how if Stelter's argument were true, the Obama White House would be much more open with the very media that loves them so dearly than they have been.
"I see no evidence that it's become more accessible, more transparent at all. It's a disgrace. It's a sham. It's a sham of a mockery of a travesty of a two mockeries of a sham," he added as he then told Stelter that "you're part of the problem" when Stelter jabbed him to "tell me how you really feel."
Dripping with hypocrisy, the far-left radio host ruled that "[e]verybody's too cozy and it's hard for the press to fulfill its watchdog function if you're palling around with people who you can't even ask a journalistic question of."
As the segment wound down, Stelter mounted one last defense by citing a number of Trump supporters who still came to the evening of self-aggrandizement (including NewsBusters contributing columnist Jeffrey Lord):
On the other hand, I saw Katrina Pierson and Scottie Nell Hughes and Jeffrey Lord and some of Trump's supporters at the event this weekend as well. So, maybe you see some of the anti-establishment mixing with the establishment at this point at an event like this.
The relevant portions of the transcript from CNN's Reliable Sources on May 2 can be found below.
CNN's Reliable Sources
May 1, 2016
11:29 a.m. Eastern
BRIAN STELTER: Joining me now is a dinner critic, let's say. Bob Garfield, the co- host of WNYC's On the Media. I say "dinner critic", Bob, because you've been outspoken about this over the years. You say it's odd an ethically questionable when journalists attend these dinners. I was there last night. I went to the parties, tried to take in the whole thing. I mentioned earlier, trying to be removed, trying to take it in and be skeptical about it. But it is a very odd and intriguing phenomenon, these dinners. Why do you think they are troubling for journalists?
BOB GARFIELD : Odd and intriguing and repulsive.
STELTER: Repulsive, I forgot that word.
GARFIELD: Yes. Well, where does one begin? Let's start with these are supposed to be the watchdogs, watchdogging those in power. And they're sitting there passing one another dinner rolls with zero possibility of any journalism breaking out. We're sitting there honoring a president who has stiffed the media for going on eight years now. I mean, it's about 7 1/2 years of the worst access of a modern president. He -- his administration has prosecuted journalists for doing their jobs. The FOIA situation is out of control. That's the Freedom of Information Act requests. You can't even get -- never mind getting -- asking a question during a photo-op. You can barely get a photographer into the president for a photo-op. And there he is, 40 feet away from you, Syria is on fire, there's a -- the Republican front-runner is running for dictator. The Russians are buzzing our military in the open seas. And there is zero chance to even ask the president a question.
STELTER: What about the argument that when you're at these events, when you're maybe seeing sources, that it will pay off down the line, that those relationships may actually improve access and improve reporting, not that night, but weeks or months later?
GARFIELD: Oh, because I have a social relationship with...
STELTER: That's the idea. Yes.
GARFIELD: But -- except that presumes that there really is any benefit down the line. I see no evidence that the administration -- now this is its eighth Correspondents Dinner. I see no evidence that it's become more accessible, more transparent at all. It's a disgrace. It's a sham. It's a sham of a mockery of a travesty of a two mockeries of a sham.
STELTER: Tell me how you really feel.
GARFIELD: Yes.
STELTER: But I -- the reason I kind of ---
GARFIELD: And you're part of the problem.
STELTER: Well, tell me more.
(....)
GARFIELD: It's the apotheosis of everything that's wrong with journalism and government in this city. Everybody's too cozy. And it's hard for the press to fulfill its watchdog function if you're palling around with people who you can't even ask a journalistic question of.
STELTER: I think we think about what one of the themes this campaign season has been, especially with Donald Trump's rise. It's that the media has been out of touch, especially D.C., New York media has been out of touch. And you do wonder if this is an example of that. On the other hand, I saw Katrina Pierson and Scottie Nell Hughes and Jeffrey Lord and some of Trump's supporters at the event this weekend as well. So, maybe you see some of the anti-establishment mixing with the establishment at this point at an event like this.
GARFIELD: Well, I guess you do. And if democracy is the better for it, I surrender, but I just don't see any evidence that that's happening.
