As CBS News veteran Lesley Stahl appeared as a guest on FNC's Media Buzz on Sunday, host Howard Kurtz might have almost gotten her to admit to liberal personal biases among her colleagues as she seemed to hedge on the issue of whether there is a liberal pro-Hillary Clinton bias in the news media.
After initially denying Kurtz's suggestion that "the liberal press wants Hillary Clinton to win," claiming that President Ronald Reagan received more favorable press than President Jimmy Carter, she then seemed to back off a bit when Kurtz pressed her.
After Kurtz followed up, "And just to be clear, you don't think there's any tilt in the press to the left or to the Democrats or away from Republicans," Stahl began her response: "Well, I don't want to go on the record saying that. I know how everybody votes."
After Kurtz joked, "Just between you and me," the CBS veteran added:
Just between you and me, I don't think you see it in the coverage. I think Hillary is getting a pretty tough press, and I think she will continue to get a pretty tough press because she is powerful now. She's pretty much almost certainly the candidate, and the focus and the high beams will be on her than they have been, and the same with him, Trump.
Below is a transcript of the relevant portion of the Sunday, May 8, Media Buzz on FNC:
11:50 a.m. ET
HOWARD KURTZ: Many people think the media loooove Hillary Clinton, but she's had her own history of testy relations with journalists. Why is that?
LESLEY STAHL, CBS NEWS (smiling): Well, who says the media looooves Hillary?
KURTZ: There's a lot of people out there who think the liberal press wants Hillary Clinton to win.STAHL (looking more serious): Yeah, I've heard that, bur I don't think -- I've never bought that, you know, having covered the White House through Democrat Jimmy Carter and Reagan following.
I mean, Reagan got a much softer, easier press than Jimmy Carter. So, I mean, when people look behind what they're saying and feeling, they'll see that the evidence isn't there. I think that the press is much more biased against power -- real power -- than, you know, against one party or the next.
(...)
KURTZ: And just to be clear, you don't think there's any tilt in the press to the left or to the Democrats or away from Republicans. You think it depends on the personalities.
STAHL: Well, I don't want to -- I don't want to go on the record saying that. I know how everybody votes.
KURTZ: Just between you and me.
STAHL: Just between you and me, I don't think you see it in the coverage. I think Hillary is getting a pretty tough press, and I think she will continue to get a pretty tough press because she is powerful now. She's pretty much almost certainly the candidate, and the focus and the high beams will be on her than they have been, and the same with him, Trump.
