During an interview with Third Hour Today show co-host Sheinelle Jones aired on Monday, PBS anchor Christiane Amanpour denounced criticism of the media as being “corrosive and destructive” to democracy. The comments came just days after the reporter vilely attempted to link Fox News to the recent terrorist attacks in New Zealand.
Talking to Amanpour at Variety’s Power of Women gala on Friday, Jones gushed: “Following years of reporting from the front lines and in the newsroom, it’s no surprise that Christiane Amanpour believes in the Committee to Protect Journalists.” Amanpour, who was being honored at the event, declared: “We are watching an era in which life for journalists becomes tougher and tougher, more and more dangerous. We are truth tellers, we’re truth seekers, we go for the evidence and the facts.”
Jones complained: “This whole notion of ‘fake news,’ I don’t know why it bothers me so much.” Amanpour commiserated: “It potentially can have a corrosive and destructive influence and effect on one of the most important pillars of our democracy and our freedom.”
Jones worried: “Absolutely, so what do we do?” Amanpour assured her: “Well, we keep doing our jobs, we rise to the challenge and we redouble our efforts to be as diligent as we possibly can.”
While CNN’s chief international correspondent claimed that criticism of the media was “destructive,” she seemed to forget tying Fox News to terrorism on her PBS show Thursday night. Amanpour claimed that the “ethno-nationalist agenda” at Fox had been “recreated” on NewsCorp-owned Sky News Australia and blamed those supposed “anti-immigrant sentiments” for inspiring the shooter who attacked two mosque’s in New Zealand’s capital of Christchurch in March.
So calling liberal media outlets like CNN “fake news” is a threat to democracy and journalists in general, but outrageously tarring Fox News as responsible for a brutal massacre is perfectly fine.
Here is a transcript of the exchange between Amanpour and Jones on the April 8 Third Hour Today show:
9:26 AM ET
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SHEINELLE JONES: Following years of reporting from the front lines and in the newsroom, it’s no surprise that Christiane Amanpour believes in the Committee to Protect Journalists.
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: We are watching an era in which life for journalists becomes tougher and tougher, more and more dangerous. We are truth tellers, we’re truth seekers, we go for the evidence and the facts. So we need the Committee to Protect Journalists to protect and to have our backs while we do that job.
JONES: This whole notion of “fake news,” I don’t know why it bothers me so much.
AMANPOUR: It potentially can have a corrosive and destructive influence and effect on one of the most important pillars of our democracy and our freedom.
JONES: Absolutely, so what do we do?
AMANPOUR: Well, we keep doing our jobs, we rise to the challenge and we redouble our efforts to be as diligent as we possibly can.
(...)
