Late Show host Stephen Colbert on Monday hailed the “public objectivity” of CBS Evening News anchor Norah O’Donnell and derided the “authoritarian” efforts of Donald Trump to “denigrate and undermine the press.” According to the hard-left Colbert, this is simply an effort to eliminate all “umpires” in the press. As if journalists simply want to call balls and strikes.
Colbert lamented just how hard it must be to function as a journalist with the current president: “It's a common playbook of authoritarians to try to denigrate and undermine the press, so there can be no umpires, let's say, in the game, calling balls and strikes about what is true and what is not true. This President is no different. Is it disheartening to you to see the increased and continuous attacks on the press by this administration and their supporters?”
The very sanctimonious O’Donnell explained just how important she and her CBS colleagues are: “Well, the most important thing is the dissemination of facts, and, so, when there is an attack on facts, an attack on important information that gives citizens the information they need to vote properly, that concerns me.”
I think we all can guess what "vote properly" means to O'Donnell.
Even though the reality is that a conversation between Colbert and O’Donnell is just two liberals talking to each other, the Late Show host pretended that he wouldn’t dare burst the anchor’s “public objectivity.”
I know as a journalist you have to maintain a public objectivity which I will not try to pierce with my questions, but I will say from my own point of view that our government has completely abdicated their role for leadership in this time of COVID. Journalists seem to be the ones trying to get out the proper information to the American public right now about the health and safety concerns and the need for social distancing, wearing masks. What do you feel the role of journalism right now in the time of the COVID crisis?
Yet, during a live, post-Democratic debate edition of the show on February 26, 2020, Colbert basically called on Democrats to override O’Donnell, dismissing her as irrelevant. Speaking about Elizabeth Warren, he said of her talking over moderator O'Donnell: “You can’t listen to a TV person.” Insulting the CBS anchor, he continued, “If you’re going to be the President of the United States, you’re not gonna let Norah O’Donnell stop you from talking.”
So which is it? Are journalists the saviors of democracy or just a roadblock when Democrats are talking? O’Donnell clearly holds herself in very high regard:
Well, look, I've always believed journalism is a public service. Walter Cronkite, who sat in this chair said, “Journalism is what we need to make democracy work.” We need an informed electorate. I didn't ever think I would be a public health official in some regard.
The coordination between two prominent liberals in the media was sponsored by Verizon and Dell. Click on the links to let them know how you feel.
A partial transcript is below. Click "expand" to read more.
Late Show With Stephen Colbert
7/13/2020
12:09
STEPHEN COLBERT: I know as a journalist you have to maintain a public objectivity, which I will not try to pierce with my questions. But I will say, from my own point of view, that our government has completely abdicated their role for leadership in this time of COVID. Journalists seem to be the ones trying to get out the proper information to the American public right now about the health and safety concerns and the need for social distancing, wearing masks. What do you feel the role of journalism right now in the time of the COVID crisis?
NORAH O’DONNELL: Well, look, I've always believed journalism is a public service. Walter Cronkite, who sat in this chair said, “Journalism is what we need to make democracy work.” We need an informed electorate. I didn't ever think I would be a public health official in some regard. My father is an infectious disease doctor and he does public health work. It has seemed like every night we do public health. During this crisis we're not sharing people's opinions, we're having people with MDs and PHDs on because the curiosity is vast in terms of how is the virus spread, is it airborne, what are the surfaces? What is the treatment?
…
12:19
COLBERT: It's a common playbook of authoritarians to try to denigrate and undermine the press, so there can be no umpires, let's say, in the game, calling balls and strikes about what is true and what is not true. This President is no different. How --- Is it disheartening to you to see the increased and continuous attacks on the press by this administration and their supporters?
O’DONNELL: Well, the most important thing is the dissemination of facts, and, so, when there is an attack on facts, an attack on important information that gives citizens the information they need to vote properly, that concerns me.
COLBERT: You have been attacked personally by the president.
O’DONNELL: You interviewed a bio medical whistleblower in the administration.
O’DONNELL: Right.
COLBERT: : The worried about the administration's dedication about giving all the material and support needed to finding a vaccine.
O’DONNELL: That’s exactly right. We still have the only interview with Dr. Rick Bright who is the head of BARTA which is a part of the agency Congress just gave billions and billions of dollars to which is at the forefront of funding, you know, who gets – who is going to have the needles for the syringes for the vaccine, who's going to produce the glass bottles, who is going to produce the masks that we all need, who is going to replenish the national stockpiles for PPEs all that, and Dr. Rick Bright kept saying to the White House we need more masks and we need to do this, and he was fired for doing that, the white house says for leaking to the press, so he became a whistleblower. He did his only interview with us, and I do think it's important to hold public officials accountable.
