Last week on CNN’s Reliable Sources, former CBS investigative reporter Sharyl Attkisson created a bit of a firestorm in the media when she implied that left-wing media watchdog group Media Matters targeted her after she started to expose the scandals in the Obama administration.
That accusation was denied by Media Matters founder David Brock, who on Sunday was given the chance not only to answer the charge, but also to explain what his organization does. The segment looked more like an infomercial than an interview.
Reliable Sources host Brian Stelter, who used to work for The New York Times, provided cover for Brock, not only on the targeting charge, but also on Attkisson’s claim that Media Matters was paid to go after her.
Brock denied that charge as well, leading Stelter to ask about left-wing financier George Soros’ contribution to the organization. Brock said he appreciated the donations, but that they represented less than 10% of the organizations total contributions. He was trying to suggest that Soros doesn’t have any undue influence on their operations.
Stelter bought that claim, and moved on. But he missed a huge opportunity to call Brock out on Soros’ $1 million contribution four years ago to Media Matters that was specifically made to target Fox News, and Glenn Beck in particular, which proves that the organization does accept money to target conservative journalists, and can be bought.
If Stelter is going to continue doing puff pieces like this for the left, then CNN might want to rename the program Unreliable Sources.
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