Media 'hall monitor' Brian Stelter downplays '60 Minutes' DeSantis report 'missteps' on CNN show
'Reliable Sources' host refrained from commenting on key issues with report
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}CNN's left-wing media guru Brian Stelter offered very little criticism of CBS News Sunday over the controversy plaguing the network over its widely-panned "60 Minutes" report on Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Stelter, who is best known by crtics as the media's outspoken "hall monitor," broke his tradition of skipping news stories that portray the press in a negative light and actually dedicated a segment of Sunday's "Reliable Sources" to what he described as possible "missteps" in the "60 Minutes" report.
"'60 Minutes' is one of the most popular news programs in America, so what it decides to cover matters. It matters a lot," Stelter began. "So are its editorial choices and editing processes And that's why this segment from last Sunday is under so much scrutiny."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}After citing criticism of the "60 Minutes" report by the Poynter Institute and The Washington Post, Stelter welcomed Reason Magazine senior editor Robby Soave, a vocal critic of the segment, on the program.
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"I think that the concerns about inequality in the vaccine rollout are real and important, right?" Stelter said. "This question of 'Are some people being disenfranchised, not getting access?' these are important. But the way that '60' told the story opened the program up to a lot of criticism."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Stelter then asked Soave if it was a "mistake" for CBS to take the "our story speaks for itself" approach to the backlash. Soave responded by saying that not only should the network have apologized but "someone should have gotten fired" over the botched report.
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While he let his guest pile on "60 Minutes," Stelter himself refrained from weighing in on the deceptive editing that omitted key statements DeSantis made in response to the "pay-for-play" allegation pushed by correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi. The host also did not address the perspectives of Florida Democrats, who directly refuted the story that DeSantis rewarded the grocery store chain Publix with vaccine distribution rights after the company made a $100,000 donation to his campaign, that were left out of the report.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}CBS News has repeatedly backed its report, though it has refrained from defending its "pay-for-play" allegation against the governor.