CNN's Stelter frets Katie Couric editing scandal further damages media's reputation
Couric admitted she sought to 'protect' Ruth Bader Ginsburg by editing out a quote criticizing national anthem kneelers
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}CNN media correspondent Brian Stelter bemoaned Katie Couric's admission she once edited out newsworthy remarks from Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg to "protect" her, complaining Sunday it further damaged the wider media's reputation.
"This contributes to a decline in trust in media," Stelter said on "Reliable Sources." "She admits years later that she basically covered something up … It contributes to a lack of trust in media."
In her new memoir, Couric wrote she omitted some critical remarks Ginsburg made to her in 2016 about national anthem kneelers having "contempt for a government" that made it possible for their elders to have a "decent life." Couric, who once anchored "Today" and "CBS Evening News," also called herself a "big RBG fan" and guessed the then-83-year-old judge was too elderly and hadn't properly heard her question.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Couric was roasted by colleagues and critics over her conduct, with many calling it a breach of journalistic ethics as well as clear liberal bias.
Noting the scandal received extensive attention from "right-wing media" – Stelter's daily media newsletter only mentioned the dust-up in a brief item on Friday – Stelter asked Washington Post reporter Robert Costa about her decision.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Katie Couric’s bombshell admission of protecting Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a subject on Brian Stelter's CNN media show. (Getty Images)
Costa replied that maximum transparency was always better for readers and called for journalists to publish full transcripts of interviews with key figures like Ginsburg whenever possible.
Stelter cited a column from The Week that mourned the episode would contribute to the country's "misinformation problem" by further sowing a lack of trust in the press. A recent Gallup survey found a near record-low 36 percent of Americans have even a "fair amount" of confidence in the media.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"The bigger effect of Couric's admission, though, might be a new hindrance in battling misinformation," The Week's Joel Mathis wrote. "Couric chose to obscure a sitting justice's views on a newsworthy topic — the journalistic equivalent of a lie by omission. Revelations like this help seed the ground for mistrust in the newspapers and TV news outlets responsible for delivering true information to the rest of us. Many Americans have been primed to believe the media is lying to them, either because journalists lean to the left or because they're just too clubby with the people and institutions they cover.
LOS ANGELES, CA - MAY 03: Katie Couric speaks during an interview promoting the EPIX Original Documentary 'Under The Gun' on May 3, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Mike Windle/Getty Images For EPIX) (Photo by Mike Windle/Getty Images For EPIX))
FILE - This Sept. 20, 2017, file photo shows Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg speaking at the Georgetown University Law Center campus in Washington. Ginsburg didn’t put on her judge’s robe without also fastening something around her neck. Ginsburg called her neckwear collars, or jabots, and they became part of her signature style, along with her glasses, lace gloves and fabric hair ties known as scrunchies. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, file)
CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP
"Often that mistrust is cynically cultivated by ideological grifters like former President Donald Trump who want to replace reality with lies. But sometimes, as here, the damage is self-inflicted."