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CNN John King Report Card |
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The newsmedia can’t  wait to issue an assessment and grade for the President’s first hundred days. It would be instructive if the public were provided with an analysis of the newsmedia’s performance during this period. We won’t grade the whole newsmedia nor the cable news shows, which are probably the most impactful in generating perceptions, however, we will take a look at one of CNN’s latest feature news-program—John King’s four hour Sunday morning show called “State of the Union.”
One of the feature segments of King’s Sunday morning production is his “On-the-Road” show. It has to be one of the most disingenuous pieces of journalism on cable news television. Anecdotal reporting is becoming more in vogue. The idea that you find some man or woman on the street to offer their opinion as if it’s some indication of the over all public mood is rather ridiculous.
The road show is a variation on the Youtube questionnaires, which came into vogue during the recent presidential debates and are employed occasionally by various cable news shows. However, these are all set-ups. The questions are hand-picked by the producers to present to the guest of the show. If you pick the question you may as well ask the question and cut out the theatrics.
The president’s approval ratings are right at 68% in the polls, selecting three people who have obviously been pre-screened unless they reflect the general polling proportions particularly if it’s a totally one sided negative interview, is a joke. It really reveals the host’s bias more than anything else. King had already tipped his hand earlier in the show, by employing another phony piece of television journalism. He found a black woman and the label under her name said “Obama supporter,” to say “but for the president to tell a CEO that he has to leave, I just don’t buy that.” The unmistakable message being conveyed is see, even black people don’t like what he’s doing on this subject. The whole idea of presenting criticism from an ostensible friendly source is an old journalistic ruse. I believe we can expect to see more and more of this.
The segment was full of leading questions and editing to convey King’s unmistakable editorial bias. He opened the segment with “We want to hear from you. We travel all over the country.” Seated at a table in a restaurant with two middle age white women and a younger white fellow before what appeared to be a sumptuous CNN sponsored luncheon, King directs his first question to Ronni Klein labeled as an Obama supporter:
JOHN KING: “It’s only a few months but it’s at a point where people say alright let’s look what have we seen in a hundred days. You wanted change are you getting it?”
RONNI KLEIN: “I see them bailing out these big companies but the everyday people, still loosing their jobs, still loosing their houses, and still don’t have any money. And the money is not circulating because people are afraid to spend what they do have. So are we having change, I don’t know.”
KING: “You didn’t vote for him but do you see any change in the first hundred days any change for the better in your view?”
ROB ISLER: ( McCain supporter): “You know It’s probably too soon to tell. Anything financially usually happens over the course of at least six months to a couple of years. I think this is a great thing that has happened because it will show America all the people that voted for Barack Obama in my opinion did so off of emotional reasons and trendy reasons and fad reason wanting to be part of history and it’s a novelty and so forth…and I think they are going to see very quickly that it was a big mistake and as flashy and as exciting as it all was it’s really a bad choice.”
Editor: John King turns to the third person at the table; listed as newly unemployed.
KING: “You see…do you agree with him, or you’re not so sure like her, do you see any change for the better?”
VIRGINIA KAPLAN: “I haven’t seen any change .Unemployed for the first time in fifty years. My community that I live in, in Las Vegas… one of the largest “Master Plan” communities just filled for chapter 11. We have a lot of answered questions… We don’t know how it going to effect the home owners, how it’s going to effect me financially. I haven’t seen any change for the positive. Any of the bailout money certainly hasn’t helped me any.”
KING: “He’s been trying to do quite a bit. He put his budget out there. He continued and modified the bailout plan started under the Bush administration. He’s talking about whether to bail out the car industry. He wants to do health care. He wants to do climate change whether you agree or disagree with that list and the many other things he wants to do have you ever seen anybody try to do so much so fast in your lifetime?”
Editor: Transparently leading question and Ms. Klein dutifully gives the answer for which King is practically pleading.
RONNI KLEIN: “No I haven’t he’s just running so fast I don’t know if he has time to think everything through. Because he’s changing… he’s trying to push everything through,,, I mean we’ve been trying to change healthcare in this country for how long…for ever”
Editor: King keeps pushing his “he’s moving too fast” angle. What is not conveyed here is the pleading, leading, voice inflection in Kings questions, however, he gets what he’s seeking.
KING: “Does the pace of it worry you at all?”
RON ISLER: “I’m sure he feels a lot of pressure, and he knows that everything he does is going to be heavily looked at in the history books…and he’s probably trying to do a little overachieving.”
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VIRGINIA KAPLAN: “I think he’s moving too fast…too many directions at once …not spending enough time on one item…just moving too fast”
Editor: Now King turns to his pet topic, the famous “are we less safe” question he put to Dick Cheny that made news.
KING: “Very basic question. Do you feel more safe, less safe, about the same,with Barack Obama as President as compared to George W. Bush.?”
RONNI KLEIN: “Oh I don’t know. I haven’t felt safe in a long time. I haven’t felt safe since 9-11.”
VIRGINIA KAPLAN: “I lost a nephew on September 11th, lots of friend from New Jersey. Lot’s of students from my late husband’s… not feel safe at all…and I’m so afraid…”
Editor: Ouch. These answers undoubtedly are disappointing to King, but undaunted he presses on determined to elicit a criticism of the Obama administration’s security position.
KING:“ Less safe …you say not feel safe at all is that the same, if I were here and George W. Bush was still president?”
VIRGINIA KAPLAN: “I really don’t care who would be president I really don’t feel enough is going into our security. Maybe some of the bailout money should go to the military, the CIA, the FBI to secure this country for what we have now…before another attack opens.”
RON ISLER: “I get the feeling that the guy is very intelligent…good speaker he’s really kinda secretly doing this behind his back (he crosses his fingers) and keeping a straight face (he rolls his eyes ) are they on to me yet.?”
Editor: The question is, are people on to John King yet?
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