Former Fox Contributor Slams News Networks For Prioritizing Entertainment Over Vetting Trump's Record

Jane Hall: "Television Has Given Donald Trump Pretty Much A Pass ... He Calls In, He Says What He Wants, He's Gone, He's Out Of Town, And He's Never Called On What He's Done”

From the May 22 edition of CNN's Reliable Sources

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BRIAN STELTER (HOST): This is something that Democrats, liberals, [Hillary] Clinton supporters get so immensely frustrated with. They feel like Clinton does not get a fair shake from general national media coverage because of these built-in biases. Carl, do you subscribe to that, that journalists start out sort of assuming the worst about Hillary Clinton? 

CARL BERNSTEIN: Well, I think you can't generalize about “journalists” quote. I think you have to talk about real, experienced political reporters who are really capable, like at The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, some of the cable networks on a day-to-day basis. But I think we must come back at the risk of being repetitive here. We are ahead of ourselves. We need to be seeing on television the three networks, the old networks and the cable networks, we need to be seeing in-depth reporting about the lives of all of these candidates who are still running, and we need to see it soon. Because what we're doing is we're focusing on breaking news underlined without going back and seeing, well, what is the context of what we're reporting here? Who are these people? We think we know them. I don't think that the voters do because the voters haven't read the books that are out there that really tell us something about who these people are. 

STELTER: Jane, a last word from you. 

JANE HALL: I think television has given Donald Trump pretty much a pass. The New York Times, The Washington Post, they've done a lot about his business practices, his university. It's really because entertainment -- you should pardon the expression -- is trumping everything else I think largely on television. He calls in, he says what he wants, he's gone, he's out of town, and he's never called on what he's done, what he's said. It's really fairly extraordinary. Entertainment is the ultimate value I think in this campaign, at least on a lot of television.

Previously

How News Networks Should Cover Someone Like Donald Trump

Strange Days: Conservatives Criticize “Liberal Media” For Being Too Soft On GOP Front-Runner Trump

Donald Trump: “I Think I Get Covered Better On CNN Than I Do On Fox”