Ted Koppel Rips Hannity, Says He’s ‘Bad For America’ [Video]
Ted Koppel rips Hannity in an interview that aired on CBS and the veteran journalist also said the Fox News host is “bad for America.” According to CBS, the remarks were made during an episode of Sunday Morning about the polarization of politics and the media in the Age of Trump.
The great divide: Ted Koppel examines politics in the Age of Trump with @seanspicer, @seanhannity, & @deanbaquet https://t.co/x1b2wD7sab pic.twitter.com/eqSUSoFNDv
— CBS Sunday Morning ? (@CBSSunday) March 26, 2017
Koppel, who is best known as the former anchor for Nightline, told Sean Hannity to his face that his form of opinion-based reporting was hurting the country. The following text is how the exchange went down.
“Do you think I’m bad for America?” Hannity asked.
Koppel immediately answered, “Yeah.”
“You know why? Because you’re very good at what you do, and because you have attracted a significantly more influential … ” Koppel said before he was interrupted by Hannity. “You have attracted people who are determined that ideology is more important than facts,” he argued.
Koppel interviewed Hannity as well as other prominent figures, for CBS Sunday Morning. Norman Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute, Sean Hannity of Fox News, Dean Baquet of the New York Times and Sean Spicer, White House Press Secretary to President Trump all can be seen in the 10-minute segment.
The Sean Hannity Show, a nationally syndicated talk radio show that continues to gain popularity among conservatives, has been a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump.
After he was labeled as being “bad for America,” Hannity went on the defense and told Koppel he was cynical and that Americans could tell the difference between opinion and news.
“Liberalism has to be defeated. Socialism must be defeated, in a political sense. We don’t want a revolution in this country,” Hannity was quoted saying, before adding that the media at large are trying to “destroy” Trump. “We have to give some credit to the American people that they’re somewhat intelligent and that they know the difference between an opinion show and a news show,” the 55-year-old said. “You’re cynical.”
During the segment, Koppel examined the current media-political landscape and talked about the elimination of The Fairness Doctrine and whether it has been a contributing factor to the country’s current media situation.
According to Wikipedia, The Fairness Doctrine was a policy of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), introduced in 1949, that required the holders of broadcast licenses both to present controversial issues of public importance and to do so in a manner that was — in the Commission’s view — honest, equitable, and balanced. The FCC, which was believed to have been under pressure from then President Ronald Reagan, eliminated the Doctrine in 1987. The FCC formally removed the language that implemented the Doctrine in August of 2011, the report states.
Hannity is no stranger to controversy, and throughout his career, he has been involved in several heated disputes. He was recently criticized for entertaining the notions of birtherism and voter fraud in the 2016 election. Conservatives and pundits also critiqued him for being overly supportive of Donald Trump, and for changing positions on the independent media organization WikiLeaks.
Following Koppel and Hannity’s televised spat, Hannity lashed out on Twitter alleging that his interview had been cut from 45 minutes to less than two.
“‘Fake Edited News’ @CBSNews release the Unedited 45-minute interview so people can see the BS games you play in the edit room. I dare you!” Koppel tweeted.
According to USA Today, Hannity claimed he provided many examples of media bias in the cut footage and challenged the network to air the full segment.
[Featured Image via Kirk Irwin/Getty Images]
