CNN anchor Michael Smerconish is not embarrassed by his network’s shoddy Russia reporting last week, because they took immediate steps to correct it. The report, which suggested that a Trump aide was under investigation by the Senate Intelligence Committee for contacting a Russian businessman, relied on tenuous, anonymous sourcing. The editors were forced to retract it.
Additionally, because the Russia report did not live up to the network’s editorial standards, three employees were forced to resign.
President Trump mocked the network mercilessly on Twitter Tuesday morning for proving his favorite nickname for them true.
Smerconish, unfazed by the incident, said it was just another opportunity for CNN to show that it holds its employees accountable. CNN’s actions, Smerconish, said, proves that the network is dedicated to reporting “real news.”
“I’m not embarrassed about the network at all,” Smerconish stated. “I would be embarrassed about a network, when confronted with reporting that crossed the line or wasn’t accurate, kept those individuals on the payroll. That’s not the case at CNN.”
He used other recent incidents to prove his point. When Kathy Griffin posed with photos of a decapitated President Trump and Reza Aslan called the president an expletive, they were both fired by CNN.
Since we can’t rely on the Trump administration to be forthcoming, Smerconish said, it’s up to the journalists to do the dirty work.