NBC News’s Lester Holt has some ideas about the media industry that only leftists are cheering about. While accepting an award at the 45th Murrow Symposium, Holt said these days it’s not necessary to present both sides to an issue.
"I think it’s become clear that fairness is overrated ... the idea that we should always give two sides equal weight and merit does not reflect the world we find ourselves in," he said, asking viewers to let him explain further before “tweeting that headline.”
“The idea that we should always give two sides equal weight and merit does not reflect the world we find ourselves in,” he continued, giving the example of the sun setting in the West. Where facts are settled there doesn’t need to be an alternative viewpoint presented, he argued.
“Decisions to not give unsupported arguments equal time are not a dereliction of journalistic responsibility or some kind of agenda, in fact, it’s just the opposite,” he said, noting that giving a platform to misinformation can be “quite dangerous.”
Nightly News anchor @LesterHoltNBC accepts Edward R. Murrow Award and proclaims "fairness is overrated," insists it's not necessary to "always give two sides equal weight and merit" pic.twitter.com/IwI6yA7DAF
— Kyle Drennen (@kjdrennen) March 31, 2021
Liberals praised the comments.
thank you @LesterHoltNBC https://t.co/JVg29C9UQc
— John Harwood (@JohnJHarwood) March 31, 2021
Clearly no one commenting actually watched the video including the daily caller. Lester holt is right. We don’t need to give a microphone to people to spread dangerous lies and falsehoods. Journalism is about reporting facts and holding leaders accountable. https://t.co/2oeJ2ARS67
— Michaela Watkins (@michaelaWat) April 1, 2021
Gotta love and appreciate Lester Holt. Congrats to one of the greatest! https://t.co/BEqTpAabfM
— Alex Fisher (@AlexFisherKGET) March 31, 2021
Cornell Law School professor and media critic William A. Jacobson told Fox News that perhaps in a different era Holt’s remarks might be true.
"In a better world in which the mainstream major media had a history of fairness and non-partisanship, Holt's point that journalism inherently involves filtering information might make sense. This is not such a better world, this is a world in which the mainstream major media wears its partisanship on its sleeve, manipulating the news cycle to the advantage of Democrats," he said. "In the real world, Holt's advice simply justifies media political bias."