CNN realized after Monday’s on-air spat between “SICKO” documentary producer Michael Moore and anchorman Wolf Blitzer that it had a promotable controversy that, if turned into a sequel, could fill airtime on the cheap. And they did so.
Blitzer’s “Situation Room” added a taped interview with Moore on Tuesday as a followup to Moore’s Monday live appearance. Then last night, Larry King Live on CNN had Moore spar with CNN’s Sanjay Gupta for about a half hour. And it was a bunch of nothing. The first 10 minutes was all re-hash of previously broadcast material.
In all, then, in two days, CNN devoted about an hour’s worth of airtime to skimpy “fact-checking” of some of Moore’s documentary claims.
Why didn’t the network use the precious one hour of airtime to do its own original enterprise reporting about America’s uninsured, America spending 16% of the GDP on health care, America being the only industrialized nation without some form of universal, comprehensive national health insurance, and American being one of only two countries that allows direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising?
Why? Because that would be hard work.
And riding Michael Moore’s coattails by filling about an hour’s worth of talk show time costs very little – in dollars, in energy, in original thinking and reporting.
What a shame. What a waste of time. What an abdication of journalism’s agenda-setting responsibility.
Reactions to the Larry King show, on The Huffington Post:
Phoenix, AZ: In regard to the statement Dr. Sanjay Gupta made if the American people of this country would rather be in Canada or in the US awaiting a specific heart procedure, would that be if I was Insured or Uninsured? Because if I was uninsured I certainly would not want to be in the US because I know I would be DEAD without insurance! At least in Canada being placed on a waiting list I would have a fighting chance to Survive! THANK YOU SO MUCH MR. MOORE !Manchester, NH: What can we do to move this from a fact-check argument to a real discussion about healthcare? Why do you think we cannot seem to move past this?
Los Angeles: Can you please explain to Dr. Gupta that in the world that most Americans live in, we're not looking for "Health Care Utopia", and having to wait in a doctors office to be seen is something of a luxury many of us can no longer afford. His comment that in countries with free health care there is a long wait-time to see a doctor and it takes months to schedule elective surgery is laughable. That's like telling a starving person "don't bother with the free food, there's a line to get in and service is just awful." Are you joking? Come live in our world for a while, Doctor, then talk to me about "wait-time".
Exton, PA: Why do you think Gupta does not get it?
:)
Posted by: Alex at July 11, 2007 01:03 PMI'm still bothered by CNN's fact checking piece. To hear Gupta imply that Moore hid the fact that Cuba was ranked 39th when Gupta knew that CNN's screen banner hid Moore's disclosure of Cuba's standing can only be described as total dishonesty. I was shocked to watch Gupta accuse Michael of fudging numbers by relying upon 2007 Bush administration U.S. Dept. of Health data instead of Gupta's 2004 World Health Organization figures. I don't think we've ever seen a Wolf Blitzer Situation Room hatchet job such as this, and so naked too. Apologies are in order or I'm afraid my years of program loyalty to Wolf are at end. This was far too visible to let them keep my trust. How much does BBC News cost?
John R. Polito
Mount Pleasant, SC
I would Michael Moore over George Bush anytime. ;-)
Posted by: Edmund at July 22, 2007 10:19 AMHow many mistakes can Dr. Gupta make in a four minute piece? He is either Incompetent or very dishonest. In any case it is sad to see the true metal of these so called journalists on main stream media. Good job Mr. Moore
Posted by: Mahmuud Anshur at July 30, 2007 11:38 AM