Friendly Fire? CNN’s Lou Dobbs Gets Called Out By CNN’s Reliable Sources

by Colby Hall and Robert Quigley | 12:51 pm, November 2nd, 2009

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dobbs On this week’s Reliable Sources, Howard Kurtz struck back at CNN cohort Lou Dobbs. Dobbs had claimed earlier in the week that he and his wife had been shot at in their New Jersey home, in part due to the “national liberal media” and its coverage in the immigration debate.

Kurtz and guest Margaret Carlson of Bloomberg were skeptical.

According to Carlson, Dobbs “takes extreme views” on immigration and other hot-button political issues “in part for ratings.” Carlson went so far as to equate Dobbs with Glenn Beck, and said that both men represented the media type who “come[s] to believe when you’re saying because it is so satisfying to you in terms of ratings and income” rather than out of any deeper personal conviction.

She also took issue with the truth of his shooting claims. Think Progress (not mentioned in the Reliable Sources segment) reports that the New Jersey State Police have not ruled out the possibility that the shooting was a “hunting-related incident,” which a spokesman said was not uncommon in the “very rural” area where Dobbs lives.

Howard Kurtz didn’t dive too deep in the mounting debate between Carlson and The American Spectator’s John Fund, but he did implicitly question Dobbs’s shooting claim. Crucially, Kurtz framed the question of a shooting by a “nut” as an “if” rather than a certainty. Carlson said that there was “absolutely no evidence that somebody was shooting at him or his wife,” and while Kurtz didn’t wholeheartedly agree, he did mention that New Jersey police have tried to downplay the incident in the press. Given that both Kurtz and Dobbs operate under the CNN flag (and Kurtz has been singled out by Media Matters in the past for not criticizing Dobbs enough), his display of skepticism was significant.

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American Spectator, CNN's Reliable Sources, Glenn Beck, Howard Ku, Howard Kurtz, howie kurtz, John Fund, Lou Dobbs, Lou Dobbs Called Out, Margaret Carlson, Reliable Sources, Reliable Sources Lou Dobbs, shooting incident

3 comments

Keeva says:

November 2, 2009 at 1:42 pm

Dobbs is another of the magnificent cowards. It would not at all surprise me to find out that he staged the entire incident for ratings.

It is easy to rant from a heavily secured studio and ride in secured vehicles. Let Dobbs deal with the real America. The one where we do our own work and stand up for our beliefs. Not his little fantasy land where interns scramble to get King Lou his coffee and toast.

I grow increasingly weary of all these cable TV loudmouths – not one of whom has a clue about the real world.

TfT says:

November 2, 2009 at 4:28 pm

Interesting take by Carlson:

According to Carlson, Dobbs “takes extreme views” on immigration

Might I suggest a correction:

Dobbs takes extreme views on ILLEGAL immigration, funny how Kurtz let that slide right by (balanced, my eye).

Furthermore, “New Jersey State Police have not ruled out the possibility that the shooting was a “hunting-related incident,” — nor have they ruled out it wasn’t (at least that I have heard/read).

Using Dobbs as your example of Kurtz fairness makes me laugh because by and large, his pings about CNN on (un)reliable sources have been mild at best and non-existent more often than not.

Nachi says:

November 3, 2009 at 6:24 pm

Lou lost his lid a long time ago.

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This Week: Karl Rove and David Plouffe Spar Over ‘Mission Accomplished’

by Tommy Christopher | 1:38 pm, Sunday

In an extended "This Week" segment in which Obama adviser David Plouffe and Fox News contributor Karl Rove traded talking points, there were a few fireworks right at the end. After Rove spent most of his time attacking the CBO (a sport of political convenience), and Plouffe pushed back against the idea that Democrats would be better off letting healthcare reform die, the pair revisited a Bush-era battle over the "Mission: Accomplished" banner.

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by Drew Grant | 1:30 pm, Sunday

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