Brian Stelter Dismisses ‘Both-Sides Trap’ in News When Asked If He’s Become More ‘Opinionated’ in Coverage

CNN’s Reliable Sources host Brian Stelter rejected the “both-sides trap” in journalism and said he has become more outspoken in an interview with NPR.

“My impression is — and correct me if I’m wrong — that you’ve changed in the years that you’ve been hosting the show,” NPR’s Terry Gross observed in a Tuesday interview with Stelter. “You’re much more outspoken about what you see. You’re much more opinionated and comfortable giving your own opinions. Am I right about that? And if so, what changed in you and in what you were seeing that led you to be more outspoken and opinionated?”

Stelter — on to promote his new book Hoax: Donald Trump, Fox News and the Dangerous Distortion of Truth — attributed his transformation to the Trump era.

“In 10 or 20 years, I want to be able to look back and be proud of how I covered the Trump presidency,” Stelter told Gross. “I think that’s the ultimate test for any journalist right now. Will you be proud of what you said and what you did? I have definitely been outspoken on Reliable Sources. I’ve been doing more monologues than I used to, and so have a lot of other CNN anchors.”

He added: “Sometimes talking straight to the camera and explaining what the president did or didn’t do, explaining how we know it’s a lie, I think that’s more effective than having a debate between two talking heads or falling for that both-sides trap because, Terry, there are certain things that we have to stand up for. Truth and decency and democracy, those are not partisan values. They should never be viewed as partisan values.”

Stelter made headlines earlier this month when he lamented during a panel discussion on his own program that “entire media companies essentially exist to tear down Joe Biden,” a problem he suggested President Donald Trump doesn’t face.