Brian Stelter Takes on Hannity’s ‘Repetitive’ Russia Coverage: He ‘Says the Same Thing Over and Over’
CNN’s Brian Stelter took on Sean Hannity‘s coverage of the Russia investigation on Reliable Sources Sunday, criticizing the Fox News host for not understanding journalism in his attacks on the media.
Stelter covered a study conducted by liberal watchdog group Media Matters, which took a deep dive into Hannity’s coverage of the Mueller probe. Anyone who’s tuned into Hannity’s show this year likely won’t be surprised by the results — the primetime host often opens his show with an extensive rundown of the latest news in the “Russia Witch Hunt,” and Media Matters found 487 segments devoted to the probe.
After reading a quote from a court filing stating Special Counsel Robert Mueller‘s probe is an “ongoing criminal investigation,” Stelter noted: “Someone should tell that to Sean Hannity.”
“This is helpful data because it speaks to how Hannity is repetitive,” Stelter said of the Media Matters’ study. “How he says the same thing over and over again, convincing his audience the Mueller probe really is a witch hunt. When in fact there’s already been a bunch of witches found.”
Stelter brought on New York Times media columnist Jim Rutenberg, asking “is Hannity the tip of the spear helping the president erode credibility in Mueller’s investigation?”
“He’s certainly the most watched part of the spear,” Rutenberg said. “He has millions of viewers, a huge primetime audience. And whatever he’s saying is being echoed throughout the web, and other sites, and on social media.”
“It’s a pretty loud echo chamber, and he’s a huge part of it,” Rutenberg added.
Watch above, via CNN.
[image via screengrab]
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