Former CBS News President Slams 'Unrelentingly Liberal' Media in WSJ Op-Ed
A former president of CBS News delivered a harsh judgment against today's media companies in an op-ed column that appeared in Tuesday's The Wall Street Journal.
Van Gordon Sauter, who served as the Eye Network's news president at two different times during the 1980s, asked whether a large segment of the public will "ever put stock in journalism it considers hostile to the country's best interests."
"The highly influential daily newspapers in New York, Washington, Los Angeles, and Boston are now decidedly liberal," Sauter wrote.
"On the home screen, the three broadcast network divisions still have their liberal tilt. Two of the three leading cable news sources are unrelentingly liberal in their fear and loathing of President Trump," he added.
"The news media is catching up with the liberalism of the professoriate, the entertainment industry, upscale magazines, and the literary world. Recent arrivals are the late-night TV hosts who have broken the boundaries of what was considered acceptable political humor for networks," Sauter continued.
"To the journalists, including more than a few Republicans, the president is a blatant vulgarian, an incessant prevaricator, and a dangerous leader who should be ousted next January, if not sooner," he later added.
Sauter, who also held many executive positions at CBS News over his career, also pondered what the future media coverage will be if Trump wins a second term in November. He explained since these same media organizations have bonded with a segment of the public that hates the president, they can't change course even if they wanted to, because it would severely affect them financially if they ever pulled away from anti-Trump activism.
Sauter also questioned how the media would respond if Joe Biden won the election, and asked if he would be subjected to the same skepticism imposed on Trump.
"Will he get a pass because he is a liberal and 'not Trump'? The media's protective coverage of the sexual-assault allegation against Mr. Biden is perhaps a clear and concerning preview to how his presidency would be covered. The media seems uninterested in these issues of bias. But wouldn't a softening of its editorial orientation bring new readers or viewers? Probably not," he explained.
"The media likes what it is doing. Admires it. Celebrates it. There is no personal, professional, or financial reason to change. If anything, the gap will expand. Ultimately, the media finds the 'deplorables' deplorable," Sauter noted.
The former news executive also closed his column with a haunting point about the media's need to be fair and balanced, and why it is necessary for social cohesion.
"But America won't reunite until far more people can look at a news story in print or on the screen and, of all things, believe it," Sauter concluded.
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