Jennings: Objectivity is Too Much to Ask
Jennings: Media In Glaring Spotlight. (Hat tip: Rathergate.com.)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — ABC news anchor Peter Jennings said he’s getting an earful on media coverage.
Jennings is on a swing through battleground states, including Iowa and Missouri, where polls show the race could go either to President George W. Bush or Sen. John Kerry. “I think one of the best reasons to go on the road is just to listen,” Jennings told KETV NewsWatch 7’s Rob McCartney during a stop in Kansas City, Mo., Monday.
Jennings gets questions about a CBS report on Bush’s National Guard service, for which CBS news anchor Dan Rather later apologized and said the story was a mistake. He’s also asked about Sinclair Broadcasting’s decision to air a controversial documentary on Sen. John Kerry’s Vietnam war record. Another big question regards an ABC internal memo from the political director suggesting that reporters need not “reflexively” hold both sides of the presidential election “equally” accountable.
Jennings said the media is now under the hot lights.
“I’m a little concerned about this notion everybody wants us to be objective,” Jennings said.