CNN Chief Defends Trump's 'Yellicopter' Chats As 'Newsworthy' And 'Important'
Brian Stelter interviewed CNN President Jeff Zucker at CNN's Citizen Conference last week, taking the opportunity to ask specifically about the decision to air Donald Trump's helicopter chats and Oval office sprays in real time.
This is where I interject and say that in my opinion, there is no reason to air that crap in real time, and the networks allow Trump to set the scene and make it as convenient as possible for him to lie while making it as inconvenient as possible for networks to ask meaningful questions and fact-check him directly.
Predictably, Zucker justified what I call "yellicopter sessions" this way: "He is the President of the United States, and when he speaks, that is newsworthy, and that is important. And frankly, you don't always know what he's going to say or where he's going to go. It's equally as important for people to see in real time, in fullness, what he's saying, how he's saying it."
Brian Stelter paused on the "how he's saying it" part, prompting Zucker to elaborate.
"What his verbiage is and the like," he explained. "I understand the sentiment of people who don't think we should take it."
He justified that decision by noting that CNN fact-checks in as close to real time as they can, even putting up the section of the U.S. Constitution on emoluments while Trump called it "phony."