Here's another reason so many people are frustrated with the media these days.
On December 30, host David Gregory presented an exclusive interview with President Barack Obama on the NBC program, Meet the Press. Gregory asked the president "What is your single priority of the second term?"
President Obama answered "a couple of things," then went on to list three priorities: 1) fixing a broken immigration system, 2) stabilizing the economy and make sure it's growing (specifically mentioning rebuilding of a deteriorating infrastructure) and 3) energy opportunities, balancing production and consumption with environmental concerns. Check out the interview yourself:
Gregory then brought up the subject of gun control, which the President went on to discuss at some length. Keep in mind that President Obama didn't mention gun control among his top three priorities.
One week later, as Gregory was moderating a Meet the Press panel, he characterized the president's agenda as "guns, immigration and other things." In seven days, Gregory had elevated guns from missing from President Obama's top three priorities to the No. 1 position.
This is simply wrong. The merits of gun control debate notwithstanding, Gregory owed viewers an accurate representation of the President's agenda rather than projecting someone else's. Is it just careless reporting or something else?
I realize that 24-hour cable news has led to a serious blurring of the lines between news reporting, analysis and opinion, but I expect better from the country's longest-running current affairs program.
