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CNN’s Trump “town hall” debacle: THIS is CNN??

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THIS is CNN??

CNN’s CEO Chris Licht has been quoted as saying he hoped to do a reset on CNN so it could be perceived as it was in it’s original incarnation glory days: as the place for news, a place that would now put the days of the Jeff Zucker happy-talk and advocacy era behind it.

But the disastrous Donald Trump “Town Hall”-which resembled a Trump rally with its pro-Trump audience snickering and cheering as Trump spewed forth his greatest insults and lies while bulldozing past CNN’s rising star Kaitlan Collins-has damaged CNN’s reputation. CMM’s goal of being the place for news has been undercut by its “Town Hall” that made it the place for propaganda.

It’s likely to result in a further drop in CNN ratings and rightfully or wrongfully damaged Collin’s reputatation as much as CNN’s. The program, and CNN”s decision to air it with Trump mega-MAGA fan audience, was even panned by it’s own media critic Oliver Darcy in CNN’s venerable Reliable Sources newsletter.

Mediaite:

CNN senior media reporter Oliver Darcy revealed Wednesday evening that CNN was “facing a fury of criticism” within the company following its controversial town hall with former President Donald Trump.

“It’s hard to see how America was served by the spectacle of lies that aired on CNN Wednesday evening,” wrote Darcy in CNN’s Reliable Sources newsletter.

While he praised the “tough and knowledgable” CNN host Kaitlan Collins for her attempts at fact-checking Trump’s remarks, Darcy said Collins was given “an impossible task” and “put in an uncomfortable position,” given that the audience was comprised of Republicans who mostly applauded the former president and laughed at his comments.

“And CNN aired it all. On and on it went. It felt like 2016 all over again. It was Trump’s unhinged social media feed brought to life on stage,” Darcy wrote, noting that Trump’s staffers were reportedly “delighted” with the event.

Darcy wrote that “CNN and new network boss Chris Licht are facing a fury of criticism — both internally and externally over the event,” before adding, “How Licht and other CNN executives address the criticism in the coming days and weeks will be crucial.”

CNN proved itself to be a weak link in challenge facing democracy raising questions such as:
1. Where were the “swing voters” that CNN touted as having been selected to be in the audience?
2. Given Donald Trump’s history, did they have any game plan on how to handle a Trump filibuster where he’d ignore a reporter’s questions or just talk over her?
3. Was this Licht’s idea of showing that it’s impartial and is seeking to reclaim it’s previous role as the media’s center?

Apparently it is:

One likely outcome: a boost to MSNBC ratings.