It's no surprise that the year "fake news" entered our vocabularies was a controversial one for media. NewsBusters' Curtis Houck joins Cheddar to break down the year's most polarizing press events. We consider how to hold journalists accountable without vilifying them.
Houck points to Vice President Al Gore's marketing strategy for his documentary "An Inconvenient Truth 2" as an instance of dishonesty. He also revisits the media's decision to use Big Bird as a symbol of PBS' budget cuts. Despite headlines saying the government was killing the children's character, Sesame Street is still airing on PBS.
Finally, Houck reveals some of the most infamous media mistakes of the year. From Brian Ross' false reporting about the Michael Flynn guilty plea to CNN's misrepresentation of Anthony Scaramucci's Russia ties, Houck says the media lost significant credibility in 2017. We also consider the apparent double standard different networks are taking in their approaches to punishing erring journalists.
President Joe Biden ordered the United States military to carry out retaliatory airstrikes against Iranian-backed militia groups after three U.S. service members were injured in a drone attack in northern Iraq.
Donald Trump's lawyers are telling a federal appeals court that he was acting within his role as president when he pressed claims about “alleged fraud and irregularity” in the 2020 election.
The Supreme Court says it will not immediately take up a plea by special counsel Jack Smith to rule on whether former President Donald Trump can be prosecuted for his actions to overturn the 2020 election results.
A Congressional oversight committee has opened an investigation into the safety of an Osprey aircraft, weeks after a deadly crash off the coast of Japan that killed eight airmen.