A San Diego news station claimed in a report Thursday that CNN refused to air their “local view” on border security because their reporting on the issue differs from CNN’s view that a border wall is not effective.
“They didn’t like what they heard from us,” KUSI’s Anna Laurel said.
Now CNN is pushing back on the story, which has gone viral since it was first reported yesterday.
CNN contacted KUSI Thursday morning to see if they would provide a reporter with their local view of the debate, “especially to learn if the wall worked in San Diego,” Laurel added.
KUSI co-Anchor Sandra Maas explained that there really is no debate in San Diego over the efficacy of the wall.
“KUSI offered our own Dan Plante, who has reported many times that the border is not an issue here. In fact, most officials here believe that it is effective,” Maas said. “The issue we face is the migrants and the debate over their treatment,” she added.
“Knowing this, CNN declined to have us on their programs, which often present the wall as not required in other places like the stretch of Texas border the president visited earlier today,” Laurel said.
Thursday morning, @CNN called the KUSI Newsroom asking if a reporter could give them a local view of the debate surrounding the border wall and government shutdown. After we informed them about our past reports, they declined to hear from us.
More info: https://t.co/RX4mB6EdNE pic.twitter.com/r0SAvWxFIm
— KUSI News (@KUSINews) January 11, 2019
“We believe CNN declined a report from KUSI because we informed them that most Border Patrol Agents we have spoken to told us the barrier does in fact work,” the station said in an online report. “We have continuously been told by Border Patrol Agents that the barrier along the Southern border helps prevent illegal entries, drugs, and weapons from entering the United States, and the numbers prove it.”
CNN’s media correspondent Brian Stelter pushed back on the embarrassing story on Twitter Friday by attacking Sean Hannity.
“Hannity spreading B.S. about CNN again,” Stelter said, referring to a tweet Hannity had shared about the story.
Stelter quoted CNN’s public relations department, which said: “We called several local stations to book someone for a show. We didn’t end up booking any of them. That happens many times every single day. We did, however, book a reporter from KUSI for a story” in November…
Hannity spreading B.S. about CNN again. @CNNPR's response: "We called several local stations to book someone for a show. We didn't end up booking any of them. That happens many times every single day. We did, however, book a reporter from KUSI for a story" in November… https://t.co/rtGj10QlN7
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) January 11, 2019
Fox News’ media reporter Brian Flood pointed out that Hannity isn’t the only one reporting the story.
if Hannity is spreading BS… so is Mediaite, The Hill, Breitbart, Drudge, Fox News Digital, NewsBusters, Newsweek, The Blaze, Townhall, etc
— Brian Flood (@briansflood) January 11, 2019
Stelter responded by giving another example of CNN dumping border reports that didn’t fit their narrative. “These things aren’t ‘scandals,’ they’re just “daily production decisions,” he said.
Yes– it says a lot about the sad state of digital media. Example: Last week my show team interviewed several border reporters from great local papers. Then we realized we didn't have time for the segment. These things aren't "scandals," they're just "daily production decisions."
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) January 11, 2019
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