CNN has been in the headlines recently because of their controversial pick for the head of their 2020 presidential race coverage: Sarah Isgur. Isgur is a well-known Republican strategist; her last gig was actually within the Trump administration, where she proclaimed loyalty to the current President. This conflict of interest is raising clear red flags, and it’s safe to say leftist media is ticked off. Conservatives are praising this pick and leftists are raising their voices of opposition because of the clear effect having someone so politically polarized being in charge of one of the largest news outlets in the world.
The biggest issue I have with this selection is that Isgur has NO journalism experience. Now, this should make you aspiring journalists out there livid because there are likely thousands of amazing actual journalists who would be more deserving and much better for the role. CNN’s defense: Isgur, “brings a wealth of government, political, communications and legal experience to our team.” To this, I say: why not hire her as a correspondent? Instead, Isgur will be the head of all media coming from CNN about the upcoming presidential election. This means she will have the power to decide what things the outlet focuses on and what things they decide to sweep under the carpet. Now more than ever, corruption has been revealed in many of America’s institutions. Dirty money is in our news, controlling what gets reported to the masses and what does not. There are millions of Americans who vote that look to CNN solely for their political coverage. It really pains me to see the ugly underbelly of a news outlet I admired for most of my life.
Many people around the US and around the world are really beginning to question if CNN is actually unbiased, bringing us honest coverage, or is working another angle. The answer is: as long as CNN is receiving money from special-interest donors who benefit from the establishment or conservative narrative, we probably shouldn’t take all of their reporting at face value. CNN has a reputation as the most reliable news outlet, typically being unbiased, straying towards the center on most political topics. The fact that they hired someone who has such a politically biased past makes me question their motives, and you should too.
My advice here is: If you can, just opt out of going to CNN online or on TV for political coverage. There are a plethora of wonderful news outlets that you can find on YouTube that you can actually trust to give you the hard facts about this race. Some of my go-to’s for political news include C-SPAN, Democracy Now and The Young Turks. In the last few years, it has been proven how crucial it is for every person to speak up when it comes to politics. For most people, politics is the one thing they do not want to bring up in everyday conversations but I am telling you, it affects you and it affects every day of your life. If you pay taxes, it affects you. If you have a pre-existing condition, it affects you. If you are a woman, IT AFFECTS YOU!