'A flagrant example of what I call edited fake news': Hannity goes off on journalist who said he was 'bad for America'

pulse

March 28, 2017 3:42 PM

Sean Hannity dedicated over seven minutes of his show to slamming Ted Koppel, whom Hannity said was "not a journalist."

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Sean Hannity responded on Monday to CBS journalist Ted Koppel's proclamation that the Fox News host's opinion show was "bad for America."

The Fox opinion anchor dedicated over seven minutes of his Monday program to slamming Koppel, who Hannity said was a "hypocrite" and "not a journalist" and was part of a larger ecosystem of network television news outlets that Hannity said had little credibility.

"I have the ability to fight back: cheap-shot attacks in the name of 'journalism' all to advance their biased agenda," the Fox anchor said, describing the interview.

He added: "Ted was giving his opinion. He considers himself an impartial journalist, yet what CBS News was airing — he's doing exactly what he said was bad for America."

The anchor lamented CBS' editing of the two anchors' 45-minute interview, in which just over a minute made the broadcast.

"Beyond this interview being a total waste of my time, it is a flagrant example of what I call edited fake news," Hannity said.

He continued: "Now they produce a package taking shots at me all while displaying their dishonesty, their bias, and total hypocrisy here for every viewer to see. Now Ted's interview with me, it wasn't about substance, it wasn't about getting my real opinion. The story was written long before he walked into this studio here at Fox. I was just used as a prop to advance his narrative."

The Fox anchor also took aim at CBS, claiming that former journalist Dan Rather's disproven reporting on President George W. Bush's military service record proved that CBS was a terrible new source, essentially attempting to cast doubt on decades of reporting.

Hannity argued that his program was far better than CBS at delivering news on subjects he considered of paramount importance, including President Barack Obama's relationship in college with a controversial professor and his attendance of an African-American church where a pastor made inflammatory statements about America.

The Fox News pundit has faced intense criticism for abandoning conservative and journalistic standards in his sycophantic embrace of President Donald Trump.

In his defense of Trump, Hannity has peddled conspiracy theories about the CIA and Hillary Clinton, cited unscientific studies that don't meet his network's standards, and sparred with right-leaning columnists on Twitter during Rascal Flatts concerts.

Koppel has made no secret of his distaste for the way Fox News' highly rated opinion programs have changed television news.

Appearing on "The O'Reilly Factor" earlier this month, the CBS journalist said hosts like Bill O'Reilly made Koppel "irrelevant."

"You know who made it irrelevant? You did," Koppel said. "You've changed the television landscape over the past 20 years. You took it from being objective and dull to being subjective and entertaining."