CNN’s Bill Weir Asks San Diego Anchor How It Feels To ‘Sell Off A Chunk Of Your Soul’
After a San Diego news anchor highlighted President Donald Trump’s tweet accusing CNN of dropping a planned border wall report because the “station said that Walls work,” CNN’s Bill Weir fired back at the anchor and asked her how she feels selling off “a chunk of your soul.”
In case you missed it, KUSI aired a report earlier this week claiming that CNN had rejected an appearance by one of its reporters due to political reasons. The station’s news director, Steve Cohen, said he told CNN that they may not want reporter Dan Plante for their planned segment because he had reported that the barrier in San Diego is effective and border agents support it. (Cohen is now claiming it’s “fake news” that KUSI backed away from its report even though he says the AP story about the backtracking is “factual.”)
Anchors Anna Laurel and Sandra Maas then delivered this message on air, which quickly went viral and was quickly spread by conservative media. Eventually, the president tweeted it out, even though Cohen backed off of his initial accusation, acknowledging that he never actually spoke with anyone at CNN regarding why they didn’t use Plante.
.@CNN called a San Diego news station (@KUSINews) for negative reports on the Wall. When the station said that Walls work, CNN no longer had interest. #FakeNews pic.twitter.com/IDyXqmDsPq
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 11, 2019
Meanwhile, CNN called this a “non-story” as they contacted several local stations to possibly book someone for a show and “didn’t end up booking any of them,” noting that this happens “many times every single day.” The network also noted that they had used a KUSI reporter for an immigration story in November. CNN senior media correspondent Brian Stelter further stated that many don’t understand how newsrooms work and that “Trump is exploiting that.”
Lots of people don't know how newsrooms work. Trump is exploiting that. 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 decisions happen every day for mundane reasons. pic.twitter.com/0TZdd65JJm
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) January 11, 2019
Anyway, Maas retweeted out Trump’s post, noting that “this happened today.”
So then this happened today… https://t.co/Xv72v5dz3h
— Sandra Maas KUSI (@SandraMaasKUSI) January 11, 2019
This caused Weir to lash out at Maas as he posed this question to her: “How does it feel to sell off a chunk of your soul? Was there a moment when you flashed back to yourself at Chico, remembered the earnest pull to journalism and had second thoughts? Or were you all-in at the morning meeting?” (According to Wikipedia, Maas worked as a news anchor for KCHO Chico when she was in college.)
Genuine question: How does it feel to sell off a chunk of your soul? Was there a moment when you flashed back to yourself at Chico, remembered the earnest pull to journalism and had second thoughts? Or were you all-in at the morning meeting?
— Bill Weir (@BillWeirCNN) January 12, 2019
Maas responded by stating she “slept just fine last night” and that while she appreciated the “background check” she was going “to stay classy here in San Diego.”
Genuine answer: I slept just fine last night. I appreciate the background check, but I’m going to stay classy here in San Diego. #ProudWildcat
— Sandra Maas KUSI (@SandraMaasKUSI) January 12, 2019
Weir shot back that Cohen had admitted he used Maas to “pass off his ideology as news” and that he was looking forward to a “classy and well-rested retraction.”
Your boss admitted to @dbauder that he used you to pass off his ideology as news, Sandra.
Looking forward to a classy and well-rested retraction. pic.twitter.com/fgMTi8fwKx— Bill Weir (@BillWeirCNN) January 12, 2019
As the AP noted in its report on KUSI backtracking from its initial accusation, the station is unaffiliated with any broadcast network and is owned by McKinnon Broadcast Co., which has been described as a “longtime supporter of conservative causes and candidates in the San Diego area.”
