Left-leaning CNN reporter Oliver Darcy was chastised by his boss Chris Licht for his “emotional” coverage of the network’s town hall on Wednesday with former President Trump.
Fox News Digital confirmed Darcy was called in for a meeting with Licht and other senior CNN executives, who objected to the overzealous framing of the fallout the network has received, particularly from liberals.
Darcy appeared to join CNN’s chorus of critics in its “Reliable Sources” newsletter Wednesday night after the town hall.
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“It can’t be based on emotion, it has to be based on fact,” a source familiar with Licht’s thinking told Fox News Digital of Darcy’s reporting.
CNN media reporter Oliver Darcy has been chastised by his boss Chris Licht for being “too emotional” in his coverage of the network’s Trump town hall. (CNN/Reuters)
The source said Licht received a “tonne” of messages from CNN employees appalled by Darcy’s newsletter, which highlights how CNN and Licht faced tense reactions “internally” as well as externally.
The messages, according to the source, sounded like “what the f—.”
“I’m asking you not to be emotional,” the source paraphrased what Licht told Darcy at the reunion, adding that he wanted non-emotional coverage to apply to all media, not just CNN .
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Puck News first reported that after Licht stood near Trump’s town hall during CNN’s editorial call Thursday morning, he brought Darcy and his editor Jon Passantino for a meeting later in the day. the day. Darcy was later told by CNN’s senior brass that “his coverage had been too emotional and [Licht] has repeatedly stressed the importance of remaining unbiased when covering the news, be it CNN or any other media.”
“Darcy was supportive of his work and pushed back against the ’emotional’ characterization,” a source with knowledge of the reunion said. But two sources who heard about the reunion later described him as visibly shaken. put the fear of God in him,” a source said, Dylan Byers of Puck News reported Friday.
A CNN spokesperson declined to comment.
CNN faced mountainous scorn from the left for hosting former President Trump for a town hall event. (Screenshot/CNN)
In his Wednesday newsletter, Darcy began, “It’s hard to see how America has been served by the show of lies that aired on CNN Wednesday night.” He complained about how Trump “lied” on various topics during the town hall despite attempts at fact-checking by CNN moderator Kaitlan Collins, but “CNN aired it all.”
“It went on and on and on. It was like 2016. It was Trump’s lopsided social media feed that came to life on stage. And Collins was put in an awkward position, given that the town hall was getting unfolded before a Republican audience who applauded Trump, giving an unintended sense of approval to his shameful antics,” Darcy wrote. “Yes, news has been made… But for most of the night, the eyes of the nation have been pierced by Trump’s abuse of the platform given to him.”
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It’s unclear if the tone of Darcy’s reporting will change after the reprimand he received from Licht. Notably, Licht fired Darcy’s media colleague Brian Stelter and canceled CNN’s longtime “Reliable Sources” show last year. Darcy then took over the “Reliable Sources” newsletter, which had been written by Stelter.
CNN’s left-leaning media reporter Oliver Darcy joined the network’s liberal stack after Wednesday’s town hall with former President Trump. (Screenshot/CNN)
In the days leading up to and following the town hall, CNN has been the target of leftist critics criticizing the network for giving Trump a platform, despite his status as a GOP frontrunner in the 2024 presidential race.
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CNN anchor Anderson Cooper tried to defend the town hall while blasting the former president as well as the network’s critics.
“You have every right to be outraged and angry and never watch this network again. But do you think that staying in your silo and only listening to people you agree with is going to make that person go away? ?” Cooper lectured his liberal viewers.
