CNN’s Laughable Excuse for Failure [OPINION]

So, CNN's reporters are not investigators? No kidding!

In defense of the reprehensible and disgraceful coverage his network provided of the Mueller investigation into bogus charges of collusion on the part of the Trump campaign and White House, CNN President Jeff Zucker offered the following in a text to the New York Times: “We are not investigators. We are journalists, and our role is to report the facts as we know them, which is exactly what we did."

Excuse me, Mr. Zucker, but a grade school kid knows that if you are going to "report the facts" you must INVESTIGATE the information you are given to make sure it is, in fact, a fact.

There are many problems with Mr. Zucker's defense of CNN, but I will leave it up to the viewers to decide the network's fate. If I for one spent the last two and a half years believing in CNN and its version of events, I would be mighty disappointed and angry right now. Zucker's lame excuses would make me even more so.

CNN, MSNBC, the New York Times, the Washington Post, and so many others were dead wrong in the coverage of the 2016 elections and stayed wrong throughout the Mueller investigation. Hell, the Post and the Times actually won Pulitzer Prizes for their disproved coverage of the entire affair. Will they be asked to return the awards?

The media was wrong because it was rooting against Trump and therefore rooting against America. At least the Hill has had the good sense to issue an apology to the Trump Administration and the American people for getting it wrong.

You would think that by now many in the mainstream press would be searching for answers as to how they could fail so miserably for so long. They are not. Most are digging in and defending their poor judgment and failure to follow the basic tenets of reporting. I expected a shake-up following the 2016 elections and was seriously surprised that it didn't happen. I'm not sure it will now.

Something has to give. Americans have never been so disillusioned by the media and the irresponsible way in which it handles its responsibility to be truthful and accurate. The people must be able to know that what is being reported is the truth and not the rant of an agenda driven group of elitists.

When the American people can no longer rely on the media, we have reached a critically dangerous juncture in our history as a nation.

Barry Richard is the host of The Barry Richard Show on 1420 WBSM New Bedford. He can be heard weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. Contact him at barry@wbsm.com and follow him on Twitter @BarryJRichard58. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.