Chuck Todd probably should have reviewed his own network’s footage before he lodged a veiled criticism at CNN.
The NBC White House correspondent and MSNBC host asked on Twitter earlier this week why “finding NOTHING” is “characterized as ‘breaking news.'”
It was a shot at CNN, which has been mocked for its overuse of the “breaking news” term and, more recently, for its relentless, speculative coverage of the missing Malaysian Airlines plane.
Todd’s criticism was swiftly swatted away by Vaughn Sterling, a producer at CNN who pointed out that MSNBC has a similar habit.
@chucktodd Great question Chuck! Looks like it was around 6:45p: pic.twitter.com/ycO5gfN9lY
— Vaughn Sterling (@vplus) March 19, 2014
But Sterling wasn’t done. When The Huffington Post promoted a story on Friday about Todd’s criticism, Sterling surfaced yet another devastating screengrab.
@HuffPostMedia @chucktodd pic.twitter.com/NIvWCwXPHG
— Vaughn Sterling (@vplus) March 21, 2014
And then, for the jugular, Sterling revealed that Todd’s own program has been guilty of exactly what Todd complained about.
@DylanByers breaking measurements pic.twitter.com/J85e4WWotg
— Vaughn Sterling (@vplus) March 21, 2014
Todd wasn’t the only cable news host to draw pushback. Sterling also went after Bill O’Reilly, the conservative pundit whose primetime Fox News program has been a ratings juggernaut for years.
O’Reilly has heavily criticized CNN as of late for engaging in a “ratings grab” with its coverage of the missing plane — a rich complaint coming from O’Reilly, as The Washington Post’s Erik Wemple pointed out.
But it’s true that the coverage of the plane has been a ratings boon for CNN. As Sterling sees it, O’Reilly might just be sweating from the competition.
*O’Reilly* decrying CNN plane coverage for not being high-minded enough! Declaring his ratings are just fine. Feeling the @ac360 heat?
— Vaughn Sterling (@vplus) March 21, 2014
Sterling did not respond to TPM’s request for comment.
