Sharyl Attkisson’s resignation from CBS News was almost immediately given top billing over at Breitbart.
“REPORT: STAR BENGHAZI REPORTER ATTKISSON EXITS CBS DUE TO ‘LIBERAL BIAS,'” read the headline to the story by John Nolte.
It received similar treatment at The Blaze and Townhall.
Any time a reporter for the mainstream media — at CBS, no less — resigns over purported liberal bias, the right-wing blogosphere is bound to light up.
Sources at CBS told the Washington Post’s Erik Wemple that Attkisson was upset that the network hadn’t used more of her reporting on the Sept, 11 2012 attack in Benghazi, Libya, and she’s currently working on a book that details her struggles with the Obama administration (title: “Stonewalled: One Reporter’s Fight for Truth in Obama’s Washington”).
But Attkisson had long ago carved out a special place in the hearts of conservatives.
Not only did she earn a reputation for relentlessly hounding the Obama administration over Benghazi, she also doggedly reported on the federal government’s gun-walking operation known as “Fast and Furious,” another conservative obsession.
The right showed its appreciation for her “Fast and Furious” coverage in 2012, when Attkisson received the Accuracy in Media’s Reed Irvine Accuracy in Media Award at the Conservative Political Action Conference.
Her reporting was also regularly picked up by the aforementioned conservative news sites. Peruse through the archives at Breitbart, The Blaze and Townhall, and you’ll find Attkisson’s work cited frequently.
One search result at Breitbart leads to a pithy post from a year ago containing a quote from Attkisson that’s difficult to square with today’s news:
“No one has spoken to me about the Benghazi story, pressuring me one way or another. In fact our executives, our CEO Jeff Fager, our President David Rhodes have been encouraging in general of the kind of reporting I do. There are diverse range of views and opinions within CBS News, on the broadcast and among the producers who run the various broadcasts. It’s hard to explain on a given day why they think something’s news versus something else. They have a lot of stories to choose from and that’s their prerogative so there is a lot of discussion on what best serves the public in those broadcasts. But I’ve never received any executive pressure to not do the Benghazi story.”
