Trump meets his match in the media: Jim Acosta
SAN DIEGO -- Let me tell you something you already know: At the moment, the media is a mess.
It's time to send out a search party, because we've completely lost our way. We went from covering the world to thinking the world revolves around us. We used to hunt for the story; today, we make ourselves the story. Our primary job is to hold the powerful accountable when they do wrong, but never before has there been such a need to hold us accountable for what we get wrong.
Nowadays, even reporters -- who are supposed to be trained to keep their opinions to themselves -- can't wait to share their opinions with the masses through an interview, a soundbite or a tweet. Then, like Superman slipping back into Clark Kent, they remake themselves as reporters pretending to be objective.
You've heard of the #MeToo movement. Well, we're suffering through the #LookAtMe media.
I'm old enough to remember when the media was a referee and not a combatant in the arena. And, although there are mornings when my creaky body would disagree, I'm not that old.
The point is, we're talking about a relatively new phenomenon. It began when Donald Trump started attacking and insulting the media, and the media took the bait by taking it all too personally.
After nearly two years of brazenly trying to topple Trump's presidency -- and several months before that during the campaign of trying to make sure he was never elected in the first place by publicizing a dubious dossier and having private dinners with top officials in the Hillary Clinton campaign -- the media has created its own version of Trump: Jim Acosta.
It's not easy to find someone who loves himself as much as Trump loves himself, but I think we may have a winner.
CNN's chief White House correspondent clearly has a thin skin, and he dishes it out better than he takes it. He doesn't adhere to the rules of his profession and makes himself the centerpiece of every conversation. He's a master showman who feels most comfortable when he's the star of the show.
Stop me if any of this sounds familiar.
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