Alex Berenson’s coronavirus reporting would win the coveted Pulitzer Prize if it were up to Fox News senior political analyst Brit Hume, and “Americans are hungry for real reporting about COVID rather than hysteria and panic,” the former New York Times reporter told Fox News.
Berenson’s latest booklet on coronavirus was released on Tuesday. It focuses on the unprecedented decision to shut down parts of America in an attempt to combat the coronavirus pandemic. Hume took to Twitter to compliment the former New York Times reporter.
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“If the Pulitzer prizes were not so corrupted by politics, one would certainly be awarded to @AlexBerenson for his superb against-the-grain reporting on Covid 19 and the folly of the lockdowns used to fight it,” Hume wrote.
“His latest contribution is part two of 'Unreported Truths About Covid 19 and Lockdowns.’ It is every bit as good as part one,” Hume wrote in a follow-up tweet.
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“Unreported Truths about COVID-19 and Lockdowns: Part 2: Update and Examination of Lockdowns as a Strategy” is the second installment of the self-published series. The first part of Berenson’s series, about coronavirus death counts, hit No. 1 best seller in Amazon’s Kindle Store, but the former New York Times reporter said, “They’re supposed to be standalones” and you don’t need to read the first chapter to get something from the second one.
Berenson appreciates the praise from Hume but feels the reaction of regular Americans is even more telling.
“I’m honored Brit believes my reporting is worthy of note. But the fact that more than 15,000 people have liked or retweeted what he said is even more striking. Obviously many, many Americans are hungry for real reporting about COVID rather than hysteria and panic,” Berenson told Fox News.
Berenson, who has been a vocal critic of the government's reaction to the coronavirus pandemic, isn’t sure how many editions he will ultimately write, but he feels that everyone should be open to diversity of thought and encouraged his critics to pick up a copy.
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“I think it's really important, at a time when 90% of media ... is saying the same thing, with very little pushback or smart questioning, to get different perspectives,” Berenson said. “Even if you disagree with me completely, it’s always good to know what other people are thinking."
Amazon initially told Berenson the first part didn’t meet the company’s guidelines, but the online retailer reversed its decision after SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and other prominent journalists spoke out on the author’s behalf. He didn’t have similar problems with the second chapter and it is currently available online.