Media top headlines December 7
In media news today, CNN and Chris Cuomo issue scathing statements against each other, the former anchor announces he's leaving his SiriusXM radio show, and a New York Times op-ed gets mocked for fearing free library is contributing to gentrification.
NBC News and MSNBC hired left-leaning PBS reporter Yamiche Alcindor to be their Washington correspondent.
Alcindor, who frequently peppers her reporting with liberal commentary and editorializing, will leave her position as a PBS "NewsHour" correspondent while continuing to host the publicly funded outlet's weekly program "Washington Week."
She'll be a familiar face to MSNBC audiences in particular, as she frequently appears on its programs as a contributor.
Alcindor is one of the most prominent examples of mainstream reporters who are comfortable using their platforms to advocate, saying earlier this year she considers it her duty to use journalism to bend the "moral arc toward justice."
PBS' YAMICHE ALCINDOR: BIDEN ‘IS NOT RUNNING AWAY FROM THE RESPONSIBILITY’ IN AFGHANISTAN
While covering former President Trump, Alcindor was lauded by liberal compatriots in the press for her combative approach. Trump's broadsides against her as well – he once ripped her for asking "a racist question" – only bolstered her fandom in the press corps.
Since Biden took office, Alcindor's heel turn in tone has been noteworthy, praising White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre for making her debut briefing, telling Biden at his first press conference he was perceived as a "moral, decent man," and asking Biden how he would heal the "scars" in Europe left by Trump.
White House correspondent Yamiche Alcindor listens as U.S. President-elect Joe Biden responds to her question after Biden spoke about the economy and the final U.S. jobs report of 2020 at his transition headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, U.S., December 4, 2020. (REUTERS/Leah Millis)
"One of the things that Biden administration officials have been underscoring when I talk to them is when you look at American democracy, whether it's Republicans or Democrats, they still had this feeling of America being a leader and America valuing our European allies, and that was lost, for a large part, when it comes to President Trump, who is just openly hostile and was so mean in some ways to our European allies," she reported in June.
In an appearance in February on MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace's show "Deadline: White House," she reported the debunked talking point by Vice President Kamala Harris that the Biden administration was being forced to start from "scratch" on rolling out coronavirus vaccines.
Alcindor frequently added "context" on Twitter when she reported on remarks by Trump, while generally not affixing such asides to those by Biden. Conservative media watchdog NewsBusters highlighted one such example on federalism earlier this year.
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Fox News Digital reported earlier this year on, since President Biden took office, how Alcindor's anonymous sources often push pro-White House talking points.