CBS Anchor: "The Press Ruined its reputation on its own."

CBS anchor John Dickerson: Press ruined its reputation 'on its own'

John Dickerson, anchor of CBS's "Face the Nation," disagrees with reporters who say President Trump is eroding the national media's credibility.

In a radio interview Friday, conservative host Hugh Hewitt referred to the previous day's press conference at the White House, in which Trump laid into the news media and told reporters in the room that the public cannot trust them.

"But that one comment, they don't trust you anymore, is a summation of where we are in America, because I really do think Manhattan-Beltway elites have lost the country," Hewitt said. "They've lost it."

Dickerson agreed.

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"Yes, it's true, and it's not because of anything obviously Donald Trump did. The press did all that good work ruining its reputation on its own, and we can have a long conversation about what created that," Dickerson said.

"Part of it, though, is what you mentioned about the local weather report, which is to say a lot of hysterical coverage about every little last thing that doesn't warrant it," he added.

After Thursday's press conference, which lasted more than an hour, many in the media said Trump's broadsides against the press were hurting the country.

"This not a laughing matter," NBC "Meet the Press" anchor Chuck Todd said on Twitter after the conference. "I'm sorry, delegitimizing the press is unAmerican."

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White House | CBS | Donald Trump | Media | Eddie Scarry | Media Desk

Iran gets in on the 'fake news' finger-pointing

By Daniel Chaitin (@danielchaitin7) • 2/17/17 3:32 PM

"Fake news" has landed in Iran.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif sent a tweet out Friday that seems to be directed at Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu for "fear-mongering hype" that equates to fake news.

"The only regime in ME with nukes, ICBMs & a history of aggression whines about Iran's means of defense. Fear-mongering hype IS fake news," Zarif tweeted.

The proliferation of fake news is a burgeoning issue that originally took the spotlight in the U.S., most notably during the 2016 election, thanks in large part to sharing on social media. The phenomenon has led to politicians on both sides of the aisle to complain that these misleading stories have been damaging. Both Hillary Clinton and former President Barack Obama blamed fake news, in part, for Clinton's loss in the presidential election to President Trump.

Zarif's message is likely a response to Netanyahu's comments about the threat posed by Iran during an interview with Fox News' Hannity that aired Thursday.

"They want to have [intercontinental ballistic missiles] that can reach your country. That's what they're working on right now. Remember, you're the Great Satan [to them]," Netanyahu said. "They believe that they're destined to govern the world. Anybody that doesn't agree with them, they'll be able to subjugate or kill, and they're working on the means to achieve that."

He also decried the Obama administration's nuclear agreement with Iran, which he explained "essentially said this, it said no bomb today, 100 bombs tomorrow, in ten years."

"Since the signing of the deal," Netanyahu added, "Iran has become more aggressive, more deadly, sponsoring more terrorism … with more money, a lot more money."

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