Bret Baier Defends Anthony Weiner Coverage, Calls Out Jon Stewart

Note: this post has been updated.

Bret Baier defended the media's coverage of the Anthony Weiner scandal in an interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

The press—and, in particular, cable news—has been criticized for the amount of space it devoted to the Weiner scandal. During his appearance on Fox News, Jon Stewart called the coverage an example of the media's tendency towards "sensationalism" and "laziness."

"Do you think the coverage of Anthony Weiner scandal is an example of pack journalism?" Baier's interviewer, Patricia Sheridan, asked him.

"No," Baier said. "It was an example of the media collectively saying, 'Why won't he answer a simple question with a simple answer?' The whole thing didn't add up from the beginning. So when he became combative, evasive and vague when he first started talking about it, he MADE it a story."

Speaking of Jon Stewart, Baier said that his appearance on "The Daily Show" in March went "fine," though he added that he didn't think he was going to be talking so much about Fox News. (The two wound up arguing about whether or not the network has a political slant.)

"Clearly Jon had his point of view going in," Baier said. "...The pre-interview for that interview, the producers were telling me how he was really interested in my trip to Afghanistan ... so I said during the pre-interview, 'I'm, sure there's going to be a lot of talk about Fox News Channel.' And she said, 'Oh, yeah, yeah.' It ended up being pretty much that is all he wanted to do."

Read the full interview here.

Baier also spoke with Brian Kilmeade on Monday about Stewart's contentious appearance on "Fox News Sunday." He said that Stewart tends to be disingenuous in the face of criticism. "When something goes he wrong, he punts to ‘I’m a comedian,’” he said.

Baier also talked to Men's Health about Father's Day over the weekend.

Comments

[GenXer]

10:38 PM on 06/22/2011

I dis not see all the shows in fox calling out Bitter like they did for Wiener. And Wiener did nor break the law.

[harmonikasavingsbonds]

05:51 PM on 06/22/2011

This dumb meat puppet is not worthy of even sniffing Mr Stewart's fa rts.

[hoagie76]

02:52 PM on 06/22/2011

Poor baier thinks jon is a journalist....sad

[mama likes mambo]

02:06 PM on 06/22/2011

I like John Stewart but it's true that whenever he is accused of being wrong, or being a liberal attack dog, he starts with "hey i'm a comedian". He might have a comedic show on a comedy network, but the fact is that he is a political commentator, just a funny one.
I think inside he knows better, but can never admit to it.
The conservatives should do the same thing, but the problem is that 99.9 of conservatives are just not funny, at least on purpose. Glenn beck used to be hilarious, when he was a comedic radio show, now he is just super annoying.

[Phxflyer]

03:20 PM on 06/22/2011

He's a comedian, not a journalists. Period.

[Marionette]

08:22 PM on 06/22/2011

beck was never anything more than a tired old drama queen, nauseatingly unfunny and disrespectful..

[Poetx64]

01:44 PM on 06/22/2011

Overall I like Baier, but what are you going to expect anyone who works at FoxNews to say? Do you honestly think that they are going to admit that the hand that keeps food on their plate is not fair and balanced?

[devilirius]

11:23 AM on 06/22/2011

Bret Baier lost all credibility as a "newsman" after his absurd and insulting interview of the President, which exposed him as just another right-wing Fox hatchet man. No one takes him seriously. He's just another cog in the Fox propaganda machine.

I love how "in their head" Jon Stewart is for calling Fox what it is though.

[ummm]

01:32 PM on 06/22/2011

WHY doesn't Jon just ask them point-blank: why do you need my approval?
the blank stare/gaping mouth that follow (while they ask themselves this) would be the highlight tv-moment for the whole Fox year (O'Really would say "I don't" but the others [guys] would want to answer the question)

[Thaag Tidestalker]

09:27 AM on 06/22/2011

"No," Baier said. "It was an example of the media collectively saying, 'Why won't he answer a simple question with a simple answer?' The whole thing didn't add up from the beginning. So when he became combative, evasive and vague when he first started talking about it, he MADE it a story."

He could have been talking about every time Trixie Klondyke opens her mouth.

[MarcoEsquandolas]

01:50 AM on 06/22/2011

Hedley Lamarr: My mind is a raging torrent, flooded with rivulets of thought cascading into a waterfall of creative alternatives.
Taggart: God darnit, Mr. Lamarr, you use your tongue prettier than a twenty dollar who*e.

[dananotech]

08:28 AM on 06/23/2011

one of my favorite movies! (Blazing Saddles for those who don't know)

[VonBluster]

01:10 AM on 06/22/2011

Baier was answering a different question when he was asked about Jon Stewart's comments regarding news sensationalism dealing with Anthony Weiner. Stewart's comment was about Weiner post confession, and how the media handled reactions from his congressional peers about his lies. Baier's comparison was about how the news media handled the initial discrepancies of Weiner's story before confessing.

Baier was right in saying that the news media correctly followed up on Wiener's bogus explanation before confessing, but it had nothing to do with Stewart's Sunday criticism of how it was handled afterwards... that was sensationalism. This may seem as parsing the meaning, but listen to the Chris Wallace interview with Jon Stewart, and you will know that its correct.

[Hectrev1]

12:00 AM on 06/22/2011

Lol, Fox goes after COMEDY CENTRAL! That speaks volumes about the fact that they wouldn't touch going after a real news outlet like CBS, NBC or ABC because Baier knows that Fix news is just not their league so they have to go after a comedy channel instead lol. Now that's what I call FOX Comedy at its finest. Lol Fox News your a joke.

[RiffRaffAmI]

11:56 PM on 06/21/2011

""When something goes he wrong, he punts to ‘I’m a comedian,’” he said."

Who is proof reading at HP, anyone? Good Grief!

[ArbitorA]

12:52 AM on 06/22/2011

The implication being that Jon sees himself ONLY as a comedian, which Jon admitted, he does not.

However, Beck, when in hot water would claim only to be a comedian and a clown.

[RiffRaffAmI]

01:18 AM on 06/22/2011

I'm sorry, were you under the impression that I didn't know what they were trying to convey? I'm simply wondering WTH is proof-reading or NOT proof-reading here at the HP.

This seems to be happening more and more on AOL and on HP and since they're co-owned now, I guess that explains why!

[PMVB]

11:44 PM on 06/21/2011

What do Fox watchers think when they see that Fox, yet again , leaves stuff out that actually changes the thrust of the interview?
Do you excuse them by saying " Oh this is just a one-off mistake ".
Do you start to think it,s strange when you see it happening again or again , or what.
Just wondering.

[Java1959]

11:19 PM on 06/21/2011

While Baier's Weiner explanation may be technically correct they failed in looking at the big picture, which was that Weiner was running a high visibility campaign against a Supreme Court justice's ethics,. and he was a potential candidate for mayor of New York which would not have suited Wall Street. Additionally Breitbart is pretty much a hit-man for the extreme Right. So, why did the media not present these facts into the overall story? Selectively choosing a part of a story to cover is just as bad as censoring the news. And it wasn't just FOX that did this, all the networks focused only on the sexual hype and ignored everything else.

[stagebandman]

12:31 AM on 06/22/2011

I agree with everything you say. BUT.... Anthony Weiner committed political suicide with those tweets. It is so sad to watch one of your political heroes fall. I really, really hoped they were mistaken about the pics, but, alas, the man has feet of clay. I would like to see him get into some sort of independent investigation of the justices and, just maybe, this will free him up to go after other electees as well. We haven't heard the last of Anthony Weiner.

[John Shuck]

11:09 AM on 06/22/2011

As a Democrat, it's suicide--as a Republican it's a career move.

[sorrytobeakansan]

09:40 PM on 06/21/2011

Fox won't admit they are biased because collecting and broadcasting real news cost too much. It's a lot cheaper just to have 3 or 4 agenda points and keep hammering away with opinion and discussion of opinion. The occasional racist remark draws attention to them, which is what they sell.

[scrzbill]

09:38 PM on 06/21/2011

Someone goes on faux "news" and Wallace agrees with Stewart that they have an agenda. Two days later, word comes down from Alies to discredit the whole thing. Jon IS the most trusted name in the Media, what does that say about the overall MSM? Left, ultra right faux, all are participating in the destruction of America. What do people think is going to happen to women after PP is closed and the birth control, lost cost medical, is passed onto the already strained health care system? Do the teabaggers just want the people who have insurance to carry the water for all the uninsured?