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The news of the weekend was overwhelming.

A devastating earthquake rocked Haiti, killing more than 1,200 and injuring more than 5,700 as a tropical storm headed that way. COVID-19 cases continue to ravage the country with hospitals pushed to and beyond their limits as kids return to school.

Then came the unsettling scenes in Afghanistan as the Taliban took control of Kabul.

On Sunday afternoon, CNNs Jim Acosta went on the air and said, After 20 years, thousands of lives and billions of dollars, the entire U.S. military effort is collapsing over the course of a weekend in embarrassing fashion with the type of scenes we havent witnessed since the fall of Saigon in Vietnam in 1975.

So what about the coverage?

On TV, there was one destination for viewers: CNN. In times like these, its evident that no U.S. network is more equipped to cover such a major international and national story quite like CNN. Its coverage on Sunday was outstanding, particularly because of the on-scene reporting from the likes of CNNs international security editor Nick Paton Walsh and chief international correspondent Clarissa Ward.

Even as Ward was talking on camera from Kabul, viewers could hear gunshots in the background. It was both compelling and frightening, as Ward described chaotic and dangerous scenes of people raiding banks for money and scrambling to find safety.

At one point, Ward was asked if it was safe for her to move from her location to the airport. Ward said, I think if we were going to the airport right now, that would be ill-advised because its dark. If youre going to the airport now, youre probably not coming back. For the moment, we would like to continue to report here and weve put out lines to the Taliban to that effect, requesting that we be able to continue to do our jobs as journalists. Theres no sense at the moment that Western journalists are being targeted.

But then Ward quickly pointed out how the same could not be said for Afghan journalists, particularly women.

Theyve been doing bold and incredible reporting for many years, Ward said, and now theres a very real fear they might face retaliation for that or that, certainly, they wont be able to do their work anymore.

While analysis can be valuable to viewers on stories such as this, it also tends to be the laziest of the coverage. Its easy to line up three or four guests to hand-wring, second-guess and criticize (and, for example, Fox News did plenty of that on Sunday). Its much more difficult and yet way more beneficial to viewers to emphasize reporting over opinion and hustle over hot takes.

Panels are the best when the topics are how we got here and what happens next as opposed to pointing fingers. Again, thats where CNN shined above others.

Meanwhile, The New York Times and The Washington Post, in particular, had top-notch coverage from reporters and photojournalists also on the scene. Also, ABC News had a special half-hour report during prime time Sunday night. It was anchored by Linsey Davis with reporting by senior foreign correspondent Ian Pannell, chief global affairs correspondent Martha Raddatz, chief Washington correspondent Jonathan Karl and congressional correspondent Rachel Scott.

NBC News Richard Engel, reporting live from Kabul on Sunday. (Courtesy: NBC News)

How did the Sunday morning shows cover the Afghanistan story? Again, give me reporting over opinion. A fine example of that was NBCs Meet the Press, which had a live report from chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel in Afghanistan.

In a compelling appearance, Engel told moderator Chuck Todd, People are preparing for the worst. Theres an increasing sense of lawlessness on the streets. It is intimidating. There has been some looting because youve seen a total collapse of the security forces down to local police officers. Some of them are changing out of their uniforms, wearing traditional dress. There have been looters pretending to be Taliban, just going up and ripping guns out of police officers hands. So, Afghans are worried about looting. Theyre worried about the Talibans imminent arrival. Theyre already in parts, in pockets of the city. And theyre very angry. Theyre angry at the U.S. Theyre angry at everybody. Theyre angry at the government. And theyre worried.

About the Taliban, Engel said, Theyve been fighting against the best military in the world, the U.S. military, for 20 years. Thats how guerrilla groups, insurgencies, get better. They sharpen their knives on the army of their adversaries. And thats what the Taliban has been doing for 20 years. And they are victorious. They can use this as a recruiting tool.

Engels reporting really showed the impact of what was happening. (His report during Sundays NBC Nightly News, which included desperate Afghans trying to escape the country out of fear from the Taliban, was powerful and heartbreaking.)

Meanwhile, Secretary of State Antony Blinken made the Sunday morning rounds and repeated the same version of what he told Todd on Meet the Press: Ultimately, its up to the Afghans themselves. Its up to the Afghan government, its up to the Taliban to decide the way forward for the country, including Kabul.

During an appearance with CNNs Jake Tapper on State of the Union, Blinken said, This is not Saigon. We went to Afghanistan 20 years ago with one mission, and that mission was to deal with the folks that attacked us on 9/11, and we have succeeded in that mission. The objective that we set, bringing those that attacked us to justice, making sure they couldnt attack us again from Afghanistan, weve succeeded in that mission. And in fact, we succeeded a while ago. And at the same time, remaining in Afghanistan for another one, five, 10 years is not in the national interest.

But presidential historian and CNN contributor Tim Naftali told CNNs Fredricka Whitfield that Sunday did feel like the fall of Saigon. And Naftali spoke about radical Islamic extremism possibly now finding Afghanistan to be a safe haven.

If that occurs, Naftali said, this is the Saigon moment for President Biden, and this will be an albatross around his neck for the rest of time.

President Joe Bidens words are already coming back to haunt him. Just last month, Biden said, The Taliban is not the North Vietnamese army. Theres going to be no circumstance where you see people being lifted off the roof of the United States from Afghanistan. It is not at all comparable.

Its a clip that CNN played several times on Sunday.

Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist and New York Times opinion columnist Viet Thanh Nguyen tweeted, Having literally been in Saigon for the fall of Saigon, it certainly looks like Saigon to me.

Not everyone was so critical of Biden. Appearing with Acosta on CNN, former California Gov. Jerry Brown said, Biden was very courageous, and theres so much hypocrisy. Look, the Afghan war, very soon after we went over there, it was over. We took out Al Qaeda. We chased after bin Laden. We stayed there too long. Bush should have gotten us out. Obama should have gotten us out, Trump. But they were all afraid of exactly whats happening. They didnt have the guts that Joe Biden had.

During an appearance on ABCs This Week, ABC News chief global affairs correspondent Martha Raddatz blasted the U.S. government, saying it was a really massive intelligence failure that it didnt realize how quickly the Taliban could take over. She added that despite being in Afghanistan for 20 years and being familiar with how the Taliban operates, the U.S. was caught unaware and completely off guard.

Other notable moments from Sunday morning included ABC News Ian Pannell reporting live from Kabul and Chris Wallace pressing Donald Trumps secretary of state Mike Pompeo on Fox News Sunday, asking Do you regret giving the Taliban that legitimacy? Do you regret pressing the Afghan government to release 5,000 prisoners, which they did, some of whom are now back on the battlefield fighting with the Taliban?

And oh, another topic, CBSs Face the Nation had a good interview with soon-to-be New York Gov. Kathy Hochul.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis answers questions related to school openings and the wearing of masks, Tuesday, Aug. 10, 2021, in Surfside, Fla. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

Doesnt it seem like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is on Fox News a lot? Well, check this out: From the week of the 2020 election through February, DeSantis was asked on the network 113 times thats nearly once a day.

Not only that, but there were times when DeSantis got to pick the topic and even provided the graphics that Fox News could run with his appearance.

These details are all part of terrific work by Tampa Bay Times political editor Steve Contorno. Showing the value of Floridas public records, Contorno collected four months of emails more than 1,250 pages between Fox News and the Florida Republican governor.

Contorno wrote, By turning to DeSantis to fill the many hours of airtime once devoted to former President Donald Trump, Fox has made Floridas hard-charging leader one of the countrys most recognizable Republicans. That has given DeSantis a leg up on others who may seek the partys nomination for president in 2024. A recent nationwide poll of Republican voters put DeSantis atop the field if Trump doesnt run again. No other prospective candidate was close.

We recently saw the troubling conflict of interest that CNN had when New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo was shown favorably while appearing on a show hosted by his brother, Chris. Now we see another conflict with Fox News often speaking so glowingly of DeSantis.

One producer wrote to DeSantis team that Fox News Martha MacCallum was looking to spotlight the stars of the GOP and that she had named DeSantis as one. Another producer wrote, We see him as the future of the party.

As far as asking for DeSantis to appear on their network, a Fox News spokesperson told the Times the network works to secure interviews daily with headliners across the political spectrum which is a basic journalism practice at all news organizations.

As far as the part about Fox News and DeSantis sharing topics, talking points and graphics before his appearances, Fox News compared it to pre-interviews with guests to ensure preparedness for the segment. This is a common practice in television and is not unique to FOX News.

Meanwhile, check out this passage from Contornos story: Since Trumps defeat, DeSantis is a Fox regular once more. In the first six months of 2021, DeSantis had scheduled as many appearances with top Fox hosts Hannity (8 times), Tucker Carlson (6) and Laura Ingraham (7) as he had meetings with his lieutenant governor, Jeanette Nuez (7), according to his public calendar. Meanwhile, the governor has not met one-on-one this year with Surgeon General Scott Rivkees, the states top public health official, his schedules show.

Its also interesting that DeSantiss appearances leaned heavily toward prime-time opinion hosts such as Hannity and Ingraham than the on-air talent that is often considered more news oriented, such as Chris Wallace and Bret Baier.

Great work by Contorno and the Times, which is owned by the Poynter Institute.

Speaking of the Tampa Bay Times, I found this letter to the editor from St. Petersburg, Florida, resident Laura Steiermann to be thought-provoking: Can we please stop referring to radical right organizations like One America and Newsmax as conservative? There is nothing conservative about spreading lies and misinformation. There is nothing conservative about trying to overturn an election. Words matter. These are far right-wing institutions and nothing more.

In a story about the National Hockey League and player vaccinations, The Athletics Michael Russo and Katie Strang had this interesting paragraph regarding a memo sent out by the NHL Players Association:

The memo also said all media and broadcast personnel (both in-house and third party) who are interacting with players or hockey operations personnel must be fully vaccinated and masked at all times during such interactions. That could be an indication that the league plans to allow fully vaccinated and masked media to have face-to-face interactions with vaccinated players and coaches this upcoming season rather than to conduct interviews virtually.

(Courtesy: NBC News)

Have feedback or a tip? Email Poynter senior media writer Tom Jones at tjones@poynter.org.

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Originally posted here:
How the media covered the controversial end of the US's longest war - Poynter