Liberal Diane Sawyer Swears Neutrality: 'People Will Know What the Truth Is'
World News host Diane Sawyer swears she simply "brings the facts" and makes sure people "know what the truth is." The anchor appeared on Thursday's O'Reilly Factor to promote her new special on kidnapping victim Jaycee Dugard.
O'Reilly pointed out that such stories of brutality infuriate him and are the reason he's a commentator and not a straight journalist. Asked if she ever shows anger as a reporter, Sawyer professed, "No, I get purposeful, which is different. I always think that my job is to marshal facts and bring the facts out and let the facts deliver whatever information there is to deliver." [MP3 audio here.]
Touting her objectivity, the ABC journalist continued, "And at the end of the day, people will know what the truth is. And that's got to be my job." Of course, as a Profile in Bias by the Media Research Center proved, Sawyer is anything but neutral. From gushing over Nancy Pelosi ("galvanized steel with a smile") to dreaming about Bill Clinton, Sawyer definitely delivers her facts from the left.
Asked if she feels an obligation to "educate" Americans about evil, Sawyer didn't exactly answer the question.
She dodged, "I think we have a responsibility to tell the stories of real lives and, to the extent they bring us lessons about who we are and what we might do, and also about who we want to be and what we want our justice officials to do and how we want to react, absolutely."
Sawyer has repeatedly hyped Democrats, including this praise of John Edwards and Ted Kennedy:
'Today is the day the Senate may pass that patients' bill of rights, which would guarantee your right to sue your HMO. When that happens, one big winner out of Washington will be one of the bill's key Democratic backers, North Carolina's newcomer John Edwards. He is said to have the combined political skills — are you ready for this? — of Clinton and Kennedy, Kennedy and Clinton together, and also to have a very good shot at the White House.'
— Sawyer on Good Morning America, June 29, 2001.
'An incredible night: A return and a roar from the lion of the Democrats....You can almost still feel and hear the echo of the roar that went up last night when Senator Edward Kennedy returned to the convention....People were overwhelmed, simply overwhelmed. They knew it was a night to remember for all ages.'
— Sawyer on the first night of the Democratic convention, August 26, 2008, Good Morning America.
She even once compared Hillary Clinton to Jesus Christ:
'As we know this morning, there is another ground-breaking, crossroads moment. That is for Senator Hillary Clinton, who ran her campaign on her own terms. This woman, as we said, forged into determination and purpose her whole life. As someone said, 'No thorns, no throne; no gall, no glory; no cross, no crown.''
— ABC's Diane Sawyer on Good Morning America, June 4, 2008, quoting a 17th century discourse about Jesus Christ.
For more on Sawyer, see her Profile in Bias.
A transcript of the July 8 O'Reilly Factor exchange can be found below:
BILL O'REILLY: Do you- I had Peter Jennings on, the late Peter Jennings on a program a few years ago, and I said to him, "You know, I get really angry at these stories." As you know, I'm furious about this Casey Anthony verdict. Furious.
SAWYER: I know.
O'REILLY: And I show I it, which is why I'm doing commentary now and not anchoring news someplace. Do you get angry about it and not show it?
SAWYER: No, I get purposeful, which is different. I always think that my job is to marshal facts and bring the facts out and let the facts deliver whatever information there is to deliver. And at the end of the day, people will know what the truth is. And that's got to be my job. I think that- that there are different functions. And I love the dialogue between the two, but I really do think they are different and should stay different.
O'REILLY: So you feel that it's your responsibility to step back from the anger and just present the facts, whereas I feel it's my responsibility as a commentator to show the audience that I'm angry and tell them why. And I think both are necessary in the discourse in this country.
SAWYER: Right. And our job is to watch you and, I hope, watch me.
— Scott Whitlock is the senior news analyst for the Media Research Center. Click here to follow him on Twitter.
