CNN’s Rebecca Berg Ignores Ingraham’s Hostility To Media, Praises Her As Possible Pick For Trump Press Secretary

Berg Says Press Secretary Shouldn’t Be "Too Adversarial,” But Ingraham Has Attacked Reporters For Their Coverage Of Trump And Is Hostile To Hispanic Media

Written by Media Matters Staff

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CNN political analyst Rebecca Berg praised the possibility of conservative talk radio host Laura Ingraham being named President-elect Donald Trump’s press secretary, calling her a “logical pick for that post.” Berg says she was encouraged by comments Ingraham made on the Today show, saying, “you don't want a press secretary who's going to be really sort of adversarial, too adversarial when it comes to the press.”

But Ingraham, who has called reporters “elite” and “biased,” has attacked the media for negative coverage of Trump and has singled out Spanish-speaking media outlets and journalists, calling them “toxic” and saying they “revile the American experience.” She accused reports of being “post-American” and trying to destroy Trump. Others at CNN have also noted this vicious streak toward the media from Ingraham; Drew Griffin highlighted her attacks against Spanish-language networks, and a CNN Money article on Ingraham noted the differences between her and former talk radio host -- and press secretary -- Tony Snow, explaining: “She has been much more openly critical of news outlets and journalists over the years. In radio and TV segments, she has decried the biased ‘Hillary media’ and questioned some journalists' patriotism.”

From the November 17 edition of CNN’s CNN Newsroom with Carol Costello:

REBECCA BERG: Well, it's actually refreshing to hear Laura Ingraham talking about the need for transparency, the need for an open line of communication between the White House and the press. These are all positive developments. And so if she were to be press secretary, and certainly she does have government experience. She has media experience. She would be a logical pick for that post. That's the kind of thing we in the press are encouraged to hear. You don't want a press secretary who's going to be really sort of adversarial, too adversarial when it comes to the press. You want to be able to have a good, professional working relationship, where you can have an exchange of ideas, and of course an exchange of information. And it sounds like this is what she's thinking of, what by extension the Trump team would be thinking of. So this is all very positive.