Stroke-Survivor Journo Leads Backlash Against NBC’s Dasha Burns Reporting On Computer-Aided Fetterman Interview
Journalist Kara Swisher led a fierce social media backlash against NBC News reporter Dasha Burns’ handling of her computer-aided interview with Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor and Democratic Senate candidate John Fetterman.
Fetterman is taking on Dr. Mehmet Oz in the PA Senate race, and has been recovering from a stroke he suffered in May. On Tuesday, Burns previewed her interview — with Fetterman by emphasizing his difficulty “understanding” conversations without the aid of closed captioning that he’s used during his recovery.
The NBC sit-down was the first in-person interview with Fetterman since his stroke. Burns noted, in a quote that was picked up and disseminated by Fetterman opponents, that “In small talk — before the interview, without captioning — it wasn’t clear he was understanding our conversation.”
NBC reporter on her interview with John Fetterman: “In small talk before the interview without captioning, it wasn’t clear he was understanding our conversation.”
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) October 12, 2022
John Fetterman sat down with NBC News for an interview tonight. He had to used closed captioning during the interview, the reporter says he had trouble speaking in the “small talk” before the captioning was on, and Fetterman’s team is refusing to give them his medical records. pic.twitter.com/Y6tDhYMEPB
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) October 11, 2022
Several journalists who have interviewed Fetterman since his stroke took issue with Burns’ description and emphasis on Fetterman’s auditory challenges, led by Swisher — who also has auditory processing difficulties after having a stroke. She talked about her own experience recovering from a stroke as well:
Sorry to say but I talked to @JohnFetterman for over an hour without stop or any aides and this is just nonsense. Maybe this reporter is just bad at small talk. https://t.co/CX9B7qWUaS
— Kara Swisher (@karaswisher) October 12, 2022
I was expecting a lot worse in presentation from @JohnFetterman, since stroke victims often only lose the ability to express but not to think clearly. Btw many fully functional subjects do worse. So a hot take from network small talk pre-game isn’t a diagnosis I’m going trust.
— Kara Swisher (@karaswisher) October 12, 2022
New York Magazine’s Rebecca Traister pushed back as well, extolling Fetterman’s sharpness when she spoke to him recently, and blasting NBC’s coverage:
As someone who has recently interviewed him: Fetterman’s comprehension is not at all impaired. He understands everything, it’s just that he reads it (which requires extra acuity, I’d argue) and responds in real time. It’s a hearing/auditory processing challenge. https://t.co/RzmyfBDJX6
— Rebecca Traister (@rtraister) October 12, 2022
Anyway, I think JF offering an open view of his recovery is fascinating & potentially very powerful in a period when this whole nation is struggling to recover from…a lot. Callous and contextually loose treatment of that recovery process is striking. https://t.co/NU7IQVmBFv
— Rebecca Traister (@rtraister) October 12, 2022
Molly Jong-Fast called “BS” as well and posted her recent Fetterman interview:
This is bs
I interviewed @JohnFetterman on @FastPoliticsPod two weeks agohttps://t.co/NTITXDtqxY
— Molly Jong-Fast (@MollyJongFast) October 12, 2022
Journalists, political and media figures, and other blue-checks joined in the criticism, accusing NBC and Burns of “ableism” and worse:
He’s right – and other outlets’ tweets were actually worse. https://t.co/fbIg2UP1nw
— Hunter Walker (@hunterw) October 12, 2022
Wild that @NBCNews is out here claiming that the millions of Americans who are Deaf, Hard of Hearing, or who have auditory processing issues are *actually* just idiots unfit for public service https://t.co/aaQVPb9Zb8
— Melissa Hillman (@bittergertrude) October 12, 2022
Please read this necessary corrective to the shameful NBC reporting on John Fetterman’s recovery. https://t.co/BEZfAkvZLS
— Joan Walsh (@joanwalsh) October 12, 2022
A month ago I thanked CNN commentator @ashleyrallison for rightly stating that Fetterman’s request for captions was a reasonable accommodation. I wish I’d seen NBC’s programs have similar content instead of repeating the very same ableism he is experiencing on the campaign trail. https://t.co/dxIwj1CJac
— Maria Town (@maria_m_town) October 12, 2022
Pretty wild how Chuck Grassley and Dianne Feinstein almost certainly don’t even know what year it is and are basically being Weekend At Bernie’s-ed through their time in office by staff, but a candidate needing closed captioning is what has political reporters freaking out.
— Parker Molloy (@ParkerMolloy) October 12, 2022
This Ed O’Keefe tweet, in particular, was really gross https://t.co/kFTTdDzZkG
— Parker Molloy (@ParkerMolloy) October 12, 2022
Right, this👇. Fetterman has been transparent about the lingering issues from his stroke, including the need for closed captioning. Not bad for a recovery! Yet NBC is penalizing him for using exactly what he has publicly said he needs, and treating it like some kind of expose. https://t.co/1K79VUeWrf
— Adam Jentleson (@AJentleson) October 12, 2022
Horrifying that you work for @NBCNews versus @FoxNews with this Republican propaganda bashing someone for accommodating a (temporary) disability AND trying to distract voters from issues to help Republicans. What matters is how senators vote not how they conduct interviews.
— David Rothschild 🌻 (@DavMicRot) October 12, 2022
Your job as a reporter is also to adequately contextualize things & not perpetuate harmful stereotypes.
Disability isn’t disqualifying and basic disability accommodations shouldn’t be treated as some shocking revelation. Shame on you for helping further stigmatize our community.
— Kendall Brown (@kendallybrown) October 12, 2022
On Wednesday, Burns pushed back at the criticism:
It’s possible for two different reporters to have two different experiences w a candidate. Our team was in the room w him & reported what happened in it, as journalists do. Before & after closed captioning was on.
Our full intv is now available to watch:https://t.co/UIRrzEd70X https://t.co/3s1TBKjFhb
— Dasha Burns (@DashaBurns) October 12, 2022
We were happy to accommodate closed captioning. Our reporting did not and should not comment on fitness for office. This is for voters to decide. What we do push for as reporters is transparency. It’s our job. Fetterman sat down and answered our questions. That’s his job. https://t.co/gFZ02hlUs5
— Dasha Burns (@DashaBurns) October 12, 2022
The explanation thus far has not mollified the folks in her replies.
come on.
— Molly Priddy (@mollypriddy) October 12, 2022
Nonsense. A reasonable accommodation for a mild impairment doesn’t require “transparency” for voters to draw conclusions unless you already decided it’s controversial and possibly disqualifying. It isn’t. The backpedaling is nearly as embarrassing as the sophomoric reporting.
— Brian Normoyle (@BrianNormoyle) October 12, 2022
just admit that your attempt at doing your job was lazy and ableist in both its execution and its framing
— Sammy Nickalls (@sammynickalls) October 12, 2022
Very poor taste. Shameful.
— 𝐄𝐱𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐫 𝐏𝐨𝐩𝐞 (@exavierpope) October 12, 2022
Oh, honey. You’re going to have to apologize for making your #ableism the main topic of the piece, for doubling down on Twitter w lies like “he doesn’t understand small talk” & then for posting this pathetic lie when we all pushed back. Use your platform for good FFS. pic.twitter.com/5KY7us6vDl
— Melissa Hillman (@bittergertrude) October 12, 2022
Watch above via MSNBC.
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