For those who believe that CNN is a credible news organization, and according to polls that number is a minority (especially with Republican voters), the network came to Cheyenne Frontier Days over the weekend to do a news story on how Wyoming citizens regard U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney.
In a highly publicized memo, the new president of CNN last spring said in light of the numerous scandals that have plagued the news organization, he wanted the focus of the network to be on credibility and put “journalism first.”
If the news segment of the CNN broadcast from the site of the largest outdoor rodeo in the world on Sunday was any indication, the network might be shifting toward a less manipulated form of journalism again.
The network reported that most of the Wyoming respondents they interviewed did not have a high opinion of Cheney.
The unscientific results of their interviews would appear to somewhat follow the scientific poll done earlier in July which shows Cheney has a 66% disapproval rating in addition to being behind challenger Harriet Hageman by a 52 – 30% margin.
In the package, CNN reporter Randi Kaye said she could only find two Wyoming residents in Frontier Days Park who supported the three-term congresswoman.
“Almost everyone we spoke with told us they believe Liz Cheney is too focused on Donald Trump and the January 6 committee and not paying enough attention to what they believe matters to the people here in Wyoming,” Kaye said.
When she asked Cheyenne resident Sharon Tuggle if she was planning on voting for Cheney, Tuggle paused and asked “Can I cuss?”
She followed that up with a twang-infused, “Hail, no!”
Another Wyoming voter, clad in a red, white, and blue bandana with matching overalls said the January 6 committee was a “witch hunt.”
The anti-Cheney forces didn’t have a lock on patriotic gear.
One of the two Cheney supporters had an Uncle Sam look to him with a red, white, and blue western shirt, a long white beard, and a cowboy hat.
“I believe that she has a lot of that integrity,” said Shawn McKee. “Also, she wants to maintain the integrity of the state. She wants to make it to where it’s not so much federally controlled.”
The only thing debatable about the CNN segment was the claim by the Wyoming Republican Party that it does not “take sides in the primary election.”
If that were the case, the chairman of the GOP would not have spoken at the Trump rally for Hageman in May.
CNN’s conclusion that Cheney had an uphill battle in front of her, wasn’t anything out of the ordinary but it appeared to be an objective effort by a network that has pledged to do news again.
