Ted Koppel seems to think Americans are too stupid to tell the difference between a political opinion show and a news show, and that Fox News host Sean Hannity is a part of the problem. Koppel’s attitude is no surprise considering the fact that he has been an elite member of the leftist establishment media complex for decades.

During an interview on CBS’ Sunday Morning, Mr. Koppel accused Sean Hannity of increasing the polarization of politics and media in the Age of Trump. His believes that people like Sean Hannity are “contributing to the increased antipathy toward opposing viewpoints that is prevalent in America.”  Mr. Hannity objected:

“We have to give some credit to the American people that they’re somewhat intelligent and that they know the difference between an opinion show and a news show.”

When asked if he believed opinion shows such as Hannity are bad for America, Mr. Koppel answered “yeah.” Clips of leftist comedians John Oliver and Stephen Colbert were played during the segment to support Koppel’s point and make him appear unbiased.  Naturally, he forgot to mention any actual political commentators on the left.

Ted Koppel’s condescending attitude towards average Americans is a flagrant example of elitism. It is also inaccurate. If the American public did have trouble discerning the difference between an opinion show and actual news, it would not be due to Sean Hannity. That particular confusion is more likely to occur while watching CBS, NBC, and other leftist establishment news outlets.

The establishment media has often been shown to have a left-wing bias, and the leftist political agenda is infused into almost all of their news stories. A recent study performed by Media Tenor showed this to be true. Liberty Nation reports:

Media Tenor’s analysis found that 3% of the news reports on the Trump administration which were broadcast on NBC and CBS were positive. 43% were negative while 54% were considered neutral. Fox News’ “Special Report” was less negative. 25% of reports were negative while 12% were positive. The remaining 43% of stories were neutral.

The analysis also looked at press coverage of the Obama administration:

Of course, the news media’s role as a monitor of government usually leads to at least some negative news. But the negative coverage of Trump seems unusual. Our previous research in “The Global President” found that President Barack Obama received much less negative coverage than Trump has received at the start of their respective presidencies.

Contrary to what Ted Koppel and many others believe, Fox News is more balanced than NBC and CBS. When positive news reports about the president only make up 3% of an outlet’s reporting, it is clear that the ones contributing to the “antipathy toward opposing viewpoints” are the members of the leftist media.

The reality is that regular news reports in the leftist media look and sound more like opinion shows. They do more propagandizing than actual reporting of the news. The elitist attitude of many members of the media establishment is alienating them from the rest of the nation and is one of the reasons they are losing relevance.

Americans deserve to have honest and accurate reporting. We are not the ignorant peasants the elitist royalty seems to believe we are; we can tell opinion shows from actual reporting. The real problem is that leftist bias is surreptitiously imbued in the news stories they tell. If not actively sought out, the leftist bias is easily missed. This subtlety is far more dangerous than political commentators such as Sean Hannity.

President Trump’s penchant for challenging the media is popular for a reason; it is one of the traits that got him elected.  If there were more organizations that stood ready to call out media bias, it would make it easier for Americans get the real news.