Kurtz Settles Scores, Part I

Yesterday on CNN’s “Reliable Sources,” Howard Kurtz fired back at Stephen Colbert who had a little swipe at Kurtz during his show last week. Colbert had went after Kurtz’s show last Sunday, which featured an interview of Anderson Cooper. Colbert accused Cooper of wussing out in the answer and proffered the way he would have handled Kurtz:

COLBERT: Up next, Anderson Cooper. On RELIABLE SOURCES, CNN’s Howard Kurtz questioned his emotional coverage of Hurricane Katrina, and here’s what Anderson said. Jimmy, hit it.

COOPER: On television, especially on cable news, people have no problems with anchors expressing emotion as long as it’s anger or phony outrage, but if you express an actual emotion, an actual feeling, that seems to surprise people.

COLBERT: Now, I think Mr. Cooper’s attacking me with that, but I can’t be sure because he is not pointing and shouting in my direction. That’s why anger and outrage are appropriate in cable news. But there are no points in this game for self-control, Anderson. You might have tried something like this.

Listen here, Kurtz, while I was knee deep in death gumbo, you sat in your $700 ergonomic office chair with your media critique tweezers picking the knits off the rest of us. Knits we got in the filthy hellscape we used to call the Big Easy.

Where were you, Howie, when I was in the (EXPLETIVE DELETED)? You know…

(APPLAUSE)

COLBERT: … something like that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

As Kurtz introduced the clip, he said, “Now, a few weeks back on this very program, I said that Comedy Central’s Stephen Colbert was getting a bit full of himself and, besides, had the poor judgment not to invite me as a guest. Well, this week I finally made it, sort of. Colbert took my interview with Anderson, and somehow in his ego-inflated fashion made it about him.”

After the clip, Kurtz hit back, “Oh yes? Well, you just try that stuff with me, Steven Colbert, and I might just tell the world that you, sir, are a fake journalist. Fair warning.”

Speaking of Colbert, he was interviewed yesterday on ABC’s “This Week” for his predictions of Jon Stewart’s Oscar performance.

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