Veteran newsman Ted Koppel has told Fox News commentator Sean Hannity that he is “bad for America” in an interview that aired on CBS.
The discussion on the network’s Sunday Morning show focused on the polarisation of politics and the media in the US.
During the interview, Koppel, the former ABC Nightline anchor, said that the conflation of opinion and editorial content was dangerous.
Hannity told Koppel he was cynical and that Americans could tell the difference between opinion and news.
Referencing talk show hosts who tread a fine line between news and comment, Hannity said: “Do you think we’re bad for America? You think I’m bad for America?”
“Yeah,” Koppel replied. He tried to explain his reasons, but was interrupted several times by Hannity. When he was allowed to talk he went on: “You have attracted people who are determined that ideology is more important than facts.”
After the interview aired, Hannity fired back with a tweetstorm alleging that the interview had been cut significantly from 45 minutes to less than two and accusing CBS of broadcasting “Fake Edited News”.
"Fake Edited News" @CBSNews release the Unedited 45 minute interview so people can see the BS games you play in the edit room. I dare you! https://t.co/prynzE2yLQ
— Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) March 26, 2017
If you pay attention Ted was saying ALL opinion shows are bad for America. But he was saying this while giving us HIS OPINION #hypocrisy https://t.co/53Yn4bxbSw
— Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) March 26, 2017
Associated Press contributed to this report