Fox News blasted in the Washington Post for ‘the most irresponsible televised coronavirus analysis’

Fox News was blasted in The Washington Post on Saturday by media critic Erik Wemple in a column titled, "How about a hiatus for Sean Hannity?"

"Moments of actual news coverage relating to the coronavirus at Fox News don’t receive much attention these days. The work of chief Trump propagandist Sean Hannity and other network opinionmongers speaks much louder," Wemple wrote.

In addition to Hannity, Fox News personalities Jeanine Pirro, Ainsley Earnhardt, Sandra Smith and Fox Business personality Trish Regan were singled out by name for criticism.

"Such stupid and dangerous commentary often contradicts, upends or grinds against the reporting on many other hours at the network. During Fox News’s so-called straight news hours — 'so-called' because they occasionally succumb to the network’s tilt — hosts and correspondents have been cycling through coronavirus updates with the sort of professionalism and thoroughness of a news network," Wemple explained.

But, he argued, the opinion personalities are undermining the news reporters.

"Every viewer who trusts the words of Earhardt or Hannity or Regan could well become a walking, breathing, droplet-spewing threat to the public," he warned. "It’s a wonder that Fox News doesn’t erupt in a journalistic civil war, such is the discrepancy between its sane and insane programming."

Read the full column.