Seattle NPR-affiliate KUOW announced March 25 that it will no longer air White House coronavirus briefings live.
“After airing the White House briefings live for two weeks, a pattern of false information and exaggeration increasingly had many at KUOW questioning whether these briefings were in the best service of our mission—to create and serve a more informed public,” KUOW wrote. “Of even greater concern was the potential impact of false information on the health and safety of our community.” For example, KUOW pointed to Pres. Trump’s March 20 claim there are “very few empty shelves,” when reporting has shown otherwise.
KUOW noted it will “revisit this decision daily” and will report on information that is “relevant” from the briefings after fact checking. iMediaEthics has written to KUOW to ask what circumstances would motivate the affiliate to change its decision.