The MSNBC interview by Stephanie Ruhle with Vice President Kamala Harris continues to draw reactions. This time, Salem Radio Network host Mike Gallagher is questioning whether or not he’s a journalist.
Ruhle has been criticized for her handling of her interview with Harris for her lack of follow-ups. Many other conservative pundits took issue with her encapsulation of the interview by arguing that she was fine that the candidate didn’t offer clear-cut solutions to the questions asked because they weren’t required.
During The Mike Gallagher Show on Thursday, the Salem Radio Network host shared he has often grappled with the question of whether or not talk radio show hosts fit the “journalist” moniker.
“I have long struggled with the debate over whether talk show hosts are journalists or not,” admitted Gallagher. “I’ve spent a lot of time in this business, decades. I don’t like to brag about it. But I’ve never considered myself a journalist. I joke about being a big-mouth talk show host. That’s what I am.
“I’ve got opinions. I’ve got strong opinions. I didn’t go to school for journalism. I don’t know the journalistic ethics, I just make it a point to be truthful and to be direct and as transparent as I can be. But I’m not a journalist.”
Mike Gallagher continued by sharing similar sentiments to Sean Hannity, who over the years has argued that he’s not a journalist and shouldn’t be treated as such.
“Sean Hannity, who’s a friend of mine, has said over the years, ‘Well, I’m technically an opinion journalist.’ So I don’t know. It might be a distinction without a difference. But for me, personally, I think when you’re in the talk show host opinion realm, you’re not a journalist.”
Gallagher added that he is “astounded” by the fact that Ruhle considers herself a journalist after seeing her passionate defense of the campaign strategy of Kamala Harris during HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher last week, and her subsequent line of questioning during the first one-on-one interview Harris has given since securing the Democratic nomination for President.
