WASHINGTON — CNN anchor Jake Tapper, keynote speaker at the American Boating Congress, asked attendees Tuesday to think critically about their sources of information and look to sources beyond those that align with their thinking.
“We in the media are not trying to win friends. We are just trying to call balls and strikes” and hold government officials accountable on the left and the right, Tapper said.
“Every politician lies. Lies need to be called out, whoever says them,” he said.
One audience member asked Tapper during a question-and-answer session how he saw millennials entering the workplace.
“Generally I find them hardworking and smart and industrious and idealistic in terms of what they want journalism to be,” Tapper said, after cracking a joke about what his “sarcastic and bitter generation” wouldn’t say about an “entitled generation.”
Tapper said he tries to bring an array of diverse perspectives to his staff so it’s not just people who have the perspective he does.
“I guess I’m handpicking my millennials, but I’ve been very, very happy and very proud,” he said.
Tapper said he rarely makes public speeches because he doesn’t want to be seen as partisan and he also mentioned that he donates the entire amount to two charities — one is Home For Our Troops, a Massachusetts-based charity that builds adapted homes for veterans with disabilities. The other is Horton’s Kids, a tutoring and mentoring organization that provides services to kids in Washington, D.C.’s Anacostia neighborhood.
