Some media members covering the Ferguson, Missouri, protests are "grandstanding," says Fox News media reporter Howard Kurtz.
The media invasion in Ferguson is inflaming the situation because "all the agitators want the exposure," Kurtz said Tuesday on Fox News Channel's
"The O'Reilly Factor."
"They see the bright lights, they see the correspondents are making a name for themselves, they're openly siding with the protesters."
Kurtz said he was especially surprised at CNN's Jake Tapper, who challenged the tactics of the police in the middle of a protest, saying, "There is nothing going on on this street right now that merits this scene out of Bagram. Nothing."
Kurtz also was critical of MSNBC, which he termed "the Michael Brown Defense Network." The Rev. Al Sharpton, who hosts a show on MSNBC, has met with the family of 18-year-old Michael Brown, whose shooting death by a white police officer sparked the protests.
But Sharpton also speaks at rallies and comments on his MSNBC show. Kurtz has previously said he doesn't think Sharpton should be a protest leader and commentator on the same story simultaneously.
In addition, Kurtz criticized conservatives for defending police officer Darrell Wilson, who shot Brown "based on equally fragmentary evidence."
"I think it's reached a point where ... the violence produces pictures. The pictures are good television. That is good for ratings," Kurtz said. "Every night now, anchors are going down to say, 'What will happen tonight?'"
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