howie: on the buzz meet i are, president trump at war with the media. >> president trump appears to be showing signs of anxiety, lashing out at the fbi. he calls it tainted. he cites a fox news report to discredit the mueller investigation and to incite a purge of law enforcement of anybody disloyal to donald j. trump. >> if the fbi used this dossier in an attempt to spy on trump

and his associates, that's a crime. >> his defenders and supporters have a strategy, whatever robert mueller comes up with, they want his group of supporters to think not real, not credible. howie: he tells the "new york times" the media will help-him and will love him. a year of sexual harassment allegations and fake media. facebook admits the constant search for likes and thumbs up can be bad for you. are we overdosing on social media? i'm howard kurtz and this is

"mediabuzz." the president didn't miss a beat after christmas where in a single tweet he slammed the mueller investigation and the discredited dossier. shortly after buck sexton appeared on "fox and friends." >> we want to know whether the dossier was a clinton funded opposition research document to weaponize the intelligence community against a campaign. howie: the president tweeted the fbi cannot verify claims in dossier. but the president sending a different message in and half-hour sit-down with the "new york times" at mar-a-lago. he says while the mueller probe makes the country look bad and

puts the country in a bad position, he still hopes he will be treated fairly. mollie hemingway, cathy areu, and mara liasson. molly, with all these attacks on. what else the takeaway for journalists. mollie: we had all this media coverage on how he was going to fire knewer. and everything he's saying is contradicting this. i know he's not the most of consistent person. but in that "new york times" interest vaive was emphatic that he didn't see himself getting rid of robert mueller. howie: the president was asked if he would push for a reopening of the hillary clinton email investigation. he said i have the absolute

right to do what i want with the justice department. cathy: i think the media is educating people on what's going on. so it's all take a lesson to the public. the media is educating everyone. no one understood that knewer was at the disposal of the president. the public didn't understand mueller's power and what trump could do. howie: pundits mostly on the left have been beating him up saying he didn't press trump hard enough. what was your take on the interview. mara: he got some news. he did take the approach to let

him talk, not a lot of follow-up. but we found out a lot of things. he talked about no collusion. but he showed he's on both sides of the miewlger debate. on the one hands he said he thinks he will be treated fairly and he praised conservative pundits and critics in the congress for going after mule per and said the fbi is tainted. howie: he did make a lot of news on korea and china. i think some people think it's like a tv debate. if you don't get in his face and challenge him, it's not a real interview. but trump and some conservatives in the media, especially on fox ripped the investigation. then the left liberal commentators come along and rip those who are ripping mueller

saying how can you criticize law enforcement. mollie: so. mainstream journalists adopt that posture the left is taking. there is no reason why you can't be sceptical of the mueller investigation, and the fbi and the president. a good journalist would be sceptical of all people involved. you don't need to take sides. howie: liberal commentators attacking the president's tweets and attacking fox news, and applying scrutiny to what have been missteps in the mueller investigation and some fbi agents. he is a republican. cathy: i interviewed mueller before. by the book kinds of guy. you can see why everybody liked him so so much. but we knew it was only a matter

of time that it would crumble. mollie: even in the beginning people could have been more sceptical. mueller and comey were responsible for that botched investigation. there should have been some indication that a guy so close to comey might not be the best person to investigate. howie: the "new york times" big lengthy story who was describing papadopoulos as a low-level coffee kinds of guy. according to the story on a drunken evening in the spring of 2016 told an as you trailian diplomat that russia had dirt on hillary in the form of thousands of emails. how much does this change the media narrative? mara: this offers an alternative

story about how the investigation got started. you have mueller critics saying the fbi used the dossier. but now this story is saying no, it was through a diplomat in australia that papadopoulos had some kinds of knowledge from them from russia. mollie: for a year we have been told the dossier was the center piece of the probe. now that congress and other people are asking questions about the dossier. now it's not wasn't that important. the big problem with the dossier isn't if it was the only reason why the probe was started. it's whether it was used to secure a wiretap.

howie: do you think george papadopoulos was the guy who got the balance rolling? mollie: in a weird way it's a worse case than saying the dossier was the launch of a probe. hearsay from an australian source who didn't report it for months. there is something sketchy about this story. mara: the fbi did interview chris steele, the author of the dossier. howie: i'll ask you about "the washington post" story the other day quoting three sources saying the president's legal team plans to target mike flynn as a liar if he makes accusations against president trump. does this smell like a leak from the trump side? cathy: it's all about spin. we are not sure who is going to

win with the spin game, the spin cycle. mara: do you think the "post" was used to concerned a message to flynn that this could get nasty if you start pointing financialers? cathy: this spinning and the media has to decide who is right and who is wrong. mollie: the story waited to the end to mention this is the most of basic legal strategy you would use. howie: you impeach their credibility if they are lying. let me ask you, molly. we do this every year. the media on the right and left have two different takes to say the least about 2017 for trump. paul krugman wrote donald trump has been every bit as horrible

as expected. and he said the game is rigged because trump won the electoral college which is in the constitution and gerrymandering which has been going on for centuries. mollie: he's the one who said the stock market would never recover if trump were elected. in general i think the media could do a better job of calming down and covering him without all this emotion they seem to bring. howie: he said it's debatable how much trump contributed. and the bears responsibility for obamacare not being repealed. cathy: which is true, you have

the media divide and someone dividing it is trump. they don't trust trump and you can see why. howie: he accomplished things more than we expected but they haven't fallen in love with him. the "national review" was an anti-trump publication. cathy: if you are not seen as doing your job properly because the media asks you questions. you question the president. howie: lead story, "trump delivers." obviously the tax bill passed. now are saying he did accomplish some things even though we have spent the last 9-10 months telling you he's an ineffectual

president. mara: somebody can be a divisive president and also compile a solid record of conservative achievements. any conservative president would have tried to do with trump did and hopefully succeed. shrink the federal bureaucracy and deregulate. those are solid conservative accomplishments. you can't take that away from him. howie: there have been mistakes and missteps. mollie: i'm surprised you are seeing people admit what happened this year, the crushing of isis, and what not. at some point you have to cover the reality. it would have been better to cover what was happening at agencies throughout the year. howie: the president says the media has no choice but to back

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howie: donald trump spent two years attacking fake news. he said another reason i'm going to win another four years is all forms of media will take if i'm not there because their ratings are going down the tubes.

according to mr. trump, the media needs him. they are making the money. mollie: there is a co--dependency as they attack each other. they both suffer from low ratings. they can't quit each other. howie: i have been saying for a number of years that news organizations attacking president trump have been making a lot of money off president trump. people like you make more money so you should be grateful. cathy: they would rather be part of the process to have him leave office. just like the "washington post" with watergate. howie: you don't agree even though he might be ringing the cash register. mara: that was my favorite quote

in the interview. this is how he sees the world as a reality tv celebrity. ratings are everything. an said the media will let me win, as if it's up to the media whether he wins or not. howie: he's a businessman. i remember when he threatened to pull out of a cnn debate unless jeff zucker committed to donating to charity because he was boost their ratings. trump has been gold for news organizations. fox news is the highest rated cable news network. digital subscriptions have been soaring. but will journalists let up and not try to drive president trump out of office because the companies are making more money?

mollie: i don't think so. but people need to remember that media companies are businesses. they need to make money. there are very few organizations that just care about journalism and all these different things can come into play. mara: npr is a non-profit organization, we don't live and die by the ratings. the comment that trump is bad for america but great for the ratings. the media has to let me win because if i'm off the scene, who is going to turn into these endless cane news segments. he does mitt a never. but at the same time, journalists have invested a lot

of their not just energy, but, you know, for many it's been a crusade to what they view as exposing his flaws and weaknesses. cathy: dare i say everybody has become much more interesting thanks to trump. he raised the bar through his crazy tweeting. mara: he made people interested in government and politics. cathy: he taught people with an attorney general was. and people didn't understand what a cabinet secretary was. he raised the bar. with the next administration it will be interesting. everybody knows how to be a reality star in the office. howie: is it because he runs the presidency like a reality show? there always has to be a new twist and plot line?

is this all unique to donald trump or has he changed the nature of presidential communication forever. mollie: he said tweeting isn't presidential, it's modern day presidential. he had a tweet this week about global warming and you could see everyone in the media fall for it and respond to it. i wonder if the media can quit donald trump. howie: maybe he's just trolling the press and having a good time. cathy: remember the old days when barack obama wasn't allowed to have a blackberry in office? those days are gone. howie: a marco rubio or bernie sanders is not going to be running the presidency. mara: he believes that dominating the news cycle is the

metric of success. the adage in show business, leave them wanting more. donald trump does not believe in that. howie: mara liasson and cathy areu, thanks for being here. mark zuckerberg's company doesn't disagree.

howie: facebook gets kicked around all the time. but now some stinging criticism from a former vice president. >> it is ripping apart the way society works. howie: he says the hearts, likes, thumbs up, are destroying how society works. this guy says facebook obliterate civil discourse and cooperation, and facebook says well we have done a lot of research and this, it's a problem. we are trying to use it to improve our product. >> i think it's astonishing that facebook conceded it's bad for

you. i think people are looking for honesty in these social media companies. it was a good move on facebook's part. certainly facebook has become a very polarizing place in recent years and there is some ugliness on it just as there is on twitter and other places. how addicting is facebook? shana: i find myself flipping open the app to see if i have a new like. howie: i think there are support groups for this. based on your own experience is there a much more positive side to facebook? shana: there is a lot of

redeeming qualities on facebook. we have had difficulties with pregnancy, one of our sons, our 13-month-old twin son has traumatic brain injury. i made a concerted effort to share on facebook that there is hard life issues and it means because i did that i now have this massive cheerleading a squad on facebook for my family and all these resources have been offered and i find it a redeeming value. howie: is that difficult for to you write about? people don't often discuss that part of their lives. you have some beautiful babies, and that's great. but was it hard and did you worry about the reaction? shana: it was uncomfortable. i had a lot of discussions with my husband, is it okay to talk

about this. people have said thank you for sharing this and thank you for being honest when it's not just happy memoriesen beautiful photos. howie: mark zuckerberg's company pulled the plug on the attempt to label false stories. he said more people were likely to click on it if it had a false label. shana: i think it's interesting they saw the research it wasn't work. now it will show other stories that may help you stay informed that are like the topic you shared. howie: the new york types did a story that facebook helping target help wanted ads.

saying this could discriminate against older workers who never see these ads. shana: microtargeting is helpful to companies saying we only get applicants 21-35. we want to target them to convert to more applicants. howie: if you are 55, 60-year-old, maybe a retrained worker who lost a factory job, youer in get a crack at those jobs. it raises troubling questions. shana: i think the ability to target to older individuals for other jobs is an effective mechanism for these companies. howie: it's amazing how important this company has become in terms of sharing your personal stories. and for the media everybody

trying to get clicks. shana glenzer, it's great seeing you. a look at blunders of 2017 and what they have done to trust in the press. (avo) help control cravings and lose weight with contrave. it's fda-approved to help adults who are overweight or struggle with obesity lose weight and keep it off. contrave is believed to work on two areas of the brain: your hunger center... i'm so hungry. (avo) and your reward system... ice cream. french fries. (avo) to help control cravings. one ingredient in contrave may increase suicidal thoughts or actions in some children, teens, and young adults in the first few months. serious side effects are mood changes like depression and mania, seizures, increased blood pressure or heart rate, liver damage, glaucoma, allergic reactions, and hypoglycemia. not for patients with uncontrolled blood pressure, seizure history, anorexia, bulimia, drug or alcohol withdrawal, on bupropion, opioids, maois,

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howie: it's hardly breaking news that 2017 was a bad year for the

media, but how bad and how trouble. joining us, gayle trotter, ed henry, fox news chief national correspondent, and jessica tarlov. gayle how much credibility has the media lost? gail require's been a tough year for the media. we have seen the death of the independent journalist. do they have evidence and are they all leaning one particular way. you have bill buckley for decades talking about how the mainstream media was disinclined to fairly and accurately report conservative policies and we seated proof of that with high

profile mistake after high profile mistake. jessica, people on the left not happy with the way the trump presidency has turned out. jessica: we have seen major successes, especially the news that came out of alabama. but certainly the media credibility has taken a hit and it has happened on both sides of the aisle. government officials have taken a hit on their credibility as well. i understand why the general public realizes no one is telling them the truth. it led to more partisan hardship and they go to what feels comforting to them. howie: how much is president trump branding what he calls fake news, and does that apply to stories reckless, biased, or

stories he doesn't like. ed: a big part of it is president trump part of the problem for the media, particularly the political journalists is there is such a rush to find anything on him, anything at all. the special counsel investigation, there have been legitimate scoops. there is a legitimate investigation there. but then when you find the lack of credibility at the fbi, the let's get him. the anti-trump texts. there are mainstream media outlets who don't cover that. and the suggestion that former president barack obama let hezbollah off the hook it's a massive night. the nightly news at the three major networks didn't cover it.

howie: cnn had the story about the wicky leak emails and the anthony scare muchy story and brian ross on mike flynn. does it effectively affect the whole news business? gayle: there was a lot of discussion about whether they would take a hit with the president targeting the news organizations. their ratings are going up and they are drawing more viewers because people are interested in politics. they are drawing a lot of people who are caring about this debate and want to understand the policy and thinking behind the arguments and thinking of the time. it's this confusing a situation where you have more interest and you have more of an obligation

to be objective and you see it's less objective. howie: i would argue every mistake tarnishes all of us. it does darken the image. jessica, there are instances when journalists get story right, but they get hammered on social media because they don't believe them or they are buying into conspiracy theories or they are on the other team, so to speak. jessica: the fake news moniker that the president coined himself is dangerous that this is what journalism is all about. uncovering things and presenting them fairly. we know the different between reports and opinion journalists. and that has got many less blurred since the trump ascendancy. when there is a mistake it does tarnish the entire industry.

the poll doesn't poll out how do you feel about this outlet. they talk about the news media. gayle: the president didn't coin the phrase fake news. the media coined it. he popularized it. he took it and was able to turn it against the media. it's something the media created and he was able to turn it against them. howie: let me jump in here. the "new york times" had to retract and apologize for an editorial that blamed sarah palin in the aftermath of the congressional republicans on the baseball field for having incited the shooting on gabby giffords in tucson. ed: where i agree with jessica, where the president has to be careful i think as a member of

the media, when there is a story that may or may not be true, but just that he disagree with the premise of it, you can't just call it fake news because you don't like the story, if its genuinely false or genuinely fake, part of it is the fervor to get him, no matter what. sarah palin, go after conservatives. there is a chryon from cnn floating around from earlier this year that says trump has two scoops of ice cream, others have one. that's not big news. i'm going to surprise you it's not fake news because it's based on a "time" magazine article where they sat down to dinner. howie: 46% believe the media

fabricates stories about president obama. 56% of republicans say yes, 65% of democrats say no. coming up after matt lauer, mark hall principle an --and mark har jobs. jobs. you can't predict the market. but through good times and bad... ...at t. rowe price... ...we've helped our investors stay confident for over 75 years. call us or your advisor. t. rowe price. invest with confidence.

howie: gayle trotter we have the firing of matt lauer at nbc, mark halperin and bill o'reilly at fox. do these blacken reputations of those news organizations or do all the media have big problems? gayle: it points to the larger media culture. these media quul tiewrs are a -- these media cultures are apparently complicit in this. it has implications for the larger media culture. howie: whenever somebody faces

these allegations, it instantaneously raises questions about how the news organization handled it. jessica: and what they are going to do afterwards. it's gotten lightning speed. like what happened with matt lauer it was at night and by the morning he was gone. i think that how media organizations move on from this will be critical. what changes are they making internally. how do their h.r. departments work? how women feel in the environment. but i would say this is mediawide. i agree with gayle completely about the complicit nature of this, and it's a real societal problem. howie: some women feel they couldn't complain.

others said they did complain and they were told nothing happened. we saw in the hollywood and silicon valley cases and capitol hill. gayle: from the legal aspects of it you see the none disclosure agreements. so the companies were aware of it. certainly the companies that made these settlements with non-disclosure agreements knew there were potential problems with these high-profile stars. howie: some women are saying while all this is overdue, and the culture has to change in the media and the workplace, lots of different kinds. that maybe some of this is going too far and some people's careers are being ruined on the basis of a single allegation which the news organizations sometimes don't feel compelled to share with the public. what's your thought on that?

>> it's frightening how far this could go. in the beginnings there was a frenzy to make sure we get all the bad guys out. this is one of the grayest areas there is. we talked about how preposterous there was a picture of al franken next to a picture of charlie rose and whoever else. these crimes in some cases or indiscretions are so unique and we need to find a way to address all of them to make sure we believe women, but that we also have due process and we are acting responsibly. the idea that there are careers being destroyed, it's something that might not be necessarily career ending. it's something we have to consider as a society. howie: cnn investigates the

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howie: headlines like "hiding the ball." the mysterious truck that was blocking the cnn crew from seeing president trump golf. mollie: they covered it 33 times. they thought it was even important story that a truck was blocking their view. howie: it turns out it belongs

to the sheriff's department. the whole the trump golfing situation. he likes to golf. has become a big media story, and cnn wanted the pictures. mollie: it's not inappropriate to cover that trump likes to golf. that's perfectly legitimate. howie: he criticized president t obama for golfing. mollie: that didn't receive a lot of media coverage. but now because it's president trump we get a ton of media coverage of this. howie: i have no problem with the president playing golf as much as he wants. but it seems like lately it has become a theme. mollie: i don't think this needed to be covered once. certainly not 33 times when there were so many more important stories. i think people want news outlets

to be covering hard news. howie: happy new year, great to see you. vanity fair was buried out of a landslide of outrage over hillary clinton resolutions. >> knitting, improv comedy, anything to keep knee from running again. howie: the anger from the left was so intense they apologized. the president saw its opening. "vanity fair" he tweeted is apologizing for the minor hit they took at crooked h. i have a problem with the salt

lake tribune's editorial urging orrin hatch not to run for reelection. he is 83 and said it would be his last term. >> resting on his laurels he thinks this seat belongs to him rather than the people of utah. howie: by said hatch is trying to freeze the field to block any credible challengers which every politician tries to do. saying this is a theft for his unquenchable thirst for power. also called politics. it turns out it's about partisan differences. they slammed the finance committee chairman's role in passing tax reform and the shrinking of national monuments. let the voters decide whether to

sends him packing. remember when they thought this was such a cute item. the card said to stevie. we are returning the gift of the christmas tax bill. it is bull blank. >> we heard about getting a lump of coal for christmas. but what about a lump of this. that is horse manure to be exact. >> i think it's gross, not some principle prank. if someone sent manure to one of barack obama cabinet members the media would have been disgusted.

howie: the sinclair broadcasting was find for running a story about a concern foundation without disclosing the company paid for the air time. sinclair blames the lack of disclosure on simple human error and calls the claim irresponsible.

hoffman was confront on a hollywood panel. how report median says it fell short because of hoffman's inadequate answers. but oliver said he told the producers he had to bring up the allegations. accusers thanked oliver saying the questions may not have produced good answers, butted the fact you asked them at all is what matters most of. here is to a healthy and rewarding 2018. let's continue the conversation on twitter. let us know what you think.

mediabuzz@foxnews.com. we'll be back here next sunday regular time, 11:00 eastern. see you then with the latest buzz. eric: we are following breaking news out of colorado. five deputies have been shot, at least one killed in the line of duty in boulder. arthel: we are told this began with disputed responding -- departments responding to a domestic disputer this morning. police say the suspect is no longer a threat. will carr is following this story for us from los angeles. reporter: authorities went to highlands ranch,