While discussing the recent GOP debate cosponsored by CNN and the AstroTurf “tea party” on Fox's so-called watchdog program, Fox News Watch, host Jon Scott asks former Iraq war propagandist and panel member Judith Miller if she thought there was anything “odd” about the two joining forces to host that debate. Coming from someone now working for Fox “News” and the right-wing rag Newsmax, the answer wasn't terribly surprising.
SCOTT: Judy, was pairing CNN with the tea party a little bit odd?
MILLER: Well I think that was CNN's effort to show that is is “fair and balanced”. And why not? You know, we can pretend that the mainstream media are completely fair and balanced. They are not. Everybody knows that most Democrats... most liberals... most people in the mainstream media are liberal Democrats. That comes out poll after poll. So why not try something like this? I think it made for a very interesting mix.
What Miller failed to point out is that the “tea party” is primarily a media creation from her current employer Fox, and CNN, who have both been heavily promoting the so-called “movement” ever since Rick Santelli gave his preplanned rant back in 2009 that John wrote about here.
Miller's comments reminded me of the post Karoli wrote the week the debate aired -- The Most Trusted Name in News: TeaNN:
For a very long time, I have been ranting about how CNN is trying to keep the tea party viable and present them as something other than what they are. From their hiring of Dana Loesch and Erick Erickson to their shameless promotion of the very corporate, AstroTurf Tea Party Express bus tours, CNN has been on the job.
All that positioning as the best tea party network in television should reflect in the ratings their little tea party debate receives tonight. After all, this group is less popular than just about anyone else in the country, even among their own members! [...]
TeaNN. The network with less news, more bluster. Brought to you by the Tea Party Express, FreedomWorks, and corporate interests everywhere.
And finally as to Miller's assertion that our media is somehow "liberal", I'd just say go read Will Bunch's article here -- Journalism's confession: Playing Twister...to the right.
