Howard Kurtz, say what?
By John Amato Wednesday Oct 14, 2009 3:00pmCNN's media critic, Howard Kurtz, came up with THE answer to all our complaints:
KURTZ: And if liberals or conservatives like David Brooks don't like what the high-decibel pundits say or think they're peddling misinformation, they should go after them in the media marketplace, not with boycotts or name-calling or screaming or shouting, but on the battlefield of ideas.
Wow, that's so simple. Why didn't anybody think of that? Wait a second. Just hold on there. Isn't organizing a boycott an actual idea which then takes a ton of work to be successful? Isn't leading a boycott against a Glenn Beck or a Lou Dobbs actually going into the media marketplace and hitting them right in the pocketbook?
Can Howard suggest what battlefield of ideas I should go on? Does he consider Reliable Sources one of those battlefields? Can Howard help fund a radio program for me that will air either before or right after Sean Hannity, on all the same nationwide affiliates so I can at least partially compete with Hannidate's audience and have a chance to express my ideas at his level?
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John, by posting this stupidity you're only encouraging him.
howard needs to STFU
because he's batting a 29% IQ
Isn't the battlefield of ideas somewhere near Boston, where Paul Revere rode? I just LOVE those historic sites.
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Howard Kurtz could do a battle of ideas on his show...
... IF he'd quit retreating from THAT fight!
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That would be a great name for the republican website
Say What?
I'm now boycotting Howard Kurtz!
here comes the battlefield of better ideas.
...just think about it!
I wonder what Kurtz's price is? I'm sure he's sold his soul more than once.
the WaPo and media referee for CNN. Also, his wife is a Repug political operative. Nothing offends Howie more than the thought of attacking a man's paycheck, no matter how repugnantly earned.
keeps on coming!
Do you get a free permanent smirk when you get your conservative lobotomy?
I'm off to by a 24-hour news network.
Because when the right-wing is facing you on the "Battlefield of Ideas", well it's like shooting an unarmed opponent.
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'Cause the recruiter I spoke with had quite a few battlefields to choose from, but not too many ideas...
What?
All we have to do is found billion dollar corporations, buy up a bunch of broadcasting stations, use our clout to put people in power that don't feel like enforcing any of the monopoly laws, dumb things down enough that no one is required to think, and hire a bunch of fake experts. Then we can share our ideas too. How much simpler could it be?
What the hell do you people want, freedom of speech and press? How quaint.
or two?? anyone?
I still don't understand what Mr. Kurtz does. How does one criticize the media, when one is part of the media?
There is a problem. People like Mr. Kurtz and Andrea Mitchell attempt to paint the left and right as equivalently mendacious, regardless of abject dishonesty on the right.
This type of "criticism" only contributes to the apathy of the electorate.
Those that can't do, teach.
Those that can't teach, critique.
corporate media.
imagine having to crawl into bed with Alan Greenspan every night!!
the lack of a viable news source on television is pretty newsworthy, yet the people that would be discussing this are the problem. so i guess this leads us back to
boycott!!!
The battlefield of ideas if an appropriate place to be if you're having a debate over principles or concepts, but it's not the place for refuting lies. And if the media did the work of digging for truth instead of pretending that everything IS just a debate, maybe there would be trust in journalism and no need for boycotts, because simply reporting the facts would be enough.
any more proof that Kurtz, and the MSM at large are hard-core capitalists who think playing referee means doing journalism. The "marketplace"? Kurtz can't even see that the "marketplace" he helps create is so rigged towards a corporate elitist agenda, or maybe he does see it. In either case, please Mr. Kurtz, stop trying to pretend you analyze people like Lou Dobbs..., you are Lou Dobbs (scary to think about there being two Lou Dobbs.)
jack asses of our times. Why bother with him at all?
Is simply expressing himself on the "Battlefield of ideas".
I will use my small piece of that intellectual property to lob my own cerebral hand grenade:
Howard? Get bent.
So how exactly are we supposed to present our ideas in the "battlefield" if they won't let us fight? The Sunday shows are filled with conservatives and the occasional milquetoast liberal.
Is there a "don't ask, don't tell" policy against liberals on TV too?
would be a great place to go to get the media to treat liberals and thug's equally, instead of pretending that the massive, over the top coverage of all the angry white guys has any kind of equal time or equal communication to the masses the way they pretend. The one sidedness of the media has gotten worse and worse the last year. I think CNN actually thinks that they're giving equality, but when your viewpoint is as skewed as the upper classes are today, well they're not even close. I see it in common people alot, if they're upper class they're thoughts are so skewed by their selfishness that they can't see how the rest of us don't have a chance to get ahead, the deck is too stacked. Howard need to visit a poor neighborhood and try and prove how to implement his battlefield of ideas.
As for this post, great job! I was watching the show and my first thought was "What a putz, as if someone like me can afford to buy into the 'keep the havenots down' game the country's been playing since Reagan."
a) Howard, of all people, ought to know that media marketplace is owned and operated by some of the wealthiest people in the world.
b) The only voices that are heard on television today are people who are name-calling, screaming and shouting.
If you're listening, Howard, some of us would like to see a media that included more voices than just politicians, the spin doctors, the screaming demagogues and the deep-pocket corporate interests who can afford to purchase airtime.
Unfortunately, that would require the MEDIA STRUCTURE to change, NOT US. So long as profits are more important than creating an informed public, our ONLY choice is to hit the media with boycotts.
Your flippant smackdown is akin to Bush saying, "If the Iraqis want peace, they should just rise up against Saddam Hussein and his armies." Pathetically ignorant of reality.
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